Sri Lanka Grand Tour

Planet

Entrance Fees:
The round ticket purchased to visit the most popular sites is a levy collected by the central cultural fund. This levy is used by the fund to maintain and preserve the existing archaeological ruins, rehabilitate existing ruins and fund archaeological expeditions around the existing cities. Some of the individual fees collected by the smaller temples and sites are channeled through their caretakers to the upkeep of the facilities.

Entrance fees to wildlife parks are used for the maintenance of the parks including border and anti-poaching control and for the funding of various conservation projects like the “Elephant Transit Camp”

Conservation:
The “Uda Walawe Transit Camp” is a true elephant conservation project organized by the Department of Wildlife with the sole intention of caring for orphaned elephants with minimal human contact and releasing them back into the wild when they are weaned. We encourage our guests to make a contribution to this project. We also make contributions to this project from time to time based on revenues.

Respecting of Local Cultures and the Environment:
Sri Lanka is a culturally diverse nation and as such there are cultural sensitivities which are best respected. For this we meet with all our clients on the first day during which we brief them on the common ‘do’s’ and ‘don'ts’. Even while on tour our guide will brief the clients when visiting sites about general etiquette and norms if required.

Some of the parks that are visited on our itineraries are extremely sensitive ecosystems and as such our guides always forewarn clients about littering, smoking etc. We do not allow smoking in the vehicle at any time.

Game Meat:
Poaching is illegal in Sri Lanka however there are many eateries which sell this type of meat. Commonly poached meat includes wild boar and venison. We do not patronize any restaurants that we know sell game meat of any sort.

Environmental Responsibility at the office:
We realize that saving the environment can make financial sense as well. We have streamlined our operations in our office to an almost paperless office where everything from bookings to faxes are received in soft copy and stored. We only print what is absolutely necessary.

This vacation and all our vacations are designed with our beloved plant in mind.

Most of the hotels we use are equipped with solar panels which reduces the carbon footprint of the hotel.

Also, the vehicles are selected based on the group size. Vehicles are serviced regularly, and emission output is monitor and when needed repairs are done to keep emissions low.

We use large 5 and 20 litre bottles of water during the vacation and supply reuseable glass bottle to customers for refilling during the vacation.

Where possible and available we use electric vehicles and support new tree planting farms.

People

Our itinerary is designed to help the local community wherever possible.

Accommodation:
All the hotels we use for the itinerary are owned by establishments or individuals whose owners or shareholders are Sri Lankans or control a large majority.

Vacation Guides:
Our chauffeur guides are an important part of our team and our most valuable asset. We pay all our guides a fair price for their work above industry standards. We believe that this would translate to a better service to our clients in the long run. We ensure that all our guides are properly licensed.

Restaurants:
We actively promote eating at local restaurants and establishments. We also make it one of our priorities to support the roadside vendors. We aim to stop for a sampling of fruits or a refreshing drink of King Coconut to support the vendors wherever possible.

Activities:
This tour involves visits to a village and a dinner with a Sri Lankan family. Both these activities are designed to encourage interaction between the guests and the locals. This gives our guests an understanding of local life, the history, and also what typical days are in a Sri Lankan household.

These types of activities further go towards our commitment to the support of local entrepreneurs and their ventures.