We booked a 13 day group trip to Sri Lanka but only the two us were on this trip. So it became a private trip. Our guide and driver was Meraal.
The travel program was amazing. We have seen lush green tea estates, and visited a tea factory in use. The tea country scenery is absolutely breathtaking. And driving through the countryside in a tuk-tuk is an added bonus.
We visited beautiful temples, heritage sites, and museums. All temples are beautiful, and the Dambulla cave temples were particularly stunning. The fortress in Galle, and the Lion rock fortress in Sigiriya and surroundings are amazing.
We went to a spice garden, learned a few things, and visited a turtle rescue centre. It was great to see the efforts undertaken to rehabilitate the wounded turtles and to give newborns the best start in life.
En route we saw many beautiful sights such as waterfalls, and the train trip took us through amazing landscapes. A cultural dance performance showed us an important element of the Sri Lankan culture. We loved the setting of the cooking demonstration as well as the lovely ladies showing us how to make curry dishes. We had a wonderful lunch.
The people of Sri Lanka we met on this trip are very friendly and are incredibly keen to provide great services.
The two safaris on this trip have a definite wow factor and we were very lucky. We saw many stunning birds, monitors, a swine, crocodile, and deer. But a jaguar, elephants, and a bear were the absolute highlights.
Meraal is very knowledgeable and his passion for providing real service made this trip so memorable to us.
We have driven through the beautiful countryside and Meraal went out of his way to provide charming settings for having coffee, tea, lunch, a beer or a stroll, and he brought delicious snacks for the train trip. He was also very helpful assisting with personal shopping needs. A great ambassador for Sri Lanka, Meraal has placed Sri Lanka on our tourist destination map. We will recommend visiting Sri Lanka to our families and friends and we hope to visit Sri Lanka again.
