Whales And Leopards of Sri Lanka: Special Photographic Holiday

Our Clients’ Reviews

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It's the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you're interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers. Any feedback collected (Good or bad) from Exodus clients is posted straight onto our website - totally unedited. Read more...

Average Review Rating: from 17 reviews.

Barrie Ingman

WHALES AND LEOPARDS OF SRI LANKA

Written April 2012
I had a wonderful trip with nice people, great weather, great accomodation, incredible scenery and stunning wildlife. Having been on Safari in Africa a few times I was taken aback by just beautiful Yala National Park is. Definitely one of the most scenic places I have been to on the planet along with Norway's Lofoten Islands and and I have done a significant amount of travelling. There where literally hundreds of whales over 3 days - including a pod of 50 Sperm whales surrounding 4 or 5 blue whales. It would have been a 5 star holiday review but the leopards were so elusive - we saw them everyday, but generally hiding under rocks or on orcky out croppings in the distance. I still have not hada proper leopard sitting despite numerous safaris on two continents. For bird nerds this trip is amazing too - we saw eagles munching fish they had just caught, critically endangered Stork's, owls, bea eaters, the lot...and the beeches were amazing - as were the locals. All in all I'd reccomend it. Just watch out for those early starts :0)
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Seeing a massive blue whale with its mouth above the water very close to the boat whislt a pod of sperm whales stretched into the distance with thier water spounts dotting the foreground , background and horizon in every direction. I think we may have got lucky.
What did you think of your group leader?
Group leader was ace. Intelligent, responsible, responsive, kind, funny. Needs singing lessons.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Yep - don't count on seeing close ups of the leopards and you won't be disappointed.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Nope - thanks
Andrew Pollard

WHALES AND LEOPARDS OF SRI LANKA

Written April 2012
This is a very good trip with the right amount of time spent in each place. We went in April and saw lots of blue whales on the first 2 boat trips. At Yala you are very likely to see leopards, though the sightings may be unclear due to the "bush" or sometimes long range.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Having 5 blue whales in sight at varying distances from the boat.
What did you think of your group leader?
We had a main leader who was reserved, pleasant and competent, and an enthusiastic naturalist who came into his own at Yala.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Money: You will need to plan for c£30 for a tips kitty + your own choice of tip for the main leaders at the end. You will not need money for lunches at Yala as you eat a massive late breakfast after returning from morning drives. Currency rates were competitive at hotels as well as airport. I only spent £120 including all tips.
Camera etc : 400mm quite enough for the whales, which are quite big! You may want a longer zoom for the birds in Yala. I found video clips via the camera were the best way of capturing the whales.
Hotels: Yala is superb, completely faultless. Mirissa the hotel was in itself fine and fronted onto a lovely beach, but could be better managed. The lock on my room patio was a bit dodgy in the 2nd stay, and food on two nights was poor. The whale watching trips seemed to be based at the hotel-as the whale trips were really well done it might be tied in with this hotel being used? Nothing wrong with it that some more attentive management couldn't improve.
Yala leopards : I had one sighting at close range but at the dark side of dusk, another clear but at binocular distance, and another of leopard and cub at long zoom through thicket. I don't think you should make leopards the be all and end all. Yala is very rich in birds (eagles, owls, bee eaters etc etc), mammals (including elephants) and reptiles. If you just hare around from place to place trying to find a leopard you will miss a lot.
Visa eta: They now seem to have sorted this out.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I think it is a good time to go on this trip. Since the civil war finished Sri Lanka is in a phase of strong economic development, and trying to attract "mainstream" tourists to the excellent beaches on the south coast. Best to go now before it gets more crowded.
Robert Bates

WHALES AND LEOPARDS OF SRI LANKA

Written February 2012
A great trip that will maximise your chances to see blue whales and leopards in a lovely country.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Seeing a blue whale for the first time, but also a Bryde Whale and False Killer Whales. On the Yala side of things we were very very lucky and had a close encounter with a Sloth Bear and a leopard amongst 6 sightings.
What did you think of your group leader?
Rohan was very passionate about the nature of Sri Lanka. He has been doing trips for 20 years but you would think it was his 1st one as he was spotting stuff for us that he has probably seen a 100 times before.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Be prepared for early mornings and a lot of good food! If you don't have a professional lens you will get good shots from a camera that has a good zoom on it. Leopard spots can be literally a sighting on the top of a rock in the distance to a very close encounter by the road. Please remember though that this is nature and to see anything at all is purely down to luck and being in the right place at the right time. Your drivers and guides want you to see stuff so will do their best but at the end of the day if nature doesn't play along it's not their fault. Watching whales is quite a test on the stomach but none of our group was ill but many took sea sickness pills. We saw about 17 whales in total. Our boat tended to stay out longer than the others which was good. Once you see a whale you will follow it as it will pop up for about 3-4 minutes before diving again for about 10. Try to watch the nature happening rather than just clicking away from behind a lens. Appreciating the behaviour is a big part of understanding nature.
The tipping is not quite as it says in the brochure so come with a few extra dollars. If you don't think someone deserves a tip then make sure you say so. The staff at some of the hotels were poor so we made sure they weren't tipped. A tip is to be earnt not expected as you might be led to believe.
Also the Southern Express highway means the time to get to your first destination from the airport is greatly reduced which is nice.
If you've been to India, Sri Lanka is like a cleaner nicer version and it's shame that they can't move all the tigers here!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
We saw 6 leopards and blue whales, the stars of the show but there is so much else to see so keep your eyes open and don't nod off! As I've said luck plays a big part, we saw 6 leopards, another on our group saw 1. There are over 100 bird species to spot. This trip really does maximise your chances of seeing these wonderful creatures and I would really recommend this trip. The accommodation is good standard, particularly in Yala where you can eat from four corners of the globe. You can even see leopards from the hotel on a rock across the lake quite often.
Diane Denham

WHALES AND LEOPARDS OF SRI LANKA

Written January 2012
It was a great holiday for wildlife - 3 days whale watching and 3 days leopard spotting worked well as a combination. There was plenty of time for both activites as well as some welcome relaxation time and not too much travelling. Yala was stunning and the hotel was one of the best I have been to and better than I expected. The hotel at Mirissa was ok but the service and security standards were both poor and probably need reviewing (especially compared to Yala). Perfect time of year as warm but not humid and no rain.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The day in Yala when we had 2 game drives seeing leopard on both as well as a sloth bear, elephants, crocs and loads of beautiful birds ! And then back to a stunning hotel with fantastic food and service, a rooftop bar and lovely rooms.
What did you think of your group leader?
The trip was well organised and nothing went wrong but the guide didn't go the efforts that I expect from Exodus guides. I usually learn a lot about the country and feel that they couldn't do more. In comparison our guide was not very proactive. There were even a couple of examples when it felt like we were doing things because it suited him and the naturalist e.g leaving Yala at 11am for Mirissa. On the game drives the two of them contributed very little - appearing rather bored or more interested in taking their own photos than identifying wildlife for us. On the bus they would spend a lot of time speaking in their native language (with the driver and his mate) and laughing a lot - which felt not very respectful. We ended up spending a lot on tips - much higher than in the trip notes (3 boat trips, 6 game drives, driver and mate, luggage driver, guide and naturalist) - this needs to be better reflected in the notes.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Think about an extension as this trip doesn't capture any of the cultural highlights of Sri Lanka and it is quite short - it would be easy to add a few days e.g to go to Kandy.
simon pugsley

WHALES AND LEOPARDS OF SRI LANKA

Written January 2012
The trip delievered its title. We were lucky enough to see several Blue Whales on each of the 3 trips out to sea and Leopard on 4 of the 6 drives at Yala.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Its always that first sighting of what you hope you are going to see. The Blue Whale blowing and fluking, you see about 1/3 of its body at any one point and realise its sheer size. Then the leopard, almost at the end of our first drive, we all knew there was one in the bush but it was all about who was more patient. Eventually the leopard walked out casual as you like and in great light. And as if that wasn't enough we had the bonus of sighting spinner dolphins, pilot whales and a sloth bear during the trip.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Plastic bag is essential to protect your camera from sea water or dust
On the boat just stick to one camera lense with a good range e.g. 70-300 or 18-270. Changing lenses can be difficult when the boat is rocking.
Sea sickness pills - the seas and winds are changeable and you will be out for 6-7 hours. E.g. we had one day of calm and the next day (on occasions) we were losing the bow of the boat in the waves.
Take a torch for the early moring drives.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The hotel at Yala (Chaaya) is fantastic, food, accommodation and service.
Paulette Toynton

WHALES AND LEOPARDS OF SRI LANKA

Written December 2011
A great trip, amazing to see so many whales and spinnder dolphins surrounding the boat. The safari was a little disappointing as the leopards we saw were at some distance, however other members of our group had fantastic close experiences - its not a zoo so you cant guarantee you will all have the same experience. The park was beautiful lots of great animals and colour and life - if you love birds then we saw a huge range of birds of prey all at very close quarters. Hotel in Yala is fantastic - just reopened and very clean and shiny, food exceptional. The other hotels were clean but tired. Beware that road trips although short in km take an age as there arent many roads and everyone including the herds of cattle use them. Overall a great holiday
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Seeing over 10 whales and maybe 200 spinner dolphins
What did you think of your group leader?
Great - really organised and helpful - the naturalist was also fantastic, helpful and engaging wanting everyone to have a great experience.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Be prepared for the transfers taking a while - good tunes or the ability to snooze on a bus.
Timothy Waudby

WHALES AND LEOPARDS OF SRI LANKA

Written December 2011
An exhausting but packed week of lots of wildlife watching. Sri Lanka is a must if you haven't been before.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
As with most wildlife trips things don't always work out the way you expect them too but there are usually some unexpected gems. Sadly I didn't get the Leopard photos I went for but the last game drive delivered up some fantastic opportunities to photograph the sloth bear, a much more rare prize than your bog standard leopard.
The spinner dolphins we encountered on the whale watching trips will be a lasting memory. We saw them following a tuna boat and to see a dolphin go for a 'kill' was immense!
What did you think of your group leader?
Rohan and Nilantha were great. Couldn't fault them. You may see Nilantha pop up in articles about Yala NP, he knows his stuff.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
You must take a bit of ownership of your game drives. Speak up if you want them to stop, they are more than happy to as they want you to have a good time because they want your tips! Take a long lens, sometimes you might get a leopard by the road but you get a lot in the distance up trees where they normally hang out. I had a 400mm and was glad I had it. Don't expect to get a good shot of a leopard, I didn't, but there are other treats if you put the time in. You might be unlucky until your last drive so don't get disheartened if your first drives arn't fruitfull, stick with them, despite how tempted you will be to stay in bed rather than make the 5am drive, you'll be glad you did. The quality of the game drives within the group differed a lot and this was unfortunate. One group was taken down to the beach for the sunrise and the others missed out, this was a bit annoying as being a photographer it would have given me some good images instead of the leopards who wern't showing themselves at the time.
We had better luck with the whale watching, despite missing one of the boat trips due to rough sea. We saw around 10 blue whales each trip, amongst other whales and dolphins. The boat is perfect for the job. Again you need a long lens despite what you might be told. The boats don't get too close to the whales so as not to frighten them off, blue whales are supprisingly skittish, other whales will come over and say hello. You should also make sure you have a good circular polarizing filter too, mine was very useful. You will need your sunhat, shades and sun cream for the whale watching, it gets very hot out there.
Be prepared for not getting much sleep, the journey there is gruelling (7 hour drive right after a 12 hour flight) I didn't really get chance to recover all week and returned home utterly exhausted but you will have had an awsome week if you manage to stay awake.
The itinerary is very full you will feel like you have done a lot in just a week but it's pretty brutal with 5am starts every morning.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
If you only have a week to spend and want some good wildlife experiences then this is a good one. Keep in mind it may not go to plan and resolve to come back another day if it doesn't. Sri Lanka is amazing, the people, food and culture deserve their reputation as an excellent people/place to visit.
Take a light waterproof! It can rain something epic and quite randomly and the jeeps aren't that weather proof!