Sri Lanka Laid Back - Deluxe Traveller Reviews

A highly stimulating trip to a country emerging from decades in the wilderness and keen to welcome visitors from other countries. There was so much to see and some wonderful people to meet - not least the local guides who brought it all to life.

Very flexible, positive and highly efficient with great organisation on the ground.

For our Honeymoon we went on a three week holiday to Sri Lanka (organised by the Experience Travel group). I can honestly say that this was the most amazing holiday we have ever been on. Sri Lanka is a wonderful country full of welcoming people, amazing wildlife, unbelievable sites and the best food! Highlights include seeing a Leopard at Wilpattu National Park, climbing to the top of Sigiriya rock (and exploring the amazing archaeology there), and spending some relaxed time down by the coast near Galle. Throughout the holiday we stayed in small boutique hotels which where amazing. We also spent two nights staying in traditional mud huts, which was very exciting. We were so sad to leave Sri Lanka at the end of our holiday, and can't wait to go back (hopefully sometime soon).

Our whole holiday was organised by Experience Travel group and our travel consultant was Becky. From helping us to put together an amazing itinerary, through to getting on our flight home Becky was fantastic! She really helped up to create a unique trip, that was tailored to our specific interests. We could tell she had really listened to what we wanted from our holiday, and was very attentive. We felt that by booking with Experience Travel we got to stay in some really unique hotels, and ended up seeing some amazing sites that were off the traditional tourist track. All our guides were so friendly and knowledgeable which made such a difference to our experience. Becky made our holiday really special as well, by informing all our hotels that we were on our honeymoon!! We would go on another holiday organised by Experience Travel in a second.

Where to start? I suppose digging about for an independent tour operator with great reviews. Then given them a call. It went something like, 'right, we would like you build us a honeymoon package visiting Sri-Lanka then onwards to the Maldives and we would like bespoke, boutique villas and would want to spend as much time as possible getting to know and feel Sri-Lanka'. It continued, 'In the Maldives we would like all inclusive and do nothing much apart from snorkelling maybe'. We were advised to leave all the arranging to them now that they have an idea and will get back to us and send us an initial itinerary. We both were so exited and impressed when it arrived, suffice it to say, we did not have to change a thing! Honestly. Our instruction were headed and it all looked spectacular. Getting into the thick of it; the flight was hassle free, our chauffeur was polite, knowledgable, humorous and was very aware when we needed space. The vehicle was new and clean as were the various accommodations. A short flight and an exhilarating speed boat trip [55mins] to our last destination, 'The Maldives'. WOW met and supposed our expectations, you may say a little contrived insomuch as practically everything had to be brought in and placed in their final resting place for there likes of tourists, but we sort of knew that. I have deliberately not mentioned the villas, staff and trips as I be here all day and I would rather you have the experience we had planing, exploring and meeting people as we did. Thank you all at E.T.G

Experience Travel Group A truly 1st class and knowledgeable team. Efficient, polite, understanding and with an exceptional grasp of our needs. I would thoroughly recommend them to our families and friends.

Two weeks in Sri Lanka - one touring & one on the beach. The tour took us to coconut plantations, temples, tea country, waterfalls and on safari; the beach was paradise,

Experience Travel Group created our personalised itinerary, booked and arranged everything professionally and to a very high standard. Helpful and knowledgeable staff.

A truely fantastic tour of Sri Lanka, from Colombo, to the Cultural Triangle (Kandy, Sigiriya etc), the Tea Trails and Galle, including safaris, temples, walks, cycles, white water rafting, kanyoning, swimming, surfing and eating (and relaxing....). Amazing hotels and great hospitality throughout, awful roads, but smiling faces.

Experience Travel were awesome; easy and efficient organisation of a great trip in five centres and with great logistics and guides. Perfect.

Our visit to Sri Lanka immersed us in the culture and traditions of the Sri Lankans and we learned so much of the way of life from our guide, Upendra de Silva, who mixed the cultural learning with fun activities largely arranged by Experience Travel. We then had a few days at the end in The Maldives which was pure relaxation and indulgence! A magical place. We wish we had more time in our lives and the ability to do even part of our holiday again as it was truly the experience of a lifetime and one we will always remember.

Experience Travel's representative Upe was very organised and our activities and days were well thought out and had a few extras. He had done the job for many many years and was good at adapting to our needs to make our trip a memorable one. A good representative for Experience Travel, who I cannot fault and gave excellent service.

We had a terrific trip-from the help friendliness and informative at the outset to the execution of this on the trip with wonderful service provided by all the guides-excellent accommodation throughout -just what we asked for and the food always good i would unhesitatingly recommend Experience Travel as their knowledge of the local conditions etc was first rate. The Sri Lankan people helped us a lot on the way!

very knowlegeable about the country and specific areas also great knowledgr and appreciation of our requirements holiday put together brilliantly-just enough time in all places which were excellent throughout

We had a fantastic time, this holiday felt like such an adventure from start to finish. I felt that the trip really gave us an opportunity to immerse ourselves in Sri Lankan culture. Our local guide was very knowledgeable about the history so by the time we reached each destination we really felt that we could appreciate what we were visiting. We had some amazing experiences, my fiancée saved a star tortoise from the road which the locals loved, we had king coconuts from the side of the road, we visited beautiful Buddhist temples. We met people from all over the world, from the locals who were friendly and really eager to chat and make us feel welcome to other travellers. We went on an elephant Safari and must have seen over 100 elephants not to mention the big bull elephant wandering down the main road. The food was delicious especially the coconut samba, banana flower curry and manioc. We then went to the Maldives where we were lucky enough to see dozens of dolphins all round the boat. My fiancée, who was diving, saw the dolphins from under water as well as sharks and turtles. It was a great, and very relaxing, contrast to Sri Lanka.

Good local knowledge and great package put together at a very reasonable price.

Perfectly planned, organised and executed to meet and then exceed our expectations. Very professional service from beginning to end. Packed lots in to a 2 centre holiday and still felt relaxed throughout. Couldn't have asked for more.

Excellent itinerary suggestions and attention to our individual requests. Very good communication of all details and impressive knowledge of the countries we visited as well as the sites and accommodation available. A real pleasure to deal with.

We managed to combine cultural highlights, with wonderful scenery, the tea trails experience, a few days at a beach and a look at Colombo without feeling exhausted thanks to excellent planning with some three day stops to unwind.

The whole team is very helpful and always available to answer queries. Special mention to Lucy who was our main advisor, but everyone was happy to help.