Small group vacation to Sri Lanka
Highlights
Dambulla | Sigiriya | Giritale Tank | Birdwatching | Polonnaruwa | Kandy | Kitulgala rainforest | Nuwara Eliya | Option to climb Adam’s Peak | Horton Plains | World’s End viewpoint | Bandarawela | Ella Gap | Game drive Yala National Park or Udawalawe National Park depending on season | Ahangama | Galle | Option for whale watching
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this vacation or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
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Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your vacation will help support conservation and local people.
We are very conscious of the environment and try to limit our impact on our surroundings as much as possible. All of our vehicles used on this tour are subject to annual eco testing and we monitor this closely in order to reduce our carbon footprint. We do believe in leaving no more than footprints, although this tour actively encourages guests to talk to local people, visit local cafes and restaurants and use markets to purchase traditional crafts. We also leave a positive impression by visiting important National Parks, ruins and museums- our entrance fees to which contribute to their upkeep. For example, our game drives in Yala N.P. promote animal welfare and financially contribute to conservation projects in the area.Accommodation and Meals
All of the hotels we stay in are dedicated to hiring local staff and using freshly sourced produce wherever possible. This helps to benefit the surrounding community by providing employment opportunities and income alternatives where they may be otherwise hard to come by. We also try to select accommodation which has strong environmental policies. Where meals are not provided, we suggest that clients spread their commerce to small local businesses and try some authentic food. The local cuisine is predominantly vegetarian, with lots of rice. You can enjoy everything from traditional spicy curries to stalls selling tasty sweets and deserts. We stop for local delicacies whilst cycling and visit a farmhouse for lunch.
The Impacts of this Trip
Charity
We have financially co-sponsored a local Tsunami relief project, which has enabled 25 families to be rehoused and for two schools to be equipped with toilets, running water and outdoor swings. In collaboration with a German operator and the village temple, we have helped towards 10 large water tanks and an eye clinic in a remote village with a donation of 200 pairs of glasses. We also assisted a principal agent of Unicef in development of day care and education of school children of the estate sector labourers in the hill country. Whilst visiting the Back to Life project we stay at a hotel re-built by our local operator after the original building was demolished by the Tsunami.
Local Craft and Culture
There are plenty of opportunities to engage with local culture on the several visits to towns, villages and historically important sites and events. During the summer months our visit to the Temple of the Tooth may coincide with the Buddhist Kandy festival, which is a long honoured celebration of a relic thought to be found on the island. We may be able to see a performance of traditional Kandian dancing and fire walking here. There are many places to buy handcrafted souvenirs along the way (e.g. Polonnaruwa & Sigiriya) but one of the best places might be the Gem Museum at Kandy. Here clients can learn about the traditional methods of gem extraction.
We are very conscious of the environment and try to limit our impact on our surroundings as much as possible. All of our vehicles used on this tour are subject to annual eco testing and we monitor this closely in order to reduce our carbon footprint. We do believe in leaving no more than footprints, although this tour actively encourages guests to talk to local people, visit local cafes and restaurants and use markets to purchase traditional crafts. We also leave a positive impression by visiting important National Parks, ruins and museums- our entrance fees to which contribute to their upkeep. For example, our game drives in Yala N.P. promote animal welfare and financially contribute to conservation projects in the area.Accommodation and Meals
All of the hotels we stay in are dedicated to hiring local staff and using freshly sourced produce wherever possible. This helps to benefit the surrounding community by providing employment opportunities and income alternatives where they may be otherwise hard to come by. We also try to select accommodation which has strong environmental policies. Where meals are not provided, we suggest that clients spread their commerce to small local businesses and try some authentic food. The local cuisine is predominantly vegetarian, with lots of rice. You can enjoy everything from traditional spicy curries to stalls selling tasty sweets and deserts. We stop for local delicacies whilst cycling and visit a farmhouse for lunch.
The Impacts of this Trip
Charity
We have financially co-sponsored a local Tsunami relief project, which has enabled 25 families to be rehoused and for two schools to be equipped with toilets, running water and outdoor swings. In collaboration with a German operator and the village temple, we have helped towards 10 large water tanks and an eye clinic in a remote village with a donation of 200 pairs of glasses. We also assisted a principal agent of Unicef in development of day care and education of school children of the estate sector labourers in the hill country. Whilst visiting the Back to Life project we stay at a hotel re-built by our local operator after the original building was demolished by the Tsunami.
Local Craft and Culture
There are plenty of opportunities to engage with local culture on the several visits to towns, villages and historically important sites and events. During the summer months our visit to the Temple of the Tooth may coincide with the Buddhist Kandy festival, which is a long honoured celebration of a relic thought to be found on the island. We may be able to see a performance of traditional Kandian dancing and fire walking here. There are many places to buy handcrafted souvenirs along the way (e.g. Polonnaruwa & Sigiriya) but one of the best places might be the Gem Museum at Kandy. Here clients can learn about the traditional methods of gem extraction.
8 Reviews of Small group vacation to Sri Lanka
Reviewed on 09 Feb 2020 by Linda Cooper
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Everything!!!
Bike ride through paddy fields and curry
in village house, the Wildlife parks, the
white water rafting...
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Take a Go-Pro camera
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, all of these
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!
Reviewed on 25 Jan 2019 by Tim Stapenhurst
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Adam's peak, white water rafting, the "incidental"/smaller activities such as the visit to the coconut house.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
The hill country can be chilly so take something warm for the short time you will be there.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Good.
Reviewed on 23 Feb 2019 by Tessa Bruce-Lockhart
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Definitely not. The diesel fumes in the parks are unbearable, the disturbing of whales by the boats really appalling. We did have lunch with a local farmer which was delightful, and I hope it helped them.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
A bad country for the environment. The people displaced from the tsunami have no land to grow veg, and are not allowed to rebuild along the coast, and yet the multinationals are building high rise by the sea. I thought that was government greed and morally wrong. Boats circling round and round th whales, distressing them and I am sure disorientating them. This is one of the worst countries I have visited for the environment and lack of care of the local animals, and local country people.
Read the operator's response here:
Reviewed on 25 Mar 2018 by Ian Raven
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Kaudulla National Park - saw about 150 elephants
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Book your airline seats early, in advance of on-line check-in
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, very much so.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Reviewed on 14 Oct 2018 by Tony Wick
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The trip to the cave temples at Dambulla, climbing Lion Rock early morning, and the two safaris at Sigiriya and Yala.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Ensure you read the trip notes thoroughly before booking - it might be a bit arduous for some people. There's quite a lot of traveling and some early starts.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
We avoided animal exploitation and learned a lot about Sri Lankan society. We had a few lunches with local people, including Tsunami victims. It was sometimes difficult to eat out as the hotels weren't always near local restaurants.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Very interesting and satisfying.
Reviewed on 13 Aug 2017 by Kathryn Plant
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The breadth of activities from walking through wilderness to cultural visits and swimming in the Indian ocean
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Don't worry if you are traveling on your own you will really feel like you are part of the group and meet some great people
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Supported conservation by using certain tours etc , also lots of interesting facts about the environment from our guide who gave us a lot of information throughout the tour
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Amazing
Reviewed on 02 Mar 2017 by Elizabeth Devery
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
For me it was really the whole thing, as seeing the country where my mother and aunts were born and grew up was very interesting. I particularly enjoyed the puja at the Temple of the Tooth as our tour leader managed to get us to the front and we were also able to see the Tooth reliquary and another shrine not normally open.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Be prepared for the incredible humidity around Colombo and the south coast. If you are a history buff like me then you can arrange a car and driver for the day through Hotel Sigiriya and spend time at Anuradhapura and Mihintale instead of doing the cycle ride at Giritale. Please note that they are now going straight from Kandy (500m) to Nuwara Eliya (nearly 2000m) and this can be a problem for those susceptible to altitude sickness like me - I was fine again as soon as I got down to Bandarawela. Don't rely on it being dry in the dry season - come equipped for anything!
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
The vacation did benefit local people (partly through the tipping!), particularly the tsunami victim lunch, but I felt the visit to a farm didn't really add anything to the vacation. Conservation was supported by going on the elephant safari and the safari in Yala but the number of jeeps for the former was ridiculous (about 40 elephants and the same number of jeeps).
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Good vacation to give you a flavour of Sri Lanka and have a little contact with the locals.
Reviewed on 09 Oct 2012 by Dianne Williams
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The variety of the trip, the day at yala national park, the elephant orphanage, and the tooth temple.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Take a good camera, you will want to photograph almost every thing you see, the island is fantastic!
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes the trips to the small village homes and farmers plantations were not only interesting but benefited the people.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Excellent variety, well run and an excellent guide.
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