We had a great 2 week holiday in Sri Lanka, touring the "cultural triangle", Tea Highlands and the SW Coastline. Much of the success of our tour was due to the indefatigable work of Rakith, the tour agent who kept us updated via email with great suggestions as we slowly refined our ideal holiday. In particular his advice to go by train to Ella was frankly brilliant and so worth the time. Huge appreciation too to Tharindu's efforts as a guide and his "Uncle" who was a very safe and
careful driver - essential if you wish to remain safe and refreshed for all those great sights. We all had a great time in Sri Lanka.

I have had a 3 days journey in Sri Lanka from August 13 to August 15. The tour guide was Mr. Kumar. He has provided me a wonderful journey through his reliable and responsible service. I enjoyed the trip a lot. I would give this trip 5 stars.

I have visited all the places that I planned to visit. The itinerary of the trip is shown below:

Aug 13 - Dambulla - Sigiriya - Minneriya National Park
Overnight at Giritale

Aug 14 - Polonnaruwa - Kandy (Polonnaruwa Stone temple, Polonnaruwa Quadrangle, Royal palace, Spice Garden)
Overnight at Kandy

Aug 15 - Kandy - Departure (Temple of Tooth, Kandy Town Center, Handycraft shops, Kandy lake, Botanical Gardens, Tea Garden)

Although I have traveling experiences in more than 20 countries and I was a solo traveler this time, I believed it is a must to join a tour if you visit Sri Lanka. It is the only way to visit all places that you are interested in within reasonable number of days, due to poor road condition and the ease to get lost. Besides, Mr. Kumar is very knowledgeable in all traveling spots and good at organizing the trip. Furthermore, he has shared a lot of information on the local history, culture and life, which is valuable information to travelers. I would recommend this tour to my friends planning to visit Sri Lanka.

ドライバーのJagathさんは非常に良い人で、いつも気を使ってくれました。時々飲み物を買ってくれたりしました。彼はとても穏やかで、移動中も快適で した。あちこちで道路工事があり、道が悪いところが多かったですが、そこもゆっくりと運転してくれました。最終的には彼の家に招待され、奥さんが料理を 作ってくれました。私が辛いものが食べられないと知り、アレンジしてくれました。大変おいしい料理でした。翌日の早朝帰国予定でしたが、Jagathさん が家でお酒を飲んでしまって運転できないので、社長が別のドライバーを手配してくれました。社長もその時の宴に呼ばれていました。残念なことは、ドライ バーが全部の場所について詳しいわけではないので、自分なりに地球の歩き方などを読んで勉強しておいた方がいいと思います。結局私の場合ダンブッラの洞窟 寺院にいけずじまいでした。その場に行ったのですが、チケットを下で買うことを知らず登ってしまい、2度登るのは大変なので止めました。ですが、全体的に は非常に良いツアーでした。