Wild Sri Lanka

I travel somewhere new every year, but this trip is one I'd love to repeat. I'd like to get back to the wild side of Sri Lanka!

I’m writing this from my Sri Lankan poolside as just about to embark on a more cultural highlights tour but having completed the Wild Sri Lanka trip I’m even more excited about what’s in store, this is a wonderful country. If you arrive with realistic expectations of hotels, food and especially wildlife sightings, you will not be disappointed. All accommodation has been clean, tidy and comfortable. Kithala resort was idyllic and a real treat, whilst at the other extreme Talalla retreat was eclectic and not my cup of tea but an experience none the less. It was fun watching the monkeys in the trees while I showered in the open roofed area but I did wonder if they may come and grab my shower gel! The game drives were varied and generous, each being at least 3 hours giving as much opportunity as possible to view the animals on offer. Being “Wild”, nothing can be guaranteed, but our trip did see a Leopard, Sloth bear, multiple close encounters of Elephant, several wild boar, hares, mouse deer, ever present displaying peacock a Civet cat and, for the bird lovers, in excess of 140 different species. Food has been plentiful, of an acceptable standard. Not surprisingly, curry has been a staple, but be prepared for them to be spicier than their Indian counterpart. There are some long days of travel (as identified in some earlier reviews) but this is clearly stated in the itinerary and.........Sri Lanka is a big country and this trip sees a lot of it. For a real taste of wildlife from the Tropical rainforest to a coastal game reserve this trip offers it all.

This was a wonderful trip that certainly lived up to its promise of plenty of wildlife encounters. Sri Lanka is stunningly beautiful and has a lovely relaxed vibe.

i returned from Wild Sri Lanka, the tour was good. If your a birder you will love the trip but you will need to take binoculars. I did not take mine as prior the trip did another trip to the Ancient cities and Jaffna. The accommodation is ok , although the last hotel was really hot and is the one that is not air conditioned. The heat made it quite uncomfortable. The tour guide, driver and assistant were excellent. The naturalist seemed more interested in talking to people with big cameras, chatting to the two young women and at times taking pics for Instagram On the trip you will see a great variety of birds and some mammals. On this trip we saw Blue Whale, Pilot Whale, Spinner Dolphin, Bottle nose Dolphin. Elephant, Mongoose, Purple faced Leaf Monkey, Macaque Giant Squirrel , another type of squirrel, water buffalo, Hare, Wild Pig. Alas no Leopard or Sloth Bear. I think it was the wrong time of year to see Leopard. Unfortunately i was assaulted by another member of the tour group and it took Exodus UK more than 24 hours to remove the person. The guide and country rep have no power to take action. Exodus UK dealt with the issue during UK business hours. It was a very scary 24 hours having to be around the perpetrator for 3 meal and 2 activities. I chose not to do the extra safari and the perpetrator was going on it. After the removal of the person , no contact from Exodus UK about how i was. IT is only on my return to Australia and after complaining in writing and then to my travel agent that a company representative did contact me. I found there response to my concerns not satisfactory, they were really defensive. So if you do go on this tour , i really hope nothing bad happens and you wont get a prompt response.

We wanted a holiday where there was plenty of opportunity to see wildlife, and this lived up to our expectation. Whale watching (saw blue whales and pilot whales), lots of colourful birds, mammals and reptiles too - the bio-diversity, especially of birds, was staggering. We had a naturalist with us who was really good at spotting and identifying birds - that really made a difference. The hotels we stayed in were all different with their own character, and with one exception, were of a high standard. Loved staying in the rainforest and doing yoga at the beach. Enjoyed Sri Lankan food and especially having tropical fruit every day and fresh fruit juices. The group of people we were with were all great.

I wasn't sure what to expect but wanted a holiday especially for the wildlife. I was not to be disappointed. We travelled between hotels in a large air conditioned coach. The food was excellent in most of the hotels especially the Hotel Insight and Kithala resort. I loved staying at the Eco Lodge but there was very little selection for vegetarians pasta with cheese or tomato sauce. The standard of hotels were very good although the service level at the Nil Days Mankada was poor. I would have preferred to stay a couple of nights at the Kithala resort instead of going to the Talalla retreat but that is just a personal preference. The whale watching was good and we did see blue whales dolphins a turtle and a ray but felt a bit sorry for the whales being converged on by so many boats. We had our on boat which was a lot nicer. The game drives were fantastic and we saw lots of birds and animals (even a leopard) and great to share the adventure with a lovely group of people.

Thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Sri Lanka, the hotels are all unique, really enjoyed the container accommodation in the rainforest. The people all seemed very friendly. The Whale watching was a little disappointing as we only saw the one Blue Whale and it felt a little as if we were chasing after it when it breached, on the plus side we had the boat to ourselves. The driving is pretty interesting but we had total confidence in our coach driver. The food was very good, but you probably need to like curries! The game parks are good, initially i thought they were going to be really busy with all the jeeps queuing to get their permits, but it was surprising where they all disappeared to within the parks. Downside was when we found a leopard all the drivers communicate this to each other and everybody descends on the spot.

Although we didn't see whales or leopards this trip showed us much of the amazing wildlife of Sri Lanka. The landscapes were spectacular too. We saw more birds than I could count and lizards, monkeys, bats, mongoose, elephants, dolphins, crocodiles, wild boar, buffalo...and many more. The tour leader was excellent and knowledgeable the accomodation always excellent too. A great trip for wildlife watchers

A wonderful holiday. Well paced with the right mixtures of activities. All the accommodation was well chosen. The two guides, one especially for the wildlife were exceptional. Very informative, funny and welcoming.

A wonderful country and friendly people who love their home. We got to see a variety of habitats in the south during this trip which makes for an interesting trip with great variety. Our tour manager went out of his way to give us the best "Sri Lankan Experience". We were able to see a wide range of wildlife. For birders the variety seen was good. Mammal life is restricted in what Sri Lanka has but we managed to see many of what there is, exceptions the Sloth Bear and Leopard. The scenery was fantastic in places, loved the tea plantations and trees. Hotels were average, clean and comfortable, what you might expect on a tour to some remote areas, this is not a 5* hotel tour. The weather was good, tropical downpour in the rain forest and hot, dry, dusty days in the parks.