PORTFOLIO

We didn’t know Sri Lanka was going to be our last destination together travelling but we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect send off from Asia. In the couple of months prior to this trip we hadn’t moved around loads, spending two months in India and a month in Hanoi, so we were itching to get moving. We had seen people driving themselves around Sri Lanka in a tuktuk online and hadn’t actually fancied doing it considering our absence of tuktuk driving experience, but when we met our new friends whilst travelling they sold us on it. Our own schedule, the freedom to pull over whenever we wanted and the stress of driving in a new country to bond us.

I’m going to tell you exactly how we did it with an overview of each stop along the way and as always I’ll do a deep dive into each destination on another post. This trip became one of our favourite adventures and Sri Lanka welcomed us with open arms, so it was a bittersweet end to an incredible year.

Why we chose Sri Lanka

As we were in India planning our next steps we actually had quite a few options available for our next destination. Sri Lanka was always on the radar but neither of us had really considered it. So we began researching our options

My favourite option was going to the Maldives, then Sri Lanka and heading back to Malaysia from there. I was imaging a few weeks spent on beaches and ending with Orangutans in Borneo, my ideal holiday. This was coming up a tad ‘expensive’ though, our extreme budgeting had made it hard to spend money by this point, so we considered spending longer in Sri Lanka and skipping the Maldives. This was a big compromise for me as the Maldives is a dream destination but I would rather go with less budgeting and really make the most of our time in Sri Lanka and have a real adventure.

After doing the Ha Giang Loop and renting a car in Japan, we now know how good it feels to be out exploring roads you wouldn’t normally be on as a tourist. We were hesitant to drive ourselves though in a tuktuk as we are aware a lot of tourists can cause accidents which is very disruptive to locals. However, we knew that we wouldn’t take risks whilst driving and if at any point we didn’t think Ash was managing the driving well we would stop and take public transport.

Choosing a Tuktuk Rental

Before committing to a rental company Ash made sure to research every company we could go with to make sure we had one that suited us. There are now many tuktuk rentals in Sri Lanka with the biggest company being TukTuk Rental, this is also who our friends went with. We didn’t find any reason to not go with them other than the cost compared to other companies. I believe with them you also get help with the route and suggestions on where to go but we had already found out this kind of information online.

We decided to go with TukTuk Ceylon Ride, who provided many options for pickup and drop off locations, easy to communicate with and a cheaper price point. The majority of the reviews online were very positive and we couldn’t find a reason to not book with them. They sorted out all our documents we needed to drive the tuktuk. I couldn’t and wouldn’t have wanted to drive the tuktuk as I only got one of the International Driving Permits before we left that covered a lot of countries but not all. Whereas Ash, being the more confident driver got both. I think I probably could have managed driving it and most of the roads were very quiet and straight but we didn’t have a whole load of time to practice. Ash had a driving lesson before we set off and filmed everything, including them showing us in and around the tuktuk so we could always reference back to it if needed. It cost us about £250 for the three week Tuktuk hire and then fuel on top of that but we found it pretty reasonable when filling up.

During our three week trip we only had one ‘issue’ and that was an original document missing from our little license and registration pack but they explained they had never had this be a problem before and they spoke with the officer who had stopped us to sort it out. It is quite common to get stopped by police on the roads, not just tourists but locals as well. I think we did have a slight advantage with this though as Ash was constantly being told he looked Sri Lankan so we only got stopped once on the whole trip but we never broke the speed limit or drove dangerously in anyway.

We didn’t have any technical problems apart from the low battery light came on for about three minutes then went off again and we were assured it wouldn’t be an issue, which it wasn’t and we only had to top up our oil once. We had lots of help from guest home owners and friendly locals, so as long as you have all the correct documents and you are driving safely you should have a fantastic time driving around the country.

Driving in Sri Lanka

The speed limit for tuktuks is 40kmph, so the time Google maps gives you between destinations will be a lot faster than reality. That does give you plenty of time to soak in the scenery and the ever changing landscapes. Not only is the speed limit quite low, not that tuktuks can go much faster than that anyway, you aren’t allowed to go on the Expressways. Furthermore, tuktuks often need little breaks on long journeys as they can quickly overheat which gives opportunities for ice cream breaks and stopping at fruit stalls along the way. Even if we didn’t have to have breaks, there were so many times we pulled over anyway to admire the view which is the joy of driving yourself.

The roads were often quiet and only really got busy when we were in bigger towns but the main traffic is the buses. If you have heard anything about driving in Sri Lanka it’s probably about how fast the buses go. Nothing really prepares you for the first time one overtakes you but after a while you get used to it. They aren’t the safest overtakes either, so just took in as far as you can and let them fly by. Many other vehicles will also overtake or pull out on you so just make sure you are concentrating as tuktuks aren’t the best with balance.

Other traffic you will come across comes in the form of animals, unwavering dogs lie in the middle of the road, Cattle herds pass slowly and many signs telling you to watch out for elephants and occasionally crocodiles. Another good reason to stick to the speed limit as you never know what is about to come out of the bushes. We did avoid B35 which is commonly known as ‘Elephant Road’ as we didn’t really want to come across a wild elephant who has learned that vehicles mean food whilst we were driving a relatively slow tuktuk. Our friends went on that road and saw an elephant and they kept their distance and everything went well but we had many locals who told us to not go on that road as recently there elephants had become more aggressive.

Which Route to Take

We covered quite a lot of distance in our three weeks, although according to a Tamil Sri Lankan we know we missed the best area, which is the North, so I guess we will have to go back to see it. If you were to book a tour of Sri Lanka like my parents did, you usually get taken to the Cultural Triangle: Sigiriya, Anuradhapura and Kandy If you were booking a beach holiday you would be going to Bentota, Mirissa or Arum Bay, depending on the time of year and how much surfing you were hoping to do. And finally, if you were looking for a safari holiday there are multiple National Parks to choose from with the most popular being Yala.

The benefit of driving yourself or exploring via bus routes though means you don’t have to decide on one type of holiday. You can see all of the ancient sites, relax by the beach and go waterfall hunting in the highlands. Obviously the longer you spend in one country the more places you can visit and unfortunately we did miss a few stops we wanted to go to so that we could spend a bit longer in places to fully explore.

To start planning I read lots of blogs and watched many videos which not only helped to plan but got me so excited for our trip there. Then I made a powerpoint of each destination and any key information about where to stay and tips on each area then narrowed down our choices based on the best route for driving. I also noted places to eat and stay from peoples recommendations online.

Everyones first stop into the country is Colombo/Negombo. Although the airport is called Colombo it is actually closer to Negombo so most people go there first, like we did, and it’s a great place to start. A lot of the tuktuk rentals can be found here and it is a nice area to explore, much calmer than the capital of Colombo. We only ever drove through Colombo as it is a big city and many visitors said there wasn’t loads to do there. You can get tuktuks straight from the airport but we wanted to rest and get a feel of the country, even for just a small amount of time before setting off.

From Negombo, we chose to go north up the country and see the historical sites first before heading down into the central highlands, finishing off with the southern beaches and we were so happy with our decision. If you are driving yourself, the journey to Anuradhapura is so flat, straight and quiet it gives you plenty of time to get used to the vehicle and become confident on the roads. If you aren’t driving it is also a good direction to start in as there is so much to see and do in the North and centre that finishing by relaxing on the beach is a great way to end.

Some people go straight to Sigirya or Kandy in the centre which I can understand as these are probably the most well known areas in Sri Lanka. If you are on limited time then I do think this is a good idea as long as you aren’t driving your own tuktuk, the highlands are, well, high, and very steep with fairly unpredictable weather. This is why the majority of companies offer a service to drive your tuktuk from Kandy to Ella whilst you get the train which is a popular tourist activity in itself. However, when getting the train, it is quieter to go from Ella to Kandy as it is the less busy route.

There are multiple National Parks to do Safaris and if you are going straight to the central regions then heading South, Yala is the one you will go to but there is Wilpattu in the North. If you are planning to go to Anuradhurpa then Wilpattu is a quieter National Park than Yala with many of the same animals so is a fantastic option. There is also Udawalawe and Horton Plains in the middle of the country just south of Kandy and Ella so a good option if you are on a shorter trip rather than travelling all the way down to Yala.

Our route

Day 1: Flew in to Colombo Airport and stayed in Negombo

Day 2: Picked up Tuktuk and drove to Anuradhapura (5 hour drive with stop at Dewmi Ranthura Foods and Puttalam)

Day 3-4: Explored Anuradhapura then drove to Trincomalee (4 hour drive with stop at Mihintale and by a lake in the middle of nowhere)

Day 5: Explored Trinco and saw the deers

Day 6: Drove to Sigirya (3 hour drive stopping at Kantale Wewa Reservoir) and hiked Pidurangala Rock

Day 7-8: Drove to Kandy (4 hour drive with a stop to fill up oil near Dambula) then explored Kandy

Day 9-10: Drove to Nuwara Eliya (4 hour drive in the rain) then explored Nuwara Eliya and sent postcards

Day 11-12: Drove to Ella (3 hour drive, the hardest drive as it was so hilly, pulled over to admire the view a lot this leg) then hiked 9-arch bridge and Little Adams Peak

Day 13-14: Drove to Tissa (3 hour drive avoiding ‘Elephant Road’ B35) then Yala National Park tour

Day 15-16: Drove to Mirissa (4 hours stopping to see the sea a few times) and ate very good food in Mirissa

Day 17-18: Drove to Galle (1.5 hour drive) then were rained in so booked my flight home

Day 19: Explored Galle Fort then drove to Bentota (2 hour drive stopping again to admire the sea view)

Day 20-21: Beach day in Bentota then drove back to Negombo (3 hour drive going through Colombo city centre) gave back the Tuktuk a day early

Day 22: Flew back to Manchester ending our year long trip