Guest Book - Luxury Culture Tours' and Walking Tours' Comments

Mark, Rachel and Lily

15 April 2010

I would like to recommend Walk With Jith, if you are thinking of holidaying in Sri Lanka.

We went on holiday as a family with our 10 year old daughter at the start of April 2010 and were made really welcome from the very start of our holiday when Prasanjith  met us at the airport with  a big basket of flowers for our daughter. Although Prasanjith was unable to accompany us in person, as he was already accompanying a group of ‘Birders’, he arranged another driver , Allen, to look after us. Allen became ‘one of the family’ and fixer extraordinaire and was both a careful driver and considerate to our needs. Prasanjith made daily contact with us through Allen to ensure we were enjoying our holiday and were happy with the arrangements he had made for us and also met up with us several times on route so he could check that all was going well, (which it was!)

The hotels carefully chosen for us by Prasanjith were of a very comfortable standard and a couple, The Sigiriya Village and Amaya Hills were really superb. We had opted for half board and the buffet food we experienced for breakfast and dinner was of a high standard. My daughter could eat non-spicy western style food and my wife and I got to eat the delicious Sri Lankan curries (even for breakfast) that were always available. Fruit will never taste the same after the amazing melon and pineapple we ate on holiday.

The tour that was arranged for us was fantastic and met the specifications we had given to Prasanjith before our departure i.e. a mixture of culture, nature and R&R. Any changes we made to the itinerary during the course of the holiday  were no problem and we had the freedom to decide for example what time to set off in the morning and when to stop for lunch, a freedom we had not experienced when travelling in a group. Having a child with us we really appreciated having this flexibility.

We visited cultural sites including Sigiriya (it’s an amazing climb), Anuradhapura (enormous – Sri Lanka’s Pompeii) and Dambulla (beautiful and peaceful). We went to the Tea Plantations in the mountains, visited a botanical garden in Kandy where Prasanjith had arranged for a botanist to accompany us on a tour of the gardens (my personal passion being a gardener) and went on a safari in Udawalawa national park (the families highlight of the holiday) where we saw wild elephants, water buffalo, mongoose, crocodile, snakes, eagles, hornbills  and a whole host of beasties . We finished the tour with a very lazy 3 days on the beach at Unawatuna catching some rays, drinking G & T with fresh lime  and swimming in the sea.

Sri Lanka was the best holiday I’ve been on,the people were great, the scenery was great, everything was great. I can’t wait to go back. When I do so, I will certainly ask Walk With Jith to make the arrangements for us.

Mark, Rachel and Lily.

Loraine Blakeney, MRPharmS
Peter Blakeney, CChem, MRSC
Tom Blakeney, 18 years old
Ed Bakeney, 16 years old
Sussex, UK

16th April 2010

Meeting Jith at the bird fair in 2009 has led us to one of the best holidays we have ever had' As a group of friends – some very keen bird watchers and some not so keen, we wanted a mix of; birds wildlife and culture. After many e-mails and telephone calls to ensure we included all we wanted, you gave us all three in excellent measure. Your organization and attention to detail has been second to none. We have many happy memories to take home with us including a wonderful time in the rainforest with an entertaining evening of song and guitar playing – there is no end to your talents!

All of this was made even more enjoyable with your provision of a fantastic guide in Nandana together with Susanta and Harsha to drive us arround and make sure that we had all of our luggage at the right time and place.

Nandana was attentive at all times, good company a jolly good sport – not to mention the 29 out of 33 endemics that he managed to find for us in a very limited amount of time. A bird list in total of 142!

We thoroughly enjoyed hearing all about Sri Lanken history and culture from him and have hsared many laughs along the way due to his appreciation of our british humour!

Once again many thanks for such a wonderful holiday, we will not hesitate to recommend you around UK and look forward to maybe 'WALKING WITH JITH' again!!

Lynda & Terry Dalton
Debbie & Peter Luetchford
Sue & Kevin Dengate
Ann & Steve Marley

- Whitstable, Kent, England.

David Pitt &
Lucy Havard-Williams
Head of Personal Financial Services
HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd.

7th November 2008

Dear Prasanjith,

Thank you for arranging such a lovely holiday for us. We saw every thing we wanted to see & Jayawardene made some good suggestions for additions to the itinerary. He looked after us very well, was extremely courteous & helpful & drove carefully. He was informative about the sights and their history.

The hotels were fine and we  particularly liked Sigiriya Village & the Galle Face Hotel. You may want to let Sigiriya Village know that we were bitten by bedbugs - which they need to sort out! We were in room 129.
We would definitely recommend you to friends coming to Sri Lanka & will make sure that we update www.responsibletravel.com

Thank you for an excellent holiday!
Best Wishes!

Top right: Sue & Danny Hadas

Sue & Danny Hadas
Arava, Israel

18th July 2008 - 2nd August 2008

Dear Jith,

We came to Sir Lanka with great expectations after reading so much about your beautiful country and you have arranged a trip for us that exceeded these expectations!

We asked for beautiful scenery, wildlife, culture and good food and we received every thing. Every hotel room had an amazing view, we have seen over 100 different birds, so many animals and several historical sites. There were so many highlights to this trip: the boat trip on the firs day and our introduction to bird watching, the visit (unscheduled) to Minneriya N.P. and being so close to so many elephants, climbing Sigiriya - an amazing place, the hike during the wind/rainstorm in the Knuckles - a never to be forgotten experience, the stay in the magical Sinharaja forest and seeing the Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, the sajan in Yala N.P. with the beautiful painted storks and their chicks, releasing baby green turtles into the at Kosgoda.

We really appreciate your thoughtfulness in organizing the trip, from views, to the flexibility (giving Danny more opportunities to take photos) to the treats along the way (ice cream, Collared Scopes Owl) and your patience as Danny asked to stop the car again and again! for photos.

It has been a real pleasure travelling with you and Mr. Silva the last two weeks. We had so many experiences and learnt so much thanks to your knowledge of all things Sri Lankan and your sharp eyesight!

We plan on visiting again will definitely recommend you to all our friends.

Wishing you lots of success with the business
Sue & Danny Hadas

At Polonnaruwa archeological site John & Marian Lee. Right: Madu river boat ride John & Marian Lee

John & Marian Lee
Helmsley, North Yorkshire
England See more pictures of their tour here >>

11th to 24th April 2008

Jith. We arrived in Sri Lanka with a very limited knowledge of the country and its people.

We leave now with an insight into the history, culture, religion and everyday life of its exceptionally friendly people, thanks to you help and guidance.

Our tour has been full of highlights, from ancient sites to New Year celebrations to dozens of new birds (which were interesting to us as non-birders previously) and animals (turtles and elephants especially). We really appreciated your efforts and organization, even when you were not fully healthy! Our trip has been an excellent mixture for us for a taste of Sri Lanka.

Thanks also to our ever-cheerful and skilful driver Silva, who steered us along roads good and not-so-good, and had our complete trust.

We have much to reflect on, all of it positive, and will certainly never forget the great experience. [We may even become quite keen "birders"!]

John Ward, Joanne with Jith

John Ward and Joanna Pienescu
UK See more pictures of their tour here >>

18th - 31st March 2008

This holiday has been the holiday of a lifetime. Jaya has been more than just a guide or driver; he has been a true friend to us. He has been patient, kind, considerate and a real gentleman, and we will miss him when we leave.

We have enjoyed everything. Jaya is very knowledgeable about Sri Lankan history and culture, especially Buddhism. We loved visiting Polonnaruwa and the cave temples at Dambulla and felt humbled at the temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy - it was a fantastic experience.

Jaya is also very knowledgeable about Sri Lankan wildlife and the walk across Horten Plains and the Elephant safari were amazing.

We were very grateful to Jaya for the extra days he spent with us in Hikkaduwa, he arranged a brilliant river safari which included a visit to a Buddhist temple en route and of course the splendid visit to Galle to watch some excellent cricket.

We will do our best to promote walkwithjith to our friends, families and colleagues when we return in the hope that some will come to a beautiful country and enjoy some of the very best hospitality and expert guidance.

Jaya, we have thoroughly enjoyed your guidance and friendship, your excellent driving, your patience and humour.

We regard you as a true friend and will miss you - we hope to return some time in the future and enjoy your excellent company once more.

With much appreciation & respect

Lynn and Bill at Pedro Tea Factory in Nuwara Eliya. Right: Crossing a stream at Knuckles

Lynn & Bill
Glasgow, Scotland See more pictures of their tour here >>

10th to 17th March 2008
Dear Prasanjith,

Thank you for a truly enjoyable holiday despite the daily downpours from 2 o'clock onwards. It is the tropics after all. However, we really appreciated the way you adjusted our itinerary to compensate.

Your tours of Sigiriya and the Royal Palace gave us an interesting insight into the history, culture and religion of Sri Lanka.

We enjoyed the works in the Knuckles and Horton Plains. Your knowledge of the flora and fauna, and ability to spot and identify the smallest of birds enriched our experience.

We would also like to thank Silva for his careful and considerate driving which filled us with confidence as he skillfully negotiated the narrow twisting highland roads.

Finally Prasanjith, we would like to thank you again for an enjoyable holiday and to wish you success for the future.

Left: Peter, Prasanjith and Erica. Right: Norman David, Peter Golden, Erica De La Harpe, Shane Carter, Davida De La Harpe Golden, David De La Harpe, Neil Golden

See more pictures of their tour here >>

1st - 14th December 2007
The Dela Harpe - Golden - Carter Group

Prasanjith,

You made certain our visit was one of the best experience we have had - You patience with expatriate Sri Lankans will go down in family history as a legend. I hope we will feature in your family history also as a legend - especially Norman!!
- Davida de Dela Harpe - Golden

 Thank you for a great & very interesting holiday and for your care and consideration
- Neil Golden

Dear James, Thank you 4 everything, I'll be back because I'm your Burger brother!
- David

Hey Jith! Thanks for a great tour! Keep up the swimming. Can't wait to be back!
- Shane Carter

Dear Jith,
It was a pleasure to meet you, your company & knowledge was great. Hope to meet again.
Norman

Tina Reynolds, Exmoor Zoo, UK
and Phil Rowtcliff, Barnstaple, UK

26 June 2007

Well, for 2 students we had a fantastic and a GREAT time. Not many places in the world you get to hand feed an elephant or pooed on by a playful baby elephant! Seeing baby turtles was a wonderful experience, the safari was definetly a highlight, you said it's rare to find a leopard but we did and it's rare to see elephants & we did' Seeing them in the wild we will never forget! The way you contained all the cultural & wildlife experiences into 6 days, & with explained knowledge & understanding of each experience, we will never know! But if we do come back I won't be climbing Sigiriya Rock!
Thank you so much!

Dr. Julia Saurazas
Campus Director, Abu Dhabi University.

October 26, 2006

Although I only booked the tour an very short notice, it exceeded my expectations. I was amazed at the diversity of sri Lanka, and hope to return for a longer stay. Jaya was aan exellent, patient guide and I really feal that it is time for tourists to return to the island.

John & Paulin Willcox
Jersey, UK.

February 02, 2006

We came here with no idea of what Sri Lanka and this area had to other - tosay we have been surprised and thrilled is an undersatement. The team Jith & Samanta nave proviced the highlights of our stay and we are already plannin to come back. We have so much more to learn. Thank you for all your insights into yuor beautiful country its flora fauna & people. Thank for our enjoyable frank discussions.

Richard Allen (Technical Manager) and
Wendy Howes
Northwich, UK

19th October - 5th November 2005

Thank you Jith for such a wonderful time.
Your Knowledge of flora and fauna never ceased to amaze us.
Your tolerance and understanding of our lack of in depth knowledge is a testimony to your professionalism.
We wish you every success with your business in the future!
Best wishes!

Steve Hootman, Plant Explorer
Rhododendren Foundation
Washington, USA

30th September 2005

Thank you Jith!
I enjoyed our time to gether and you were most accommodating to my needs. I was impressed with your knowledge - not only of birds but of the native flora. My day on the Horton Plains and Thotapola will never be forgotten. Really a highlight in my carrier and travels.
Best of luck in your endeavors, I hope to travel with you again some day.

Christopher Philipson, PhD Student
University of Zurich, Switzerland

17th June 2005

Dear Jith,
Thanks for an excellent walk in Sinharaja. Your botanical knowledge is excellent and it was a pleasure to learn from you in the forest. I hope to come here again, may be even to do a reaseach project. I just love Dipterocarpus! Look after your self and I'll be in contact if I'm comming back.

Janet Poole & Ian Poole
Manchester, UK

19th March – 2nd April, 2005

Thank you JITH for a marvelous holiday and memories time in Sri Lanka. Your expert guiding and knowledge of all things ornithological and natural wa a delight we have really enjoyed your explanation of the daily life of Sri Lankan people and we have been involved with the sprit of the people from simple things such as buying lottery tickets and fruits to the food and culture. You have been very good company for two weeks and we leave with very many happy memories. Very best wishes!

Astrid Becker
Resident Representative
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
Henning Effner
Junior Expert
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
Norma Effner

11 – 13 March, 2005

Dear Jith,
Thank you for a wonderful weekend in Sinharaja Rain Forest! We learned much about birds spiders, butterflies and leeches. And we also have an idea now about the rainforest and how parts of Sri Lanka must have looked like many years ago. Thank you very much for organizing everything so well. We really had a good and relaxing time.

Prasanjith in a 2003 tour Photo by: Ms. Monseratte