[kyrrie]

Has anyone taken their family to Sri Lanka?

We were hoping to head to Peru for our next holiday but think it may just be too expensive to get there just at the moment. I'm sure if we wait a few years then the kids will be able to trek a little better (not sure about me) so we will keep dreaming for a little while aand keep Peru on the backburner for now.

So that brings us to Sri Lanka. It's not somewhere we know much about but are keen to explore. Is it easy to get around? Especially to plan on the go. The best time for us to go is the Dec/Jan holidays and I think this is high season. Does this mean we would need to pre-plan and pre-book? Are there other good times to go?

I'd love to hear from anyone who has been there with any advice and to hear your tales of where you travelled. Thank you

[TheSmithFamily]

Hi there,

Here are a few good travel blogs that I love and their Srilanka adventures:

http://www.ourtravellifestyle.com/travel-d...s-nuwara-eliya/

http://with2kidsintow.blogspot.com.au/2011...s-wrap.html?m=1

It is somewhere we will go when our kids are a bit older.

Fwiw I went with my dad and two sisters ( 13,11,9) as an educational adventure to see poverty first hand after a food fight at the big pineapple the previous school holidays

Bron

[Stellajoy]

I travelled around Sri Lanka for a month during December. It's a fabulous country to explore. Easy to get around! Take the train , don't be tempted to rent cars as the roads are terrible. We hired one on our first day and it took 10 hrs to travel 100kms, took the train on the way back and it took 2hrs.
We took some tuk tuks between smaller towns.

We never booked anything and would just arrive in a town and check some hotels out to make sure they were clean and nice. It was quiet but was two years post tsunami.

There is a nice tourist trail south from Columbo around the coast and then to Kandi and back down. The train through the middle of the country was spectacular.

Unawatuna was a highlight.

They are some brief notes! I would reccomend it.

[Stellajoy]

Here are some good intineraries you could copy

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/sri-lanka/ci...sri-lanka-41745

(For a fraction of that price... Woah)

Also check on the conflict situation in the North , you can skip it easily, there was a high threat of kidnapping when I went.

[lynnemine]

LOVED Sri Lanka!!

In Colombo, there is a really quaint guesthouse called Padmini's. It wasn't super flash, but was a bit more homely, and she did a lovely breakfast and homemade jam which was eaten in a leafy shady courtyard.

I also loved Unawatuna, a really nice sandy beach on the south coast, not far from Galle. We stayed there and caught tuk-tuk's to and from Galle.

Also climbed Siguriya Rock, but this wouldn't be suitable for small kids, more teenage/pre-teen.

We went to the reclining buddha and there were monkeys everywhere, which smaller children would usually like.

Kandy is lovely - not as hot, up in the mountains so cooler, but not cold. We caught the train there, and it was a beautiful journey, very scenic.

[nlman]

We went pre-kids in 2008.

In a lot of ways it was a mixture of Cambodia and India, and I prefer both of them to Sri Lanka. There are some interesting sites and cool hotels but I wouldn't head back any time soon

[kyrrie]

Thank you all, you've given me some great reading to do.

Great to hear train travel is good. We love traveling by train.