Ceylon Insider Travels
Ceylon Insider Travels
5
City ToursEco ToursHiking & Camping ToursPrivate ToursNature & Wildlife Tours
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
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About
Step into a world of inspiring adventures and unforgettable travel experiences with Ceylon Insider Travels. Embark on adventures filled with lush green landscapes, golden sandy beaches, and authentic local experiences. Choose from our best-selling holiday packages or design your holiday with Sri Lanka experts. Whether you’re seeking a family holiday, a romantic beach escape, or an adventure-filled safari, we have a perfect holiday plan waiting for you.
Negombo, Sri Lanka
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
35 reviews
Excellent
33
Very good
2
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Kayla
Beijing, China11 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
Sri Lanka is easily the most beautiful country I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. I owe my incredible experience to Ceylon Insider Tours. What began as a two week tour turned into nearly four weeks alongside our guide Shermith. Without his guidance and expertise we would have missed so much of this spectacular country.
Prior to arriving, Shermith helped tailor a custom itinerary to our interests and budget. Even before arriving we knew he was extremely organized and professional. We were greeted promptly at the airport and welcomed with beautiful flower garlands and bottles of cold water. His car was always spotless with air conditioning ready. We were also spoiled with wifi in the car during our entire trip.
Over the course of our trip Shermith brought us to many must see tourist spots as well as local treasures. Each day was meticulously planned, down to hot curry lunches in the middle of a safari! Many sights we visited also included a local guide who specialized in the area or history of the sight. There wasn’t a single place we visited that didn’t amaze and wow us.
Shermith isn’t like most guides, you won’t find anyone who cares more about your experience on holiday than him. He goes above and beyond every single day. He also has a passion for photography and will capture amazing keepsakes for you to enjoy after your trip!
I can’t wait to return to this part of the world! I will without a doubt be contacting Ceylon Insiders when I do. Thank you, Shermith for all the incredible memories and laughs!
Prior to arriving, Shermith helped tailor a custom itinerary to our interests and budget. Even before arriving we knew he was extremely organized and professional. We were greeted promptly at the airport and welcomed with beautiful flower garlands and bottles of cold water. His car was always spotless with air conditioning ready. We were also spoiled with wifi in the car during our entire trip.
Over the course of our trip Shermith brought us to many must see tourist spots as well as local treasures. Each day was meticulously planned, down to hot curry lunches in the middle of a safari! Many sights we visited also included a local guide who specialized in the area or history of the sight. There wasn’t a single place we visited that didn’t amaze and wow us.
Shermith isn’t like most guides, you won’t find anyone who cares more about your experience on holiday than him. He goes above and beyond every single day. He also has a passion for photography and will capture amazing keepsakes for you to enjoy after your trip!
I can’t wait to return to this part of the world! I will without a doubt be contacting Ceylon Insiders when I do. Thank you, Shermith for all the incredible memories and laughs!
Written February 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Melissa Manning
Suzhou, China3 contributions
Jan 2020
Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited, and Ceylon Insider Travels was the best tour company I have ever travelled with.
The service from start to finish far exceeded my expectations; and was excellent value for money. Our tour guide, Shermith, created a personalised package that included organising our hotels and excursions, recommending excellent restaurants, sourcing interesting and friendly local guides and much much much more. He took a lot of time before we arrived to find out the kinds of things we wanted to see and do, and this was reflected in the activities and sites we explored.
Shermith is a fantastic driver, and made us feel incredibly safe and comfortable in his car. The activities planned for us were of a very high quality and extremely interesting and varied. Shermith proved to be very knowledgeable (and patient) when answering my many many questions about the places we visited!
At the end of the trip, Shermith shared photographs he had taken during our two week tour- they were fantastic and captured so many highlights of our amazing trip. It was such a unique touch to a great holiday.
I honestly cannot recommend Ceylon Insider Travels more 😀
The service from start to finish far exceeded my expectations; and was excellent value for money. Our tour guide, Shermith, created a personalised package that included organising our hotels and excursions, recommending excellent restaurants, sourcing interesting and friendly local guides and much much much more. He took a lot of time before we arrived to find out the kinds of things we wanted to see and do, and this was reflected in the activities and sites we explored.
Shermith is a fantastic driver, and made us feel incredibly safe and comfortable in his car. The activities planned for us were of a very high quality and extremely interesting and varied. Shermith proved to be very knowledgeable (and patient) when answering my many many questions about the places we visited!
At the end of the trip, Shermith shared photographs he had taken during our two week tour- they were fantastic and captured so many highlights of our amazing trip. It was such a unique touch to a great holiday.
I honestly cannot recommend Ceylon Insider Travels more 😀
Written February 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrea B
Arad, Romania26 contributions
Apr 2023 • Couples
We were in Sri Lanka for 9 days in 3 different locations: Kandy, Ella and Kalutara. We booked the whole package (the guide who was our driver with the company car) for our whole stay from Ceylon Insider Travels. At arrival we were welcomed with flower garlands and a thoughtful bag with mosquito repellent, face mask, hand sanitizer, different kind of biscuits, peanuts, gum and socks (for the temples) and a map with our itinerary and hotels. The car was very clean all the time and there were always cold water and sodas, even ice cream. :) the daily program was really well thought and we could manage to visit everything we had on wishlist and even more. He also made recommandation regarding other activities and places if we would like to include in our holiday. We got even very good rrestaurants, bars, skybars recommandation from him. When we took the train from Ella to Kandy, he booked our tickets, took us to the train and he waited for us in Ella with all our luggages which was a big plus since in this way we could enjoyed the trip to the fullest. Shermith was very polite all the time, very good English speaker, great and carefully driver since the traffic in Sri Lanka is beyond chaotic, very good photographer also (he took us really beautiful pictures with his camera and then emailed them to us). This holiday was one of our best and we traveled a lot :) Sri Lanka is a beautiful destination with a lot of fabulous places and really nice people, but our stay was clearly even better because of Shermith and his travel agency- Ceylon Insider Travels. Totally worth visiting and definitely would go back there and choose Ceylon Insider Travels again. So if you want to enjoy Sri Lanka stressfree, this is the way!
Written May 2, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bryan C
71 contributions
Jun 2024 • Family
Long before the trip even began, we were well taken care of by Shermith. We have four young children, and it seemed no detail was too small for Ceylon Insider to cater to. No request was left unaddressed. Everything was smooth, and for the first time in a long while, my wife and I could just relax and entrust all the planning and itinerary details to the team.
We were warmly welcomed at midnight with flower garlands, and the van we traveled in had an abundant supply of water and snacks. For several days, we had requested for flexible itineraries, and despite this, we never felt like our guide was unprepared or flustered.
Our entire stay in Sri Lanka was filled with hospitality and our whole family enjoyed ourselves. We'll definitely be back, and will definitely plan our next trip through Ceylon Insider.
We were warmly welcomed at midnight with flower garlands, and the van we traveled in had an abundant supply of water and snacks. For several days, we had requested for flexible itineraries, and despite this, we never felt like our guide was unprepared or flustered.
Our entire stay in Sri Lanka was filled with hospitality and our whole family enjoyed ourselves. We'll definitely be back, and will definitely plan our next trip through Ceylon Insider.
Written July 12, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cynthia A C J
14 contributions
Jan 2020 • Family
We had an amazing time in the beautiful country of Sri Lanka. Shermith and Paul organized the schedule of the various activities and trips we went on, the great restaurants we ate at and much more! Paul drove a lot and he always had wet towels, fruits, napkins, and cold water for us in the car. The car was a comfortable van and had good portable Wi-fi inside. So, even though we needed to stay hours in the car sometimes, we had good connection and my teens didn’t feel bored during the long trips. The highlight of the one-week trip was the Yala National Park, which is where we went on an incredible safari. Throughout the safari we spotted a total of 4 leopards and many other animals! Another place that we loved was Sigiriya. It was a perfect trip with our teenagers. Paul not only choose the best attractions for our family, but he was also very flexible with regards to changing plans, whether we wanted to do something different or add more places to go. Moreover, Paul was extremely kind, and in the end of the trip, he gave us a beautiful gift from Sri Lanka that we will keep forever.
Written May 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pia
1 contribution
Jan 2020
We were two families travelling around Sri Lanka. We did not book a driver before we arrived, but were lucky to get in contact with a fantastic driver, called Paul. He helped us organising daytrips, some places to stay, restaurants to have lunch and so on. He had a great knowledge about local attractions and were very good at english. We liked his calmness both as a driver and as a person. He were also very good at giving the kids some unique experiences for instance toys made of coconut leaves.
We are very very thankful and can only give him our highest recommendations.
We are very very thankful and can only give him our highest recommendations.
Written March 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
fork12
Sydney, Australia9 contributions
Jan 2019 • Family
OK, these guys are amazing and Shermith is an incredible guide.
We did a tonne of research and planning on destinations and accommodation prior to realising that our biggest challenge in SL would be getting around the country!
It was then that we started seeking out tours and drivers and found Ceylon Insider Travels via these pages ---thank you TA and our fellow reviewers but above all thank you Shermith for providing constant support and advice over and above your contracted services.
We traveled for 12 days (2 adults, 3 teenage girls) in a super comfortable, air cond, widi enabled Toyota van. Shermith is an excellent driver and having covered these roads so many times not only ensures that you take the best routes but is also unfazed by numerous TukTuk's, crazy tourist bus drivers and the odd cow or even elephant.
Our itinerary was as follows: Colombo to Weligama/Mirrisa, the Ella, train to Nuwara Eliya, back in the van to Kandy, then Sigiriya, on to Welligama Safari park and finally Negombo which is great before flying out.
Shermith answered all our questions (there were many) in the lead up to our arrival, provided invaluable advice on accommodation, points of interest and estimated travel times and on the ground never ceased to amaze us with his kind nature, patience and dedication to ensuring we had the best holiday possible.
Clearly we would recommend Ceylon Insider Travels but would advise that you confirm dates and book him quickly as he has a number of business and repeat customers (we were lucky that we was able to juggle some dates to fit us in as we arrived just before NYE but only finalised our travel the month before).
There are other ways to get around and probably some cheaper operators but we've traveled in Europe, the US and other parts of Asia and this experience easily provided the best value for money of any similar services and as noted Shermith goes out of his way to make your holiday a memorable one.
Happy to answer any questions if you want to reach out.
We did a tonne of research and planning on destinations and accommodation prior to realising that our biggest challenge in SL would be getting around the country!
It was then that we started seeking out tours and drivers and found Ceylon Insider Travels via these pages ---thank you TA and our fellow reviewers but above all thank you Shermith for providing constant support and advice over and above your contracted services.
We traveled for 12 days (2 adults, 3 teenage girls) in a super comfortable, air cond, widi enabled Toyota van. Shermith is an excellent driver and having covered these roads so many times not only ensures that you take the best routes but is also unfazed by numerous TukTuk's, crazy tourist bus drivers and the odd cow or even elephant.
Our itinerary was as follows: Colombo to Weligama/Mirrisa, the Ella, train to Nuwara Eliya, back in the van to Kandy, then Sigiriya, on to Welligama Safari park and finally Negombo which is great before flying out.
Shermith answered all our questions (there were many) in the lead up to our arrival, provided invaluable advice on accommodation, points of interest and estimated travel times and on the ground never ceased to amaze us with his kind nature, patience and dedication to ensuring we had the best holiday possible.
Clearly we would recommend Ceylon Insider Travels but would advise that you confirm dates and book him quickly as he has a number of business and repeat customers (we were lucky that we was able to juggle some dates to fit us in as we arrived just before NYE but only finalised our travel the month before).
There are other ways to get around and probably some cheaper operators but we've traveled in Europe, the US and other parts of Asia and this experience easily provided the best value for money of any similar services and as noted Shermith goes out of his way to make your holiday a memorable one.
Happy to answer any questions if you want to reach out.
Written January 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
S1monerene
Carlisle, UK3 contributions
Oct 2018 • Couples
I would highly recommend Ceylon Insider! We spent two amazing weeks for our honeymoon with Shermith the owner of Ceylon Insider. He was excellent at replying over email during the planning stages of our trip. We decided where we wanted to go, travelling to various locations around the island. Shermith advised which places we should spend longer and where we should skip to make the most of our trip. From start to finish the trip was excellent and ran smoothly.
We ate some fantastic food, my favourite being the traditional Sri Lankan rice and curry.
Some days we had long drives, these were broken up with stops for food or sight seeing all planned by Shermith, he always asked us what we preferred to do and gave us options.
We wouldn’t have seen half of the things or done half as much stuff if we hadn’t booked Shermith, the trip was really well thought out, his knowledge of the island was amazing and made the trip very efficient. I would highly recommend him.
Shermith’s driving was excellent, he was very safe and steady. I would not feel confident hiring a car in Sri Lanka after seeing some of the driving, in some areas it’s very busy with bikes and scooters everywhere. He regularly checked his mirrors and always indicated. Many road users over there didn’t do either of these things. I did however feel very safe in Shermith’s car and had great confidence in his driving.
He is also a fantastic photographer, he took some amazing pictures throughout our trip and gave them to us at the end. He provided us with bottled water at all times, the car was comfortable, the air-con was a life saver, he provided us with free in car WiFi as an extra bonus and had great music, often passing us the AUX cable to share our music too. He was so accommodating and was more than happy to stop off at any point during our trip. We stoped at local shops for snacks, art and woodwork galleries. We pulled over many times to admire stunning views or stop to experience the wildlife.
Sri Lanka is an amazing place to visit, with a friendly culture and lots to see and experience. We enjoyed wildlife/safaris, surfing, sight-seeing, walking/hiking, a Sri Lankan cooking lesson/ traditional cultural experience as well as luxurious accommodation.
English was well spoken most places. Shermith translated for us a few times, and explained proper etiquette however most Sri Lankan’s are used to westerners so they will not be offended if you get it wrong.
We loved our trip to Sri Lanka and plan to return. We will definitely be using Ceylon insider next time and would recommend him to anyone wanting to travel to Sri Lanka.
We ate some fantastic food, my favourite being the traditional Sri Lankan rice and curry.
Some days we had long drives, these were broken up with stops for food or sight seeing all planned by Shermith, he always asked us what we preferred to do and gave us options.
We wouldn’t have seen half of the things or done half as much stuff if we hadn’t booked Shermith, the trip was really well thought out, his knowledge of the island was amazing and made the trip very efficient. I would highly recommend him.
Shermith’s driving was excellent, he was very safe and steady. I would not feel confident hiring a car in Sri Lanka after seeing some of the driving, in some areas it’s very busy with bikes and scooters everywhere. He regularly checked his mirrors and always indicated. Many road users over there didn’t do either of these things. I did however feel very safe in Shermith’s car and had great confidence in his driving.
He is also a fantastic photographer, he took some amazing pictures throughout our trip and gave them to us at the end. He provided us with bottled water at all times, the car was comfortable, the air-con was a life saver, he provided us with free in car WiFi as an extra bonus and had great music, often passing us the AUX cable to share our music too. He was so accommodating and was more than happy to stop off at any point during our trip. We stoped at local shops for snacks, art and woodwork galleries. We pulled over many times to admire stunning views or stop to experience the wildlife.
Sri Lanka is an amazing place to visit, with a friendly culture and lots to see and experience. We enjoyed wildlife/safaris, surfing, sight-seeing, walking/hiking, a Sri Lankan cooking lesson/ traditional cultural experience as well as luxurious accommodation.
English was well spoken most places. Shermith translated for us a few times, and explained proper etiquette however most Sri Lankan’s are used to westerners so they will not be offended if you get it wrong.
We loved our trip to Sri Lanka and plan to return. We will definitely be using Ceylon insider next time and would recommend him to anyone wanting to travel to Sri Lanka.
Written October 24, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
aar0ny1
London, UK3 contributions
Aug 2018 • Family
We had been recommended Shermith and Ceylon insider travel by a friend and had a great tour. Shermith managed to get us a great rate at some the hotels and had great ideas for excursions on our way between locations.
We have a 2 year old and 5 year old who love animals and Shermith managed to spot and pull over when he saw turtles, peacocks, monkeys and monitor lizards on the road, much to the girls amusements.
The vehicle was air conditioned, comfortable with great music and bottled water.
We had planned most of our trip but the local knowledge Shermith had meant that everyday we saw or went somewhere we didn’t expect to which was great.
As other reviews have said Shermith’s photography is on point and the quality of the photographs taken with a DSLR are great!
Thanks for a great trip and will definitely recommend.
We have a 2 year old and 5 year old who love animals and Shermith managed to spot and pull over when he saw turtles, peacocks, monkeys and monitor lizards on the road, much to the girls amusements.
The vehicle was air conditioned, comfortable with great music and bottled water.
We had planned most of our trip but the local knowledge Shermith had meant that everyday we saw or went somewhere we didn’t expect to which was great.
As other reviews have said Shermith’s photography is on point and the quality of the photographs taken with a DSLR are great!
Thanks for a great trip and will definitely recommend.
Written August 27, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Adam A
20 contributions
Sep 2018 • Couples
You may find cheaper drivers/guides but you definitely won’t find any better. The service you get with Shermith and Ceylon Insider Travels surpassed all my exceptions.
We visited Sri Lanka for our honeymoon and after doing some research I emailed Ceylon Insider Travels. Shermith answered all my questions, had some great advice and ultimately helped us plan the perfect honeymoon that was right for us.
We spent 2 weeks traveling Sri Lanka and didn’t have to worry about a thing. We hiked, surfed, safaried, ate and drank our way across the country and Shermith pretty much took care of everything.
The car was always immaculate, organised and had air conditioning. We always had bottled water, snacks, music and sometimes even WiFi. Shermith is a great driver and we always felt safe even on some of the hectic Sri Lankan roads.
Shermith clearly takes great pride in his company and his tours and he went above and beyond to make the trip special, he catered every element of the trip to the things we were interested in and no request was too big or too small.
We had an amazing time in Sri Lanka and it’s a trip I’ll never forgot.
Thanks Baby Driver, we’ll see you soon.
We visited Sri Lanka for our honeymoon and after doing some research I emailed Ceylon Insider Travels. Shermith answered all my questions, had some great advice and ultimately helped us plan the perfect honeymoon that was right for us.
We spent 2 weeks traveling Sri Lanka and didn’t have to worry about a thing. We hiked, surfed, safaried, ate and drank our way across the country and Shermith pretty much took care of everything.
The car was always immaculate, organised and had air conditioning. We always had bottled water, snacks, music and sometimes even WiFi. Shermith is a great driver and we always felt safe even on some of the hectic Sri Lankan roads.
Shermith clearly takes great pride in his company and his tours and he went above and beyond to make the trip special, he catered every element of the trip to the things we were interested in and no request was too big or too small.
We had an amazing time in Sri Lanka and it’s a trip I’ll never forgot.
Thanks Baby Driver, we’ll see you soon.
Written October 18, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience