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Maldives & Sri Lanka

  • 10-01-2017 11:55pm
    #1
    niva*sis
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 310 ✭✭


    Hi All,

    We are hoping to go to the Maldives for Christmas 2017. I haven't don't all my research yet but I am looking at bandos. The reason being is because it is a quick ferry ride from MALE.
    Im sure there are many nice islands in the Maldives however my reason for picking bandos is......

    I noticed that SRI LANKA is only a 1 hour-ish flight away so we could possibly go there for a day or two! So it would be easier get a quick ferry instead of having to pay twice for a sea plane transfer.

    However, my question is what would be the best thing to do in SRI LANKA for a day or two, would need to stay around columbo because of the length of time.


    Thanks :)


Comments

  • #2
    con1982
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 515 ✭✭✭con1982


    niva*sis wrote: »
    Hi All,

    We are hoping to go to the Maldives for Christmas 2017. I haven't don't all my research yet but I am looking at bandos. The reason being is because it is a quick ferry ride from MALE.
    Im sure there are many nice islands in the Maldives however my reason for picking bandos is......

    I noticed that SRI LANKA is only a 1 hour-ish flight away so we could possibly go there for a day or two! So it would be easier get a quick ferry instead of having to pay twice for a sea plane transfer.

    However, my question is what would be the best thing to do in SRI LANKA for a day or two, would need to stay around columbo because of the length of time.


    Thanks :)

    Travel around Sri Lanka takes ages. If you have limited time, your best option is to get a driver for two days. Anuradhapura is a few hours north of Colombo. Amazing temple site. You could probably see sirigiya rock on the way back. Pretty awesome,but not for people who have a problem with heights.

    Alternatively you could do a one night stay in Kandy. The tooth temple is very impressive. Kandy itself is grand, nothing amazing.

    The town of Galle is 2-3hours south of Colombo. Nice place. Old Dutch fortress/Colonial town.

    Colombo is horrible. One of the dullest cities you are ever likely to visit. Possibly my least favourite city ever. Nothing to see or do. Hardly any good coffee shops or restaurants.

    I'd go Anuradhapura, but I'm a temple kinda guy


  • #3
    niva*sis
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 310 ✭✭niva*sis


    Thanks for this con1982,

    I do like the temples but are there any closer to Colombo? Are the beaches close to Colombo nice, realistically we'd prefer not to have to travel the two or three hours because the flight is long enough coming from Australia. Sri Lanka wasn't really on the bucket list but because it is so close to the Maldvies it would be nice to experience some part of it.

    After doing a bit more research it would make more sense to fly Australia to Sri Lanka - stay there for two days - then onto the Maldives for 5 or 6 days.


  • #4
    duffman13
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,086 ✭✭✭duffman13


    niva*sis wrote: »
    Thanks for this con1982,

    I do like the temples but are there any closer to Colombo? Are the beaches close to Colombo nice, realistically we'd prefer not to have to travel the two or three hours because the flight is long enough coming from Australia. Sri Lanka wasn't really on the bucket list but because it is so close to the Maldvies it would be nice to experience some part of it.

    After doing a bit more research it would make more sense to fly Australia to Sri Lanka - stay there for two days - then onto the Maldives for 5 or 6 days.

    The beaches around Colombo are not great at all to be honest, id echo cons advice Colombo is a bit of a nightmare with traffic too, Mount Lavinia is a little south of the city and has an ok beach (better than Colombo but nothing compared to other parts)

    The nearest temples are Anandruphara and Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa is also the in that neck of the woods. Id hire a car and driver it's about 80 quid for 2 days and you could squeeze a lot more in. Also allow for a lot of time to get to the airport, traffic can be horrific, 2 hours to go 30ish kilometres


  • #5
    con1982
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 515 ✭✭✭con1982


    There is a highway from Colombo to Galle. Only one in the country. This is probably the shortest trip you could do. Traffic in Sri Lanka is awful. 2-3 hours could double if you are traveling at the weekend or during a public holiday.

    If your only option is Colombo, there is an OK beach near the Airport in Negombo. Not worth the stopover really.

    Maybe stay in the Maldives one extra day and skip Sri Lanka, or get three days in Sri Lanka and do the trip I mentioned in the previous message.


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