Non UK Sri Lanka

[twhite87]

Can anyone recommend a good area to stay in Sri Lanka. Me and the wife are planning a two week trip in September, but are unsure of a good 'bas of operations'.

I'm obviously into my photography (All types, but mainly Street, Landscapes, Wildlife), however my wife has no interest in photography at all, so we would need somewhere where we can compromise and do a day of photography, then a day of culture/sight seeing, etc for her.

I've been told Colombo is good, but it's a pain to get to any of the nature reserves from there.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks.

 

[sunnyside_up]

We stayed on two separate trips down in Beruwala (the hotel is no longer there however as it got damaged and never recovered after the tsunomi). We braved the trains and travelled all around the area, which in itself was quite the experience. Plenty of boat trips to be had to some cool places. The Elephant Sanctuary is quite a ways inland however and although we didn't do it, friends did and it was a two day excursion from where we were.

Columbo is really only good in the fact it's where the airport is... travelling the roads away from Columbo is always going to be a long trip time wise simply due to the crazy tuk tuk drivers.

Probably not much help to you... that's just our experience... but enjoy it! Get down to the beaches to see the fishermen on their poles, it's amazing! If you walk through the small villages, don't give the children any money... they'll hound like mad and even go into your pockets. We made that mistake and everytime we walked through the village we would be surrounded by hoards of kids. Be prepared to 'bung' everyone... for everything. We had this bloke that would always turn up along the fence at our hotel with his big snake. It'd cost you to take a picture of him. Watch out for Water Monitors.

 

[twhite87]

We stayed on two separate trips down in Beruwala (the hotel is no longer there however as it got damaged and never recovered after the tsunomi). We braved the trains and travelled all around the area, which in itself was quite the experience. Plenty of boat trips to be had to some cool places. The Elephant Sanctuary is quite a ways inland however and although we didn't do it, friends did and it was a two day excursion from where we were.

Columbo is really only good in the fact it's where the airport is... travelling the roads away from Columbo is always going to be a long trip time wise simply due to the crazy tuk tuk drivers.

Probably not much help to you... that's just our experience... but enjoy it! Get down to the beaches to see the fishermen on their poles, it's amazing! If you walk through the small villages, don't give the children any money... they'll hound like mad and even go into your pockets. We made that mistake and everytime we walked through the village we would be surrounded by hoards of kids. Be prepared to 'bung' everyone... for everything. We had this bloke that would always turn up along the fence at our hotel with his big snake. It'd cost you to take a picture of him. Watch out for Water Monitors.

Okay...... few questions:

- Bung??????
- Water Monitors?

 

[zaytsev]

Me and the better half had the opportunity to hop over to Sri Lanka for breaks a few times a year when I lived in The Middle East and it is a wonderful place - however inland transport does take time although hiring a car and driver can be comparatively cheap and the view from the window can be interesting!

I wouldn't recommend staying in one location to base yourself but if you're staying for two weeks then I'd look at perhaps 3 bases giving consideration to what you'd like to see.

Depending on what time your flight arrives you can either stay for a couple of days in Colombo/Negombo first or get on the road and do the city last for street life (there is plenty of locations through Sri Lanka where you will end up taking these however).

For landscapes and wildlife the the area around Dambulla will give you Sigiriya, the Dambulla caves, wild elephants and Wasgamuwa national park - depending on your wife's tolerance levels you may be able to do all of these together.

Tea country (around Nuwara Eliya/Badulla/Horton Plains) has managed to retain an old-world colonial charm where working tea factories can be toured and lodged at, similar to tea plantation owner bungalows, many of which are still named after their British owners. Tea country can take seemingly forever to get to even from the nearest city of Kandy, which does have some good sights but may be a step too far. If your budget allows you may want to consider one of the sea plane transfers that will save you a day of travelling...

On the south west coast is Galle, with its old city encircled behind the Dutch fort walls and street wandering here can be good for photography. Galle is shouldered on both sides by beaches, my favourite being the Unawatuna area of lazy seafood shacks and cold Lion lager sellers. This is always a good end to the holiday as from here the new road takes you back to the airport in 2-3 hours.

There are many decent operators will be able to book a reliable car and driver for you in advance. I would however heartily recommend staying in some boutique hotels as the staff, locations and property can sometimes be unrivalled for the price.

Have fun and sorry for the long post!