Jaya was key factor in making our holiday enjoyable

Andy and Emily
UK

Feedback: Culture tour 16th April – 29th April

Accommodation
Galle Face Hotel, Colombo. Rooms large and comfortable,  lovely building Food and service good.
Sigiriya Village Resort. Our favourite place – lovely room. Friendly service and great location. Food also good. Staying somewhere for the three days, although this did make the trip a long drive on the first day to the Ancient City. 
Topaz Hotel, Kandy. Great view from the room but the short stay means we were not there long enough to appreciate it. Accommodation and food were just okay.
Nuwara Eliya, Grand Hotel. Lovely heritage building and food was excellent. The room was good, but the service was terrible : slow and rude.
Elephant Reach, Yala. Good location close to the national park. Room, food and business all okay. Nothing special.
Lady Hill, Galle. Our least favourite hotel, a real shame as the commercial areas and view from the rooftop are great. Problems included the damp, somewhat smelly room, lack of a bar and the clack of choice in the menue.
Dolphin resort, Waikhal. Good standard of accommodation and very friendly staff. Food is excellent. However this club resort is very oriented towards tourists on ‘all inclusive’ packages which actually makes it quit difficult to be on a half board status, ie. There are few options for snacks/drinks during the day.

Sites and activities
A balanced programs which allows opportunities to view ancient sites, wildlife and relax.
Particular high lights included: both ancient cities, Sigiriyaand Yala. We also enjoyed the visit to Kataragama temple, a wonderful insight into Sri Lankan religions.

Things to consider regarding highlights and activities. 
Yala National Park : 12 hours is a very long day perhaps 2 shorter safaris would be better ie. An afternoon safari on arrival followed by a morning safari the next day.
For keen photograp[hers (as Andy is) visiting Sigiriya early in the morning as the sunlight is behind the rock, therefore making it a silhouette. A late afternoon trip would mean the rock would be illuminated better. However, we do understand that the trip is done this way as it is the cooler part of the day and the chance of rain is less.

Guide/Drive Mr. Jaya
Jaya was  key factor in making our holiday enjoyable. He is extremely knowledgeable about  Sri Lankan history and culture – we learned a great deal from him. We particularly appreciated how he timed visits to temples and shared his knowledge of religions with us. 
Jaya has taken great care of us and it was clear that he wanted us to enjoy our experience. We enjoyed his storytelling and sense of humour! He is a careful and safe driver, the car was comfortable.

We have had a great time in Sri Lnanka. It is a beautiful and interesting country and we know that there is lots more to see. We would certainly recommend ‘Walk With Jith’ tours.

Thank you!
Andy and Emily
29-4-11