Had a great day trip with Irfan who went out of his way to make sure I had a comfortable ride and shared his thoughts and knowledge of the area. The independent guide I purchased at Sigiriya did a good job too.

A great day trip from Kandy. My guide Irfan was excellent from start to finish, with lots of knowledge of the areas. Also flexible towards any requests throughout the day. The day was well structured with plenty of time at each site and lunch at a good local restaurant. Would definitely recommend the trip.

After touring Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, my husband and I made a last-minute decision to spend 2.5 days in Sri Lanka, and we wanted to see as much as possible during our short stay. We booked a day tour to Sigiriya, Dambulla, and Polonnaruwa (3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites) from Kandy via Viator, and it was WELL WORTH IT! Our driver and tour guide, Irfan, picked us up promptly at our hotel (check out our review for Queens Hotel in Kandy). His car was sparkling clean, comfortable, and equipped with great A/C. Irfan was an EXCELLENT guide with good English and extensive knowledge about Kandy, the government, culture, and Sri Lanka. His recommendations and insights throughout the day were spot on! He seemed to anticipate our needs, which made for a smooth day despite the heat and our ambitious sightseeing agenda. After seeing Dambulla and Sigiriya, Irfan took us to a lunch stop at a charming roadside restaurant that served a delicious buffet of authentic Sri Lankan fare, satisfying even my picky husband. The total cost for two people was only $11 USD before tip. Irfan also surprised us with special treats throughout the day, and his keen eye for spotting wildlife allowed us to capture some great photos. The sites we visited were unique and breathtaking! It was a long, tiring day (about 14.5 hours), but we wouldn’t have wanted to skip any of the experiences. Dambulla involves some steps, and Sigiriya is even more challenging — but well worth the climb if you’re up for it! My husband and I are both in our early 60's and while he climbs mountains as a hobby, I do not - yet we both managed the climbs. Thankfully, our final stop to Polonnaruwa as flat (no steps)!! For Polonnaruwa, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND hiring a guide, as the site is spreadout. We were fortunate to connect with Prema (pronounced PRAY-ma), a retired school teacher who approached us while we were buying tickets. Initially hesitant, we decided to go with him after my husband negotiated a cost of $20. However, we were so impressed and pleased with Prema's guidance that we ended up giving him double! There's no way we could have navigated Polonnaruwa without his expertise. In sum, I hope your experience with Travel Sri Lanka (Aaliya Tours) is as wonderful and smooth as ours was!

Irfan our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. He was always checking in on us throughout the day making sure we gained the most out of this experience. Plenty of time to see Sigiriya and Dambulla Cave at our own pace. Would highly recommend to anyone looking at a day trip from Kandy!

Ilham was an enthuastic guide and it was an absolute blast to be taken on a day trip from Kandy to Sigiria Rock. He offered so many things to do along the way, including a Hindu Temple, herbal garden, tour through a village and offered a wonderful spot to eat A home-made sri lankan meal. It was really a fabulous tour and I would absolutley recommend him as a guide! Not to mentioned he dropped off my sunglasses after I accidentally left them behind. 10/10 enjoyable day.

We cannot recommend this tour enough :) Our guide Shamin was excellent from start to finish ...we were picked up from our hotel at 7 am and enjoyed a day packed full of activities. Shamin was very knowledgeable and provided with us with brilliant information before we entered the cave temple at Dambulla. He also took us to the golden temple at Dambullah. Shamin was efficient and friendly and ensured all of our needs were catered for, including a delicious authentic lunch at a local restaurant af Sigiriya after we climbed Sigiruya Rock. The final activity was brilliant and Shamin ensured our driver was waiting for us when we arrived. All in all, a day to remember :)

Tour guide Shamin made our experience today! Told us lots about the vegetation and plantation as well as history of Kandy. Very knowledgeable about Sri Lanka and let us choose what activities we wanted to do.

Mr Shamin was really friendly, a safe driver, and he helped us to rearrange our tour because of the rain. We still had a great time thank you!

We had an excellent day with Shamin. He gave us a lot of information and we had fun comparing it with a book we bought from the museum in Polonnaruwa - he passed the test every time. He wasn't scared to share a few jokes while taking good care of us. Interesting places, amazing views, good company - perfect day.

We booked Day tour to Sigiriya & Dambulla from Kandy, it was organized very well. Even when was confusion with name of hotel, they came to pick up us to another hotel. Thank you! Additionally we visited unexpected places as another temple, spices garden with shop and fruit stall and after Sigriya tour we are brought for late lunch. We had very nice guide Mr. Irfan who told us about Sri Lanka and people living here. Thank you!

We had a great day with Shamin despite the rain!! He was very accommodating and flexible and we saw so much in the day. We definitely got the 5* treatment as he went above & beyond to make the tour and drive interesting.

Nice day. We went to mantale first, visited the Hindu temple then sigriya and dumballe cave temples. Irfan was a great guide.

We had the most amazing time on our 5 day tour with Mr Illham. The staff at Aliya Tours are very helpful and friendly. The tour was very unique and personalised to us as guests. We were always asked if everything was ok and really cared for by the team. They certainly made our experience the best it could be. So much was packed into the itinerary and ran smoothly so we really got to see all the beauty of Sri Lanka.

The driver and companion were respectful, courteous and provided good local knowledge. The additional stops were interesting, and the local food stops were delicious

Our driver was excellent, very friendly, shared lots of local knowledge, encouraged us to try new foods, and the places we visited were excellent too. If you want to be at Sirigiya for a specific time then do say and I’m sure they’d make it happen. We wound up there in the afternoon after visiting other places as our driver recommended it to avoid crowds - he wasn’t wrong. Overall great trip and value for money.