Diary of an 11 Day Tour of Sri Lanka

Writing about a trip once it’s over provides a great overview of what you saw/did, but it often overlooks ‘in the moment’ emotion, which can make or ruin that day, or more. So I decided to write a travel diary of our 11 days touring Sri Lanka. Most entries were written at the end of each day. Other sections were written immediately after the event, while travelling.

We booked this dream holiday through Luxtripper, combining it with 5 days in the Maldives. The Maldives is a short 1 hr flight from Sri Lanka so it was a no brainer.

Luxtripper planned our entire itinerary – suggesting where to stay, what to do based on our interests and arranged all transfers between venues for us. All we had to do was pack and turn up. It was strange not being in total control of a trip, as we usually travel independently of agencies – but on this occasion we felt they would do a better job than us! I feel I should mention here that this trip isn’t sponsored in any way; Luxtripper don’t know anything about PackThePJs! 

We stayed in some incredible hotels on this trip. I will write about these in a separate post.

Here’s our (genuine) experience of 11 days touring Sri Lanka.

Day 1: Travel

Day 1 was simply getting to Heathrow and boarding SriLankan Airlines flight UL504 to Colombo, Sri Lanka. This 11-hour direct flight was a night flight, arriving in Colombo Bandaranaike Airport the following day at around noon. We actually arrived just after 1pm, due to a delay taking off at Heathrow. Passing through security was straightforward as we had purchased tourist visas in advance and filled in landing cards online.

Baggage claim was a little chaotic, but we soon found our cases and headed out to find our Luxtripper rep, changing some currency from UK cash into Sri Lankan Rupees on route. 

We were greeted by our rep who adorned the men in flower garlands while Millie and myself were handed a posy of flowers. He took us to meet our driver (Pinna), who will stay with us the entire 11 days that we are in Sri Lanka. We loaded our cases into the minibus and set off on route to our first hotel, Heritance Negombo. We are staying here for one night. The hotel is under an hour’s drive from the airport.

After breakfast tomorrow our driver is picking us up at 9am. And that is when this adventure truly starts!

Day 2: Negombo to Dambulla

We started today with a tour of Negombo – being shown landmarks including the fishing harbour, historic churches etc. We then stopped for a guided walk around the local fish and dry fish market. Ok, it was a little whiffy to be honest, but it was bustling and was interesting to see the different types of fish they catch. Of course, most fish never make it to this market but instead had already been processed for export. Having the process of drying fish explained to us was fascinating – as was the sight of seeing all the fish drying!

After Negombo we started the 2.5-hour drive to our next hotel in Dambulla, inland towards the middle of Sri Lanka. The journey itself was exciting – I am SO GLAD I’m not driving on this trip! Driving is insane! We took a toll Express Highway, which took us up above the canopies of trees. We had so many varieties of trees and plants pointed out to us as we whizzed by; mango, teak, coconut, banana, Sri Lanka cotton, goji, rice, cherry, cinnamon (are those that I remembered). 

At lunchtime we arrived at Jetwings Lake Hotel, and we are staying here for 2 nights. After a short rest, we were off again – this time we were going on safari!

Minneriya National Park

Our driver collected us for the sub-1 hour journey to where we swapped the minibus for a safari jeep. We then headed into the National Park, driving down dirt tracks through jungle until we reached a clearing leading down towards a huge lake. And then we saw our first ever elephants in the wild. And then more, and more, and more! It was truly unbelievable – it was difficult to process that these animals were not controlled by zookeeper or safari park – they were wild. And they looked so healthy, happy and well. Lots of babies too – clearly thriving, and that was so wonderful to see.

Of course we went to see elephants, but we saw so much more too. Like fish eagles, fox, grey landur, macaques, bison, flamingo, heron, day flying bats, termites, plover, giant squirrel (though may have been a mongoose), peacocks, and pelicans. And so many pretty small birds that we couldn’t identify! It really was a magical safari drive. Loved it.

Time for a sundowner?

Having left the National Park our jeep driver, accompanied by our Luxtripper driver, took us off road to a spot beside a dried-up lake. In honesty, we felt a little uneasy – why take us somewhere remote (not incredibly pretty) and then stop, with no real communication as to why we were there?! Turns out the safari jeep driver wanted to make the four of us (yes, kids too!) a rather strong G&T! I rarely drink, and was rather hot (being in Sri Lanka), and my kids don’t drink obviously, being 14 and 16 … so I ended up drinking two out of politeness, and Huw ended up drinking three as he got a top up too! It did rather finish me off; I overheated so much I thought I was going to spontaneously combust! What the link was between alcohol and a safari ride is confusing. I’m speculating it was to secure a better tip at the end – but it really wasn’t necessary. Rather than finish off our trip nicely it somewhat marred the incredible safari experience.

Ayurvedic centre

Our driver kept mentioning to us about how this part of Sri Lanka is amazing for ayurvedic treatments, and would we like to know more. And on the way back to the hotel he pulled in at an ayurvedic centre. Can I be honest? I felt a little uneasy (especially after all that gin). I did feel a little bullied into ‘seeing the doctor’ and signing up for some treatments. Now, please understand, I love ayurvedic treatments, and yes I was keen to LEARN more about what makes Sri Lankan ayurvedic treatments better than what we experience in the UK. But because I’ve had breast cancer and am still undergoing treatment for it, there’s no way I would have a massage or anything like it without first getting clearance from my oncologist to say it was ok. And I told the doctor this. She understood and showed me the treatments available – then asked me THREE more times if I’d like to have any of them. I’m afraid I felt they wanted my money more than they wanted to make me feel amazing! I’m glad we left soon after. It felt very awkward.

We returned to the hotel and went straight to dinner – fantastic buffet. And then we headed to our rooms to chill out, after a rather busy day.

Tomorrow we have a 10am start. We are going to experience traditional Sri Lankan village life. I have no idea what this involves!

Day 3: Dambulla

After a buffet breakfast (slightly later than planned as we all overslept), we met our driver for a 10am departure. We drove for about 15 minutes to Sigiriya – the start of our traditional village experience! 

Wagon ride

First we were loaded onto a rather rickety wagon, pulled by two cattle. A lovely friendly farmer then drove us (think bone shaker!) down the road and then over some uneven dirt tracks, towards a lake. That was quite an experience in its own right!

Catamaran

We then walked to the lakeside, where we donned life jackets and were helped on board a traditional catamaran. It was so hot – but very lovely. The captain/oarsman, a local fisherman, paddled us slowly around the edge of the lake (which had fabulous views of Sidiriya Lion Rock). He then stopped to make each of us a lotus flower gift: a bouquet for me, necklaces for Toby and Millie-Mae, and a rather fetching hat for Huw! We then returned to where we joined the catamaran. 

Traditional cooking experience

Next up was a cooking experience unlike any other I’ve experienced. First, the cook topped some coconuts so we could drink the water (yummy). She then demonstrated how she removes the husks, empties the flesh from the shell; and she then proceeded to cook with the coconut.

She made a coconut roti flatbread that consisted of fresh coconut, rice flour (which Toby had a go at grinding), and some salty water. While this cooked, on a banana leaf over a flame, she made a sambol. She took some chilli and salt, and ground them, before adding onion and more fresh coconut. She then continued to grind until the ingredients had mixed. This was served with a piece of the flatbread and a coconut shell full of hot herbal tea. I thought it was all rather nice!

Tuk tuk

And just as we slurped our last mouthfuls of tea, two tuk tuks arrived to whisk us back to base. The tuk tuk that Toby and myself were in was blaring out reggae music … it felt very authentic as we held on for dear life!

Once back at the minibus we made our way back to the hotel for an afternoon in the swimming pool.

Evening BBQ

Our itinerary did include an evening BBQ, with cocktails and live music … but we opted out. It had been a long couple of days, and we just wanted to spend a few hours relaxing at the hotel. We know tomorrow is going to be another full-on day of adventure, as we journey towards Kandy.

Day 4 – Dambulla to Kandy

After checking out of the hotel we were driven approximately 15 minutes to a Spice Garden.

Spice Garden

We had a fascinating tour of all the plants/spices they use in their ayurvedic treatments. I never knew, until now, that pepper is a vine/creeper. Did you know that? We saw plants of aloe vera, nutmeg, vanilla, ginger, pepper, cloves, coffee, lotus, cinnamon, cardamon, cocoa, coke (from which cocaine is derived), and turmeric. We learned that sandalwood (red oil) mixed with aloe vera demonstrates skin tightening – a natural Botox. So you can bet I’ll put that to the test once back at home! Also, turmeric paste added directly to hairy skin was a natural hair remover. This was demonstrated on Millie’s leg, and she now has a bald patch! 

After the garden tour we were given cups of herbal tea and each given a head, neck and shoulder massage using sandalwood (red) oil. It was very relaxing, though at times on the threshold of my pain limit! Unfortunately the hard sell to buy oils (at high cost) in their shop at the end marred the visit a little – but it was none-the-less very interesting and educational.

We were then driven to our next hotel, Earl’s Regency Hotel in Kandy. Our driver thought we were staying here for 2 nights; our itinerary stated just the one, so I kept querying it. He finally checked and I was indeed correct, but that meant as soon as we had dropped off our bags in our rooms, we were rushed out again to do the things he had planned for the following day.

The Temple of the Sacred Tooth

The Temple of the Sacred Tooth, or Sri Dalada Maligawa, is a Buddhist temple located in Kandy. It is in the Royal Palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country.

The relic was historically held by the Sinhalese kings. The Temple of the Sacred Tooth is designated a World Heritage Site. It is a very sacred place. If you visit – and it is well worth doing so – you must abide by the dress code (long trousers for men and head covers for women) and be shoeless when entering. You can book a guided tour for about 1200 rupees (about £3).

The temple has many decorated relics and images displayed as you ascend. The inner temple is reached by a flight of stairs and there is a viewing platform where you can make offerings of lotus flowers and to offer praise. It is very busy on most days and even moreso during festivals.

Wooden carving demonstration (and shop)

If you wanted to take home a carved wooden elephant, of any local wood type and size known to man, this was the place to get it! They did sell other things too, like carved wooden masks, chess boards and furniture – but it was elephants that stole the show!

The Gem Museum

We stopped at the Gem Museum, which in its defence did have a short presentation about mining for gems and a small exhibition, with a pretend mining tunnel to walk through.

But ultimately it was a shop selling gems of all types and sizes, and probably at good prices. It was lost on me as I rarely wear jewellery, let alone precious gems (I’d lose them and get very upset with myself). But if you are in to sparkles, and are in the market to make a purchase, this is a place to check out.

After the Gem Museum we were due to visit the Silk Gardens – but it was such a hot day and all we wanted to do was get back to the hotel’s air conditioning. It may have been interesting, but I fear would have become another hard sell to purchase fabric – I was too tired for that! Good day though, just very hot!

Day 5 – Kandy to Ella

Today we set off very early (7:30am) as we have a lot to fit in. First up was the Hanging Hulu Bridge, which we were originally scheduled to visit yesterday but I think time was against us.

Hanging Hulu Bridge

We’ve walked across many hanging bridges before – lots in Costa Rica – so we thought it would be exciting to do one in Sri Lanka too. Our driver stopped in the middle of a road bridge, over a river, telling us that this was the hanging bridge. We got out of the van and took some photos, but it wasn’t the hanging bridge we saw in the photos in our itinerary! I did question it, several times, but he was certain this road bridge was the Hanging Hulu Bridge. Does this look like a hanging bridge to you?

The views from this bridge were stunning, but we were still left feeling very disappointed.

Further up-river we saw the dam – we asked if we could stop to take a photo, and we did.

But then we whizzed past the official dam viewpoint – we would have liked to stop there, if only for 1-2 minutes. I’m afraid I’m starting to feel, especially after yesterday, that we are being driven from one sales opportunity to another. There was nothing to sell us at the viewpoint so we didn’t stop … 

I’m trying my hardest to enjoy this experience, as it has (literally) cost me my life insurance. But I’m struggling today. I want to see nature, the views, the landmarks; take photos of the beautiful flowering trees and colourful birds. I want to buy a small decoration I can hang on my Christmas tree as a reminder of our travels. That’s all. We are here to experience and learn – but everything so far leads to an awkward “now you buy this” moment, and because it is just the four of us and we’re not a coach load of tourists, we’re struggling to politely decline and walk away. It really is ruining this whole experience at the moment.

I have no idea where we are heading now. I know we are catching a train to Ella in 3 hours’ time though, and I am really looking forward to that.

DAMRO Tea Factory

We pulled into the carpark of the largest tea factory in Sri Lanka, as we were booked onto a factory tour. The tour was interesting and took around 10-15 minutes. We saw the whole process of making black and white tea, from drying the leaves, grinding them, fermenting, and drying (again). The process of making black tea takes 1 day from picking to having it ready to drink. And for every 5 kilos of leaves picked, you make 1 kilo of tea.

Most of the tea goes to Colombo, where the large tea companies (like Liptons) purchase the teas to blend with others for their own brands.

After the tour we got try a cup of BOP tea – Broken Orange Pekau, which we know as English Breakfast tea. It was lovely.

Refreshingly there was no hard selling here. They had a shop, which we visited, and we bought some tea to take home.

I wish all the places we visit were like this! Visiting this tea factory has boosted our moods and we’re feeling positive again.

We are now heading to the train station, for our train ride to Ella. 

Sri Lanka Railways: Colombo to Ella

We arrived at Nanu Oya Station just after 12 noon and headed for Platform 2. Our tickets had been booked in advance, and we had reserved seats. 

The train was running 25 minutes late, and the platform filled up with people. When it pulled into the station there was a bit of a crush to get through the one door that served several carriages. We quickly found our seats though and the windows were wide open, letting in a lovely cool breeze.

The journey to Ella took around 2 hours – and it was spectacular. This train journey often makes the list of the world’s best train rides … all travelogues and celebrity travellers ride this train. For good reason. Our one and only rainstorm in Sri Lanka hit around the middle of the journey – very refreshing, but we had to close the window for a little while! So pleased we chose to take this train. It was an incredible experience.

Leaving the train, and finding our Luxtripper driver, we then drove through Ella up to our hotel for the night, the amazing 98 Acres Resort and Spa.

Little Adam’s Peak

Once settled into our rooms Huw and Millie went out for a walk and ended up climbing to the top of Little Adam’s Peak – a mountain directly in front of our hotel rooms. 

The hike took around an hour to get to the peak and back, and that included spending some time at the top. It was a well-defined path all the way, with 70% being open steps. The top part was a little more challenging, with a more natural path – need to watch your footing.

Once at the top, there’s a flat area to stand and take in the views.

Approximately 40% along the hike you reach the base for the Ravana zipline – Sri Lanka’s fastest and longest zipline. The bottom of the zipline is just outside Ella. It was very popular.

Here there is also a giant swing.

Day 6 – Ella to Jetwing Yala

This morning we had a leisurely 11am start. We were thinking about taking a tuk tuk into town so we could look around the tourist souvenir shops. We overslept, and Millie and Toby decided they wanted to climb Little Adam’s Peak (second time for Millie) so we ran out of time. However our driver was happy to drop us in town, so that’s what we did. I bought a poster for our hallway, some incense and keyrings!

Ella as a town has got ‘hippy vibes’ – a backpacker’s paradise with coffee shops and cafes offering avocado toast and health-boosting smoothies. I liked it!

Ravana Falls

On route to Yala we stopped off at Ravana Falls, which was – literally – along the roadside. There hasn’t been any rain for 3 months, but even so the waterfall was very impressive. I imagine after a few days of rain it would be epic!

I loved the ice cream tuk tuk parked here!

On route to Yala we had to slow down as this monitor lizard crossed the road …

We arrived at Jetwing Yala late afternoon.

Day 7 – All-Day Safari

An early start today – 7am, for a full day safari in Yala National Park. We saw our breakfast and lunch loaded into the jeep just before us. I’ll add a list at the end of all the animals we saw, as there were so many.

At 9:30am we stopped at the beach for our packed breakfast of sandwiches, boiled eggs, a croissant and seeded muffin, bananas and a carton of fruit juice. We ate at a rather beautiful spot, while listening to the waves crashing onto the shore.

Our safari continued on to lunchtime, where we reached a riverside area (with bathroom facilities);  our guide set up a table and chairs down on the shore of the river. He served us a home-made Sri Lankan feast of wild rice, dhal, fish curry, vegetables, curried potato and poppadom. Equally wonderful, he had an ice box full of cold water, cola, lemonade … (it was a hot day!) We really enjoyed lunch – we even had a visitor in the form of a slim and wriggly small rat snake who had a sniff of Millie then decided to dash at me, causing me to move faster than I ever thought possible (I don’t like snakes!) I couldn’t believe how fast it moved!

Another highlight at lunch were the macaques. Cheeky little things; they were stealing whatever they could from the open-backed safari jeeps. We were sensible and locked our bags and snacks in the jeep’s cab – others were less lucky!

Leopard!

The afternoon started off sedately, but then the quest to spot a leopard began. Yala National Park is famous for leopards, so it’s the top animal to see on this safari drive. Guides were on the phone to one another, checking to see if any had been spotted. We parked up a few times and waited patiently. And then, with no warning, the driver hit the accelerator and off we raced through the Bush, with us holding on for dear life! As we were being thrown around a corner (a rally driver would have been impressed!) we came to a screeching halt.

Ahead of us, in the road, was a female leopard, casually strolling along without a care in the world. If only she knew the safari paparazzi were after her! And we had her to ourselves as we followed her down the road. She had a wee, then a poo, then gave us a quick glance and pootled off into the undergrowth. That was a genuine magical moment! Slightly concerned that my instinct was to want to stroke her. She looked very fluffy, and, well, just like an oversized moggy!

 After that highlight we started the long journey through the National Park back to the hotel. I tried to keep up with a list of all the creatures we saw throughout the day, and here’s my list:

• Grey Langur
• Wild Boar
• Peacock
• Spotted Deer
• Black-headed Ibis
• Ring-necked Parakeets
• Mongoose
• Jungle Fowl (national bird of Sri Lanka)
• Cuckoo
• Green Bee-eater
• Saltwater Crocodile
• Egret
• Pelican
• Spoonbill
• Painted Stork
• Chameleon
• Red-Wattled Lapwing
• Asian Elephant
• Crested/Changeable Hawk Eagle
• Water Buffalo
• Rat Snake!
• Kingfisher
• Leopard

And here’s a gallery of some of my favourite photos:

Day 8 – Yala to Kalutara

Last night we returned to the hotel covered top to toe in safari dust! My hair was like cardboard! Why I decided to wear (and ruin) white trainers is a mystery. We showered and had a quick dinner and all four of us were fast asleep by 9pm! 

Today we checked out at 9am, on our drive through four districts of Sri Lanka, via the Southern Express Highway, to our next 2-night stop at Kalutara.

As we knew we were passing close to Galle on the way, we asked our driver if we could be dropped off in the Fort area for an hour or so to explore. Instead we were offered a river boat ride (paid excursion) rather than just allowing us some time to explore on foot, on our own. When we said no to the river boat excursion the entire stopping in Galle was removed from the table, which is a great shame as we would have liked to visit. We also expressed an interest in visiting the turtle sanctuary, but again it seems we had to join the paid river boat excursion for us to go here too.  

So today we are just being driven from hotel to hotel, no stops along the way. We have a day at leisure tomorrow – perhaps we’ll see if we can get down to Galle under our own steam, or pick up an excursion to there from the hotel. Shame, as we could easily have visited today to break up the journey. Our hotel for the next two nights is Hotel Avani Kalutara.

Day 9 – Galle

Today we decided to go rogue and do some independent travelling, given as our itinerary has today as a rest day. So with the help of the hotel staff we left at 7am on two tuk tuks heading for South Kalutara Station, where we bought Second Class tickets to Galle (costing 350 Sri Lankan Rupees each person each way – about 80p). The journey took around 2 hours and for a while it was standing room only. At one point Toby was sitting in the open doorway with his legs outside!

The train was very busy, but we struck up some pleasant conversations along the way.

When we arrived it was a short walk to the gate through which Galle Fort began. Our first stop was a cafe for coffee and some cold drinks. The following 3 hours we looked at various bastions and fort buildings, as well as visiting some souvenir shops. But wow it was so hot – we had to keep stopping for drinks and to get out of the heat. 

We caught the 2:45pm train back to South Kalutara – we quickly found seats as none of us were in the mood to stand! All windows were open and there was a pleasant breeze … desperate for some air conditioning though.

It was a good day – quite the adventure!

Day 10 – Kalutara to Heritance Negombo

We didn’t leave the hotel until lunchtime, as we only needed to be driven the short hop to Negombo (maximum of an hour). Our first hotel night in Sri Lanka was also our last hotel night in Sri Lanka, as we stayed again at Heritance Negombo.

Once settled into the hotel, Huw and Toby went for a dip in the pool, while Millie and I chilled out – knowing we had a 4am check out the following morning, for our flight to the Maldives!

Day 11 – Negombo to Colombo Bandaranaike Airport

We could easily have slept in today, but instead we woke in the middle of the night to check out of the hotel while the outside was still in darkness. The hotel packed us a substantial breakfast, but it was too early to eat and we couldn’t take it on the plane with us.

Our drive to Colombo only took 30-40 minutes, which was the point where we said goodbye to Pinna, and marked the start of the next part of our adventure, to the Maldives.

Sri Lanka Trip Overview

Pinna, our driver

Having a driver for the entire tour was really good. You get to know their driving style for one thing! He was always on time, but occasionally his communication with us was confusing. Being told that a solid structure road bridge was a hanging bridge, and his insistence on it being so, was quite belittling of his guests. Honesty is always the best policy and he simply didn’t have time for us to visit it, and should have said so.

Galle was just ‘strange’. We were passing by it, but rather than let us go and have a stroll around, we could only visit if we joined a paid excursion – that we didn’t want to do. We did suggest covering the cost of any additional fuel, but we were not sure he understood. 

Overall Pinna tried very hard and safely drove us around Sri Lanka. He is a lovely guy.

Overall itinerary

In 11 days we covered a LOT of ground, and with this you have to accept that you can’t do everything. This was a ‘Highlights of Sri Lanka’ tour as opposed to ‘see everything’ tour, which would require many more days. In hindsight we would have liked a little more time in cities/destinations to view them independently (we love a good souvenir tat shop – we barely saw any. We’re sure they exist though!) I guess we are used to travelling independently, and having a fixed itinerary and a driver whose job is to get us from A to B each day does somewhat remove any spontaneity of stumbling across a hidden gem cafe, or shop, or view, etc. 

Yet we also know that we’d never have seen so much of Sri Lanka had we planned it independently. This is a different type of travel for us, and it did take some getting used to. 

Tipping and hard selling

The hard sell in Kandy and other places was tiresome. I wish it hadn’t happened as it spoiled that part of our trip. 

Tipping is very much expected, and appreciated – though it did feel on some days that a simple ‘good morning’ was being financially rewarded as money kept draining from the holiday purse! As a British family not accustomed to day-to-day tipping, we should have allocated more money towards this. 

Final thoughts

We have experienced a full-on highlights tour of Sri Lanka.

Has it been magical? 

Yes, in parts it really has. Definitely the Kandy to Ella train ride and the safaris in both Minneriya and Yala National Parks.

Has it been luxurious (Luxtripper, by virtue of its name suggests it will be)?

Yes, but there was variation between the hotels, as you would expect. More ‘non-buffet’ dinners would have elevated the food experiences as the buffets were more or less identical across all hotels. 

Was it value for money?

Our whole 17 day trip (with a further 5 nights in the Maldives) cost a total of just under £16,000. This is £4,000 per person, of which I’d guess £1,000 is the Maldives portion. This also includes six flights – London to Colombo, Colombo to Male, internal domestic flights x 2, Male to Colombo and Colombo back to London – amounting to 26 hours in the air. It also includes all food, albeit a LOT of buffets! It included all the driving, and all the planned visits.

So when you look at it like this, I don’t think we’d have been able to get close to this price if we booked each element independently. 

Do we want to return to Sri Lanka?

Yes we’d love to. To do more safaris and visit the places not on this itinerary. It’s a very friendly country, and there’s so much to see and do there.

Would we use Luxtripper again?

Had we answered this before we set off, the answer would be ‘not sure’. A year ago, when we were originally due to take this holiday, our travel insurance wouldn’t cover us because of a UK government advisory against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka. Luxtripper wouldn’t allow us to cancel, insisting that their clients were still flying to Sri Lanka with no issues. Yet we were not going to travel without insurance, so we had to pay extra to move the trip forward a year. I believe they should have honoured the government advisory and been more accommodating at that time. 

A month or so before we flew to Sri Lanka we were contacted by Luxtripper as one of our planned hotels had been caught keeping an elephant in captivity. Luxtripper immediately removed the hotel from their system – and I’m so pleased they did. Had I seen an elephant chained up, I think it would have broken my heart. Our replacement hotel was quite special as it turned out!

Now we have completed this part of our booking (we’re about to fly to the Maldives), I’m pleased we booked with Luxtripper. Once we were on the plane in London the itinerary went without any major issues.

I would definitely book with Luxtripper again, especially for tropical tours and multi-country itineraries. Their Pacific Islands trips look gorgeous! I would however want to fly in Premium Economy, as my bones are getting way too old for cattle class!