Visiting Sri Lanka after Kerala....

TracyB

Hello...We are still trying to figure out what to do after our Kerala tour in November...Do you think it is possible to visit Sri Lanka for 5 days, or would it be a waste of time..Any recommendations on where to go in Sri Lanka, or a short tour? Thanks..

I guess another question...Would you rather go to Goa, the Maldives or Sri Lanka for 5 days after visiting Kerala for 11 days (Cochin, Thekkady, Kovalam, houseboat, etc)...

SHIMLA

It would be rather inconvenient and possibly expensive, but Myanmar is an option. You can then leave for Dubai via Bangkok or via Doha. There is now a direct Qatar Airways flight from Yangon to Doha.

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Peyompian

Go to Sri Lanka. God knows they need your tourist business.

xealot

Is Sri Lanka bicycle friendly? considering how much they need support in the near future i think i might as well include a stint on my trip (and I'll be using bickcle as main mode of transport)

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Peyompian

I've heard from guys on cycling boards that went to Sri Lanka and loved it. I guess there would be issues with the coastal roads now... so perhaps a hybrid/cyclocross/mountain bike would be best? A road bike may take a beating. But yeah, it supposed to be good.

xealot

Thanks for the reassurance, I'm gonna start delving into the internet for info!

TracyB

WEll, we don't want to cycle around Sri Lanka, just a couple day stopover..What would be the best place to go for a few days? Stay in Colombo and do a few day trips?

Anders

I wouldnt hang around the Colombo/Negombo area any longer than I absolutely had to. Head south if you are looking for beaches, Unawatuna would be a great beach to spend a few days, possibly followed by a trip up to Ella or Kandy. It is definately possible to go to SL but 5 days is not a lot of time for SL. I would probably stay in India for those last days.

chathuri

Sri Lanka is a small island, which make it possible to cover beaches, mountains and historical sites with in a short time. Unlike India it takes only few hours to travel from one destination to another (not days) and road network is fairly goos connecting all major tourist destinations.

If you are interested in having a glimpse of ancient civilization in SL visit Kandy, Sigiriya , Pollonnaruwa or Anuradapura. In Polonnaruwa and Anuradapura you can hire bicycles to go around the ancient temples and tanks.
From Kandy, visit hill country (you can take a train which goes though a scenic route of mountains and water falls, but it needs to be booked few days before departure) or go by bus/car to a scenic town like Ella, Haputale,Diyathalawa, or Bandarawela. Plenty of reasonable accommodation can be found in hill country.
From Ella or Haputale you can get to Down South beaches like Mirissa or Hikkaduwa. Or from Haputale you can come to Belihuloya which is a good area where you can cycle trough tea plantations tanks and rural villages. From Belihuloya you can either visit Down south or can come back to Colombo. There is nothing much to see in Colombo except national museum and do shopping.
If you plan well, you can cover all this with in 5 days. Best option of travel would be to hire a car on per Km basis. It save time and make things more flexible.

xealot

thanks for the tips about cycling and locations chathuri, from what I've seen on other threads your quite the wealth of knowledge when it comes to Sri Lanka, and you also seem very passionate. So from what I know of Sri Lankans so far ... I can't wait to come to your beautiful i country.

Luckily for me I will have the luxury of time so I'll be able to spend up to a month in Sri Lanka.

1 question ... Where would you reccomend as a place to stop and settle down for a week or 2 in November? as may be feeling like a rest in a quiet and beautiful place at that stage

Thanks for the advice, and apologies to TracyB for hijacking her thread ... remember to keep the short itiniary advice coming for her people

TracyB

No problem hijacking my thread..I think it is the longest one I have posted so far.Keep it coming!!

And thanks for the info on Sri Lanka chathuri!!

sticky

I was planning to go to sri lanka after india (plane ticket may take me elsewhere now, but we will see)

anyway: here are some great resources i found on sri lanka:

http://www.srilankantourism.org has alot of info

they also have a forum http://www.srilankantourism.org/forum/default.asp

you will be able to get on hte ground info there.

here is a 8 weeks after promo clip:
http://www.contactsrilanka.org/downl...lcome_back.wmv
which came from
http://www.contactsrilanka.org/homeme.htm

it all looks pretty good now

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chathuri

Ideal place for two weeks will depend on your personal taste.
I would recommend Ella , a small quiet town nested between tea plantations or Haputale, a scenic town situated on the eastern slope of the central highlands with magnificent views, ideal for hikes. In November this area will be little wet and cloudy because of the monsoon, but SL monsoons does not last for days at a stretch..usually one or two rainy days would be followed by a few sunny days.
On the other hand, Belihuloya would be relatively dry in November, and would be an ideal place to experience the village life of sri Lanka.
There is another cool spot called Kithulgala, beside Kalani river. Good place to relax , do bird watching and white water rafting.
If you prefer beaches, down south would be the best. Hikkaduwa would be the most active beach town with night life, clubs and lots of shopping. Towards deep south it'll be much quiet and peaceful.
Most popular choice is Kandy, because of accommodation facilities and easy accessibility. You can find a nice cool place on a mountain with a good view of Kandy lake. But very little to do, unless you prefer to look at misty mountains at a distance for hours. Kandy is a good starting point for SL, from where you can plan rest of the days, and it's connected to all major tourist destinations by bus as well as train.
Habarana or Minneriya would be two other possible locations with close proximity to ancient cities, wild parks and elephant safari. If you are lucky, you'll come across wild elephants on the highway itself! You'll find road signs asking drivers to drive carefully as wild friends may be crossing the road. This area would usually dry and hot but in November it'll be cool and green because of the monsoon.