Buddha and Beach - 12 days

Akhtar is an outstanding tour guide, on arrival my luggage had been delayed in Doha by Qatar Airways he supported me, giving me details of where to get clothes, gave me a lift to the shop, and then acted as my link with the airline. Outstanding service. During the trip he shared his knowledge and passion about Sri Lanka but also got to know each of us and we had a brilliant laugh as a group. We really felt like Akhtar became a part of the group. The trip allowed us to see so many wonderful sights, I highly recommended the trip and On the Go to my friends.

Manoj was an excellent guide. He mingled well with all members of the group and put us all at ease. This was our first organised tour and first trip to Asia, so we were a bit nervous about it. Manoj gave us confidence in a strange country. He was knowledgeable about his country and provided us with plenty information on it. He was also adaptable to meet our unplanned and unscheduled needs - be it finding a toilet when we needed one ; finding a shop to buy beer; organising afternoon tea for us in the Jetwing St Andrews Hotel. He also organised cakes for those of us who were celebrating wedding anniversaries - which was such a lovely touch and made us feel special. I believe he also managed to get us upgraded hotel rooms in the Jetwing Lakeside hotel - which was absolutely fabulous and again made us all feel very special. Nothing was too much trouble for him. Manoj seemed a very organised tour guide. Paying for unlimited water was such a good idea as we went through about 4 bottles of water each a day. The tour itself was not as tiring as I thought it was going to be, despite us having a full itinerary every day. There was quite a bit of travelling in the minibus, but that was to be expected given the size of the area we had to cover. Sri Lanka is a very interesting country. The people are friendly and welcoming. The scenery was lovely. I would definitely recommend this tour.

We had an absolutely fantastic holiday; a real trip of a lifetime (until the next one, of course). We packed so much into the 12 days, seeing all the many sights and sides of Sri Lanka - we felt as though we really got under the skin of the nation. Whilst there were one or two activities that weren't really for us (the elephant orphanage and the gem shop visit was a bit weird), overall we did just about everything we wanted to see and do. We're a bit depressed to be home, to be honest! Akhtar was a very affable and knowledgeable guide - nothing was too much trouble for him and we enjoyed spending time with him socially beyond just the daily itinerary. It really struck us how knowledgeable he was to the wider world beyond Sri Lanka, despite not being fortunately enough to be able to travel frequently himself. It'd be cool to see On The Go Tours send him off to explore another part of the world - we're sure he'd come back with a few good stories! Loved the country, loved the tour and loved the people (natives, guide and fellow tour group members). Tom & Sarah NOTE FROM ON THE GO: As part of our Responsible Travel and Animal Welfare Policy as of 01 October 2016 we will no longer be including the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage or any other elephant related activity, (aside from viewing in their natural habitat) within our tours.

The tour had a higher degree of comfort to our normal trips and we found we enjoyed the quality of the hotels and the comfort of the travel. We certainly were 'on the go' and found that the time given to each activity was just about right. The visit to the tea factory was mediocre but the canoe trip and lunch cooked by the Sri Lankan ladies was amazing. Manoj did an excellent job of organising everything to run smoothly and was a mine of information about his country. We certainly enjoyed the company of the group, we were quite varied but got on really well. For us, the group travel made the tour much more fun than a private driver. The beach aspect gave us a good opportunity to relax at the end of the busy tour.

Caroline Shaw was fantastic at all times Akhtar was a fantastic tour guide Brilliant tour, loved it all, will definitely be booking with OTG again!

Our tour was full on. Our guide was honest and warned us at the beginning that we would be "on the Go" for the most of the tour. It was amazing. He was amazing. We covered an incredible amount of wonderful, historic, cultural sites. Aktar was informative as well as interesting and amusing in all aspects of our trip. We knew it was a tour of Buddas but we did end up with one too many! Our choice of trip though. It was a good mixture, having the historic input then the beach to unwind. Everyone we came in contact with was friendly and helpful.

This is my 6th On the Go tour and i was not dissapointed with the itinerary or the guide (including support staff - especially our driver). As stated we were continually on the go and the guide very informative throughout. Traffic was a nightmare - but that was part of the culture / country we were in and part of the experience - it did detract though from having some valuable downtime which was a shame. The historical sites and knowlege of our guide made this tour and my walk up lion rock - whilst nearlly killing me was worth every effort. Feedback on the tour itinerary for me would be to drop the visits to the tea plantation, gem shop and spice garden. All these places were commercial in nature and I felt thise interested in such could obtain the same items whilst having free time in some of the beautiful towns we visited - particularly Kandy. I also think if Galle could be included on this itinerary it would round off a great cultural tour (we did a day trip to Galle during our stay in Bentota). Once again a credit to On the Go and I look forward to planning my 7th trip. - thanks Danny

The tour was good - covered a lot of places & attractions but had far too much time on the bus. Full days - early starts and late finishes, would have appreciated some half-days off to take advantage of the hotel facilities. 2 nights at Jetwing Lake would be great. Akthar was a good guide.

The tour was wonderful, if a little pressed for time. It certainly gave a fabulous insight into Sri Lanka and an intimate glimpse of the culture and people. Akthar was a wonderful guide. He was knowledgeable, clear and explained things as they really are (i.e. not always the glossy view, but a true account of situation). He had indepth knowledge of all aspects of the tour. I felt very comfortable with his approach.

The tour was great. Guide excellent and very knowledgeable and accommodating. The highlights of the tour were the train ride, and the village visit. The worst bit was the very hard sell at the spice farm. The most disappointing part was the last 4 days at the resort. Tour title was beach, but the beach at the resort was extremely dangerous and only for walking on. The resort was not in any proximity of anything else such as shopping or other services. Lazing by the pool is okay for one day but definitely not 4. I would have preferred the last 4 days to be on a beach that we could utilise such as the east coast or even Negombo would have been better option than Blue Water. All the hotels on tour were excellent and the food really great. I also thought it interesting that the other 2 groups on the tour, both had different itineraries than us?