Sri Lanka for 10 days

sunnysummer

Hiya
I'm heading to Sri lanka for a wedding in May. I'm staying in a resort for 6 days and then have another 10 days to travel around.

Anyone got any tips on what to do and how much do you think I can really get to see in the 10 days?

Cheers

demakinz

is there not some sort of a civil war goin on at the moment?

Trampas

Travel Alert: Fighting between the Sri Lankan military and the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) continues to result in civilian casualties and homelessness in the country's north. Reports claim that up to 150,000 people have been displaced since fighting erupted in 2007. Travellers should stay well clear of the Jaffna, Mannar, Welioya, and Vavuniya regions.

Last updated: Jan 7, 2009

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/sri-lanka

Jamaica is suppose to be very dangerous but people still go there.

Troubles up the north and people still travelled up there.

I believe that you shouldn't go to a country because of trouble in a certain area

Just have to know where is safe to go and where not to go. Respect the culture

jimbobjones40

You can book a driver for a week to take you around the country for €115 - €150 (possibly plus tip) including B&B and dinner. My own trip took in pretty much everything worth seeing as a tourist . . . . lots of ruined temples, a fair bit of the coast line, then into the hills to the tea growers etc.

Any fair skinned females thinking of travelling around Sri Lanka should note they will get constantly hassled if walking around with the locals. :mad:

Finally if you know anything about cricket the driver/locals will be able to chat to you for hours.;)

sunnysummer

how long ago were you there? and in perpective to Ireland how big is the country?

onedmc

I've been there a few times but its been a number of years. There are a few temples to visit but the place has a general run down feel to it. Very very wet if I remember, tuc-tucs even more dangerious than india.

The war is mostly in the north where the british imported worker from the mainland, mostly from the Tamilnaudu provence of india. They now make up the majority in the northern corner and dont like to be rulled by the southern-ers. I think there is a religious/denominational aspect to it as well but I'm not sure. South is generally fairly safe but you do see army placement in the cities and there have been some bombing down south. just check beforehand

People are nice, I think the tourist area is mostly in the south east which was hit by that big wave. My only other memory is the fact the script for writing is really funny, looks like little bubble faces stuck together and one of the coins is exactly like the 2 euro coin but fairly worthless.

shadowdawn

Hi there I went to Sri Lanka in 2006 for a month and absolutely loved the country. When I was there the troubles between the Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan government were really kicking off but most of the trouble was kept to the north of the island. I stayed near Benota which has a fantastic hotel and resort there. I went there as a treat for dinner twice the buffet was incredible so cheap and food incredible best dinner of my life! I travelled around the country on my weekends and would definately recommend that. Public transport is so cheap and the buses are an experience in themselves. You can have a trip of half an hour for like 10 cent(or cheaper) or take one of the airconditioned small coaches for longer journeys for approx €2 for a 5 hour journey!Before getting into a tuc-tuc haggle the price down with the driver as they often just see a "foreigner" and charge double/tripple the price for the journey.I went to Polowunnaru near the north (but at the time we were told it was ok to travel there as not so north) again a incredible archeological place and you have to visit Sigiriya a rock fortress where can get stunning views with the climb.Sri Lanka is such a beautifull country and one I would love to return to. You have incredible beaches, paddy fields, mountains, lakes, food , people the lot there. Have to go now but any other questions I'd be happy to answer them

StroppySu

Sorry to hijack this thread!!

Thinking of going on honeymoon to Sri Lanka in September as there's some great deals for all-inclusive places leaving from London (we're in Dublin, but cheap as chips to get to London anyway!)

Anyone have any idea if the weather is ok at this time of year. I read somewhere that there is some rain, but I dont really know how much "some" is!

Also, any reccommendations on where to go, which areas etc? It means nothing to me, as Ive never been!