weather +mosquitoes

hi , can someone please cheer me up ? we are due to stay at the Blue Water 20th September for two weeks but the weather forcasts for the next ten days are really bad,I know we are comming to the end of a monsoon period but can you please give me some hope by telling me there%26#39;s still a chance of spending some time sitting by the pool

also any information on the chances of not being bitten by mosquitoes would be appreciated.

also (and i realise i%26#39;m ranting on a bit)does anyone know if the squash courts are up to much .

thank you very much

royston

weather +mosquitoes

Hi Roy,

1. Weather forecasts paint the wrong picture. See a few posts down on Hikkaduwa having a pretty good climate right now; the showers are daily but maybe 5% of the time!

2. Depends on how good you prepare. The rooms with their AC are fine, it%26#39;s outside (and the al fresco restaurant) where you are at risk. Cream with lots of DEET is helpful.

3. Pass on squash. Generally Blue Water is a perfect sports hotel, not only the out-of-this-world pool but also some other options.

All the best,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

weather +mosquitoes

Erik + Sandya thank you for taking the time to reply and for the information,the weather seems ok and if the mosquitoes are biting me then at least they will be giving someone else a break

regards royston

Mosquito borne illnesses are a HUGE problem in that part of the world. I have travelled to SL both during the rainy (monsoon) and the dry seasons and those little critters will bite you year around regardless. A few precautions I took:

1) Get anti-malarial pills before you leave.

2) Leave the AC in your room 24/7 (They hate the cold)

3) Don%26#39;t leave your balcony door or any windows open from dusk to dawn.

4) Spray DEET generously over your body from dusk to dawn

5) Avoid locally available %26#39;mosquito coils%26#39; if you have asthma or allergies,

6) I had a mosquito repellant device which I wore around my neck from dusk to dawn. Its the size of a pen, emits a low frequency sound that is inaudible to humans but was successful in keeping insects in general at bay.

Hope this helps and have a great vacation. It truly is a land like no other!

Jay

thanks jay

Hey Royston, Glad we are not the only ones panicing on the weather! My Wife and myself are also flying on the 20th and staying at the Blue Water.We have been coming in from work and the first thing we do is check to see whats happening! Fingers crossed eh?

Regards Andy

hi Andy

we leave Doha at 00:50 on Sunday ,probably the same flight,latest weather forecast on ';weatherunderground.com';is much better as from Monday,

happy to take whatever comes

royston

Hi Jay

Anti bug device sounds great, where do we get them? What are they called? My other half gets eaten alive everywhere we go, this may be the answer to his prayers!

Many thanks.

Debby

Re: Mosquitos

We always take vitamin B1 as a precaution and don%26#39;t seem to get bitten. Must take a least 2 weeks prior to departure and continue to take while away. The chemist also swears by this and we rarely get bitten in Asian Countries we have travelled. But we also spray Deet on ankles etc and wear long pants in the evening.

Good luck

Re: Mosquitos

We always take vitamin B1 as a precaution and don%26#39;t seem to get bitten. Must take a least 2 weeks prior to departure and continue to take while away. The chemist also swears by this and we rarely get bitten in Asian Countries we have travelled. But we also spray Deet on ankles etc and wear long pants in the evening.

Good luck

visit to S/L in July

possibly visiting in july 7th onwards is this a good time to go, i note its towards the end of the rainy season. regards rob

visit to S/L in July

Hi Rob,

* First intermonsoon is about 6 weeks %26#39;between mid May and mid July%26#39;. So you could indeed have a tail of it.

* West monsoon is from early-mid July to at least end of September.

In the WM period, you%26#39;re quite okay. Nice sunny mornings and only some clouds starting in the afternoon, at some days with a few brief showers. In the intermonsoon period you might have similar days but also a few more unsettled days.

So all-in-all: the later in July the better, and even if you come on 7th and stay for a fortnight still plenty of good weather!

All the best,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

visit to S/L in July

Hi,

Early July is the change from inter monsoon (unsettled with cloudy/rainy days mixed with a good deal of sun) to west monsoon (bright and sunny mornings with some (usually) late afternoon and/or evening showers).

Hans

uk hosting

Great choice Browns Beach - thanks dave

Thanks to Dave and everyone who recommended Browns Beach in Negombo. It was a lovely hotel, food was wonderful and staff so friendly. When we arrived the tour company had not booked us a beach room despite my insisting on this numerous times. We had been allocated a standard room without TV. I was disheartened but the hotel upgraded us at no extra cost.

We had a great time and even had an overnight to Kandy and despite a mix up with the tour company again we had a great time. Sri Lankan people are very friendly and all made us feel so welcome.

Great choice Browns Beach - thanks dave

Hi Bmaz...

Good to know that you had a great time in Sri Lanka, and in particular at Browns Beach, i did think at the time it would be the better option for you and the family.

Thngs do sometime go wrong, especially if there is an agent involved, but thankfully it was sorted for you at the hotel.

I will be going down there at end of March, and cannot wait.

Regards

Dave

Great choice Browns Beach - thanks dave

Hi Bmaz,

Happy to hear that you and your family had a good time in Sri Lanka. Thank you for coming to Negombo. We are ready to answer the questions of any person who comes to Negombo.

regards.

Shehan

Wedding dress

I am flying to SL in 8 days for a weddimg, the bride has been trying to find out from SL airlines , if a box containing her wedding dress would be condsidered hand luggage or do they make exeptions , anyone done this recently....

Jason,,

Complaints email

Hoodlum

%26#39;Customer.Services@firstchoice.co.uk%26#39; complaints email, given to us on the phone by the pre departure team last night .

And my name is Lois lmao what do you mean %26#39;where did I get that from%26#39;

Complaints email

LOL someone else called me Lois yesterday before you were on the conversation.. really bizarre!!!

Thank you for email address. Pleased you got alternative flights etc sorted out.

Complaints email

Lol

We might have sorted out our holiday but we are still really annoyed. Mick has sent a long emial to FC today demanding an explanation if we dont get one in a given time, the same email is being sent to all national Newspapers, Abta, Atol, and Holiday Watchdog.

I feel sorry for the ones who have weddings booked.

Lois

Lois we are one of the couples with a wedding booked!! :-(

Our holiday is at the moment still ok as we were told ours is the last package holiday flying out to Sri Lanka with FC (8th April). We have sent them an email stating that a) we are concerned that ours will be cancelled too if they cannot fill the flight (they are currently trying to move cancellations earlier and get them on our schedule). b) that we will only be cancelled a week or few days before we fly which gives us no time to organise legal documentation etc for a wedding in another Country. We would prefer to change our destination now if it means peace of mind.. it is supposed to be our special day and our honeymoon all in one (we will make it special though wherever we are of course).

I can totally understand you both being angry and I am sure alot of the others on here who have been cancelled will join you in complaining to WD etc. I would too as they are causing me a right headache as on 3 occasions yesterday I was told our holiday was cancelled by HQ and then the branch told me all was ok and they went away and double checked and said it was definately ok. (I wonder???)

Helen

:-)

Hoodlum,

This just keeps getting worse, First Choice have told me 3 times the holiday is ok, but have told the agent we have booked with that it may not be going.

Hi Cinderella... hopefully you will be going to the ball. I would send a complaint email to FC. Although I say that, I sent them an email 2 days ago and have chased a response and have heard nothing. I forgot when are you supposed to be flying out again? :-)

Ignore me Cinderella I just noticed you are supposed to be flying same day as us. Are you supposed to be flying from Gatwick or Manchester? We are supposed to be flying around 7pm from Gatwick on the 8th.

You are obviously going with FC but who did you book your holiday through?

Hi Hoodlum,

We are going from Gatwick. We have booked with Thomas Cook.

Hiya

Righteo my better half has contacted First Choice and spoke to the wedding department. We have been assured that the flight going out on 8th April is definately going ahead and is not cancelled. They have said that as we are a wedding party they take this very seriously and absolutely confirm that this date is ok and the wedding is going ahead as booked. They also told us that the only flight out that has been cancelled is the one on 22nd April and they are trying to move these people onto the flight going out on the 8th!!

Hi Hoodlum

its wrong that when you should be looking forward to getting married (which is stressful enough lol) you and your party are having all this extra stress. just be wary , i dont mean to put a dampener on things but they told you only the flight on the 22nd April was cancelled, but we were going on the 5th may????

Good Luck and you WILL have a lovely wedding im sure

Lois (and Mick)

Malaria

Hi all,

I am going back to Sri Lanka at end of March, visiting Colombo, Hambantota, Pinnewalla or Pinnawalla (sp?)

Anyway, on the past 4 trips I have been religiously taking the dreaded Malaria tabs, I was there working following the Tsunami - so perhaps higher risk of bugs, bites and stuff!

But should I take them this trip? I am aware you will be unable togive out medical advice ! but just a general opinion would be helpful

Oh and btw .. the Mozzies adore and love me to bits!

x

Malaria

Hi,

The places your are visiting are low to no risk areas. So really not need to take tabs.

Check with your GP and/or:

fitfortravel.nhs.uk/destinations/srilanka.htm

Hans

Malaria

Thanks again Hans

I think I will give it a miss this time.. and cover up as usual.

Hi Tazness

The mozzies love me too ... I end up bitten and swollen up all over. Coastal areas in Sri Lanka seem to be the worst for insect bits, but thankfully these are not areas where there is a malaria risk. (Bear in mind that there are other mosquito borne diseases like dengue fever though ... no tablets can prevent that.)

On my last trip to Sri Lanka, I relied on the Autan spray with Deet and was bitten badly. On previous visits, I used the Boots lotion with Deet, which is very sticky. It is less pleasant to have on you because of this, but is far more effective against biting insects. If one dares to land on you, they meet a sticky death.

Unpleasant or not, it is back to the lotion for me next time. If you are in hotels with air-conditioning, it is less likely that you will have a problem with mosquitoes. The rooms are also sealed. If you are in small guesthouses (as we were) it is more of a problem. The mozzies fly in easily (there are often ventilation holes in the walls) and a fan is no deterrent to them, compared to the icy blast of airconditioning. Mosquito nets often have small holes in them too.

Even if you cover up well with lotion and do everything in your power to avoid being bitten, the chances are you will still get the odd bite. One night, I even had 5 bites on my face ... the one place where I had no repellent on. From my last bitter experience, I would now advise anyone visiting AT-RISK areas like the cultural triangle to play safe and take tablets and not rely solely on sprays or lotions.

Sue

Thanks Sue,

Those flippin little beasties are a night mare. They jump over people to get to me !

I use one of the boots roll on repelants last time, although they stank they did seem to work, but htey sting a bit on the face.

Then there is the decison... do you put sun tan lotion on first or the repellant ?

Perhaps since I have decided not to do the tablets and we are staying in a few hotels that are more on the basic side, I should take a net ...

Thanks .. now pondering more stuff

stella mccartney

Reccomendation for an experienced driver in SL

Can anyone suggest details of hiring a good experienced driver,

We arrive In SL on April 25th we need to be picked up from the airport and taken to our hotel (tbc) we would like to use the driver for the remaining two days for visiting sites and then dropped off back to the airport.

Should we book this service from London in advance or book a driver from SL once we arrive ?

What will they charge?

Would appreciate any information, advice or guidance

Nudz

Reccomendation for an experienced driver in SL

Hi Nudz,

An AC car/van should cost you around LKR 6000-6500/day based on a daily average of maximum 150-160 km.

You can book from London via e.g. Red Dot Tours, Jetwing or Aitken Spence or you can book from the taxi counter at the airport (not all airport taxis have AC).

Or you can book a ';free-lancer'; via email. You will probably get some offers in the forum, but you PM Dave, Erik or me to get contact of our trusted guides/drivers.

Hans

Reccomendation for an experienced driver in SL

hi , if you book from london it will be very expensive , better organising 1 from here , you will get a lot of drivers offers , best look for one that has been tried and tested , pm me for more details.the company drivers are expensive too better a registered taxi with a good record.

get in contact with Travellerguy on here, Dave told us to use a guy called Jally and he was fantastic!! We%26#39;re still in Sri Lanka and I can%26#39;t recommend him highly enough.

I%26#39;ll post a full review on the hotels we stayed in when I get back.

We love it!!!

Hi Jon

Good to know that Jally looked after you and Nikki,i knew he would do just that, and great that you are still both enjoying things out there too.

Good job you left when you did, the day after the snows came and closed down Heathrow !, and the Kingfisher flight i thought you were on was delayed by 15 hours !

Have fun, and look forward to hearing all about your trip when you get home.

Can%26#39;t wait for my turn !!

Regards

Dave

I was looking for the same informaton ! Thanks for the tips. I am coming on 28th March for 5 night and 4 days, (7am flight)

We are going to hambantota and Red dot quoted me around $422 for the 4 days which I think is around 48.114 Rupees !

I will Pm a couple of you for some advice.

I really looking for the same info%26#39; and sorry to jump on the bandwagon on this thread.

From Pinnawalla Elephant Sanctuary on the 25 December for 4 days along the south coast, then up to Columbo on the 29 December to fly out again. A driver/guide would be great.

Blue

Most of us use the same divers/guides each time we go out. If you want a recommendation, send me a message.

that should read drivers/guides !

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