By Geoff Whittle; husband of Cherrie of Worldwide Holiday’s When Cherrie invited me to accompany her on a FAM trip of Sri Lanka I was less than enthusiastic. Having spent seven years living in India, Sri Lanka just seemed as if would be a ‘chip off the India block’ and held little appeal when so many other destinations beckoned – HOW WRONG! Our flight by BA stopped over in the Maldives briefly and it was all Cherrie could do to stop me getting off as I stood in the aircraft doorway and soaked up Male’s balmy heat and viewed the Indian Ocean lapping the island we’d landed on. Reluctantly returning to my seat, the short hop to Colombo transported us from island paradise to the bustle of a city and country that’s still recovering from the ravages of war and tsunami. Cherrie and I were in Sri Lanka for a few days of hotel inspection prior to a small group joining us – so we had the benefit of viewing the country from both perspectives – tour operator and tourist – a view that was an eye-opener in every respect. Driven in our courtesy car from the airport to Beruwala beach via the ‘interesting route’, rather than the new express way that cuts journey time by two thirds, all my worst expectations seemed to have been realised as the continuous ribbon of pre-stressed concrete shops and houses in a seemingly random clutter of cheap aluminium window frames and part built, grey, featureless slab architecture transported me back to memories of scruffy Indian cities – with one main difference. Although the driving style took some getting used to, even after the tiring flight I could see that Sri Lanka was immediately cleaner than India and a far cry from the ‘smells, bells and yells’ of its big neighbour.

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What a wonderful country Sri Lanka is – it has surpassed all of my expectations, even though I had been there before, I hadn’t really seen the real Sri Lanka.

I was accompanied for the 3 weeks we spent there by my husband, who is always good to have around as he is an excellent photographer – and does occasionally carry my bags!

The first five days were spent on the West Coast doing hotels inspections each day, I was incredibly impressed by the standard of hotels we saw as well as the fantastic coastline where they are situated.  We saw a great variety of hotels (from the boutiques to the larger and grander like the Vivanta by Taj in Bentota) all of which had grounds abutting the beach with beautiful tempting swimming pools and sun bathing areas.  We also got the chance to go to Udawalawe National Park with great sightings of groups of elephants and other wildlife and bird life.  A journey we took to Sinharaja Rain Forest I would really only recommend to the most ardent bird watchers for the huge diversity but it also has absolutely breathtaking scenery.

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This year finds me virtually ‘full-on Costa Rica’, after spending the last four years with Worldwide as a part-timer.

Wow! What a surprise therefore to find myself landing with Geoff, my husband, in San Jose in the run up to it in November – a great opportunity to see and experience all the wonderful places I’d heard so much about.

The trip got off to a great start when Douglas, our driver, buzzed around us and organised everything – so helpful, so friendly, so informative – he couldn’t do enough for us.

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Sri Lanka – “paradise with a smile” is the strap line here at Worldwide Holidays for Sri Lanka – well it is certainly one of the friendless countries I have ever visited. Everyone is so welcoming and seem genuinely pleased that you are taking the time to visit their country.

On my recent trip, which was my first to Sri Lanka. I travelled around most of the country so I was able to experience the culture and the variety of landscapes that Sri Lanka has to offer, including beautiful golden beaches, waterfalls and lush green tea plantations.

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I have just returned from my first trip to Jordan and already can’t wait to go back!
Jordan lived up to more than my expectations. I recommend anyone to visit Jordan and would love to tell you all about it. It was also very interesting being there during Ramadan.

I flew with Royal Jordanian from Heathrow and could not fault the airline; it was a very pleasant journey with entertainment to pass the time.
I travelled to Jordan as part of a group tour. On arrival into Amman I obtained my visa. After being collected from the airport we travelled to the centre of Amman (approx 40 minutes) before arriving at our hotel (Red Rose hotel 3*).

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