The gift of 40 years of Man. After mine in Mauritius at the end of 2015. He copied a little for the idea. We won't tell.
Oops.
First trip to Asia for the kids and me, first "significant" jet lag for the kids (4:30).
We chose Emirates, with a change in Dubai:3h big hour of waiting on the way out and 1h50 on the way back. Obviously, it is long and tiring. Left our apartment at 6 p.m. on Friday. We arrived in Colombo on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. local time but only at our 1st stop (a guest house, located just 40 minutes from the airport in Negombo) around 7 p.m., it was already dark, and we thought that to one thing:SLEEP.
Think of the Sri Lanka visa to buy online a few days before leaving, on site, on arrival, it is possible to take them but a priori no payment in credit card possible and only in Rupees (which you can exchange but … once the customs passed…)
We have chosen not to see everything. Because Sri Lanka may be an island:it is big, but especially with small roads, traffic jams in the cities and very often winding (the whole center is very mountainous). The smallest journey is therefore long. We do not look in mileage but in time. And even if the landscapes are absolutely insane. We ate a lot of cars... So looking back, I'm not unhappy to have skipped stages and I even deleted a few more!
The idea was to do a 1-week road trip (with driver, because in Sri Lanka, the tourist cannot drive – and once you are there you understand why ah ah ah. The tourist is obligatorily strolled by car with a local driver/guide). Our 2nd week of vacation, we chose to do a beginner surf course, with the family! So we had to find THE special bay where the waves are not too big. This is Weligama 10 minutes from Mirissa.
In this post, I will only tell you the places that I really recommend. I specify that this trip is not "sponsored", nothing was "offered" to me in exchange for an article on the blog.
Before starting, a small zoom on the children. Going to Sri Lanka with children, yes or no? For ours, almost teenagers, it was very simple and they loved it. The culture shock, the total immersion in another world… it was exactly what I wanted:they ate well, even a little spicy. They opened their eyes, asked questions, smelled, tasted and… realized. Good and there was WIFI in the accommodations, not super stable, but we avoided the drama with the 13 year old. For the youngest, I admit that I would not have done it. In any case, not the road trip. It's still really a lot of hours of driving. I didn't see any car seats. We did not have a belt in the back in our mini Van. To eat, even if and that's what I had read and heard, and I confirm it, the Sri Lankans are ADORABLE and very kids friendly, with a toddler, I don't know how I would have done. After maybe I'm too sissy, I've never had the opportunity to travel like this with them baby. If you're more rootsy than me, that should do it. But honestly, we met very few young parents during the first week on the road. Much more, on the other hand the 2nd, at the edge of the ocean.
In February, it was clearly perfect. We had 2 rainy half-days on the south coast the 2nd week, the rest of the time it was sunny. We never suffered from the heat, neither did the children. It was 30 with a beautiful sun. And at altitude (2000 m), the Sri Lankans were in sweaters / hats, but it was 20 it was perfect for us !! No sunburn either (thanks La Roche Posay index 50) and Decathlon's anti-UV T-shirts, especially for surfing (essential)!! Namely that in August takes place the procession of the Tooth of Boudha in Kandy in the center of the island which already attracts a lot of Sri Lankans and tourists. Suffice to say that having already done more than 1h30 of traffic jam to do 10 km in this city, I dare not imagine what it looks like in August (without me anyway)
Hardly arrived, the thermal and cultural shock acts. There are tuk tuks, buses and micro cars:all these little people are constantly honking their horns and narrowly avoiding each other. On the side of the roads, there is... life! There, just 50 centimeters from the edge:pedestrians, stray dogs, houses, fields, vendors of fruit, water, biscuits. That's great, I admit. Are you hungry, are you thirsty? Wherever you are (whatever you do, I'm thinking of you) you know that in less than 5 minutes you'll come across a stall filled with coconut, pineapple, passion fruit, and mini bananas so good !! All this, of course, for a few euro cents.
We saw a lot :
1st stage:Kandy where we stayed for 2 nights
Before arriving in Kandy, on the road from Negombo, you can stop at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
Clearly touristy. We can be embarrassed by the "zoo" side of this orphanage, I was reassured by telling me that the elephants were not always attached... I remain on my reserve all the same. As a result, this makes the visit a bit expensive and disturbing. However, it is a first jump in Sri Lanka and we particularly appreciated seeing, below the orphanage, the elephants taking their bath in the river (at 2 p.m.)
As I said above, Kandy big city, constantly bottled up… to see however before leaving in the calm of nature and the mountains for:
Bats
For a coffee break (or not, but it is delicious and refreshing) and small delicacies, at the entrance of the temple, stop at the Natural Coffee (there is WIFI, precision of the teenager)
We also visited an interesting Batik (Sri Lankan art of hand and candle painting on cloth) workshop; a precious stone museum (meh) and attended a traditional dance show (very nice, especially the walkers on fire!!)
Step 2:Nuwara Eliya (2 nights also, but honestly one night is enough)
On the way between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, our guide took us on a nice little detour to reach the river near Kitulgala and take a nice trip in rafting an hour, followed by lunch by the water. We were able to see the place where the "River Kwai" bridge was built for the filming of the movie. And above all, so many magnificent landscapes (again)(we never get tired of it)
And then on the road, we also saw magnificent waterfalls:
Located at an altitude of nearly 1900 m, we are told of Nuwara Eliya as a colonial-type city… In fact, there is really only one hotel in this grandiose architectural style (the Grand Hotel). However the city is pleasant of course! In particular, there is a very beautiful lake (Gregory) on the outskirts (paying access - a few rupees, but to be expected - and unfortunately you can't go around it on foot, there is the possibility of doing nautical activities on it) and a large park with a small playground for children , ideal for letting off steam:Victoria Park. To do obviously also the visit of the city center, the market. It's typical, very lively.
The next morning, I recommend taking the very interesting tour of the tea factory located 20 minutes by car and then leave for the station to take the train and thus reach the town of Ella , along with all the other tourists, on the "typical" train. We laugh, but in real life, yes it's a bit animated Disneyland but the landscapes are really hot and it changes a bit from the car. Remember to book in advance is better. We had taken seats in 3rd class . Our car was filled with tourists from all countries. In the one next door, there were a few premises. But the latter actually take the bus instead to make this journey which lasts 2h30 by train against 1h30 by car.
Step 3:ELLA (1 night, but in fact 2 could have been not bad because there are beautiful hikes to do, in particular the summit of Ella Rock but quite tough – allow 4 hours)
Arriving in the middle of the afternoon (we had a picnic on the train), we took the direction of Little Adam’s Peak for a short hike sympathetic through the plantations. The view is obviously dazzling at the top. Walking shoes to be provided to avoid slipping, but it remains an accessible "big hill walk". On the way back, hop a refreshing coconut. Then, a small view of the beautiful bridge with 9 arches:"Nine Arched Bridge "
It was that evening that we tested an hour of Ayurvedic treatments with the family!
The next morning, direction The Lipton Seat in Haputale. I really thought we would never get there as the road is long but… it was REALLY worth it. To avoid making the teenagers complain too much, we went up to the top in a tuk tuk, but we decided to go down on foot, the walk was really pleasant, it takes about an hour. So we were on Mr. Lipton's land!
After lunch, we drove south again and said goodbye to the mountains! Total change of scenery. Now flat and drier.
4th stage:UDA WALAWE (1 night)
Before reaching our hotel (Kalus Hideaway), which I REALLY recommend (we regret having arrived there late, because there is a small inexpensive spa inside, a beautiful swimming pool, a playground for children, a ping pong table too and a large garden), we made a short trip to an elephant orphanage to attend their feedings. This time, the place is not "touristy", there were several classes of Sri Lankans present too. It is a transfer and rescue center for reintegration into the natural environment, it is also located in the UdaWalawe National Park.
The next morning, up at … 4:30 (it stings) to be able to reach the national park 10 minutes away, in a tourist jeep again (but one for our family) and doing our 1st safari . At sunrise... might as well tell you that it was magical and impressive, casually, these encounters with elephants, buffaloes, peacocks, crocodiles, chameleons... Then back to the hotel to have a good breakfast and take a deep dive into the the swimming pool.
Peacock perched
Crocodiles
The afternoon was devoted to the road – again – to our final destination:Weligama Bay, where we put down (and finally unpacked) our suitcases for 6 nights.
Here too I recommend the W15 hotel, on the beach. 10 rooms only. The food is very tasty there. The hotel is surrounded by surf schools. Very practical therefore for who wants to do, like us, an intensive course. Otherwise, the hotel also lends boards. For lunch, here are the small restaurants tested and widely approved accessible on foot or just 5 minutes by tuk tuk
Weligama Bay * Fishing Boats
The Little Big Surfer
Mirissa
Weligama
Who to go with?
We have for our part our pearl, Isabelle from the site Vers le Monde who has been concocting our family trips for almost 3 years now.
And to "listen" to this trip, it's on the Podcast from the Family &Travel blog!
