Sri Lanka

[cind3r3lla]

hi,

just fishing for suggestions for an upcoming Sri Lanka trip this Feb.
it will be a 5D/4N trip.
places worth checking out and also, suggested items for pasalubong.

tia!

[icegayle]

We went last year. One day lang. Its a transit visa. We had this half day tour within the city and paid USD70. We stayed in Catamaran Beach Hotel in Negombo as suggested by the Sri Lankan Airlines ( eto kasi yun hotel ng mga flight attendants doon). We had this half day tour in Colombo, visiting the temples of Hindu, Buddhist and some tourist attractions. Mgkakalapit lang naman.

[cind3r3lla]

^thanks sis!

mukhang road less travelled yata ang SL for pinoys. hehe.
anyway, ito ang draft IT namin. will do reviews later on.

Day 1 - Feb 5 > drive to Dambulla
– on the way visit Elephant Orphanage
- Dambulla Cave temple
– over night stay in Sigiriya/Dambula
 
Day 2 - Feb 6 > morning climb Sigiriya rock fortress/museum
– then drive to Kandy ( on the way visit Ayurveda Village and Aluvihaya Temple )
– afternoon Kandy city tour
– evening 5:30 pm Cultural show
– visit temple of tooth
- shopping for souvenirs
– over night stay in Kandy (Castelo)

Day 3 - Feb 7 >
- after breakfast train going to hill country ( tea plantation , tea factory, waterfalls….)
- climb adam's peak @ night
- overnight stay @ white elephant

Day 4 - Feb 8 > Beach Day
overnight stay @ Ranveli Beach Resort

Day 5 - Feb 9 >
- Colombo City Tour
Gangaramaya (Vihara) Buddhist Temple
Seema Malaka Temple
Shopping for souvenirs
Leave for airport

Dambulla accomodation : Raintree, Gimanhala, Nice Place Bungalows
Mt lavinia accomodation: Ranveli Beach Resort (http://www.ranvelibeachmountlavinia.com/)

Food to try:
Kottu Roti in Colombo
Coconut Milk Rice with Chilli paste or caramelised onions

Entrance fees:
Dambulla = $10,
Sigiriya = $30,
Anuradhapura = $25,
Mihintale = $5,
Pollonnaruwa = $25,
Temple of Tooth Relic = $10,
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage = $20,
Peradeniya Botanical Garden = $10.
All the temples and other attractions charge $3 to $5.

[icegayle]

I have a friend pala who visited Sri Lanka with her American husband. More on nature tripping nga sila. BTW, in Sri Lanka you will see lots of Cinnamons yun ata ang main na pino-produce nila. Goodluck on your trip sis. Andami din foreigners don karamihan mga puti.

[cind3r3lla]

^hi icegayle,

friend mo ba si Pinay travel junkie??

back from the trip na.. parang amazing race lang.. no wonder mostly westerns ang pumupunta kasi more on adventure. nothing much for kiddos kundi yung elephant thingy.

we trekked the Adam's Peak on our 3rd day ( 500m short than our Mt. Apo) kaya hagardo versoza ang peg.

tea ang main product nila pala, thus the Ceylon teas.

[Ella Montana]

Found this thread and was intrigued.
Okay ba beach nila? Sana may seat sale for April. Gusto ko i-try! 

[icegayle]

^hi icegayle,

friend mo ba si Pinay travel junkie??

back from the trip na.. parang amazing race lang.. no wonder mostly westerns ang pumupunta kasi more on adventure. nothing much for kiddos kundi yung elephant thingy.

we trekked the Adam's Peak on our 3rd day ( 500m short than our Mt. Apo) kaya hagardo versoza ang peg.

tea ang main product nila pala, thus the Ceylon teas.

I dont know her sis. So did you enjoy the trip? Musta ang weather and the people?

[cind3r3lla]

@ella,

about the beach, according to expats officemates na nakapunta na run, they were suggesting na ang pinakamagandang beach daw ay sa Southern part. Since, wala na kaming time pumunta dun dahil flight na namin the next day, we opted for the beach na malapit sa city na lang. we were not that hopeful na maganda kasi nga, nasa city di ba. however, no wonder na Sri Lanka was hardly hit with the tsunami last time. Kasi kahit yung beach nila sa city, ang waves kapag nasa pampang ka eh ang tataas. hehe. nag-enjoy talaga kami. kung marunong lang siguro kami mag-surfing, mas ma-enjoy namin yun. hehe. Better ang beach nila than pinakamalayong beach sa Batangas. hindi white sand, pero pino at walang bato-bato at malayo ka na, mababaw pa rin. yun lang, kapag andyan na yung waves, mataas pa sa akin. hahahaha!

@sis ice gayle,

yes we did! since feb ang driest month nila, medyo mainit. but bearable naman kasi maraming puno. as in, preserve pa ang mga forests nila. kahit sa city, merong mga gumagalang monkeys or squirrels. hehe.

people, okay naman, mababait sila. wala naman kaming na-encounter na pickpockets o nangbabastos. friendly and helpful. however, since tourism plays a major role in their economy, expect na medyo mahal ang turing ng mga souvenir items nila sa mga tourist areas compared kesa kapag bibili ka ng item sa groceries. hehe.

[Ella Montana]

Thanks sis cind3r3lla! Nice pala talaga! 3D2N pwede na?

[cind3r3lla]

^sis,

kung beach lang, yep pwede na.
pero kung mag-sightseeing pa ng mga Unesco World Heritage, kulang.

hindi ko alam kung makita nyo ilang pics na ni-post ko on this website, pero try ko na lang din ilagay ang link.

http://www.bubblews.com/news/234824-travel-amazingly-sri-lanka

[icegayle]

@ella,

about the beach, according to expats officemates na nakapunta na run, they were suggesting na ang pinakamagandang beach daw ay sa Southern part. Since, wala na kaming time pumunta dun dahil flight na namin the next day, we opted for the beach na malapit sa city na lang. we were not that hopeful na maganda kasi nga, nasa city di ba. however, no wonder na Sri Lanka was hardly hit with the tsunami last time. Kasi kahit yung beach nila sa city, ang waves kapag nasa pampang ka eh ang tataas. hehe. nag-enjoy talaga kami. kung marunong lang siguro kami mag-surfing, mas ma-enjoy namin yun. hehe. Better ang beach nila than pinakamalayong beach sa Batangas. hindi white sand, pero pino at walang bato-bato at malayo ka na, mababaw pa rin. yun lang, kapag andyan na yung waves, mataas pa sa akin. hahahaha!

@sis ice gayle,

yes we did! since feb ang driest month nila, medyo mainit. but bearable naman kasi maraming puno. as in, preserve pa ang mga forests nila. kahit sa city, merong mga gumagalang monkeys or squirrels. hehe.

people, okay naman, mababait sila. wala naman kaming na-encounter na pickpockets o nangbabastos. friendly and helpful. however, since tourism plays a major role in their economy, expect na medyo mahal ang turing ng mga souvenir items nila sa mga tourist areas compared kesa kapag bibili ka ng item sa groceries. hehe.

GLad you enjoyed sis. Kami kasi ni hubby one day lang so city lang yun na tour namin. kaimbyerna lang ang dami lamok.

[Ella Montana]

Gusto ko yun, fine sand at hindi mabato, hindi rin malalim hehe
Very helpful itinerary mo, sis! Type ko Dambulla and Kandy.
May nakita ako, polonnaruwa, interested rin ako. Di ko nga lang nagresearch if malayo.
Mukhang yung beach pa ang kailangan kong isacrifice if kulang ako sa oras.
And pang friends nga yung trip. Di pwede sa parents ko hehe

[cind3r3lla]

@sis icegayle, malamok kasi mapuno pa sila on most places. be ready with insect repellant na lang.

@sis ella, yep, medyo malayo ang Polonnaruwa. from Colombo, mga 6-7 hours siguro by bus. hehe.
dumating kami ng Colombo ng umagang-umaga, then nag bus kami to Sigiriya. 5 hours ang travel time namin from Colombo Fort. Pero dumating kami ni Sigiriya, past 1pm. enough para makakain at pahinga ng konti. After that, off to climb the Sigiriya Rock na agad. hehe. At least, may isa na kaming natanggal sa listahan sa IT. Then, the next day nalang kami nagpunta ng Polonnaruwa, which is 1.5hr away from Sigiriya na.

yep, hindi pang-parents or kids ang trip to SL. pang-Amazing Race siya talaga. hehe.

ito ang revised IT namin pala:

Day 1
Sigiriya
(stayed at Sigiriya)

Day 2
Polonnaruwa
Dambulla
(stayed at Kandy)

Day 3
Kandy Tour
Hill Country
Adam's Peak
(stayed at Dalhousie)

Day 4
Beach
Colombo

[Ella Montana]

Yung 4 days mo sis, 5 days siguro dapat sakin. And walang magaganap na climbing haha

[wowry]

Been to Colombo lang at no time much mag-sight seeing.Went to few tea shops and bought lots of teas in different flavors. Tea heaven! Nice seafood din cheaper here compared to India, mas malinis pa at mas friendly ang locals. The beach we went to around 20 mins lang by tuktuk, forgot the name of the beach. Brown sand nothing fancy butt he seafood are so yummy and cheap plus may mga squirrels around the beach hehe waiting for leftovers

[entwife]

visa on arrival ba ang sri lanka? what if in tansit lang? 19hour layover? transit visa?

[adikako]

You can apply visa ONLINE para sure. Kung gusto mo lumabas pag transit.

https://eta-sri-lanka-visa-ae.com:7082/index1.aspx?scid=113502&cid=72596&tc=13100809324927673&rl_key=6428709cc2c1250370e1ec44ece43980&kw=8809043&pub_cr_id=22816205193&dynamic_proxy=1&primary_serv=eta-sri-lanka-visa-ae.com&rl_track_landing_pages=1

[alexandrea]

Who wants to visit Sri Lanka next year? Can I join you?

[cutiepie]

my friend and I are planning to go to Sri Lanka before heading to Maldives. Ok na ba ang 3 days? I want temple tour lang. ano pa ba ok gawin? Better ba if DIY ang arrangement sa tour or better if arranged? ang hirap magresearch about sri lanka. any feedback would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance 

[adikako]

If you can find arraged tour, do it. Parang hirap DIY yun, magkakalayo din yung spots with each other.