Sri Lanka is often described by travellers as “India-light”. It is far more compact, with many of the highlights possible to cover in a week; it has a similar culture in many ways; similar type of experiences on offer, such as tropical beaches, old forts, tea plantations etc; and it is generally a bit less hectic than the madness of a busy India. But, if looking at the flip side, it also doesn’t really offer anything that India doesn’t. So, if you have experience of India, you may find Sri Lanka chilled, pretty, nice to get around, but without necessarily the wow factor. The exception to this though is the Tea Country and the spectacular train ride through it
I’ve listed below the classic, compact 1 week itinerary for some of the highlights and a few high level tips to help you get the most out of the trip:
- Time of year – the experience of Sri Lanka varies dramatically by season. Basically, December to March / April is the best time for this itinerary as it is dry (and nicely cooler) season in the south coast and Hill Country. April to September is best for the north of the country and the Ancient Sites, again because it is drier
- Prioritise time in the Tea Country – the beaches in the south are lovely, Galle is nice for an afternoon, and its worth dedicating half a day to try and see a Blue Whale in Mirissa, but the highlight is the Tea Country for not just the tea estates, but also the hiking and pretty “Old English” feel towns
- Book your trains in advance – you DO NOT want to be standing. I’ve read in a few guide books that it doesn’t really matter if you stand – I think that’s ok for a hour or so, but for longer it really isn’t fun. It’s Sri Lanka – 2nd and 3rd class unreserved will have people crammed in to the point that you can’t sit on the floor and need to stand. Tickets become available 30 days in advance and are super cheap (US$7 for first class just about everywhere), so jump on the train website (really not as bad as people whinge about) or, if left it late, buy at the stations (only the large stations such as Colombo, Kandy and Nanuoya sell reserved seating tickets)
- You’ll want a driver for parts of the trip – some parts of the journey you cannot take a train, such as from Galle up to the Tea Country, and some parts you’ll want a driver to take you around the immediate sites, such as the tea factories and estates. Considering you only have a week, and potentially can share the cost among multiple people, it’s just easier to get a driver for the day. They’re typically US$50 for the day and it also has the benefit of being able to speak in detail with a local as they proudly show you their country. I rented Siri (+94 77 779 8962) for my drive from Mirissa to Ella, who was very knowledgeable; and Yoga (+94 75 165 0205) for around Nuwara Eliya. I’d recommend both
- I wish I’d . . . visited the Uda Walaw National Park. Would have been great to see more of the wildlife, and it fits perfectly into the route
- For more details on each of the experiences, see the detailed travel entries for:
Kandy, with its Temple of the Sacred Tooth and basic Buddhist museums on the relatively peaceful north shore of Kandy Lake, is nice as a brief 2 hour stop on the way to the Tea Country in the south or the Ancient sites in the north. But I don’t suggest spending more time than that, and certainly prioritise stopping overnight in the likes of the super picturesque tea village of Ella (see The Hill Country Village of Ella for more details) or the “Little England” experience of Nuwara Eliya (see Staying in Nuwara Eliya’s Little England for more details)
There’s a reason it is regularly included in an itinerary of Sri Lanka, but never as one of the highlights . . .
Picture-perfect, bright white Andalucian towns dramatically wedged in to the rugged peaks and sharp valleys of the Parque Natural Sierra Grazalema make this one of the most achingly beautiful places in Europe, if not the world. Being able to drive through it, as you stop repeatedly to gorp at the latest sensational vista, also makes this one of the best driving routes in the world, and, in my opinion, Spain’s premier tourist experience
Top tips:
- You’ll want to have a car. There may be some organised tours, but so much of the experience is about stopping for the gorping moments!
- The route – follow the Lonely Planet’s route from Arcos de la Fontera to Ronda (shown in photos). Whole route is 147km / 90 miles and takes around 3.5 hours time driving. As you can see from the route, there are a couple of places where you can do shortcuts to reduce the overall distance if rushed
- 1 or 2 days? We did this in one day (starting from Vejer de la Fontera so adding on an extra hour) and it was a long day. Would have been more pleasant to stay overnight in one of the small villages in the park
- Hiking – there were some sensational hiking routes, but be aware that many of the best ones are closed June – September due to fire danger, and that you need a hiking permit outside of these dates, which is a annoying
- Best towns to stop at – they’re all achingly beautiful and you’ll naturally drive through them anyway, so there is no need to miss any. That being said, Zahara de la Sierra and Grazalema were the most photogenic; and Ronda (for its bridge and gorge) and Seteril de las Bodegas (for its cave houses) were the most unusual. Ronda also has the benefit of the bull ring, which is worth a visit, and is the most developed town for accommodation options. The pass at Puerto de las Palomas is also worth stopping at for its huge vistas, and also for the eagle watching you can do from there
Romania, and in particular Transylvania, conjures up images and feelings of some far off place . . . in the mountains . . . in the forests . . . with castles . . . kind of like Lord of the Rings, but with a spooky vibe . . . and indeed it is all of this. And while there are not as much of a concentration of stellar attractions as you would get in Western Europe, that is kind of Romania’s charm and it makes for a great roadtrip for a week or so, with the itinerary below
Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear called this “The best road in the world” and you can see why. Looking from above it looks like a child’s perfect Scalextric set as it impossibly winds up over the Transylvanian Alps and leaves you marvelling at the effort and engineering skill that have been put into making it. Great fun to drive and a must if driving your way from Transylvania to Bucharest
Wow it really is as picture-perfect as you’ve been led to believe! All the ingredients of a fairy tale:
– small church perched perfectly on a small island ✅
– sitting in the middle of crystal clear water with only the light lapping of town boats ✅
– castle nearby hanging over a precarious ledge to the water ✅
– backdrop of the Julian Alps ✅
An Instagrammer’s dream!
The 6km / 3.7mile run around the lake, the swim over the island and the variety of other outdoor options nearby make this a great experience
Make sure to stay for 1 or 2 nights (as opposed to a day trip) so you can soak up the magical feeling of the place
It’s a big shout when people say somewhere is the most beautiful place in the world . . . but, yep . . . Lake Como takes it. Picture perfect Italian villages punctuating luscious forests as they meet the lake’s crystal clear waters, and all against the stunning dramatic backdrop of the Alps. It’s hard not to just stop and gorp at it over, and over again
Naturally in such a beautiful place, it comes with a huge demand from others wanting to visit and, especially in summer, the costs go through the roof. The cost is something hard to avoid, but it’s actually relatively easy to avoid the crowds with a few simple tips and enjoy what makes this place such a world famous destination
South East Asia has to be the premier world traveling region. A big call? For sure, but consider what genuinely world class offerings it can provide:
- World class beaches and coastal areas – think of THAT beach in Ko Phi Phi and HaLong Bay, one of the Natural Wonders of the World
- World class food – think Thai, Vietnamese, Malay and the genuine fusion into the mix with the large established Indian and Chinese communities
- World class ancient sites and history – think of the temples of the “8th Wonder of the World” of Angkor Wat, and the breathtaking site of the pagodas stretching across the plain in Bagan
- World class cities and party locations – think of Singapore as the city of the future and the Full Moon Parties on Ko Pha-Ngan
And all this in a place that is super safe, outrageously friendly, easy and cheap to travel in. A must for any keen traveler and the below itinerary will give you the highlights – enjoy!
My girlfriend and I went on a 6month trip around Latin America (excluding Brazil). Started in the far South in the Tierra del Fuego in Argentina and, broadly, made our way up the west coast to the Yucatan Peninsular of Mexico. Best large scale trip I’ve done, and wanted to share the overall itinerary and tips here to hopefully help those who are considering something similar
A few high level points:
- Other than the flights there and the first hotel, there were only three things we booked in advance: the Inca Trail (which we knew we needed to for permits); plus for Patagonia a trip through Torres del Paine National Park and a ferry through the fjords (as we were going at peak season and only a couple of weeks after we landed). Everything else, we booked when in Latin America and, in our opinion, that is the best way to do it – gives you the freedom to relax in the places you find that you love and be super flexible to do what you want to do
- Total costs – my girlfriend and I went in our 30s, with no kids and on sabbaticals from work. We’re not poor, but certainly not mega wealthy. We didn’t stay in super expensive hotels (other than for the occasional splurge), flew economy and used a bit of common sense for timings of certain expensive items, but never held back on doing the things we wanted to do. Some examples of big ticket items: US$5k for a week diving in the remote Wolf & Darwin Islands in the Galapagos; US$1.2k for 4 days in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia; US$800 for a helicopter trip to see the El Mirador Mayan ruins in the Guatemalan jungle; US$700 for the Inca Trail. Total cost of the whole trip was US$34k each. This included all flights, transport, hotels, activities, food, drink, guides, screwing things up, credit card fees – the lot. Expensive, but so are most Experiences of a Lifetime
- It’s not about trying to “do everything” – in a place as large as Latin America, you couldn’t even if you tried – so don’t think of things as a big tick box exercise. Brazil, for example, we knew we couldn’t do justice whilst also trying to enjoy all the other amazing places we’d heard of, so left it for next time
- In the similar vain, make sure you give yourself big chunks of time to chill out. Not only to recharge the batteries, but also because most places are enjoyed when you spend time to soak up the feel for the place. There were some places . . . like Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, Buenos Aires in Argentina, Isla Mujeres in Mexico, Bocas del Toro in Panama . . . where I could have spent weeks there just because the general vibe of the place was so wonderful
- Safety – we weren’t robbed, but many people do either having a bag stolen or, unpleasantly, get robbed face to face. Other than a couple of cities, we generally felt super safe the places we went and tried to just apply common sense to reduce our risks
- Learn a bit of Spanish before you go – the app DuoLingo was great for getting us to a basic level that made a lot of difference. But also don’t be afraid to pull out google for simultaneous conversation translations to really be able to have a conversation with someone – some long trips became some of our highlights just from being able to properly talk with the driver / locals. I particularly remember a long taxi ride in Colombia where we went back and forward for 2 hours with the driver on everything from his home town to politics to football to his favourite movies to his family problems- never could have done that without Spanish or google. In a similar vein, and using the right level of common sense, don’t turn down an invite for drinks / dinner / house visit with locals. There are some truly unforgettable natural and cultural spots to see, but similarly an evening with a local family will be something likely to be just as unforgettable
- Whenever checking out a place or must-do-site, its easy to get templed / churched / ancient site / beached out. Always do a very basic bit of research to see if there is a more out of the ordinary way to experience it – by bike / drinking tour / kayaking / helicopter / whatever. Thats what we tried to do, and I hope it reflected in some of the cool stuff listed below
We were blown away by our 10 days in Guatemala. Two of the most idyllic and beautiful places you can imagine with Lake Atitlan and Semuc Champey; a gorgeously preserved insight into former Spanish colonial times in the Old Town of Antigua; world-class ancient ruins with the #1 Mayan site of Tikal and the adventure into the jungle to see the mystic El Mirador; gorgeous jungles and mountains across the country; and all done so with the wonderful Guatemalan people
Really rated Guatemala and I’d place it as my favourite country for travelling in Central America
