When we were there last year (May), in the hill country it was supposed to be the "dry" season. Although we did experience a few torrential downpours, they happily all occured when we were either indoors or in the hotels!

On the SW coast (we were at Beruwela, now sadly devasted by the tsunami) it was the supposed monsoon season. In 8 days we had just two downpours; one while we were shopping in Beruwela town - all over by the time we finished our haggle! - and one one afternoon. We saw the big black clouds heading over - and also saw the clear sky behind, so we dived into the pool, and let the rain come. It only lasted about 5 minutes!

Thanks for the info Sancho - that's kind of what I was expecting. I don't mind occasional bouts of rain - but if it was going to rain all day every day then we may as well just stay at home!

When you went last year, was it on an organised trip or do you go independently? If you can give me any other info about your experiences in Sri Lanka then that would be great. We're probably going to go with Kuoni, although we don't know what our itinerary will be yet - the tour we want is currently off sale - but may be back on by March - so we're going to look into booking something then.

Hi Corinne

We went with The Travel Collection which is Kuoni's 'direct sales' arm. Whilst there were always referred to as "Kuoni clients".

In the central regions, you should try to get to:

Elephant orphanage at Pinnuwala

Sigiraya rock fortress

Temple of the Tooth, Kandy

Royal Botanical Gardens, Kandy ( you MUST go in the orchid house!)

if independent, try to visit a spice garden and a silk factory - clothes prices are absurdly cheap for the quality.

If you go to my photowebspace:

http://www.clubphoto.com and then input my nick ("sancho proudfoot") into the "search albums" facility theres a photo album with about 75 Sri Lanka photos for you get an idea from!

just had a hunt through the HT archives and found the link to my original report which may help you, Corinne:

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1387

That's all really useful Sancho - cheers!

Just one further question - for the moment. How did you find the travelling around on Sri Lanka's roads? I understand that journeys can take rather longer than expected, but i haven't managed to find out how roughly how long it takes to get between the main sites (e.g. from Sirigiya to Kandy).

The reason I ask is becuase I have back problems so sitting on a coach for hours on end isn't ideal. But I should be able to manage if I can 'mentally prepare' for how long journeys are likely to be (this theory worked ok when we did the 2 day Sahara trip in Tunisia last yr). We are also thinking of booking a private car so that we'll have a bit more room to spread out. Again, any info gratefully recieved!

Hi Corinne

Sigirya/Kandy will take about 90 minutes each way... I'm sure the guide will tell you roughly how long each trip takes. As I said the roads are hair-raising and they do twist and turn and rise and fall a lot.

Add to that the fact that local drivers are total maniacs so delays while accidents ahead are cleared may be expected.

That said it is a super place!

I was wanting to know if anyone had stayed in South west Sri lanka in June? I'm going on the 6th and staying at the Taj Exotica, but I picked June as I thought there would be less rain than in May.

However I'm now hearing that the monsoon has been starting later and it doesn't rain that much in May anymore?

Should I try and change the dates of my holiday

Thanks for any advice

We were in Beruwela - SW Sri Lanka - last May. We had started our holiday in the North/Central region, when it was supposedly the dry season. We had a few torrential downpours!

In Beruwela, it was then supposedly the "wet" season. We had, if I recall rightly, three downpours. Once while we shopping in the local town - so stayed in the shop while it passed! Once while we were sunbathing by the pool and we did come indoors, but it lasted about a hour or so

The third one, we were again by the pool, saw the thunderclouds coming and covered up the things we needed to keep dry and jumped in the pool! It chucked it down for 10 minutes and then passed over. 20 mins later, hot sunshine.

We have just booked for late June/early July. I'm hoping we get as good weather as Sancho did last year, but will be taking my wet weather gear in case it isn't. Only 4 months to go!

Hi

We stayed at the Taj in June last year, for the 2nd time. An excellent hotel. I would definitely not alter your dates, we had a fab time. Yes it did rain, but never for long and remember it will be warm rain. More often than not we jumped in the pool when it was raining. Its lovely swimming in the rain. We went days without seeing any rain. Try to get out and about while you are there it is an amazing place.

Gill

I am hoping to go to Sri Lanka and stay in the Raj Exotica Hotel in the last two weeks of May but am not sure wether that is a good idea considering the weather then.
Also is the hotel nice and worth the long journey from the airport?
Please can anyone give me any information? I would be very grateful for any comments.

Do you mean Taj Exotica, these are lovely hotels. Sri Lanka offers amazing trips and I am going in Feb 06. The Sri Lankans need us to return and I am sure you will have a good time

Many thanks for your reply. I did mean the Taj Exotica and have now amended my post.
Does anyone know wether the price of food will bump the price up by alot as the quote I was given was for b&b.

i stayed there last year. the buffet was about 7gbp per person per night. there are also other restaurants in the hotel which were about 20gbp per head. good local restaurants but don't know if they are still there. very cheap off hotel.

Hello Taylorl, I do not know about the hotel you have booked, but I can give you some idea's on what to do when you out there. Both my wife and I went to Sri Lanka in 2002, we went at the end of July. We stayed with my parents in south Colombo, but we did go on some trips around the south and centra Sri Lanka, I would recommend that you go and see the Elephant Orphanage if you like to a lot of animals you should book to get there about lunch time as that is the time they take the Elephans to the river for their daily wash, we foun the restaurant near this point is the best place to see the animals. Next you should go on a trip to Kandy it is a sight to see, the golden temple is something else. try and go to a tea plantaion as well. Around the south west coast you will find a lot of places to vist. Unfortinately one of the best places to vist is closed at the moment after the earthquake, the place I am talking about is Yala National Park, this is a really wonderful place to see animals in the wild. Weather was ok when we went we had few days of rain but because it is warm it great to have some rain as it comes and then goes, it also cools the place down. Try and find out when the main Buddish Festival is, I think it is sometime in June or July but not to sure. Have a great holiday and enjoy.

haved stayed at the taj twice now and both times stayed in late april/may which is during the rainy season. you do get the odd showers in the afternoon/evening which come down very heavy but dont last long. the hotel is excellent, food is lovely,staff very friendly and helpful and is worth the long drive from the airport. the first occasion we stayed half board and second just breakfast, i cant remember the cost for dinner but it was reasonable and there are other restaurants around in the village.

The main Buddhist festival is the Festival of Light, which marks a number of significant events in the Buddha's life: his birth, his enlightenment and his death.

It takes place on and around the full moon in May.

best place to be for it has to be Kandy, as The Temple of the Tooth is there; this is the holiest Buddhist temple in all Sri Lanka.

I went to Sri Lanka last year and stayed at the Triton hotel in the south west. It rained once for about 5 minutes. It was fantastic.

Hello Kelly.
We have booked the hotel Triton, could you give us some more details on that hotel, pic,s would be great if you have any.