Wandeltocht door Galle Fort met een lokale gids

We had not been to Sri Lanka before and starting out on our simple research the offerings by the major tour operators seemed to be so similar. It was import for us to get away from the crowds where reasonably possible and see the Sri Lanka which has not been tainted by mass-tourism. The obvious way, as we had discovered in a couple of other countries, was to find a local tour company with a track record we could trust. More research quickly led to Red Dot Tours and the fast response from Ms Dulmini, one of their advisers, to our initial enquiry immediately started pressing the right buttons. They heard what we wanted and came back with a proposed tour, right sort of accommodation and travel arrangements and were even able to get us an attractive flight ticket deal, through their UK office. After a few tweaks, we agreed the third version of the itinerary and the accommodation was confirmed and arrangements completed. All within a remarkably short period of time. The holiday went perfectly and everything was so professionally organised. It’s obvious Red Dot has earned considerable respect from the Sri Lankan hospitality industry. I think their choice of chauffeur/guide was a crucial part of our enjoyment of the holiday as a whole: Mr Dami deserves special mention. His sense of humour, commentary on things and places as well as his awesome knowledge birds, animals, trees, plants, national and local history was an inspiration! We are grateful to Red Dot for choosing him to look after us and would strongly recommend him to future travellers to Sri Lanka. So many things stand out, including a trip by tuk-tuk and boat to a small village way off the beaten track, to buy ingredients for lunch and then learn how best to cook them (and enjoy the end product), getting involved with a few others from the turtle conservation organisation, to safely launch newly hatched baby turtles, getting to see very large, totally wild, water monitors up close, making stops for (excellent) morning coffee in the most unexpected, beautiful places, and so on. Favourite Hotel…. has to be KK Beach Hotel near Galle. Room, view, location, food and above all, a really brilliant crew ! Thanks Red Dot.

A huge thank you to Lahiru at Red Dot Tours for organising an amazing 11 day holiday for us, with only 2 weeks notice. The itinerary included luxury hotels in 5 locations (Sigiriya, Kandy, Ella, Galle Fort, Habaraduwa) and the excursions covered everything we hoped to see plus a few other ideas, which were outstanding. All the hotels booked were top class. Red Dot really demonstrated the value of a local (Sri Lanka based)tour operator - and we believe it was excellent value for money too. It was so easy to contact Liyaru via WhatsApp chat and text. She is extremely flexible, listening and understanding our needs immediately, and responding to all our queries incredibly fast. On arrival at Columbo, we were met by the wonderful Athula, our driver & guide for the duration. He was helpful and organised at all times, and his guiding knowledgeable was superb. He ensured our trip was easy and very enjoyable. We are very grateful to Red Dot Tours for what was one of the best holidays we have ever had. Sri Lanka is a great destination to which we will return, with Red Dot. Thankyou to their team. Rebecca & Ian

We walked around the Galle Fort and jumped into some shops to see what they had there. We also popped into an ice cream cafe, which sold Italian ice cream - very delicious! At the end we also visited a small church in the outskirts of the fort, which was interesting. It’s a good place to buy some last minute souvenirs, go for a meal or a cuppa or just a place to walk around on top around the fort. My kids got bored after ice cream, so we didn’t stay too long, but I can see how couples might enjoy a few hours in there!