How to Explore Sri Lanka with Kids
A UK traveller is planning a Sri Lanka trip package with kids and she wanted to know what to do and what should not do during their Sri Lanka holiday. We had this post on our Facebook page and received the below pieces of advice from our past clients.
We received overwhelming responses from our past customers and they have replied with many useful pieces of advice. We have posted the below text on Facebook “What should a family do and should not do when they are on a holiday in Sri Lanka with kids, a UK traveller is planning to visit Sri Lanka with his kids (2 and 4 years old) in May 2020.”
Venetia Johnson: “Sri Lanka is a beautiful country, very friendly people. We had a self-drive car; however, we returned the car prematurely as we felt it was not safe to drive on our own. An air-conditioned car with a local driver would have been a very wise choice over a self-drive car. “
From Neil Robinson: “I went to Sri Lanka in 2018 during the English-Sri Lanka one-day series. It was the food that most important highlight for me always. I took a few excursions as there had been few free days between matches. The most fascinating tour was the 2 days Sri Lanka sightseeing tour of southern Sri Lanka with a whale watching trip. I had no idea how a whale-watching trip would be, so I booked it through the getyourguide portal. I had to do the whale watching trip with a group of tourists on a ship laden with about 100 travellers from all around the world. I thought it would be great if it had been a small ship with around 20 people. However, we could see four blue whales appear from the deep water and one of them was very close and only about 20 feet away from the ship”.
“I also booked a one-day tour to Kandy with the elephant orphanage however it was not that wise idea because I had to return on the same day, and I was not able to see some of the important sites in Kandy. I feel you need at least one overnight stay in Kandy in order to see important places in the city.
One of my favourite places was Galle Fortress– so beautiful with shops, cafes, shopping, and restaurants, I had lunch in the Fort on the second day of the whale watching trip as I was heading to Colombo after whale watching trip, it was a nice and cosy small restaurant with delicious local dishes. I also had a boat tour to see coral reefs in Hikkaduwa and later had lunch in the beach restaurant in Hikkaduwa with my guide, the beach was just next to us and again good food and a lovely atmosphere. Whatever you choose to do I am sure you will enjoy it!”
From Hans Lang: “We went there in July 2019, two months after the Easter terrorist attack in Sri Lanka, I had no fear of going there, however, the hotel where is was staying was largely empty, and there were only about 10 people in the hotel, which was a big hotel with 170 rooms. We saw a large gathering of local visitors in the hotel, there had been a couple of wedding receptions and local parties in the hotel. There are lots of things to do in Sri Lanka: visit the Pettah market, eat delicious Sri Lankan cuisine (a bit spicy), make boat trips and take part in fishing trips. Be careful with traffic.”
From Vivien Shui Hing Li: “We booked a six-day Sri Lanka adventure tour (it was a light adventure tour) with our 2 kids, they are 10 and 12 years old, I think we travelled more than 1200 km within 6 days, travelling in Sri Lanka is exhausting and takes a lot of time. We travelled for at least 3 hours a day. However, it was a thrilling trip the kids also enjoyed a lot. Sri Lankan countryside is very beautiful and full of green.”
From Aniruddha Roy: “Loved a lot travelling in beautiful Sri Lanka with my 6-year-old! I can’t recommend it enough. Sri Lanka is a child-friendly country! It is very easy to travel to Sri Lanka with kids! Don’t forget to visit an Elephant orphanage either in Kandy or Udawalawe (we visited both), kids like it a lot and fabulous experience.
From Mieke de Langhe: “I’m seriously afraid of mosquitoes, perhaps that’s the reason why I saw mosquitoes everywhere I travelled. It is a wise idea to have enough mosquito repellent cream with you. Wear cotton long sleeves and trousers and baseball caps (due to the sun) and sunscreen. Sri Lanka foods are good but spicy; however there are plenty of European dishes on Sri Lankan menu cards, Kids are a friendly country, nothing can go wrong with kids.”
From Ian and Di Burrell: “Go to the Bentota water sports centre, there are plenty of activities for kids there! Also, go to Pinnawala elephant orphanage Kandy (perhaps you can try an elephant ride through the beautiful countryside there). Try delicious Sri Lankan cuisines, especially tasty seafood. And be careful crossing the roads!”
From Hans Lang: “It is recommended to have a first aid kit and travel insurance; it is a good idea to have a baby backpack. Do whale watching trip off southern Sri Lanka, Boat tour at river Madu. Stay away from the beach boys; keep away from the sea if you see yellow or red flags on the beach. Stock up on sanitizers.”
From Andrea Hauser: “If someone likes to help with the luggage at the airport, be careful. You will have to pay around $ 10 per case.”
From Hans Joachim Mueller: “Do not miss the cultural triangle tour of Sri Lanka, if you have a cultural and historical buff. Lots of history, clothes and good food to indulge in.”
From Michelle Kaufmann: “Cleanliness, hygiene, when travelling to southern Asia with Kinds. You can’t forget to visit a temple if you travel to Sri Lanka, Because they have thousands of temples with beautiful paintings and statues, however, read instructions before entering the temple and acquainted with what to do and what not to do in the temple. Try to keep kids under control, because devotees like peace to do their religious sermons. Having mosquito repellent is very handy and sunscreen very useful. “
From Shoucair Karam: “Sri Lanka is a child-friendly country, it seems people love kids a lot, that’s good! We booked a Sri Lanka 5 days tour and visited many places like a cultural triangle, mountains, wildlife reserves and beaches. We as an adult had plenty of time to enjoy ourselves because there are lots of activities in resorts for kids, such as archeries, boating, swimming, and playing, it was very easy going out Sri Lanka trip with kids.”
From Andrea Hauser: “We recently spend our holiday in Sri Lanka with kids, it was a nice experience, don’t miss the Sri Lankan upcountry! Take the train trip between Ella and Kandy, which is simply gorgeous. The temperature is mild and very comfortable. I love the mountains it is a great place to be with kids, you have seen a lot of waterfalls, rivers, streams, tea plantations, and isolated forested areas. “
From Anke Schuller: “We were in Sri Lanka with kids for 2 weeks, the first week we have done a few sightseeing tours to various parts of Sri Lanka and the 2nd week was dedicated to our beach holiday and we have chosen the west coast of Sri Lanka for it. The entire holiday package we booked with Seerendipity Tours. It was a great experience and the kids enjoyed it a lot. I had a couple of amazing experiences during our Sri Lanka 7 days trip, covering 5 cities from Colombo, Sigiriya, Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya to the golden mile better known as Bentota. Friendly people and very helpful. They have good food, especially seafood, interestingly the prices are affordable. Colombo and Kandy are the best places for shopping in Sri Lanka and buy things like Tea, souvenir, clothe, and gems, however, Galle is also a nice place for shopping. Street food is tempting though keep away from street food, we met several tourists who had a bad experience due to the food poisoning caused by street food.