Sri Lanka Logistics

All logistic chat here.
(Contact details and correspondance with:
- raft companies
- canoe clubs
- Andy Sommer, Andy Van Pelt
- etc)

From Dave Manby:

Rob Hind went to Sri Lanka some years ago - he had a good time but the only snippet I remember him telling me was no cars had roof racks!

Just a heads up. If we can't sort suitable transport before, then we'll maybe need to think of a plan for maybe bringing some?? Or alternative.

good point, theres always those dodgy inflattable ones
I wonder if you got one of those tube like pool floats, if you could secure it with a strap, not sure it would hold up though

http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=45745&p=352337&hilit=River+Kwai#p352337
Apparently Allan Ellard has been Sri Lankawards too.
Maybe worth sending him an email.
I'll get on that.

This is a list of the websites of tour companies that I am emailing to ask for a help with logisitcs. They are a mixture of UK based and Sri-Lankan ones, but they are all listed in the Rough Guide as being good for custom tours of Sri Lanka or are linked to whitewater rafting in some capacity. I am going to get them all to quote prices for providing us with logistics (transport for people and boats/drivers/places to stay/access to national parks etc.) for the entire time.

It would almost certainly be cheaper to organise all of these elements seperately, but as we are going to be so strapped for time it would be god to having everything taken care of before we get there - just so we spend the maximum amount of time possible paddling, and not organising.

www.carolanka.co.uk

www.ad-asia.com

www.aitkenspencetravels.com

www.jetwingeco.com

www.journeylankatours.com

www.malkey.lk. - this one also does car hire with and without drivers. If they can offer as a competative price for the vehicles then we could look elsewhere for everthing else.

As I get the specifics of deals offered and quotes back from these companies, and any other information that sounds like it could be useful I will post it on this thread, and we can decide on which one offers the best flexibility and value.

Ok, been looking at rental prices.

I would suggest that our options are as follows (none of the following prices are inclusive of the 15% government tax we will have to pay) -

1) With drivers

a) Hiring two 4x4s with drivers will work out as roughly £120 per day in total, which works out as £20 each, which means we will be looking at roughly £420 each for the entire expedition for drivers and vehicles.

b) If we decide we can get away without four wheel drive, we could make our lives cheaper by hiring a people carrier (would have to negotiate a trailer as well) which, with a driver comes in at £60 a day, or £10 each, coming to a total of roughly £216 per person for the entire expedition. (not including trailer) This option does come with a lot of ifs, though. We can only do it if the roads where we end up going will allow for a two wheel drive people carrier, with a trailer (if we could find one, that is).

Advantages... There is a saying that states that in order to drive in Sri Lanka you need "good horn, good brakes, good luck." I think this is mainly in reference to the city driving, and the more highland areas where there are fewer cars can actually not be too bad, I have read, but I think it would still be more relaxing - and less risky - to have a driver. I can imagine that if there was an accident, even if we were all unharmed it could get very costly very quickly. Also, the quotes for vehicles with drivers are inclusive of a 100km a day stipulation - this could be a disadvantage as there is a hefty excess mileage charge, but presumably then the price includes a 100km worth of fuel everday (maybe, I will check though). Must remember that when comparing prices.

2) Without a driver

a) Self drive quotes are for per month or per week rather than per day, but the way it works out it would be cheaper for a month than for three weeks. For the four wheel drives it would cost us roughly £870 per vehicle fir the whole trip, which if we had two (essential for shuttles, even if not for seating/boat space) works out as around £290 per person for the enitre expedition.

b) If we went with the 9 seater (trailer still a variable, though)and no driver we would be looking at £1100 for the whole time, which works out as around £182 per person for the entire expedition.

Advantages... Obviously it is a whole lot cheaper, but apart from that it could end up being a whole lot more difficult. All the drivers are English speakers so could double up as translators, and they are less likely than us to get lost at any stage. Aquiring permission to drive would not be an issue, we would have to either apply for international licenses before we left, or take our British ones to the highways office in Colombo on arrival and pay (about a fiver) for a temporary Sri Lankan driving pass.

So those are the options on the driving front, there may be other companies but the guide says this company is the most comprehensive, reliable and good value one. And if a tour/rafting company can supply logisitics and include other things such as accommodation and access at a good price then we will not have to worry about hiring our own vehicles at all.

Sounds good Seth, keep up the good work!
Seems you were more productive than alot of us last weekend (we failed to have a 'official' meet up at NSR!)

Its nice to have a rough idea how much things are going to cost. Good work with that. And I agree it will be good to arrive and hit the ground running.
Before we commit to anything we sohuld (I should) definitely get in touch with Andy Sommer and see what he did for transport. ie, how easy it is just to hire something when your there (often its very easy, but you never know before you go)

Maybe worth posting below:

www.lonelyplanet.com has a section called the Thorn Tree.
It is a gem and will solve all your problems.
For every question you ask, try to answer one for somebody else.

I'm sure there'll be alot of people who have travelled round Sri Lanka with some large object or other!/have had to hire things.
Maybe they will have contacts.

In Tajikistan we didn't have a translator (quite expensive) just a firend of a friend who was reccommended to us (who we knew we could trust) and he spoke English. Sometimes a friend is nicer than having someone in an 'official' capacity.

I spoke to a guy at the NSR who has surfing friends who spent 5 months in Sri Lanka.
Hoping to get in touch with them this week.

Good work though!
(I take it you have your internet back?!)

Unfortunately not - we paid the bill but by that time our contract had been terminated, so we are having to rethink. I have just invested in a Starbucks card and resigned myself to the fact that I will be doing the majority of my internet work in coffee shops.

I agree we shouldn#t rule out waiting until we get there - will almost certainly be cheaper, its just how quickly and efficiently we can make things happen.

Excitingly, though, all of that info about the prices is wrong - I was converting at the rate of the Indian rupee (because I remembered reading somewhere once that they were roughly the same) but I double checked and the exchange rate is over double what I thought. So for the real price of all those things, divide by 2.25. Which means things like two 4x4s with drivers for the whole time are closer to £186, not the £420 I originally calculated. So obviously the orginally cheaper options are now really cheap!

Heard back from a few of the other companies with quotes:

Thanks for your e-mail..

We hope that the below rent a car package will be appropriate for you.

If you need any further assistance, please contact us.

Look forward to hear from you soon.


RENT A CAR
• The price for a Micro (3-6 pax) with an English Speaking Chauffeur Guide for 150 km a day will
be US$ 95.00 per day. If more than 150 km is utilized per day, US $ 0.75 will be charged
per additional Km locally.

• The price for a Mini Coach (7-12 pax) with an English Speaking Chauffeur Guide for 150 km a day will
be US$ 110.00 per day. If more than 150 km is utilized per day, US $ 0.80 will be charged
per additional Km local (Supplement for a National guide : US$ 50.00 per day)

• Please note the mileage is counted from Colombo City to Colombo City. The bookings
should be for a minimum of 02 Days and should not be for transfers only. Unused
mileage could be carried over to the next day.

• The above price includes hire of vehicle, driver's wages and subsistence, gasoline, local
insurance, running expenses and Government Tax (12% VAT + 1% CESS).

• It would be preferable if clients check the meter readings each day and make sure that
they receive an official receipt from the Chauffeur Guide at the end of the hire, if excess
travel is charged

And then there is also:

Dear Sir,

Many thanks for your email,

Regarding about the tour sri lanka,

would cost you USD 265 nett, per person, ( for 2 people traveling together )

Above rates include

welcome and assistance at colombo international airport

transfer by air conditioned car

english speaking driver/Guide

local insurance covered during you traveling with us

fuel for the car

including government taxes

Unlimited Mileage

service from airport to airport

Note: This rates for the minimum for 2 weeks, if any extra days will cost you USD 32 per day

Not include

accommodation and meals during the tour

Entrance fees and other expenses

Service Guaranteed frim arrival to depaerture from the airport

if any clarification, please email me or cvall me

Best regrds

prema
(this deal is made really good by the fact that we have unlimited mileage - could be really handy!)

So the picture now is looking like its going to cost us sub-£200 each booking vehicles and drivers in advance for the whole time. I don#t know how much cheaper we would get it just turning up at the airport, but that is worth finding out from other travellers. The other good thing about prebooking is that it may be harder for people to add hidden costs...

Cool, Im going to go draft an email to the Sri Lankan Bureau for the Development of Tourism.

Hope you had fun at the NSR, gutted I couldn#t go!

http://www.travelpod.com/forums/index.php?showforum=80
Could be worth a browse (esp. for finding contacts for driving etc)

A contact who is a surfer and has spent a fair amount of time in Sri Lanka.
Stuff in red is the most useful if you're scan reading.

Hey Dave, Danny mentioned you were off on travels. Well for starters its a pretty sick spot. Weather, culture, food and surf.

I went out for 3 months (November to feb) Been back a month now. Whilst we there we had the most craziest weather ever.

We had the coldest day in 71 years, some of the harshest floods in 100 yrs. Luckily the floods didnt effect us. We stayed mostly between Hikkaduwa and Midigama (south west). The floods were happening around Kandy (central SL). There was a story on BBC about the baby elephant being found dead 18ft up a tree. Thats the rise of rivers for you. CRAZY.

I believe that the west coast has monsoon season from April-September and the east coast is october-March (ish). However if your central SL the weather is constantly inclement.

We traveeled up to Kandy from Colombo on the train. On the way up we saw some rivers. Varying from huge slow moving rivers to climbing higher and seeing good rocky ww and creeks.

Getting around is very cheap really. If you were to travel some distance try and get on the train. Even first class is a couple of pounds for a 5 hour trip etc. Kayaks will be fun to lug around however its defo doooable. You may have to pay extra but it would be peanuts. The carriages where they have the food carts are big and spacious. Maybe wack them in there. When you rock up at colombo airport all the taxis are outside. I saw very few with roofracks.
I'd expect they put the seats down and cram them in. It may be a case of two taxis. One for boats and one for you boys.
If at all you travel in a tuk tuk you could probably get one or 2 on the roof. But definately take some long straps. Otherwise they use their shoelaces. The last thing you want is your £700 creek boat off the roof into one of sri lankas many crazy ass bus drivers.

We did see many jeeps and vans that you can rent. Not really companies as such. You want to hang fire in colombo or hikkaduwa (surf spot and party town) for a day or 2. Literally ask around at your hotel and they will arrange what you want. You may get lucky and score one with a roof rack. I did see some so they are around..

Take mosiquto nets for sure!
Who you flying with?

Ill send you this but keep asking questions dude. Ill keep remembering things if i have questions to answer, haha.. Hope this may be of some help..
Plus when u get to Kandy, they have pizza hut and KFC. After three months, what a luxury.

Note month’s salary and Rs. 15,000.

http://www.hansasurf.com/contact.php
a translator could be good. I know a awesome kid in hikkaduwa, however he works full time and also is going to college. If ever i would pass work to anyone it would be him. However i dont have a contact address. He lives (in season) at HANSA surf. Surf hostel. His name is chatamanga or chata as we call him. Speaks very good english and deserves every penny. The only way to find him would to go and hunt him down though, sorry...

http://playak.com/index.php?catid=1053:Sri%20Lanka&id=1223:Journey%20through%20Sri%20Lanka&option=com_content&view=article
There have already been some articles about the place but finally I managed to get some more photos online. Especially I think the first descent of the Nuwara Ellyia creek didn’t get enough limelight.

I mean, overall it was a 50-60 km first descent with plenty of falls, slides and rapids, with portaging around two 80+m waterfalls, jungle, leeches and action.

Mikey Abbott

Hey there,
Yeah we did do a trip to Sri Lanka in 97 i think. We were a bit late for the water (Dec) and did alot of surfing which is highly recommended, Hikkadua and Aragam bay.
I don't remember a whole lot logistics wise but do remember the names of a few rivers that we paddled, although they are kind of blended together in my memory. We did'nt do too much planning for our trip.
Paddled the Kelani ganga which I think is quite regularly rafted these days. Borderlands have a set up which does some activities around there. Check out their website , and they would be a good contact for some more updated local info. The guy that runs the place, Wade is a paddler, or was.
We also paddled a section of the Kothmale oya, up in the highlands, surrounded by tea, that should suit you poms. This was pretty creeky. Also paddled the Mahaweli ganga, which was a bigger river with probably a few sections to do although we did only a pretty short stretch.
Did alot of driving around looking for rivers and found alot of 200m stretches of class 3-4 to insane big waterfall, to class 3 to hydro lake.
Fantastic place to travel though, loved it. Check out Adams peak, I am sure you don't need acid to have a good time up there!
http://www.discoverborderlands.com/
Good luck!!

Another email from Wade. I've (tried to) highlight in Red the main bits of information.

Good day Dave

Received your mail and have you booked on our big board. I have not gone to the Tourism board as of yet as I wanted firm confirmation that you guys are really coming out here. Now that we have dates I will meet with them and see if they can assist in any way. one aspect of support they can give is a letter which could help keep us out of trouble when heading off into areas with boats and wishing to run water falls. The country is still not fully opened and simple things can be difficult out here.

We will need to confirm the booking of our truck to move you and the boats around. Its possible to move all gear and folks in one truck. Tight, but possible. I will send our charges to you.

With regards to your stay while here, we are willing to offer you some special rates at our base with the understanding of assisting a few of our boys with some coaching and trading some time for gear. We will offer you free accommodation while you stay at our base site, meals will need to be covered but will be discounted for you and your team. Your stay off site will be what ever the rates of such hotels are. We can assist you with tents and camping gear free of charge, I am sure your already over weight and this can cut down on gear you need to bring. Our kit is good and I am sure your team will be happy with it. Again food and fuel for such trips will need to be covered by your team.

We would like to send you our logos for your web site. Dave if this coach comes over would she be able to certify our boys at any level? kindly let us know.

Ok that's all for now.

cheers Wade

Nick - can you add Boarderlands to our 'Sponsors' or something. Just say we've teamed up with them and in exchange for our help they're sorting use nicely with logistics on the ground.
The bit in green: "Your stay off site will be what ever the rates of such hotels are" Anyone know what this means?
Eitherway, good news allround!

sweet looks awesome. I am guessing that means that when we go anywhere away from there and stay in hotels we will pay the hotels rates

Haha! Oh yeah. Kind of seems obvious now! Tard!