It was helpful to have your suggestions about where to go on this my first trip to Sri Lanka– basically from Colombo to the cultural Triangle ending with a couple of days of leisure at Beruwela in the south west. Your suggestions were a good starting point, but it was good to be able to then tailor these to meet our specific needs, my daughter having been to Sri Lanka previously.

Having a driver/tour guide, and an air conditioned vehicle, was great. All hotel bookings had been done for us and the driver ensured a smooth reception at each of the hotels.

I think I had at some stage asked for 'typical Sri Lankan hotels' which may have caused some confusion. What I should have said is that I didn’t want to stay in a large chain hotel which you can find anywhere. I basically wanted to savour as much of the country and culture as you can on such a short trip, but by the same token I did not want “back-packing” type accommodation either. However, the hotels we stayed in did not disappoint. They all gave us a really warm welcome on arrival and after some arduous journeys we appreciated being greeted with refreshing towels and a drink before check-in and while the baggage went to our room. The Hertitance Hotel at Kandalama was stunning, original and luxurious as well as having fantastic eco credentials. You really feel as if you are living with nature but in splendid style. A swim in the infinity pool there was a "must".The Tea Factory at Kandapola also had the “wow” factor. An interesting place to explore set in a splendid location where we were looking down on the clouds above the tea plantations. The standard of the rooms in both of these hotels was very good as was that in the Beach Villa’s at our last stop in Beruwela. The Hilltop Hotel at Kandy was acceptable – a budget hotel but one which also enjoys good views over the city. The Wathsala Inn (close to Adams Peak) was very basic although it did appear that some renovation might have been taking place. The other guests we met there (who were also climbing Adams Peak) were disappointed in the standard of this inn and it seemed that most would have been prepared to pay a little extra for better accommodation. That said, the staff were very warm and friendly. Perhaps an upgrade of their accommodation with some further treks in the area might encourage more people to stay for longer in this very beautiful region.

I enjoyed Sri Lankan food although I did follow all the usual tourist advice about what not to eat. We ate Sri Lankan food rather than “international” – there seems little point in travelling over 5000 miles to have what you can have at home, although to be honest we did get a bit tired of buffets and might have appreciated an a la carte menu from time to time. The only time this was on offer was in the Railway Carriage restaurant at the Tea Factory and it was disappointing that their menu was again more international. High-end Sri Lankan cooking would have been good. The home cooking at the Wathsala Inn was delicious.

The tour. It was so good to have a driver as there is no way I could have driven on Sri Lankan roads which to my eyes are appallingly maintained and pitted with potholes making even short distances arduous. Also, the somewhat bizarre driving style of the motorists took some getting used to, as well with the use of the horn rather than the indicator and an attitude of “just go there”. The pecking order of the road, with the tuk-tuk relegated to the outer edge, cars and vans next with buses zooming down the middle, also took some getting used to. Our driver was good at pointing out the amazing array of flora and fauna and it was helpful to have an insiders view on how much to tip various guides at the places we stopped at en route. He was also flexible and we were able to change our en route schedule to accommodate further things we wanted to see. We could have been a little clearer with him that we did not always want to stop for a full on lunch, although I think he appreciated this as the tour continued.

The guides we encountered at various sights were a little variable in quality and some places we wondered if they were worthwhile. At Sigiriya we did not learn much from the guide that we couldn’t have fathomed out from the display notices. As with some other guides we found his accent very difficult to follow and he similarly had trouble with ours. I may be helpful to agree at an earlier stage whether or not a guide is necessary. I appreciate that in some places there is no option (as in the batik factory) but I’m not sure that they were that helpful in the temples. We didn’t have one at Adams Peak and were glad to be going at our own pace.

We enjoyed all the usual tourist stops which started at the elephant orphanage at Pinnawela. The spice garden and complimentary massage was lovely although the prices in their shop seemed on the high side. The batik factory and tea factory were also fascinating; although we had a drink of tea after the tea factory tour, it would have perhaps been good to have sampled each of the various grades of tea. We did much to avoid one of the gem polishing visits and tried to keep to what interested us. The temple visits at Dambulla and Kandy were, perhaps because of the guides, a little disappointing; maybe because its too much to ask to show non- Buddhists their place of worship as well as trying to explain the Buddhist philosophy/ religion. Also there is a need sometimes just to be able to stand and look around you. The Royal Botanic Gardens in Kandy were worth seeing. We wandered around at our own leisure– and again our driver left it to us to say how long we wanted there.

The two more strenuous activities we did were to climb Sigirya and a few days later, Adam’s Peak. Perhaps only with hindsight, the Sigirya climb of 200 metres didn’t seem too bad. Adam’s Peak I found hard, or should I say each of the 4800 steps there and back seemed excruciating, but as long as I paced myself, yes I would do it again, as the sight of the rising sun was awe-inspiring. And, I would take the advice of the travel guides more seriously – it is really cold at the top despite fleece jackets; hats and gloves also next time.

The people we met were very friendly, wanting to know where you are from and where you were going. As all the guide books say, there are a number of beggars but we didn’t really encounter the scams that many people speak about. The shopkeepers were extremely persistent and I think would try to sell you a window if you said you were just window shopping. Haggling over price also takes some getting used to as does tipping.

Following the tour itself we stayed for a few days in Colombo. I found this a confusing place and never felt I had got to grips with it’s layout or it’s centre. Traffic congestion seems to make getting from A to B really hard work although a ride in a tuk-tuk is an experience I won’t forget. Shops seem to be spread out in the city and it didn’t seem possible to walk down what we would call a High Street. Humidity, dust and pollution also make the place feel like hard work, although it seemed impossible to stop one tuk-tuk driver stopping for us en route at a number of his “recommended” shops. One good wheeze in Colombo was to use the Mount Lavinia Hotel where for a very reasonable price we hired sun loungers by the pool and were waited on with drinks and food.

Me and my wife traveled to SriLanka from Febr 14 till Febr 25. Our initial plan for travel to this country was based in exploring culture and also beeches, ocean and sun. We were in a bit delicate situation since my wife was in 3rd month of pregnancy. The inital idea to travel around the country did failed due to late decision on our side and following lack of available hotels from SriLanka side. But later it turned out as advantage that we stayed mainly in one Hotel (Riverina at Beruwela). If you are first time in SriLanka my suggestion is to take hotel with 4 stars as minimum and preferably with half board. The reasons not to take lower class are two:

• you will skip culture shock, since hotels are quite warned-out and even not refreshed. The size of the rooms are Ok in any case but cleaness is lacking,
• The second reason for half board option is the lack of outdoor restaurants and considerations of your stomach wealth.

When we arrived with my wife we arrived early in the morning and we were welcomed in airport by driver from tourism agency "Gullivers". Passing through customs and visa in airport was very easy we changed half of our money in airport before exit from customs area. The driver spoke English fluently and he was polite and open person who is able and willing to communicate with you explaining any aspect you want to know. We would strongly recommend in any case to use driver service since driving around is not simple thing in this country. It took 5 hours to drive 80km to our hotel and this slow travel (30-40km/h is average speed) was all the time we moved to anywhere. So when we arrived to the hotel we where down. We arrived in different hotel which was 3star hotel and I immediately realized that we need to change it. After few calls and 30 min waiting Ms. Sabrina from "Gulivers" perfectly managed the change of hotels and luckily after 1h we were set in "Riverina". Honestly speaking I was shocked on the room rates – they are really high to what ever you compare to... but the sun, ocean and fresh fruits pay this off...

After some refreshment days at nice hotel and beech we traveled to Kandy(old capital) and Sigiriya village to see the fortress on the rock. Kandy is worth to visit since it is far away from tourist areas and people there are more natural than in beech areas or Colombo. There is nice Tooth temple to visit. We suggest not to go there on first moon day – it will be too crowdie, but if you intend to have a crowd – perfect timing for that. The nature around is fascinating during our long trip to these places. In Sigiriya we also visited Ajurveda spa where we experienced tipping culture of SriLanka – it means whatever you pay for service you still need to pay a tip to person who is treating you – for us it was quite unusual that if you are not paying tip they will ask you to.

I should recommend if you are around these places visit spice garden. I noticed that they are a lot there but we were taken to one which was simply brilliant – the people there were really nice and friendly and this was the only place in SriLanka where we experienced real SriLankan food – just around the corner of the spice garden. We were late in afternoon and alone in restaurant so we were lucky to be served by chef and owner of the place.

During our trip we bought regularly fruits on street shops(we recommend to wash them strongly) and our driver helped us a loti n this process since people there mainly do not speak English

Last 3 days we spent in Colombo in perfect place to stay – Taj Samudra – the location of hotel is really good – close to everything and the service level is great. We had BB there and in the evening visited their terrace restaurant with live music. It was like a very special ending of our trip – for 3 dinners there we were the only guests and all staff served us alone – that was memorable!

There are a lot other details and places (tea plantation, botanic garden, temples, etc..) we still remember and not share because it is so exciting when you discover something yourself instead of going to everything known.