Nathasha Abeyrathne

This was my first experience with KimKim and it resulted in one of the best trips I have ever taken. Our guide on the ground Nathantha was fantastic. He was very responsive and made sure that we were comfortable and safe at all times. All of the places he took us to were great. He understood what we wanted and did his best to make sure we got it. For example, we told him we were really interested in elephants and he hired an extraordinary man with a jeep that took us into the jungle and made sure we saw lots of elephants up close in their natural habitats. He took us to wonderful temples that weren't even on the program and explained the history and local custom. I would rate him 10 out of 10.

The planning and booking process was good, but could have been better. Natasha provided a good basic itinerary and always responded to my questions. I would have liked more details and perhaps better information. For example, when we said we wanted to go snorkeling we were told we had to go to Hikkadua, but what we had read about Hikkadua indicated that it was not our kind of place, Natasha told us that snorkeling was not possible any place else. In fact, we booked our own snorkeling trip in Mirissa that was wonderful. It seemed that changes to the itinerary were not welcomed by the local specialist and it was only grudgingly that the price reduced when we took items out. I am sure that Natasha knows a lot about travel in Sri Lanka, but too many of our interactions were canned responses rather than detailed knowledge.

We are a couple in our 60’s so this trip was going to be quite adventurous for us.
We made a late decision to visit Sri Lanka so to be fair to our specialist Natasha there wasn’t a lot of time for communication.
After the Easter bombing we decided to ignore advice not to go. Security was tight & we could not have felt safer. The people were so welcoming & grateful that we had come!
Our personal driver Loxely had good knowledge, was very calm /reliable & a cautious driver.

Most memorable - Sigiriya Lion Rock, Dambulla Cave Temple, Ella nine arch bridge, Galle Fort, Arugam Bay, Kandy Esala Pera Hera

Least memorable - Travelling far North, Delft Island, 3 safaris (1 is enough)- we saw more wild animals roadside,
Travelled the full length of the country (mostly 70km limit) & return in 22 days.
We probably tried to fit a little too much in so would have liked less temples & more down time esp at the beach.

Best coffee experience - not cheap but worth it!
Hideaway Cafe, Arugam Bay
Espresso Italiano, Sigiriya