Sri Lanka Holidays - Family Adventurer – 13 nights
About this holiday:
This ‘Family Adventurer’ is a beach, activity
and wildlife-themed tour of Sri Lanka. We have designed a
special holiday that allows families to experience real Sri
Lanka, pockets of the island that are unscarred by ugly package-style
tourist development. We have carefully selected high-quality
accommodation with character and also sufficient activities
to keep the children entertained. In particular, we wanted
to show-off the beautiful south coast, the serene and tranquil
rural areas inland and the glorious tea-country. This is therefore
not one of those hectic always-driving island tours. Instead,
we have concentrated on the south, which has so much to appeal.
The holiday aims to strike a balance between the need to relax
and unwind, but also to provide an opportunity for sufficient
activities to keep children and adults entertained.
Holiday highlights
• Sailing, windsurfing and jet-skiing in Negombo • Canoeing in Kalu Ganga (River) • Cycling through rubber estates and
sleepy
villages • Glorious south coast beaches • Wandering the magnificent Galle Fort • Wild leopard and elephant in Yala
National park • Trekking in the tea-growing hill-country
Itinerary:
Day 1 & 2: Red Dot will meet you at the airport in the early afternoon,
probably slightly bleary eyed and in need for some rest. Stay
at The Beach Hotel in Negombo, the plushest hotel with easy
reach of the airport and a popular choice with families because
of its chic luxury and wide array of activities available for
children and adults, from sloshing in the swimming pool to sailing
and windsurfing lessons in the well-equipped Mark Warner Watersports
Centre. Spend two nights here to recover fully from the long
journey.
Accommodation profile: The Beach
is the best thing to have happened to Negombo in the past decade.
The five-star hotel was reopened in Jan 2005 after a complete
refurbishment that has transformed the property into a chic
and stylish hotel offering great luxury and a warm and attentive
level of service. Red Dot highly recommends it. The theme for
the interior décor is similar to The Lighthouse in Galle,
another Jetwing Hotel, with an emphasis on natural simplicity,
but there is also a slightly more modern touch. The rooms are
spacious and furnished with beautiful dark wooden furniture
and high quality linen. The bathrooms have showers like waterfalls
and bathtubs.
Day 3 & 4: Drive south through Colombo for a two-night stay at
The Colonial House, a small, recently refurbished inland bungalow
on a 50-acre tea and rubber plantation close to Kalutara, the
start of Sri Lanka’s west coast beaches. The bungalow,
blessed with stirring views over the Kalu Ganga (Black River)
from its infinity pool, is conveniently located for a variety
of adventure activities, especially cycling and canoeing. We
will organise one cycle and canoeing expedition with experienced
local guides, allowing you to explore Sri Lanka’s rural
life. The excursions will be carefully tailored to your needs
and the age of the children.
Accommodation profile:The Colonial House
is a recently refurbished plantation bungalow offering the rare
opportunity of quality accommodation close to the popular west
coast. Situated on a 50-acre rubber and tea plantation, it offers
stirring views of the Kalu River, mountain ranges and even the
distant coast. Colonial House built by British planters around
1870 and was caringly renovated by its new British owners, with
pillared verandas and high wooden ceilings it still retains
that colonial charm.
Day 5, 6, 7 & 8: The journey southwards continues to Galle, one of our
favourite corners in this magical island. Galle is surrounded
by beautiful beaches and small bays, most untouched by large
hotels, but the area offers so much more than a beach holiday:
the Galle Fort, a UNESCO-protected World Heritage site and a
melting pot of cultural influences, for example. Excursions
can be made inland too to see rural temples.
There are several excellent restaurants in the local area. Your
destination is a lovely private beach villa, ideal for families,
called Victoria. Why stay in a formulaic and unimaginative beach
hotel when you can stay in such an affordable and charming colonial-style
villa where you will be looked after so splendidly by wonderful
staff?
Accommodation profile: Lying 8kms
from the historic town of Galle, Victoria is perfectly placed
for those who want to escape and close enough to venture forth
and experience the sights and smells of a part of this magical
island. Built as a contemporary interpretation of a traditional
Sri Lankan house and furnished with antique furniture, Victoria
is set in a coconut grove on the beach with landscaped gardens
falling into the Indian Ocean. There are five bedrooms in all
and a swimming pool making it perfect for families.
Day 9 & 10:
After four days of beach relaxation the time has come to travel
along the southern coastal road, through the bustling town of
Matara, the end of the train line
and a key fishing center, and on
past Tangalle towards your next destination: Galapitiya, a wonderful
eco-retreat close to Yala National Park. We recommend stopping-off
en route for lunch and perhaps a swim on one of Tangalle’s
fine beaches. The following morning you will be picked up for
one of two game drives in Yala, a vast game reserve that has
the highest population of animals of all the parks. If you are
lucky you catch a glimpse of a graceful leopard, now seen with
increasing frequency in Yala especially.
Accommodation profile:Near
the pilgrimage site of Kataragama, close to Yala game park in
Sri Lanka's south-east corner lies Galapitiya Eco Retreat, on
the banks of the meandering Gem River. What began as an idealistic
rural retreat for friends and family is now the ultimate escapist
retreat for a small selection of independent travelers and adventurous
families. Across Galapitiya Bridge, your world may change. Your
delightful minimalist bedroom-on-stilts will be one of four
huts perched on the rocks by the river. Each hut is powered
by solar energy making Galapitiya an eco retreat in purpose.
Day 11 & 12:
After two nights in Galapitiya the journey re-starts and its
time to head into Sri Lanka’s tea-growing highlands and
another highlight of the trip: a two-night stay at Ceylon Tea
Trails, a wonderful collection of refurbished tea planter’s
bungalows in the south-west corner of the hills, a area renowned
for its fine tea and beautiful countryside. The Tea Trails also
provides an excellent base for a variety of adventure activities
– if you can tear yourself from the old word luxury on
the bungalows themselves, that is. There are mountain bike trails
that loop through the surrounding tea estates and guides are
available on-demand. The reservoirs of Castlereagh and Maskeliya
offer a pristine lake environment for kayaking – stable
one or two-man kayaks are available for hire (suitable for children
over five years old). Maps, guides and safety gear are all provided.
A number of treks and scenic walks are also available, including
the famous pilgrimage site, Sri Pada, known in English as Adam’s
Peak, which is a conical mountain 7,360 feet above sea level. Accommodation profile: Travellers
approaching Castlereagh from the road can glimpse tantalising
views across the lake. Nestled in a wooded dell close to the
water, this century-old bungalow offers unrivalled water views
and superb garden suites. Elegant parquet floors with open fireplaces
in the dining and drawing rooms evoke recollections of a bygone
colonial era. Castlereagh is a private bungalow: delicious meals
will be served up by a butler in your room, in the dining room,
or on the terrace overlooking the pool. The grounds are extensive
and include summer houses where Ceylon’s finest tea will
be served.
Day 13:
You now travel out of the hills and head west towards Colombo,
the leafy island capital, a laidback and interesting Asian city.
En route stop for a whitewater rafting expedition on the Kelani
River, which emanates from the mighty Mahaweli Ganga near Nawalapitiya
and offers Grade Three rapids commencing at Kitulgala. Travel
on for a one-night stay at Galle Face Hotel, a much-loved creation
from Sri Lanka’s long Colonial past. Colombo has much
to appeal and you might like to fit in some shopping –
Odels, Paradise Road, Barefoot and Elephant Walk are all recommended
– before a farewell dinner at The Gallery Café,
Sri Lanka’s finest restaurant which offers open-air dining
at its very best.
Accommodation profile: The Galle
Face Hotel, hailed as a masterpiece of Victorian architecture,
retains the dignified and polite atmosphere that gave it such
fame in the colonial age. Sympathetic renovations and refurbishments
are helping to protect its historic status in more demanding
times. Rooms tend to be spacious, with wooden floors and antique
furniture, The Seaspray restaurant, specialising in fish, is
blessed by an ocean frontage. There is nowhere better to watch
a Colombo sunset than from its immaculate terrace and gardens.
Cost: TBC
Package price includes:
•
13 night’s BB accommodation on twin-sharing
basis • Airconditioned car and
English-speaking driver for tour and transfers • Jeep hire and entrance
fees for two game drives in Yala National Park • One canoeing excursion
and one cycling excursion in Kalutara • Whitewater rafting on
Kelani River
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tranquil
rural areas inland and the glorious tea-country. This is therefore
not one of those hectic always-driving island tours. Instead,
we have concentrated on the south, which has so much to appeal.
The holiday aims to strike a balance between the need to relax
and unwind, but also to provide an opportunity for sufficient
activities to keep children and adults entertained.
