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Monday 19 November 2018

Family Holiday in Sri Lanka - 5 Top Places to Visit

Photo by Rajiv Perera on Unsplash

When I was a child and I'd dream, my Mum would always tell me 'there is a whole world out there to explore Michelle' and now I realise how right she is. As a teen and then in my twenties I kept my travels safe and pretty domestic, mainly travelling within Europe but then the beginning of this decade saw me taking some life-changing trips to Ethiopia, the USA and Belarus, and now my eyes are open and I want to see more and more places.

I often spend quiet afternoons at home researching new destinations and dreaming of where we will visit in the future. Of course there are now three tweens/ teens to be factored in to our travel plans but that's OK, I find them really great companions to go on adventures with.

One of the destinations I have been musing just recently is Sri Lanka, which is around a ten hour plane journey from the UK. The island is small enough that you can fully cover it in a two week holiday and it has fantastic diversity, from heritage sites that speak of the country's Buddhist roots, to national parks with amazing animals and lush green tea plantations.

Booking a Villa

I've been looking at family villas in Sri Lanka and  there are so many wonderful ones to choose from and it doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive. Villas are comparable to hotels price wise but you get so much more for your money with the space and privacy factors. The one I was looking at online, the Ivory House, starts from £208 a night and sleeps up to 8 people, so I think that is great value for something that looks very luxurious.

Pool at The Ivory House, Koggala, that sleeps up to 8
SriLanka-Villa.com have an excellent selection and when browsing their site, I was really impressed to see that once I see a villa I like, I can send an online enquiry (or call them if I so wish) and one of their professional travel consultants will call me back to understand my needs fully. Do I need a highchair, pool safety fence, car seats etc?

There is nothing like personal service and whilst browsing the Internet can be fun, it can also be exhausting and confusing, so to have a travel professional available to me who knows the island and the area I want to stay in, is invaluable.

The personal service doesn't stop there though, next, there is a concierge team available to me to ensure this holiday ends up meeting our families needs perfectly. They can book airport transfers, day trips, a chef to come to the villa, a masseuse or even source toys for the pool and wonderfully, you just pay for the service you use and not the cost of organising it.

I'm loving the sound of the services of SriLanka-Villa.com and you know you're dealing with a good company when they take their corporate social responsibility seriously. Not only do they provide beautiful, inspected villas that you can trust but for every villa booked they will plant a tree in Sumatra, Indonesia, so by staying with them you contribute to the fight against deforestation.

Where to Visit

1.  Visit Uda Walawe National Park to see the Elephants
The island has 22 national parks but this one is a must for any first-time visitor as its home to a herd of 250 elephants. Here the elephants are free to roam around and have very little human interaction, so it is a natural habitat for them but your can visit and walk along partially camouflaged wooden walkways to be able to observe them and watch them at feed time too.

2.  Take the Train and watch the Tea Pickers
You can drive across the island but why not take a train and enjoy the views of banana and eucalyptus trees, as you go past tumbling waterfalls and into the lush green plantations of the tea country. You can visit a plantation and watch the tea pickers work, and then go to try some of their wonderful teas.

Photo by Asantha Abeysooriya on Unsplash

3.  Climb Sigirya Rock
Its a climb of 700 steps to reach the top of the rock where you'll find the fortress ruins. Sigirya or Lions rock is a UNESCO world heritage site and the views from the top are magnificent, but it not just about reaching the top as there are around 500 beautiful (read semi-naked) women depicted in the rock-face frescoes as you climb.

4.  Explore the Ancient Fort of Galle
The fort is another UNESCO world heritage site and when a destination has this tag attached to it, you know it is going to be good. The fort itself is still a living community, with houses, courts and businesses. You can explore the restaurants, boutiques and pretty street, as well as enjoy the natural harbour, lighthouse, maritime museum and watching the local jumping from the ramparts into the waters below.

5.  Visit a Sea Turtle Hatchery
There are many, many turtle hatcheries situated around Bentota, along the South West coast of Sri Lanka. You can visit them and see the eggs they have bought from local fisherman hatch into baby turtles and then watch as they release a few day old turtles back into the sea, as part of their conservation plan to save this beautiful species.

This is just a taster for the amazing things there are to do on the island and I hope it has whet your appetite to find our more. Happy holidays friends!



10 comments:

  1. That's such a good price for a villa, it's always so much cheaper when you can get a group of you together x

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    1. Yes exactly, although I know many families withb 7 or 8 members anyway

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  2. I visited Sri Lanka as a child and long to return, it is such a beautiful country

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  3. I'd definitely love to visit Sri Lanka one day, and I love the sound of the personal villa service you mention. There's so much choice, it can be hard to be sure that you're choosing the right one!

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    1. Yes that personal aspect makes all the difference

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  4. Lovely! These are great places to visit in Sri Lanka.

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  5. Sri Lanka looks like a lovely place to visit. My son would love to see the elephants.

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    1. Yes, wouldn't that just be amazing? My kids would love it too.

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Thanks for your comment, I will respond real soon. Mich x