Hi All
We are booked on to this trip from 11th - 23rd April 2011. It would be nice to...
Monkeys in the Jungle
Trip type:
Cultural & Nature
Activity level:
Active
Max group size:
16 Sri Lanka, Asia | 16 days
Trip code:
HFSL
Family Holidays | Min age 8yrs
Reviews
Don't take our word for it - read through our customer reviews. All of these have been published without any editing.A comprehensive tour of the breathtaking natural beauty this island offers. The charm of the monkeys is irresistible and the information given to us by Dr Dittus and his team eagerly lapped up by adults and the kids in the group
Penelope Mcnamara, Sep 2010
A comprehensive tour of the breathtaking natural beauty this island offers. The charm of the monkeys is irresistible and the information given to us by Dr Dittus and his team eagerly lapped up by adults and the kids in the group
Swimming in the lake with the sea eagles flying above. But seeing all the rebuilding of the Tsunami damage coast was a different kind of inspirational
Rowan was never phased by the constant questions, demands and requests. His knowledge about the country seemed vast and his dedication to his tour group was faultless, particularly when this was tested due to the delays at the end of our tour caused by the volcanic ash cloud
Don't take the water bottles as suggested in the brochure, the bus kept stocked with bottled water. Don't be fooled by map distances, the roads are very slow!! Don't assume the spices at the spice garden will be a good buy - they are not. Equally, in the markets the guy who tells you his brother does much better prices than the spice market is right but is still marking them up,but enjoy the game!! Check out for national holidays - they often don't serve alcohol and cashpoints run out of money! Holidays seem to happen a lot over the two week easter break!! Go with the flow in SriLanka
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Disappointing
whitewater rafting, the temple at Kandy, the elephant safari.
Our guide told us that the trip dossier was written by the adventure company rep. It needs proof reading again for grammatical accuracy and also it was inaccurate about the itinerary. You need to revise the detail in conjunction with the local guides. You need to tell them we don't want to get up early unless there is a good reason. As a matter of policy you should let the local company's see the trip dossiers and your reps should do the trips in a minibus with a family not in a car by themselves as you get a misguided view of journey times and how children react to the activities.
The monkey research camp was a waste of time and the elephant transit camp was disappointing. It would have been nicer to go to the orphanage where the children could have contact with the elephants.
[Least enjoyed] Tipping. If we are expected to tip constantly then add it to the cost of the holiday and let the guide sort it.
Too many "posh lunches" we were taken to restaurants where full quite expensive lunch was served. We would have preferred to go local shops and buy snacks some of the time.
Getting up early.
Missing the dolphins - we appreciate this was weather dependent but it was still sad to miss them.
If any others on our trip complain about him [Thila] it is not justified, he was very good and coped well with demands of different people and people trying to challenge his authority.
Ms P - Travelled in December 2011
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The people - lovely, happy and welcoming where ever we went.
Trip highlights - having a bracing shower fed from the mountain stream, with the most amazing views after camping in the tea plantation. Learning about the monkey troupes and their hierarchy - too close to being human for comfort! The train journey - not one for Health and Safety bores! - hanging out of the open doors watching the people and animals going about their business along and across the track was amazing. The views were superb. The people - lovely, happy and welcoming where ever we went.
[Least enjoyed] The early starts particularly the 3.30am start on the first day having been travelling for all of the previous day - it would be good if the iteinerary could be altered to allow more rest on the first night. An additional rest day at the end would have been good. Tipping costs need to be more accurately laid out to avoid misunderstandings. With a family of 5 the totals amounted to £100's on top of the holiday cost. The brochure and website needs to be more transparent about this very real cost both to allow people to properly budget and eliminate the potential for embarrassment and upset whilst on the trip.
The Kithulgala rest house whilst dog eared is in one of the best locations I have ever stayed in. The Goldi Sands hotel would have been nice in stay at longer - great facilities and location but we didn't get to enjoy them as arrived at dusk on the last night and were away early the next morning.
Thila dealt well with a group that had quite varying requirements and interests. Not always easy to keep everyone happy and always remained professional and helpful to all. He thought on his feet and made adjustments to the itinerary e.g. train trip where he got us on the train before the main gates were opened to ensure we all had seats. Always did his best to manage expectations in terms of journey times etc
Mr C - Travelled in December 2011
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Prices from
$3,117pp inc flights
$2,044pp exc flights
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Among many other things, we offset the carbon emissions associated with in-country travel on all of our trips, supporting a solar stove and clean energy project in Madagascar.
