Tour reviews from 2021

Birders from Spain

27 Dec 2022
Joan Morales, Maria Benito, Artur Massana at Yala National Park, Sri Lanka

Joan Morales, Maria Benito, Artur Massana at Yala National Park, Sri Lanka

This tour comment is written in Spanish.

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I knew I was in good hands

30 Nov 2022
Evelyn Luecke at the Labookele tea shop with the sales staff

Evelyn Luecke at the Labookele tea shop with the sales staff

The entire trip was perfect – I knew I was in good hands from the time Susa and I started our journey. What a treasure he is!

I plan on writing a proper review when I am at home and am not too tired to think clearly in detail.

Tour has been outstanding from start to finish

26 Nov 2022
Bob Biggs, Steve Taylor, and Richard Dunn with guide Thilina and driver Indunil

Bob Biggs, Steve Taylor, and Richard Dunn with guide Thilina and driver Indunil

We have visited many countries in the world and have engaged several bird guiding companies. From 26th November to 08th December 2022, we have been on a tour in Sri Lanka.

The tour has been outstanding from start to finish. Jith arranged everything perfectly and responded to all of our questions quickly and totally efficiently.

While in Sri Lanka, Thilina has been our guide and Indunil our driver/guide. Both have been exceptional. They are both extremely professional, with the added bonus of being kind , caring and considerate individuals.

Our previous tours included South America, Africa and North America. Our tour in Sri Lanka has been as good, if not better, than any we have been elsewhere.

We are happy to recommend WALKWITHJITH without reservation.        

Walk With Jith is highly recommended for any birding, just TOP!!

22 Nov 2022
Richard Wierenga  and Petra Wieremga with Saman in Sinharaja

Richard Wierenga and Petra Wieremga with Saman in Sinharaja

We made a 15 days tour with guide Saman. Just from the beginning to the end was perfect. The knowledge of all the birds, he find them everywhere, just brilliant!
Also the knowledge of the flora and fauna, we love it!

 

Vanaf dat we opgehaald warden voor onze tour met Saman, hebben we het onuys naar onze zin gehad. Saman’s kennis van de vogels en ze te vinden was onwus gaaf, Och zyn kennis over de voorhomenele dieren en planten zun geweldig. Weze tour kon niet mooier!! We habben genoten van deze 15 daaggse tour Walk With Jith is uiterst aan te raden voor elke birding, gewoon TOP!!

Google translation of Dutch text:

Saw all the endemics and more. 10/10

18 Nov 2022
Scott and Glenn Hiklin with guide Saman

Scott and Glenn Hiklin with guide Saman

A wonderful tour! We stayed at lots of great places. We saw all the endemic birds (and many others). Saw lots of other animals, the food was great and the people were very friendly. Our guide, Saman, was very helpful in every way – he found lots of birds and animals, organized breakfasts for when we left hotels early, helped us translate queries to hotel staff, and many more ways too! The recent political unrest and riots have not caused us any issues at all!

Overall, a very good trip (10/10), and if we visit Sri Lanka again in the future, we will definitely be coming back to Walk With Jith.

Thank you very much Jith and Saman!!

Well organized, beyond expectations, extremely good guide.

13 Nov 2022
Eli Taari and Uddika

Eli Taari and Uddika

It was an amazing 11 days of bird watching and photography. 
The tour was well organized by the company, and it was beyond my expectations for the number of birds, especially the endemics that I managed to photograph. 
The main reason for the great success of the tour was, no doubt, my guide Chamil (Uddika) !! He is an extremely good guide in terms of birds and any other animals’ knowledge.  I admire his patience in any situation while taking photos as well as his great passion and enthusiasm for birds and nature. Highly recommended tours for photographers and bird watchers. 
Keep going as I believe more people will find you like me. I will be your best ambassador among the people I know.      

 

An outstanding birding, wildlife, and cultural photography tour

6 Nov 2022
Bruce and Sandi Rosentiel

Bruce and Sandi in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka

An outstanding birding, wildlife, and cultural photography tour, customized for our interests. Very professional and thoroughly enjoyable. We invite everyone to come to Sri Lanka and explore this amazing country. 
This trip has exceeded all our hopes! Excellent guide Athula, very good lodgings, outstanding itinerary. Local guides were very good, particularly at Polonnaruwa, where our local guide was exceptional. The local guide for our visit to the Tooth Relic Temple, not good at all. We recommend not using him again. Everyone else, guides, hotel staff, and of course Athula have been wonderful. 

Possibly even better than last time! 3rd tour.

24 Oct 2022
Tony Wilson with guide Indunil and driver Thilina at Ella

Tony Wilson with guide Indunil and driver Thilina at Ella

First, my apologies for my very slow response with these thoughts after my recent tour. 

As always it was a delightful tour with many highlights. Some great birds, wonderful dramatic landscapes, comfortable accommodation, and excellent meals. (Possibly even better than last time!) This was my third Walk With Jith Sri Lanka wildlife tour and I'll be back for more. There are many places in Sri Lanka I have not been to yet, and old favourites to return to. 

My expert guides Thillina and Indunil were kind, thoughtful, and good company. Their ability to find difficult birds is second to none, and I want to make special mention of Indunil's smooth, careful driving: I always felt safe and comfortable. 

DESTINATIONS: 

Thilina and Indi our guide and driver were excellent.

15 Aug 2022
Ira Kupferberg and Ramona and Ramona at Rock View Hotel Sinharaja with Indunil and Thilina

Ira Kupferberg and Ramona and Ramona at Rock View Hotel Sinharaja with Indunil and Thilina

The trip was fabulous.  

Thilina and Indi our guide and driver were excellent. Hotels we stayed in all were excellent – very comfortable and accommodating.  

The people we met at all the stops and sites were friendly and make us feel comfortable and safer & felt at home. There was never any concern for personnel safety. 

The birding was super. Saw all the endemics + others, Total 188 seen + heard and not migration season and we never went to the north of the island due to time of our trip. 

Archeology sites were fascinating. Walking on there with Jith was easy.  Highly recommended.

Ira Kupferberg
Alabama, USA
15th August to 28th August 2022

 

The best birding tour possible, Saman, with an exceptional knowledge and experience

31 Jul 2022
Miguel Benedicto and Nolan Puig enjoying King Coconut

Miguel Benedicto and Nolan Puig enjoying King Coconut

The birding travel organized by WWJ has been perfect in all aspects. 
The best birding tour possible, Saman, with an exceptional knowledge and experience in birding especially and also wildlife in general. He has been able to ride the travel without any incident, adapting the schedule when required and finding & identifying all the bird like in a masterclass. 
A very good, seasoned guide and the driver, Indunil. Always attentive to our needs, caring all the group with a safe driving and also with a very good birding knowledge and fine senses to detect them.
The planned travel along these 2 weeks has been perfectly programmed to visit the best natural places in the island for birding, but also including the key cultural locations to have a complete view of Sri Lanka.
Thanks a lot for the good job done during these days, we enjoyed a lot!
 

És difícil poder plasmar en poques paraules el viatge a Sri Lanka.

26 Jun 2022

Molina family

Barcelona, Spain

26th June to 09th July 2022

 

És difícil poder plasmar en poques paraules el viatge a Sri Lanka. Han estat quinze dies màgics al costat de Dammika . Ens ha ensenyat racons preciosos de la illa.

És un expert en la fauna del país, hu ha tants animals : elefants , lleopards , tortugues , ocells …..

sempre ha intentat que estiguèssim el màxim de bé adaptant-se al nostre ritme.

Hi ha tant per veure , és un país amb racons que no estan massificats i tenen molta cura pels animals .

Quan arribes ja pots sentir que serà un viatge especial i et fan sentir molt bé , tenen un cor immens i es preocupen que estguis al màxim de bé.

Si teniu pensat en fer un viatge, no dubteu gens ni mica en el destí i amb els serveis de walk with Jith , no us arrepantireu.

 

Familia Molina / Portas

Viatge Juny -Juliol 2022

Spain

 

In two days finding so many endemics; I didn’t think it was possible.

15 Apr 2022
Ken Field with guide Thilina and local guide

Ken Field with guide Thilina and local guide

Thank you so much for organizing my short 2 days trip to Sinharaja. It was all last minute but it has worked out better than I would have ever thought. 
In two days finding so many endemics. I didn’t think was possible but having Thili as a guide with his incredible knowledge and spotting skills has enabled me to see all but 2 of the endemics possible here even with the bonus of the Sri Lankan White-eye. Nothing tops the excitement of crawling through the undergrowth to see the Serendib Scopes Owl !

 

3-day private tour to the wetlands south of Colombo and Sinharaja rain forest

3 Apr 2022
Jeannette Troost with guide Upali

Jeannette Troost with guide Upali

I did a short 3-day private tour to the wetlands south of Colombo and Sinharaja rain forest. 
It was a very pleasant trip, the guide Upali was very helpful and friendly.  
The hotel, Rock View Motel was perfect with stunning views and a lot of birds around. 

Dates: 03rd to 05th April 2022

 

He can spot a bird at an unbelievable distance

23 Mar 2022

I wish to complement with Jith for the great organization of the trip : in a short time (less than 10 days). We managed to see all the endemics of Sri Lanka. 
I must thank our guide Thilina : he is one of the best bird guides I have ever met in all my bird trips. He is helpful, he can spot a bird at an unbelievable distance, and he never gets tired until the target bird is seen. 

Tour duration: 23rd March – 02nd April 2022

Good value for money, great communication.

26 Feb 2022
Nolan Hayden and Eilidh Hall with Upali

Nolan Hayden and Eilidh Hall with Upali

Sri Lanka is a wonderful country and the birds and wildlife are fantastic. We really enjoyed our trip!
The people here are very friendly and we are grateful to those generous folks who opened their homes and gardens to us to bird watch. They were so welcoming always ready with a cup of tea and some Sri Lankan sweet treats. (We recommend Juggery!)
All the accommodation was to a good standard and the staff were very kind and helpful. We enjoyed trying Sri Lanka food and definitely recommend going for the rice and curry option when offered. 
It was amazing to see the 33 endemic birds along with the others – 200+ total!
Thanks to the guides who us find them. 
Thanks Upali

Thilly is extremely sharp and knowledgeable

21 Feb 2022
Mikael and group with Thilana and Indunil

Mikael and group with Thilana and Indunil

This is our last morning of our 12-day tour through wonderful Sri Lanka, and in a few hours, we will drive to the airport. The tour has been extremely successful! 
Not only did we see all 34 endemic bird species and a number of “specials”, but we also got to see wonderful landscapes and enjoy the hospitality of Sri Lanka people. Our primary guide Thilly and co-guide/driver Indu have worked hard and professionally to bring the tour to such a success. Thilly is extremely sharp and knowledgeable – it’s difficult to think that there are any better bird guides around!   
The logistics also worked perfectly, despite problems with diesel shortage ll over the country. All in all , we are extremely satisfied with this tour, and there is no reason to look for other organization than Walk With Jith !

 

The planning and implementation of my birding trip in Sri Lanka was always competent, efficient and friendly.

16 Jan 2022
Christian Engel with Susantha

Christian Engel with Susantha

WalkWithJith als Unternehmen und meinen Guide Susantha Weerappuli kann ich nur auf das Wärmste empfehlen. Planung und Durchführung meiner Reise zur Vogelbeoachtung auf Sri Lanka waren stets kompetent, effizient und freundlich. Alles verlief während der etwas mehr als „ Wochen reibungslos und das Ergebnis hat am Ende alle Erwartungen übertroffen: Ich konnte  in zwei Wochen alle endemischen Arten Sri Lankas sehen, dazu viele weitere Brutvogelarten und Wintergäste – insgesamt über  240 Arten. Sustantha war dabei mit seinen profunden Kenntnissen  ein perfekter Führer durch die Vogelwelt und Sri Lanka´s – und darüber hinaus.

Die gemeinsame Reise war dazu immer entspannt und angenehm und freundschaftlich. Ich kann nur zu einer Vogelbeobachtung auf Sri Lanka mit WalkWithJith und Susantha als Guide ermutigen und werde die Reise in bester Erinnerung  behalten.“

 

Here is the Google translation of the original text in German: