SriLanka holiday - airline and tips?

Sudden

Sudden

Sudden

Soldato
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Planning to go to Sri Lanka in early October for a honeymoon. The only ones who fly direct are SriLanka Airlines but I haven't heard brilliant things about them. Has anyone here flown? Are they decent? The alternatives are either Qatar or Etihad mainly, both with a short stopover. Cost is basically the same.

Also, currently thinking in Sri Lanka of going to Sigriya, East coast for some beach time, and Ella. Do people have any other suggestions for 'must-do's'? Thinking of skipping Kandy at the moment, so we have a few days to spend at each of those places and go around/relax.
 
Have flown Sri Lankan a few times, but the costs were higher than transit flights. Just been there with Qatar, about 2 hours stopover.

You can go for a safari in Udawalawa or Yala.
 
I used to prefer direct flights but after a few transits, now I prefer Qatar. It gives a bit of a break between.
Mind you, few weeks ago when I went with Qatar, the first leg of the flight was operated by BA. It was bad. The second leg of the flight by Oman air(even though I bought direct from Qatar airways) - that was worse. But coming back it was all operated by Qatar and was pretty good.
 
We flew direct with Sri Lanka in economy in 2019 and it was fine.

Itinerary looks good. We did Sigariya, Kandy, Ella and then some beach time on the south coast. Kandy is worth a day to see the temple and gardens, so worth including especially as it's a natural stop on the way to Ella.

If you're hiring a driver (it really is the best way to get around), be aware that they are scammy and will try and will try and make you stop at a number of tourist shops, woodwork factories, tea farms, overpriced tours, or other crap that will pay the driver commission if you buy something. To avoid this, just be clear when booking/at the start of the trip that you are not interested in any stops at shops/tours and that you want them to stick to your itinerary.

One of the highlights of the trip was the train between Hatton and Ella (or you can start at Kandy). Your driver can take your bags to your destination while you enjoy one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world.

If you want a beach hotel recommendation, have a look at Buckingham Place (not a typo). Fantastic boutique hotel run by an eccentric British guy with fantastic food - each morning was a Sri Lankan twist on a traditional Western breakfast. Would be a good honeymoon spot I think.
 
I did an organised tour, although it was some years ago. Flew via Dubai with (I think) Emirates. Flights were ok, although one leg was significantly delayed due to a passenger being taken ill after boarding.

As I recall the highlights of the trip were the Elephant Orphanage, Sigiriya rock fortress and a jeep safari in the national park. Plus we visited a turtle sanctuary and I got to release a baby turtle into the sea.

We also saw a lot of Buddha statues. Like, really a lot. Attended a couple of cultural performances which felt like they went on too long and to be honest I would rather have skipped sitting through the hours of local dance.
 
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We flew with emirates via Dubai which worked well from Birmingham. I would go with whatever’s quickest and gives the best timings rather than fussing over which airline seat is best.

Unawatuna is basically paradise on earth. Galle also well worth a visit on the south coast. Yala national park meant to be good, but we ran out of time on our trip sadly. Wish I could remember where we stayed on the south coast as it was brilliant.
 
Went in 2003, think we flew with SriLankan airlines, it was fine from what I remember. We stayed at Negombo.

Great country, went on a lot of road trips with a guide for the 2 weeks, was an experience thats for sure! Have past family connections to the country so visited places that tourists wouldn't normally go, but did see a lot of buddhist temples, visited almost 1 every day, lol!
 
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tom_nieto said:
We flew with emirates via Dubai which worked well from Birmingham. I would go with whatever’s quickest and gives the best timings rather than fussing over which airline seat is best.

Unawatuna is basically paradise on earth. Galle also well worth a visit on the south coast. Yala national park meant to be good, but we ran out of time on our trip sadly. Wish I could remember where we stayed on the south coast as it was brilliant.
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Yala is great - just be careful, some of the safari expedition guys are right scam artists. We went to meet our driver and he was absolutely a**eholed with open drink containers in his passenger seat.
 
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