3 weeks in Southern India & Sri Lanka - suggestions?

[Bluesgirl]

So I've booked a flight into Mumbai next month and back from Colombo 3 weeks later. Any suggestions for itinerary and must-see places very welcome. I'm specifying Southern India as there isn't enough time to do everything, so I'm thinking Mumbai-Goa-Bangalore-Chennai-Kochi-Colombo. 2 weeks in India, 1 in Sri Lanka.

Also thoughts on trains and solo female traveller advice?

TIA

[anyoldcardave]

I used to visit Goa every Xmas and new year, for 8 years, the last time the Russians had started to invade big time, it completely changed the place, so went to Thailand the following year.

Met a guy on a Phuket street, who I met regularly every year in Goa, so it was not just me

Talking to an Indian customer whose wife is from Goa, it has not improved , crime and drugs are rife, so I am told.

A friend I made there, local wealthy restaurant and hotel owner, was having a great time with Russian women, but he has gone to Canada now.

It was not what it once was.

[Bluesgirl]

Thanks. I have a friend who’s from Goa and he recommended it to me, but he may be biased/naive. Those places are only ideas so I’m open to any others.

I haven’t been to Thailand either, but that’ll be another trip.

[Greshamst]

Probably too far away from Colombo if you only have a week in Sri Lanka but I loved Galle on the south coast, Le Grand hotel was great as well.

Try and get to Ella if you can (it’s on the Colombo train line) lush green mountains surrounded by tea plantations. 98 acres is a good hotel.

Don’t spend too long in Colombo, it’s a busy choking city, the countryside is much better.

[anyoldcardave]

Bluesgirl said:

Thanks. I have a friend who’s from Goa and he recommended it to me, but he may be biased/naive. Those places are only ideas so I’m open to any others.

I haven’t been to Thailand either, but that’ll be another trip.

Goa was fantastic when I first went, the Russians finished it for me, but before that the popularity spread to the wrong sort of British tourist, those that thought splashing cash gets them better than everyone else.

To some extent it may be true in small numbers, but in large numbers it created greed and laziness amongst local workers, price increases by business, completely changed the dynamic, from being grateful for tourists, to seeing them as cash cows, taxi,s for instance changed from friendly smiling do any job people, to miseries doing battle for increased rates.

Same as most places I suppose, it just took much longer there, and did not improve the holiday experience at all.Don,t get me wrong, it was still quite cheap, it was the way they went about getting the money which changed.

[anyoldcardave]

I just read the female lone traveller bit, sorry.

Kerala might be a good place to visit, wanted to, but back then Goa was good and got lazy.

I have heard it is something like Goa used to be.

[LRDefender]

The Western Ghats are worth a visit, tea plantations, mountains, wildlife etc. Munnar is a nice town to visit with some good places to eat. The Kerala Backwaters are nice, get on one of the traditional boats for a day or two (keep an eye out for eagles plucking snakes out of the water). If it’s possible drop down the east side of the Ghats and explore rural India that not many visit. I can’t comment wrt a single female traveller but I saw plenty when I’ve been in Kerala in the past.

[nikaiyo2]

Colombo is ok, but its not great.

What are you looking for in Sri Lanka ?

Highly recommend the Zest Metropole in Colombo as a hotel, but Colombo is of limited interest. Kandy is beautiful, if you go, No Name Restaurant is amazing, the Raddison close by is a really decent hotel.
AVOID the spice gardens unless you want to spend a fortune on potions.

[Bluesgirl]

Thanks for all that info - really helpful.

I’ll look at the Ghats and see what I can organise there.

Re Sri Lanka, I’m interested in seeing the architecture/history, but particularly keen on scenery/nature/wildlife etc. Kerala sounds very interesting, backwaters etc. so that’ll go on the list. Also the train to Kandy and Ella sounds really good, hopefully I’ll have time for that too.

Thanks also for hotel recs, very useful.

[nikaiyo2]

Bluesgirl said:

Thanks for all that info - really helpful.

I’ll look at the Ghats and see what I can organise there.

Re Sri Lanka, I’m interested in seeing the architecture/history, but particularly keen on scenery/nature/wildlife etc. Kerala sounds very interesting, backwaters etc. so that’ll go on the list. Also the train to Kandy and Ella sounds really good, hopefully I’ll have time for that too.

Thanks also for hotel recs, very useful.

Would you consider a group tour? I am not being rude but India is quite intimidating to traveling round, Intrepid or Gadventures do great tours or I have used https://www.capertravelindia.com/ several times. It might cost a few ££ extra but having someone book your trains and etc connections is worth it, I have traveled entirely solo in India but would not do it again. Intepid/ G have proper guides who speak english and I think you see WAY more than you would if you traveled solo.

Try and visit Madurai the temples are utterly fantastic, the rituals have not changed for thousands and thousands of years and they are spectacular, also Vijayanagara the ruins are great.

IMHO Sri Lanka is VASTLY nicer than India, its more relaxed, it feels safer (said as a bloke) it feels less scammy, just avoid Russians and the bars they frequent.

I completely forgot the name of this place https://www.helgasfolly.com/ had to dig through and old HD to find photos :P again in Kandy so worth a visit/ stay.
There are lots of nice small hotels that dont have high star ratings because they dont have great facilities so dont automatically turn down a 3 star, it might just not have a pool but otherwise be fantastic.

Do you like elephants? Sri Lanka is teaming with them, the orphanage at Pinnawala is a great place to visit, they make paper out of their poop.

Yala is a good NP to see animals, Crocs, Elephants, mongoose, Leopards etc but it is VERY busy. Kumuna National Park is smaller and less busy.

[shirt]

Bluesgirl said:

Thanks for all that info - really helpful.

I’ll look at the Ghats and see what I can organise there.

Re Sri Lanka, I’m interested in seeing the architecture/history, but particularly keen on scenery/nature/wildlife etc. Kerala sounds very interesting, backwaters etc. so that’ll go on the list. Also the train to Kandy and Ella sounds really good, hopefully I’ll have time for that too.

Thanks also for hotel recs, very useful.

The ghats have multiple nature reserves with tigers and elephants, more chance of seeing them IME than in SL.

The train to Ella is a highlight in itself. Otherwise I would use road transport wherever possible, albeit depending on your itinerary you could save swathes of time in SL from/to Colombo using Cinnamon Air.

https://www.cinnamonair.com/destinations.html

Otherwise hiring a car and driver is the way to go. Not up on current pricing but in India it should be about GBP30 a day. IIRC in SL there's only one car hire co who will rent you a car without a driver anyway [I still have my temporary SL licence somewhere!], all hotels on the island are geared up for driver food and accommodation, on the mainland the driver will sort themselves out.

In SL with a week and going solo I would prob head straight to Anuradhapura then come down to Dambulla, Sigiriya, Kandy, Ella, Galle, then back up the coast for the flight home. There's nothing worth going to the North for that you can't get in Goa or Kerala [e.g. Hindu Temples] and the east coast is very sparsely appointed for tourism and, whilst safe, you will definitely stand out.

Hotel wise, the Heritance Kandalama HAS to be done, ticks the architecture box having been designed by Geoffrey Bawa. Some other of his hotels are decent value as well, such as The Lighthouse in Galle and the Club Villa in Bentota. Heritance Tea Factory is also decent. These will run about 100GBP a night though so budget dependent. You can get perfectly decent guest house accom. for 20GBP or so, with dinner included, so easy to sprinkle in a few luxe places along the way.

No meaningful comments on southern India sorry. The north is by far my preference. The south and SL have a similar culture, architecture and landscape, only in SL its all much closer together. An advantage in your case may be that you could split the schedule accordingly. E.g. if you go to Munnar in Kerala, then no real need IMO to go to Ella other than the train journey, as the landscape and experience is practically identical.

[DB4DM]

Wilpattu national park in SL has probably the best chance to see leopards and sloth bears. As of last year there was no mobile phone signal so drivers cannot alert their friends to a sighting. It's worth paying more for a knowledgeable and reputable guide

Agree about Heritance Kandalama and the Tea Factory. Also earlier remarks about Colombo

Best place for whale watching is reportedly now Trincomalee as in the south they have moved way offshore because of all the acoustic noise from construction of new ports (Ring of pearls)

We've spent 7 weeks in SL so far on 2 trips and intend another 3 week trip late next year/early 2026 depending on the monsoons and where we want to go. Last year in some more remote areas we were the only guests in the hotel and on both trips we have taken our drivers to several places they'd never been to before. If you go to the north it can help having a driver who can converse in Tamil as well as Sinhalese

Except for Colombo to Galle and the south, road travel is slow with no dual carriageways and can be hair-raising as your driver overtakes a tuk-tuk overtaking a tractor overtaking an animal, all with a bus coming the other way also overtaking a tuk-tuk

[Rumdoodle]

I'll second what an earlier poster said about Vijayanagar in Karnataka. One of the most spectacular sites in India.

SL was always known for being less stressful as a tourist than India, although that might have changed a bit in the past few years as they've been having a rough time. The Galle Face hotel in Colombo is very nice, but you're best bet is to head straight out of the city for somewhere nicer. Trains in SL are the cheapest, easiest way to get around and perfectly pleasant. Fort is the main station in Colombo. If you want a seat, it might be worth asking your hotel in advance to buy you a ticket that you can collect when you check in. First class is air conditioned and a bit grim, so I always preferred to go second class with the windows open. I found that journey times were pretty similar by road or rail.

Flights are also pretty cheap and worth considering if you're only there for a week. You should be able to fly Colombo to Trincomalee, and on to Jaffna if you fancy getting off the beaten track. Depending what you have done in India, the north of SL could be a nice contrast. Take a boat out to Delft island and see the wild horses. Otherwise, if you go to Anuradhapura, I can recommend the Uga Ulagalla hotel. And Galle city down south is charming.

[Bluesgirl]

Hi, I'm just catching up with the thread, while making some adjustments to my itinerary. Thanks to everyone for your ideas and suggestions - all much appreciated

[simons123]

Mmm wouldn't recommend India as a female alone in all honesty, it isn't the safest...however the South of India had a much 'friendlier' vibe then the North.....as other said Kerala is the place to go. The people are lovely there and parts of it is gorgeous..however outside the tea plantations and rivers after about 2-3 days that's more then enough before moving to say Goa, etc.

2 weeks just in South India is a long time....we did Delhi then the train to to see the Taj mahal then Jaipur then flew to Kerala (the train journey is breathtaking and a must)....so technically in 2 weeks you could do the North and South India and do it justice however as I said India (particular Delhi) isn't safe for a solo female so please do book guided tours, etc.

Sri Lanka on the other hand is absolutely safe in the main. Kandy is gorgeous and as someone said the train from Ella to Kandy is a must. We stayed at Negombo for the beach part but the beach wasn't the greatest. Sri Lanka just has the most friendly people you could ever meet..... although isn't the economy in ruins there and everything costs a fortune now?! Sure I read that.

As I say India is an amazing experience but rather be honest and ensure you have your wits about you....was with my then girlfriend travelling around India and never felt truly comfortable about her safety despite me (probably the 2nd hardest man in the UK......) being there with her......however I did see alot of solo female travellers in India so you won't be alone.

Edited by simons123 on Tuesday 20th August 21:47