After a cruise ending in Sri Lanka we will have six days on our own to explore. We are a couple in mid 70s, good health interested in nature, culture and hope to stay in no more than 2 nice hotels, as we understand transportation from area to area is time consuming. Also should we enlist an agency to plan or do it ourselves. Do we need a driver to be with us the entire five days? We usually rent a car and drive, but I think that is not a good idea in this case. We will be arriving in Sri Lanka by ship on the 24th of February and cruise will include stops in Trincomalee, Galle, and Colombo. Any and all suggestions appreciated
Five nights in Sri Lanka need help
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I suggest you choose the cultural triangle area for your stay in Sri Lanka. I highly recommend the Kandalama, a beautiful hotel near Dambulla. If you opt for the cultural triangle, you would want a car and driver for your whole stay, as there are many places to visit in the area - the Dambulla Cave temples, Sigirya, and Polonnaruwa were highlights for us.
Take a look at our photos and see if this interests you
www.marlandc.com/SriLanka/index.htm
Since you would need a driver, I'd recommend going with an agency, as they will take care of it if anything goes wrong with the driver or the car. We used Boutique Sri Lanka and they were just wonderful.
ditto what Kathie said.
thanks to her we spent 3 wonderful nights at the Kandalama, which was just about long enough to see all the sights in that area.
for a change of scene you could then move down to Kandy for a further 2 nights before travelling back to the airport.
we also used Boutique Sri Lanka who we also found very good. it's a real advantage to have a local agent on hand - we didn't have any problems, but if we had had, it was reassuring to know that we could get in touch with someone who was in Sri Lanka and in the same time zone.
Thank you Kathie (your trip album is amazing) and Annig for your suggestions. We hope to be in or near Sigirya for three days and then are not sure where. I will look into getting in touch with Boutique Sri Lanka. Any further comments greatly appreciated. Slight adjustment in that we will have 7 days and 6 nights, so that gives a bit more leeway as to seeing sights.
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