After reading a bunch of recent reviews, my friends and I were very enthusiastic about this trip. Whilst the transfer from our hotel was ok, we were disappointed with the jeep. It was pretty beat up compared to lots of others around. On top of that we weren’t offered a guide as mentioned in other reviews. Our driver wasn’t particularly chatty or informative. Throughout the trip we were reminded that we ‘were lucky’ to see elephants as it was dry season. Our driver did go deeper into the park than other companies though my friends and I are can’t agree whether this was to take up time or because he was genuinely trying to find us other animals. A nice little snack and tea were provided though and we DID end up seeing the elephants so 3 stars for that.

We booked this tour before we left home,comes we’re excellent and it was a seamless experience. We were contacted when we landed on the first day and arrangements were made for collection the following day The driver that took us there and back Aditha was superb great guy Also a mention to our driver on the safari Ravi exceptional knowledge,we chose not to pay extra for a guide and used him,he knew his stuff and some,very knowledgable Last but not least the other Ravi who is the owner of the company,great commas and you have a good team there my friend Thanks for a great day we both loved it We saw lots of elephants including a family with a 2 month old baby,water buffalo many species of birds including eagles plus huge lizards and much more

This was truly a great experience for our family. Our driver was prompt and picked us up at 6am with a clean van full of waters. The drive was long but we saw the real Sri Lanka on the way. The safari was amazing and we saw tons of animals and of course elephants. Overall the trip was well organized and extremely pleasant.

Very disappointing. Prepaid $1000 for 4 people and were presented with the smallest speed boat we’ve ever been on. Crew didn’t even greet us - no explanation or information given regarding whale watching at all. Became apparent their spoken English was poor, which was unexpected - we were hoping for a personalised, curated tour. Inadequate seating at the bow (only a shallow semicircular bench) so all of us were sitting uncomfortably sideways for the duration. Seas were choppy but the captain was still driving at full speed, oblivious to the fact that we were being completely drenched by waves over the bow. My eldest son and myself were clinging to the fibreglass hull and the side rails as there was nothing to else to hold on to, and my wife and youngest son sat either side of us and became seasick. My wife feared that we would fall overboard and was distressed and crying. Two brief sightings for a few seconds which disappeared as soon as the numerous double decker ferries packed with passengers made chase - the noise scares the whales away. Trip was terminated as it was intolerable. Even this was difficult to communicate to the crew. Non-refundable. The “continental breakfast” Ravi promised on the phone consisted of a small white sandwich with fish spread, a sad looking inedible ham roll and a juice box. Discovered later from our own car driver that the tour price charged was almost triple the local equivalent for a private boat. We have been whale watching in other countries and the experience was entirely different due to the boat and crew, and absence of giant ferries. Perhaps book a larger speed boat locally or join the hundreds of ferry passengers.

We got a bit unlucky having to wait around 3hours. Nevertheless, the crew persisted and we were able to see some dolphins and a blue whale. Our transfer driver Abey was very professional and warming

Having been on a trip to The Safari park with them our driver suggested we may like to take this river trip. With just my husband and I plus our drive/guide and boat owner we spent a couple of hours along the river with just the birdsong to hear. The two men were extremely knowledgeable with eyes like hawks as they pointed out the multitude of birds along the river. Monkeys were also on parade and all in all a lovely way to spend a late afternoon. Not sure why this trip is not highlighted as one to take as it is surely a well kept secret.

5.30am pick up by tuktuk, don’t think it quite matched a comfortable car collection, but as i’d never been on a tuktuk it was a great experience. Certainly wouldn’t drive here myself, it’s not for the faint hearted. Arrived in Mirissa for 7am and boarded the boat. The cruise itself was great and we were lucky enough to find whales within the first 30 minutes and then the next 2/2.30 hours were spent trying to guess where they would come up next. It was an amazing experience to see these fantastic creatures up close, but I couldn’t help thinking I wonder what the Whale thinks being chased by so many boats. However aside from the moral dilemma, this was a really well organised and knowledgeable tour, so if you want to see Whales why you’re in Sri Lanka I would recommend these guys and you’ll also get to a spectacular sunrise 😎

We spent five hours in the park Starting at 6 in the morning and it was fascinating. We saw a leopard, elephants and so many more animals and birds. Our driver/guide was excellent and I would highly recommend a visit. One thing which did amuse me was when an animal such as the leopard was spotted, the jeeps swarmed around. Wonder if you would describe it as a jostle if jeeps.

Very good organization of the cruise, we had a Person to pick us up from Hikkaduwa. The actual cruise took around five hours plus travel to/from the hotel. The boat was very new one and the staff knew pretty well where to find the whales and What they where. We saw around 3-4 blue whales and dolphins as well on this trip, very good!

Did a safari to Yala and whale watching with Summer Dew Tours and they were brilliant for both, Ravi emailed me all the details with prices and was very quick to reply to all my questions, the driver was exactly on time picking us up from our hotel with private transfer and was very courteous and polite. Both trips are a must from the Galle/Koggala beach area, and after looking around online Summer Dew Tours are very reasonable, one place we looked at wanted over $120 for the whale watching we paid only $80 each and the boat was almost new and the crew stayed out longer to make sure we saw a whale. Overall a great experience. Thanks Ravi.

Very well organised tour with good pre trip communication. Driver Abey picked up from Galle hotel at prearranged 0830...take the 0630 pick up in hotter months. Good 3 hour drive to park in comfortable sedan with good safe driving by Abey. Allow 3-4 hours for safari tour. You pick up jeep at Lizard tours where there are pre safari restroom facilities then around 10 minute drive to park with 2 stops for guide to pick up tickets etc. As well as great opportunity to see elephants up close in their natural habitat there are also lots of birds to see for bird watching enthusiasts as well as water and wild buffalo, monkeys, monitor lizards, jackals. Back to Lizard safari base after park tour to reunite with driver or at the elephant transit house (elephant orphanage) for 3.00pm feeding if you choose this add on (worth the 500 Rupees fee (around £2) as a nice end to day before 3 hour drive back to hotel in Galle or wherever you are staying. Well organised tour company.

My friend and I booked this through viator.com 3 days before the trip because we wanted to go to Udawalawe National park before Ella from galle and only had one day to fit it in! Viator responded rapidly and gave us all the details. They suggested the 3:30 departure would be the best time to see the most animals. Our driver Abeysekra was very prompt to arrive at our hostel and drove us in comfort the 3 hours to Udawalawe from Galle. We got in the jeep on arrival at 6:30am and toured the park for nearly 4 hours. Both the driver and the guide we paid LKR1500 for were excellent. They gave us snacks part way through. We saw many elephants even with the hour of rain! The 2 hour drive from Udawalawe to Ella was smooth, Abeysekra stopped at the Ravana falls on the way for us to take photos. We arrived by 1pm. Overall the experience was seamless and I can’t credit our driver and national park team enough! Worth the money for the ease of and comfort of the journey, especially if short on time and don’t want to try to navigate the Sri Lankan bus system!

Blue Whales sure save the best for last!!!!!, About 2 hour away into the Indian Ocean, I got my first glimpse of a blue whale... two actually... a mother and her calf. It was just two sprouts of water into the air, one bigger than the other. Then it was over.. Until the whales surfaced up again.. 3 more times in the space of 10-15 minutes between each surfacing. And I got to see parts of the whales. I was already satisfied.. and the boat started to head back.. But the whales have one big surprise for us... maybe for me.... somehow it resurfaced right next to me..about 3 meters away from me...showing its mid-hump.. and then dived down.. That was the best goodbye I got today... and it was from the largest animal on earth!!!! And to make things better.. our boat was then followed by a pod of Spinner Dolphins for a good 5 minutes.. Amazing day indeed...

We had transport from Ella which was very punctual, then transferred to the Jeep with Ravi our driver at Udawalawe. Even though it was dry season we still saw elephants as well as so many monkeys, water buffalo, mongoose, samba deer, crocodiles and a huge number of birds. We had an amazing morning tea provided with tea and coconut pancakes set up in a beautiful shaded camping ground where we could watch the crocodiles with no one else around. So amazing! We continued on to the Elephant Transit Home afterwards which was a real treat. Don’t bother with a guide they are a waste of money as your driver should be able to tell you everything you need to know.

2.5 hour trip in comfortable air-con car. The driver spoke good English and answered our questions. We went around the park at 9am (6am start from Galle) which was fine in rainy season. Saw lots of elephants plus buffalo, monkeys and birds. Crocodiles are hiding at this time of day so a 6am start is needed for these. Park is not crowded in rainy season. Had plenty of time close up with elephants. We didn't bother with a guide as our driver was very knowledgeable. Our driver stopped at nice restaurant (1000 SLR each for buffet meal) on way home and took us to fruit bat roost (1000s in 4 large trees), and was happy to stop when I wanted to take photos. This was a great trip. Arrived back at 4:30pm.