Sri Lanka: Excursions - 3 days, Hikkaduwa - 10 days, Bentota - 4 days.
Everyone, good afternoon! We arrived from the island of Ceylon in March 14. It's April - business, business!
I will be happy to tell you about the trip, but from the very beginning, that is, from organizational moments.
We prefer to travel on our own. We started with direct booking directly on the hotel website, then compared prices with travel agencies in St. Petersburg. It turned out that travel agencies are cheaper. An Internet search led to Alexei Novikov, which turned out to be even cheaper. BUT Alexey is not in St. Petersburg.
Trust or not trust? To be or not to be? There are many doubts, especially the advance payment into the unknown.
They took a risk and did not regret it. There was a long correspondence, my boring questions were answered correctly, patiently.
And most importantly, throughout the entire trip, Alexey accompanied us mobile, but I think if his presence was needed, then this would happen. Alex is on the island. Check your mail while traveling.
Alexei constantly sent interesting proposals for the island, indicating the numbers, cost (detailed information).
While searching for information about the island and the rest, we concluded:
since all the sights are in the middle of the island, then
1. Three days and two nights sightseeing tour of the island. Three days is our choice, as communication with elephants
we held in Thailand on the island of Chang (elephant island). Precious stones do not interest us, so the choice was made: a zoo in Colombo, Mount Sigiriya, a cave temple in Dambul, a botanical garden in Paradeniya.
2. Moving to Hikkaduwa for a beach holiday. CHAYAA TRANZ HOTEL ****. 10 days.
Hikkaduwa - the south of the island, the hotel is one of the best, the number is from the spirit of the rooms (because we are two adults and a child 16
years). I think everyone knows from the reviews they read that the south of the island is a beautiful place: fish, turtles,
diving, fishing, friendly natives who want not only to earn money, but also
make an acquaintance first - for all days of vacation, second - so that they come through a good reputation
vacation friends.
3. Transfer to Bentota hotel VIVANTA by TAJ *****. 4 days.
4. Airport.
The rest was easy and relaxed thanks to the company -mojalanka. ru and Alexey Novikov be the best.
The company organized the entire holiday - for a long time they did not rest like that, without thinking about anything, and even at a bargain price.
We were met at the airport, the driver (accompanying us all three days), the driver is super, he stopped himself, where he considered it necessary, they did not regret a single stop. There are three days of excursions ahead. The hotels are very good, the breakfasts are good, and most importantly, no one drove us anywhere. In the evenings, we hung out with the locals at the hotel, we treated them, they treated us. The people are great. In the morning we slept as much as we wanted, we got up, no one was there for breakfast (it ended), they served us kindly and calmly. While we were sleeping, the driver went to the zoo for tickets (nice).
The zoo is interesting, they fed the ostriches, but for some reason I stubbornly searched for the kangaroo. I had so much joy and happiness on the island, like a child, and for some period my brain fell into childhood.
Mount Sigiriya. Impressive! We took a Russian-speaking guide for $ 50 and did not regret it. An interesting detailed story about the king, his life on the mountain and below, in the castle (of which little is left), drove around the territory and along the mountain, when people disappeared somewhere (he knows, probably, the time of movement of groups). At the very top of the mountain there is a small stone - 1000 the first step, cool photos are obtained on it.
Cave temple in Dambulla. Exactly the same as in all advertising photos - amazing. Being inside, one must enjoy the tranquility, beauty and receive inner pleasure.
Botanical Garden in Overeating. Nature is wonderful and such beauty is conducive to love.
Constantly met couples of lovers gently cooing through the trees, Not on benches, not on the ocean, but under the miracle trees that can only grow in this climate.
Moving to Hikkaduwa. We drove for a long time, but not tiring. The driver constantly said something and stopped near the amazing temples. For me, one moment remained a mystery - the pyramid temples are dotted with figurines of the gods, so bright, juicy. How the colors do not fade in the scorching sun, under heavy rains, a miracle! Here you have a poor country, a country shrouded in secrets and indescribable beauty.
CHAYAA TRANZ HOTEL **** and Hikkaduwa itself are a great place to stay. In the hotel, as I wrote two rooms above, a man cleaned the room, all requests were fulfilled immediately and perfectly.
I liked the hotel very much, calmly, without tension, different shows in the evening. Behind the hotel - people value their reputation, they are friendly, no one pesters, is not imposed.
On a trip to the fishermen on the perch, they wanted to take a tuk-tuk, a mini-vein driver ran up to us and began to persuade us by car and lost the price.
They took great pictures, treated us to cigarettes for our long photo shoot with my son on the perch.
On the way back, the driver showed the fortress in Gala. Very beautiful views. Again a photo session with a monkey, a cobra. And again they did not regret it. Upon arrival at the hotel, they gave the price that he asked at the beginning of the trip.
Firstly, it is far, hot and the road by tuk-tuk would definitely spoil the impression of everything you saw.
Secondly, the driver behaved nobly to the detriment of himself. It is pleasant to walk around Hikkaduwa, we went into the courtyard and got to the artist, in the huge courtyard we enjoyed the art on the canvas about Sri Lanka.
Prices in Hikkaduwa are very real for everything. We regretted not buying souvenirs, gifts, rum, tea.
Moving to Bentota. Another driver arrived from Alexei Novikov and company, even more super.
On the way he showed us a huge figure of Buddha on the water, everything is snow-white, solemn up to the bridge over the river. Very beautiful. The second place where the driver brought us is a short trip along the river.
As soon as we set sail, a young man with a monkey is heading towards us from the shore (photo session) (all for a penny). The monkey, as soon as she saw her husband's beard, immediately bulging her eyes, jumped into the boat to the owner. I had to outwit her, turned the monkey back to her husband and still took a picture. We saw big monitor lizards, beautiful birds. And at the end of the show with the fish. You lower your legs into the pool, and the fish pinch and massage. At first, the feeling is amazing, everyone screams from tickling, then you get used to it. The husband sank into the pool with fish and grabbed a massage of the back, chest, legs (they didn’t pinch the panties, if anyone is interested). After the back was all in a small red pattern, but did not hurt.
Hotel VIVANTA by TAJ *****. This, of course, is not a boutique hotel, but pompous, very
beautiful, original in architecture, swimming pool on the third floor (open), but very boring. Everything is impeccable - meeting, accompaniment during the rest, response to requests (did not wait longer than 5 minutes).
BUT, during the resettlement, they tried to settle in a standard room (we booked an improved one, large in size). Apparently they decided that they would live for 4 days and so. They spoke insistently and convincingly that there were no numbers at all. BUT! ! ! We called Alexei, we persisted. We were offered to spend one night in a standard room, then move, but we only have 4 days and we were not going to move. After some time of walking around the rooms, there were about five or six of them and all were standard, and growing displeasure with us, we found a number, and even two rooms! Hooray! Luxurious room with two rooms and two balconies overlooking the ocean.
So, dear travelers, stand up for your rights.
In the end, we paid far from a standard room. The two-room suite was, it seems to me, more expensive than we paid for the improved one, but they didn’t take an extra charge, although we were ready to pay extra. Vacationers at the hotel all the time were by the pool, on the shore by the ocean, mostly from other hotels. The hotel can be safely attributed to the European standard. The area behind the hotel in Bentota is dirty, smelly. Aborigines in Bentota are completely different than in Hikkaduwa - they pester, they follow you. You can't walk around Bentota.
Everything is very expensive, but I had to buy souvenirs here, they did not calculate.
Thus, a holiday in Bentota is only a hotel (beach holiday).
We read in the reviews about Sri Lanka at the expense of fleas. So it was in Bentota, in a restaurant, behind the hotel, that we caught them. But knowing about this problem, we had an ointment for insect bites with us.
So, if you want to get the impression and pleasure of Sri Lanka, travel to interesting places and stay in hotels with "live" surrounding areas to the hotel.