- Sri Lanka
- Jewels of Sri Lanka with Highlights of Kerala Extension
Our tour allows you to experience the beautiful interior of Sri Lanka, exploring the delights of Dambulla, Sigiriya Rock and the colonial cities of Kandy and Galle. Visit ancient temples of past civilisations, wonder at the beautiful botanical gardens in Peradeniya, meet the elephants at the Pinnawala Orphanage and take a safari through Yala National Park.
Why not continue your trip beyond Sri Lanka with a mini tour of the beautiful Indian state of Kerala. This extension includes a tour of Cochin, one of India's major ports and trading centres and an overnight trip on an authentic Keralan Houseboat.
Depart on your scheduled, overnight flight to Colombo International Airport.
Dinner
On arrival you will be met by your local guide and transferred to Dambulla which will take approximately 4 hours. The rest of your evening at leisure.
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Depart in the morning to explore the stunning Sigiriya Rock Fortress, a World Heritage Site dating back to the 5th century AD. Also known as the 'Lion Rock', it is a citadel of unusual beauty rising 200 metres from the jungle. Following lunch continue on to the ancient city of Polonnaruwa which was once a royal capital of the Sinhalese kingdom and is over 1000 years old. It was chosen as the capital as it was advantageously positioned to safeguard against possible attacks from the southeast, as well as supposedly having fewer mosquitoes! Here you can admire the ruins of the Royal Palace and wander around the Gal Vihara, famous for its splendid carved Buddha statues. Please note: photography is prohibited in parts of the Sigiriya Rock Fortress. Prohibited areas will be clearly signposted.
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After breakfast, visit the Dambulla Rock Temple, where the impressive caves contain over 2000sq metres of painted walls and ceilings which were once gilded by the ancient King to mark his place of worship. You will then travel to Kandy en route visiting a spice garden followed by lunch and check in at your hotel. Continue to the famous Temple of Tooth Relic in the afternoon - Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist relic and one of the holiest shrines in the Buddhist world. Before dinner relax whilst watching an eclectic cultural show, where performers will dazzle you with ornate costumes and traditional dances.
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Today you will travel to the beautiful botanical gardens in Peradeniya, boasting more than 4,000 species of trees, plants, orchids and creepers. Next, a highlight of this tour is a trip to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, established in 1975 to care for abandoned and wounded elephants. Witness these magnificent creatures in close quarters and see elephants being fed, bathed and trained by the wildlife authorities. This evening enjoy a city tour of Kandy, including the bazaar and arts and crafts centre and a gem museum. Kandy was the last capital of the ancient kings and after defending themselves for over three centuries from the Dutch and Portuguese it finally fell to the hands of the British in 1815.
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Departing Kandy this morning, breathe in the divine scent of Ceylon tea on a morning tour of a sweeping tea plantation, before participating in a walking tour of Nuwara Eliya, whose idyllic mountainside setting strikingly overlooks its neighbouring valleys, meadows and peaks. A truly tranquil district often referred to as the ‘Little England’ of Sri Lanka, take in vistas of misty hillsides, peppered with brightly dressed tea pickers en route to your hotel near Yala.
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
The morning is at leisure before your exciting jeep safari around the magnificent Yala National Game Park, the largest national park in Sri Lanka with a unique ocean front setting. The park is home to elephants, wild boars, buffaloes, bears, deer and crocodiles as well as a number of migratory and indigenous birds. You may even spot a leopard!
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Following breakfast, you will arrive in Galle, once the chief port of Ceylon and the centre of the Dutch regime in the 17th century. A city tour lets you discover the majestic Galle Fort and the surrounding historic buildings which reflect the Dutch heritage which once reined the country. Travel north, to Colombo, for your final night.
Breakfast
Depart Sri Lanka in the morning for your flight to Kochi in India's beautiful southern state of Kerala, where you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
Breakfast
Today you will board a traditional houseboat which will be both your transport and accommodation. This leisurely cruise takes you through the winding backwaters of Kerala, meandering through the beautiful lagoons, rivers and canals whilst enjoying the local food and stunning rural scenery of the surrounding villages.
Breakfast
Disembarking your houseboat after breakfast, your tour continues with a drive through the spectacular countryside. Journey on to Thekkady, a stunning area located high in the Cardamom hills containing tea gardens, rubber, coffee and pepper plantations.
Breakfast
A highlight of Thekkady is the Periyar National Park, India's largest wildlife sanctuary. Board a boat at Periyar Lake where you can view various species of wildlife and enjoy picturesque scenery. Proceed to Kochi for a city tour to see the impressive Chinese fishing nets, before taking a ride through the village roads in a tuk-tuk. You will see the Mattanchery Duch Palace and St. Francis, the oldest European church in India.
Breakfast
Depart after breakfast for your return flight to the UK.
Sorry we cannot book this tour online at the moment.
Gwendoline Aldred
19 Feb 20Very happy with all the hotels
D Lindsay
13 Feb 20Tour manager Ernest was 5 star the best!
Susan Garside
12 Feb 20All hotels on tour were clean and comfortable with good food and very helpful, friendly staff.
Bridget Tanti
27 Jan 20All 4 hotels were lovely and the staff were very efficient and helpful. Improvements may be suggested for Chaarya Resort where the Wifi was poor and, over all, vegetarian meal options were relatively limited.
Jacqueline Goodhew
23 Jan 20Lovely clean hotels , great food, polite staff. Excellent overall.
Graham Reeves
25 Apr 19Nice hotels used throughout
Rhian Jones
12 Apr 19beautiful, good value for money
Leslie Wilkinson
06 Apr 19The hotels we stayed ranged from good to excellent. The staff at each hotel were polite, friendly and welcoming. The checking in process was smooth and efficient and we were highly satisfied with the rooms chosen for us. We particularly liked the Amaya Hills Hotel and the Mount Lavinia Hotel.
Monika Wallace
03 Apr 19All the hotels were very clean, the service was friendly,excellent and all in beautiful surroundings
Elizabeth Watson
30 Mar 19The hotels selected were amazing and surpassed our expectations. Each one was very different with its own character and the locations were perfect. Standard of accomodation was excellent as was the service and the food.
Leanne Puddefoot
27 Mar 19All hotels had a very easy check in system, they were all clean and had a good choice of food, my favourite was Amaya Hills, the view and service was amazing and could not fault it.
Bruce Hester
26 Mar 19Good choice of 4 star hotels
John Dowe
06 Mar 19A mix of tranquillity and beautiful sights, from the balcony and terrace. We would thoroughly recommend this tour and the hotels to anyone. Anyone who complains about any aspect of the whole holiday ought to "get a life". Brandy, our guide, deserves special mention. Throughout the whole trip, he kept everyone together and catered for everyone's needs, much to the annoyance of one couple in particular. He obviously is very experienced, loves his country and its people, and has a wealth of knowledge. He was very informative, had time for everyone and never stopped smiling. Great bloke !!!! The driver and helper were much the same, and you have to admire the way the driver handled that bus, particularly in the mountains, and on busy streets, where, sometimes, it seemed that the population wanted to turn themselves into "bonnet mascots" on his bus. Well done to them all !!!
Wendy Wood
02 Mar 19Each hotel was excellent, all offering a different experience in terms of environment and settings. The quality of food was good and a wide selection of food.
Kate Franklin
13 Feb 19All hotels were high standard with excellent service. They also seemed to highly value Mercury guests. We were very impressed with the overall efficiency of the organisation of 'pick ups' and hotel check-ins. Also all drivers were very friendly and courteous as well as being good drivers, with comfortable vehicles, on roads that appeared chaotic at times and very busy.
Marie Southgate
25 Jan 19No problems with the hotels
John Cheong
11 Dec 18All hotels were good, with large clean rooms; friendly and helpful staff; and with a good choice in the buffet at breakfast and dinner sufficient to suit all tastes.
Joanne Cockram
12 Oct 18All very clean and above standard.. Extremely pleased
Huw Jones
04 Oct 18Really 1st class hotels throughout, the best standard of many escorted tours I have been on.
John Rickman
03 Oct 18The first and last hotels on the escorted tour were the best. The Amaya lake the best and we would have liked to see more of it. The mount Lavinia second best.
Bernadette James
03 Oct 18All good with Amaya Lake our favourite - excellent facilities.
John Bailey
29 Sep 18All hotels were excellent.
Andrew Ok
28 Sep 18Amaya lake and Hills were fantastic hotels with excellent lacations, rooms, service and food. Chandrika Hotel good. The world famous Mount Lavinia Hotel had the wow factor from the outside and lobby area and excellent food
John Ketchell
08 Sep 18All 5 hotels used were excellent with good food and generally great service.
Margaret Coe
06 Jul 18All very good, excellent rooms, good food, excellent service! Very good swimming pools!!!!!
Philip Walton
16 May 18All hotels excellent as expected, service couldn’t have been better. Only issue could do with mosquito nets in bedrooms.
David Watt
06 Apr 18Excellent quality hotels, just a shame that so much was crammed into the tour that we didn't always get a chance to fully enjoy them. We often arrived late to the hotel, just in time for evening meal, and then have to set the alarm very early for the following morning.
Terrence Winters
01 Mar 18Overall excellent tour only comment would be length of time travelled on some excursions could include refreshment stops and more information regarding clothing and customs etc
Brian Burton
01 Mar 18all the hotels we stayed in were excellent, with really friendly staff and nice food
Pam Jones
04 Feb 18All hotels offered high standards of cleanliness, comfort & food. We loved Amaya Lake with the little lodges & Mount Lavinia was still so Colonial with exceptional cuisine.
Viola Maile
30 Nov 17The first 3 hotels were good but the last one - Mount Lavinia was excellent.
Ian Webb
11 Nov 17All excellent, but it was a pity we always arrived early evening at most of the hotels so we could not usually explore the hotel and grounds properly
Martyn Hall
10 Oct 17Good quality hotels in Sri Lanka
Peter Edwardson
05 Jul 17all hotels 10/10 just not a enough time spent at each hotel more like B&B short each days activity and have 3 days not 2 at each of first three hotels plus 1 night at the last hotel total 10 nights
Bryan Jackson
18 Jun 17Upgrades given 2 hotels.
Jayne Avards
06 Apr 17All the hotels were excellent - though very little time in each to only eat and sleep whilst touring.
Christine Hughes
02 Apr 17I thought whoever had chosen the hotels had chosen them carefully. They were a special experience.
Ben Mnyama
09 Feb 17Mixed from good to excellent. Otherwise not bad at all.
Pauline & James Welch
29 Nov 16Excellent holiday, many thanks. The standards are much better than might have been expected for the price.
Anthony Meachin
26 Oct 16Overall a very good package - with a beach extension. Food and rooms in all the hotels were very good. Mount Lavinia was great.
Elena Zomer
24 Oct 16Excellent choice of hotels and restaurants, my first time away with Mercury but definitely not the last, great trip! Thank you :) The hotels were all very beautiful and of very high standards, I have no complaints as they were very clean with lovely big rooms, great staff, delicious buffets etc.
Valerie Donnan
27 Sep 16An excellent trip. The tour guide made the whole thing a wonderful experience, he went out of his way to make the trip enjoyable for everyone.
David Woodhead
27 Sep 16The tour was first class. Special thanks to our guide and driver.
Linda Copeland
27 Sep 16Our guide was excellent, very knowledgeable and friendly and he made the tour very fun, polite and exciting. Our driver and helper were excellent too. I shall be booking more tours now. Amazing!
Evelyn Mckenzie
27 Sep 16I would definitely recommend and use Mercury Holidays again.
Amanda Richards
13 Jun 16Just returned from a beautiful holiday in Sri Lanka and The Maldives. Would like to inform you that our escorted holiday in Sri Lanka was made special by one of your guides. Sam Samarakoon. He is an asset to Mercury Holidays & his knowledge of the country is amazing. He is also funny and made sure all our transfers took place without any problems. Great holiday, lovely man.
Gordon Paul
09 Jun 16It was our 40th wedding anniversary during the holiday and the recognition of this throughout the trip made this a very special holiday for both of us. Thank you
James Paul
31 May 16It was our 40th wedding anniversary during the holiday and the recognition of this throughout the trip made this a very special holiday for both of us. Thank you.
Carl Mason
29 Mar 16EXCELLENT HOTELS IN SIGIYRIA, KANDY AND BENTOTA. 1ST RATE ROOMS, SERVICE AND STAFF IN ALL 3,
Anthony Sear
29 Mar 16Would like to have spent more time in first hotel as very tired after journey and it was in a beautiful place but we had no time to enjoy it. All staff and the service in all hotels were great.
Christine Reeve
02 Mar 16all to a good standard apart from the service in the restaurant at governors hotel, mount lavinia .for a prestigious hotel this was somewhat of a let down.
Sarah Sampson
20 Feb 16All the hotels were first class.
Jacqueline Shilson
15 Dec 15All hotels were absolutely spotlessly clean, food was good and staff friendly. Lovely visits.
Sheila Scholes
26 Nov 15In the main the hotels were very good with a good choice of food and comfy beds! The beach stay hotel was very good except that because the air conditioning was on 24\7 the rooms felt damp and sometimes had an unpleasant smell. all they needed was a good blow through of fresh air - maybe whilst being cleaned by the hotel staff. Otherwise a lovely stay.
The executive chef, Aloysious at the Hotel Suda Araliya is excellent!
Pamela Hoult
09 Oct 15All the hotels were exceptionally good. The service was good and the food very enjoyable. We couldn't fault anything.
Michael Rainer
07 Oct 15All hotels were first class and beyond our expectation. The staff and service was fantastic.
Susan Palmer
03 Apr 15All hotels during the escorted tour were first class in every way. Fantastic rooms and facilities, excellent choice of food at all meals.
Sally Kennis
22 Dec 14Our second visit to this hotel and they have made a lot of improvements. Most rooms have been upgraded but the best thing is the great, friendly staff. Rooms are large and cleaned everyday with clean sheets, towels etc. We shall certainly return for another relaxing holiday.
Paul Stickley
19 Dec 14Hotel staff were excellent. We had to fly home 3 days early due to illness at home, the hotel staff were very helpful.
Carol Turff
02 Dec 14All the hotels we stayed at were of a very high standard. We were pleasantly surprised!! Some variations at each hotel of course but overall for the holidays the hotels were good.
The order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions or for operational purposes. The schedules of the domestic airlines in country are subject to frequent changes. For this reason, we have indicated approximate times only. Your local guide will inform you of any schedule changes as they are informed of them. Some road construction &/or weather conditions may lengthen the driving times. Our intention is to adhere to the day-to-day itinerary as printed; however, order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions.
If booking more than 12 weeks before departure a deposit of €324.50pp will need to be paid at the time of booking with the full amount payable at 12 weeks prior to departure. The deposit applies to adults and children. If you are within 12 weeks of travel then the full balance of the holiday will be payable.
A visa is required for entry into Sri Lanka. You can apply and pay for your visa online. Please visit https://www.srilankaevisa.lk/ to obtain your visa. You should get your approval notice within 24 hours, and you can use this to enter Sri Lanka. A visa can still be obtained when arriving at Colombo airport but visas will cost more on arrival. Alternatively, we work closely with The Travel Visa Company who will be able to arrange your visa for you on your behalf. Please call them on 01270 250 590 and quote "Mercury Holidays". Passports must be valid for a minimum period of six months from the date of arrival in Sri Lanka. Visa requirements are subject to change and obtaining a visa is the responsibility of the traveller and not Mercury Holidays. We recommend you check with your destinations' Tourist Board or Embassy prior to departure for the most up to date guidelines regarding visas and passport validity.
India/Kerala visa requirements
A visa is required for entry into India. British Citizen Passport Holders will need to obtain a tourist visa. You can apply for an E-visa here no more than 120 days in advance e-visa. Alternatively you can visit The Indian Visa Application Centre in London: 142-148 Goswell Road, London, EC1B 7DU. We also work closely with The Travel Visa Company who will be able to arrange your visa on your behalf. Please call them on 01270 250 590 and quote 'Mercury Holidays'. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months before you enter India. Visa requirements are subject to change and obtaining a visa is the responsibility of the traveller and not Mercury Holidays. We recommend you check with your destinations' Tourist Board or Embassy prior to departure for the most up to date guidelines regarding visas and passport validity.
Please note that final flight details will be confirmed on your e-ticket and final documentation which will be sent to you approximately 21 days before departure. Weight restrictions will be finalized on your final documentation. Should you wish to take additional luggage you will need to pay extra at check-in. Check-in should be at least 3 hours before departure. If you wish to arrange Airport car parking or accommodation at preferential rates, we recommend you book this in advance with Holiday Extras on 0871 360 2000, quoting HX313.
IMPORTANT: A printed E-ticket is no longer required at check-in, all you need to do is present your passport to the staff at the desk and your boarding pass will be given to you. Please note that you should carry your invoice with flight details on it as you will need to show this at the airport.
Please note we will require your APIS/Passport information at least 2 months in advance to pre purchase your Safari passes, this can be uploaded via our website on "Manage My Booking".
We strongly recommend that you and all members of your party are suitably insured as soon as you book your holiday. It is a condition of booking that you must have suitable travel insurance. It is important that you purchase travel insurance that suitably covers your participation in whatever activities you may undertake at the time that you make your booking. To assist you with this, we have arranged travel insurance in partnership with Holiday Extras. To arrange your travel insurance with Holiday Extras, please call 0800 781 4237 and quote 'WK830' for preferential rates. Please ensure you provide us with the name of your insurer, policy number and their 24-hour emergency contact number as soon as possible. Mercury Holidays will not be liable for any costs incurred by you due to your failure to take out suitable travel insurance from the date of booking.
It is your responsibility to check any health and vaccination requirements applicable to your booked arrangements. We can only provide general information about this. Health and hygiene facilities and disease risks vary from country to country. You should take health advice about your own needs as early as possible and in good time before your departure. Sources of information include; www.fco.gov.uk, http://travelhealthpro.org.uk/, www.hpa.org.uk, your General Practitioner or a specialist clinic.
All our tours feature a “Tour Pace” to help find the right holiday for you. To travel on any of our tours requires unaided mobility and the ability to stroll around the sights, climb stairs and get on and off coaches and boats. The tour pace of Jewels of Sri Lanka is rated Challenging. A good level of fitness is required as you may be on your feet for approximately four hours in a day, though this will be interspersed with regular breaks and will vary from day to day. You will be walking around the sights, and you will be getting on and off coaches, and climbing steps which may be irregular. You will stay in variety of hotels throughout the tour. Our guides will always endeavour to provide the highest level of service and assistance; however, they cannot be expected to cater for customers who are unfit to complete the itinerary. Early morning trains and flights depending upon the schedule and some early morning sightseeing’s are also in this tour. Please note there are approximately 1,300 steps to Sigiriya Rock Fortress, Be sure to take a bottle of water and keep yourself hydrated. The last place to buy water is a canteen near the main entrance. There are also lots of steps at Dambulla Rock Temple.
The currency in Sri Lanka is the Rupee (LKR) and it is a closed currency. This means it is not possible to buy Sri Lankan money in the UK before you travel. It is important to budget carefully as you should not take any Rupee (LKR) out of Sri Lanka when you depart. There are foreign exchange offices and cash available in most places during your tour. Your tour guide will assist you at the start of your tour with currency exchange. Credit and debit cards are accepted in most hotels and some shops and restaurants; a charge is sometimes added for using them. You can take cash or travellers' cheques (in pounds sterling or another foreign currency) and/or a bank card with you and exchange or withdraw rupees once in Sri Lanka. Cash machines will also be available throughout the tour in order to withdraw money in your local currency. It is important that you budget carefully and ensure you have the right form of currency before you arrive in the country.
The currency in Kerala is the Indian Rupee (RS). The Rupee is a closed currency and officially you are not allowed to take any cash out of Kerala. US Dollars and GBP are also widely accepted in these destinations, should you wish to keep an alternative currency on you. Therefore, it is very important that you budget carefully.
Please note: Please take cash as well as cards are not always accepted.
As normal practice you may be asked for your credit card details on check-in at the hotel in order to cover any extras incurred during your stay. If you do not have a credit card, you may be asked for a cash deposit. MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted in hotels as well as American Express.
You will need to take some extra money with you to cover any personal purchases, such as souvenirs, laundry and extra drinks and snacks. Approximately £100 - £200 will be sufficient for the duration of the tour.
Tipping
It is customary to tip your guide and driver. This is at your discretion, but we recommend you allow approximately £5 per person, per day for the driver and assistant and £4 per person, per day for the national guides. It is asked that if you do not tip in the local currency, please do not give coins as these are difficult to exchange. Most guides collect a kitty tip, approximately GBP 15pp for whole tour. Guides usually collect this at the beginning of tour to tip bell boys, porters, trackers and other assistants who will service you throughout the tour.
The minimum number of travellers in your group will be 10, and the maximum will be 25. If in the unlikely event there are less than 10 people booked on your tour date, we will endeavour to reduce any disruption to your holiday and try to operate your tour with lower passenger numbers. If we are not able to operate your departure date then you may be asked to change to a different date and a full refund will be made available to you should this alternative not be suitable.
There is no minimum number of travellers for this extension however the main tour passenger numbers will apply for the main part of the tour. If in the unlikely event there are less than the required number of people booked on your main tour date then you may be asked to change to a different date. A full refund will be made available to you should this alternative not be suitable.
This is a fully escorted tour, meaning that you will be met on arrival by your national guide who will remain with you for the duration of your trip. You will also be joined by a local guide in some of the cities which you visit, ensuring that you have first-hand knowledge at all times. For groups of 5 people or less you will have an English speaking Driver Guide or a Driver and Local/Guides
Private Tour: If you have booked a private tour then you will be accompanied by a Driver Guide or a Driver and Local Guides. These will be available to you during all scheduled sightseeing. Private Tours can depart on any day of the week depending on flight and train schedules and the opening days of the attractions. They will follow the itinerary as described in the brochure unless you have been advised otherwise and you will still have all of the same meals, sightseeing and local excursions included.
Your extension add-on to Kerala is fully escorted.
Safari Vehicles
Your safari will be taken in a jeep, this is a large open roofed truck that seats up to 6 people. Safari drivers take you to areas of the park where wildlife are more likely to be seen but as with all wildlife experiences nothing can be guaranteed. Please note that many paths inside the park are bumpy and dusty.
Your accommodation is selected for convenience, location, comfort or character. Hotel accommodation is generally rated as local three to four-star standard, but please note there is no international classification system for hotels, and differences in facilities and quality do exist between the UK and India. All group tours hotels have private bathroom facilities and air-conditioning, where needed. Rest assured that all accommodation used by Mercury Holidays is regularly inspected by our staff and partners to ensure that standards meet your needs.
A triple room is available but please note that this will be a twin room with a fold away bed for the 3rd passenger.
House Boats
During this tour you will have a night’s stay on board a traditional houseboat as the best way to experience the backwaters of Kerala. The houseboats are built using traditional methods and there is no standardised design or layout. Your group will be split across a range of houseboats each one with between one and six bedrooms. Some will have a single deck consisting of bedrooms and a seated dining area, others may have an upper deck as well. The simple bedrooms feature en-suite and air conditioning but of necessity do not have the same comfort/facilities of a hotel room.
The crew on the ship will prepare your meals in a traditional Keralan style and are employed from the local villages so their English is basic. The guide will be available but as the group is split he will not be on your houseboat at all times.
There will be some activities arranged in the evenings but there is little to do after dark so we would recommend bringing board games, cards, books, etc… to take advantage of this time for relaxation.
Breakfast is always western style and served in the hotel each morning. Dinner (when included) will be taken in local restaurants or at the hotel. A variety of restaurants are visited giving you the chance to experience a range of dishes and flavours. Please note: Please take cash for drinks in the hotels as cards are not always accepted.
There are some dry hotels in Sri Lanka, and some hotels where alcohol can be consumed on the premise but must be brought in from outside. Your guide will pre-warn you of this and if anyone in the group would like to purchase drinks before getting then he will arrange for you to visit a local shop and get what you need wherever possible.
Please contact Customer Experience for questions about other dietary requirements or allergy information. Vegan, vegetarian and non-spicy meal options are available, all meal requests need to be sent over to our suppliers before travel.
It is not recommended to drink the tap water, even in developed countries water may contain unfamiliar elements that can cause upset stomachs. In less developed countries water is not filtered in the same way. 2 bottles of water are supplied per person per day on your tour.
Alcoholic Drinks
During a full moon and religious holidays alcohol shops are closed and it is prohibited by law to serve liquor in any establishment on that day.
Please note that Kerala has strict laws regarding the governance of the sale of alcohol in public places including hotels and restaurants. The sale and consumption of alcohol is therefore often restricted in hotels, varying from one establishment to another. You may however bring your own alcohol with you for private consumption in your room.
In Sri Lanka they celebrate various festivals throughout the year, Vesak Poya is considered one of the most important Buddhist festivals in Sri Lanka and is celebrated on the full moon poya day falling in May. The celebrations begin on the full moon day and continue for a week, where every corner has magical and colourful lanterns. Thai Pongal is the equivalent to a thanksgiving festival usually celebrated in January, followed by the Sinhala and Tamil New Year which is usually celebrated in April, it is a festival were people ensure their houses are clean, purchase new clothes, and prepare many traditional sweets.
It is seen as respectful to cover your shoulders and not to expose too much skin in Sri Lanka, so it would be advisable to pack a shawl or similar for women to cover up, including wearing up to/covering your knees when entering religious buildings etc.
Please note that plastic bottles are banned in the national parks so keep a reusable water bottle for your tour.
On your arrival in Colombo you will be met by a representative from our local agent, Aitken Spence, holding a sign displaying: “Mercury Holidays”. The Mercury Holidays/Aitken Spence representative will show you to your transfer vehicle. Your guide will be able to answer any queries.
If you need to contact Aitken Spence during your stay the details are: Aitken Spence Travel (Colombo) 4th Floor Aitken Spence Towers 02 315, Vauxhall Street Colombo 02 Sri Lanka Contact number: 0094 112 499623
Emergency contact information: Please find below the emergency contact details for Aitken Spence Travel Contact Telephone number Rizmika 0094 772 916461 Anu 0094 774593182
Please find below the emergency contact details while you are in Kerala Jayasree Travel and Tours Ms Jayasree Vikraman 0091 974 700 5888 Ms Samitha 0091 974 471 3380 Mr Jagdish Nair 0091 956 208 9699 Mr Anil Kumar 0091 984 706 6802 Mrs Prashansa Alkesh 0091 997 148 8995