Jewels of Sri Lanka for Solo Travellers with Highlights of Kerala Extension

The order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions or for operational purposes. The schedules of the domestic airlines in country are subject to frequent changes. For this reason, we have indicated approximate times only. Your local guide will inform you of any schedule changes as they are informed of them. Some road construction &/or weather conditions may lengthen the driving times. Our intention is to adhere to the day-to-day itinerary as printed; however, order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions.

If booking more than 12 weeks before departure a deposit of £295.00pp will need to be paid at the time of booking with the full amount payable at 12 weeks prior to departure. The deposit applies to adults and children. If you are within 12 weeks of travel then the full balance of the holiday will be payable.

A visa is required for entry into Sri Lanka. You can apply and pay for your visa online. Please visit https://www.srilankaevisa.lk/ to obtain your visa. You should get your approval notice within 24 hours, and you can use this to enter Sri Lanka. A visa can still be obtained when arriving at Colombo airport but visas will cost more on arrival. Alternatively, we work closely with The Travel Visa Company who will be able to arrange your visa for you on your behalf. Please call them on 01270 250 590 and quote "Mercury Holidays". Passports must be valid for a minimum period of six months from the date of arrival in Sri Lanka. Visa requirements are subject to change and obtaining a visa is the responsibility of the traveller and not Mercury Holidays. We recommend you check with your destinations' Tourist Board or Embassy prior to departure for the most up to date guidelines regarding visas and passport validity.

India/Kerala visa requirements

A visa is required for entry into India. British Citizen Passport Holders will need to obtain a tourist visa. You can apply for an E-visa here no more than 120 days in advance e-visa. Alternatively you can visit The Indian Visa Application Centre in London: 142-148 Goswell Road, London, EC1B 7DU. We also work closely with The Travel Visa Company who will be able to arrange your visa on your behalf. Please call them on 01270 250 590 and quote 'Mercury Holidays'. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months before you enter India. Visa requirements are subject to change and obtaining a visa is the responsibility of the traveller and not Mercury Holidays. We recommend you check with your destinations' Tourist Board or Embassy prior to departure for the most up to date guidelines regarding visas and passport validity.

Please note that final flight details will be confirmed on your e-ticket and final documentation which will be sent to you approximately 21 days before departure. Weight restrictions will be finalized on your final documentation. Should you wish to take additional luggage you will need to pay extra at check-in. Check-in should be at least 3 hours before departure. If you wish to arrange Airport car parking or accommodation at preferential rates, we recommend you book this in advance with Holiday Extras on 0871 360 2000, quoting HX313.

IMPORTANT: A printed E-ticket is no longer required at check-in, all you need to do is present your passport to the staff at the desk and your boarding pass will be given to you. Please note that you should carry your invoice with flight details on it as you will need to show this at the airport.

Please note we will require your APIS/Passport information at least 2 months in advance to pre purchase your Safari passes, this can be uploaded via our website on "Manage My Booking".

We strongly recommend that you and all members of your party are suitably insured as soon as you book your holiday. It is a condition of booking that you must have suitable travel insurance. It is important that you purchase travel insurance that suitably covers your participation in whatever activities you may undertake at the time that you make your booking. To assist you with this, we have arranged travel insurance in partnership with Holiday Extras. To arrange your travel insurance with Holiday Extras, please call 0800 781 4237 and quote 'WK830' for preferential rates. Please ensure you provide us with the name of your insurer, policy number and their 24-hour emergency contact number as soon as possible. Mercury Holidays will not be liable for any costs incurred by you due to your failure to take out suitable travel insurance from the date of booking.

It is your responsibility to check any health and vaccination requirements applicable to your booked arrangements. We can only provide general information about this. Health and hygiene facilities and disease risks vary from country to country. You should take health advice about your own needs as early as possible and in good time before your departure. Sources of information include; www.fco.gov.uk, http://travelhealthpro.org.uk/, www.hpa.org.uk, your General Practitioner or a specialist clinic.

All our tours feature a “Tour Pace” to help find the right holiday for you. To travel on any of our tours requires unaided mobility and the ability to stroll around the sights, climb stairs and get on and off coaches and boats. The tour pace of Jewels of Sri Lanka is rated Challenging. A good level of fitness is required as you may be on your feet for approximately four hours in a day, though this will be interspersed with regular breaks and will vary from day to day. You will be walking around the sights, and you will be getting on and off coaches, and climbing steps which may be irregular. You will stay in variety of hotels throughout the tour. Our guides will always endeavour to provide the highest level of service and assistance; however, they cannot be expected to cater for customers who are unfit to complete the itinerary. Early morning trains and flights depending upon the schedule and some early morning sightseeing’s are also in this tour. Please note there are approximately 1,300 steps to Sigiriya Rock Fortress, Be sure to take a bottle of water and keep yourself hydrated. The last place to buy water is a canteen near the main entrance. There are also lots of steps at Dambulla Rock Temple.

The currency in Sri Lanka is the Rupee (LKR) and it is a closed currency. This means it is not possible to buy Sri Lankan money in the UK before you travel. It is important to budget carefully as you should not take any Rupee (LKR) out of Sri Lanka when you depart. There are foreign exchange offices and cash available in most places during your tour. Your tour guide will assist you at the start of your tour with currency exchange. Credit and debit cards are accepted in most hotels and some shops and restaurants; a charge is sometimes added for using them. You can take cash or travellers' cheques (in pounds sterling or another foreign currency) and/or a bank card with you and exchange or withdraw rupees once in Sri Lanka. Cash machines will also be available throughout the tour in order to withdraw money in your local currency. It is important that you budget carefully and ensure you have the right form of currency before you arrive in the country.

The currency in India is the Rupee or Rs. The Rupee is a closed currency and officially you are not allowed to take any cash out of India. US Dollars are also widely accepted in India should you wish to keep an alternative currency on you.

As normal practice you may be asked for your credit card details on check-in at the hotel in order to cover any extras incurred during your stay. If you do not have a credit card, you may be asked for a cash deposit. MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted in hotels as well as American Express.

You will need to take some extra money with you to cover any personal purchases, such as souvenirs, laundry and extra drinks and snacks. Approximately £100 - £200 will be sufficient for the duration of the tour.

Tipping

It is customary to tip your guide and driver. This is at your discretion, but we recommend you allow approximately £5 per person, per day for the driver and assistant and £4 per person, per day for the national guides. It is asked that if you do not tip in the local currency, please do not give coins as these are difficult to exchange. Most guides collect a kitty tip, approximately GBP 15pp for whole tour. Guides usually collect this at the beginning of tour to tip bell boys, porters, trackers and other assistants who will service you throughout the tour.

The minimum number of travellers in your group will be 10, and the maximum will be 40. If in the unlikely event there are less than 10 people booked on your tour date, we will endeavour to reduce any disruption to your holiday and try to operate your tour with lower passenger numbers. If we are not able to operate your departure date then you may be asked to change to a different date and a full refund will be made available to you should this alternative not be suitable.

There is no minimum number of travellers for this extension however the main tour passenger numbers will apply for the main part of the tour. If in the unlikely event there are less than the required number of people booked on your main tour date then you may be asked to change to a different date. A full refund will be made available to you should this alternative not be suitable.

This is a fully escorted tour, meaning that you will be met on arrival by your national guide who will remain with you for the duration of your trip. You will also be joined by a local guide in some of the cities which you visit, ensuring that you have first-hand knowledge at all times. For groups of 5 people or less you will have an English speaking Driver Guide or a Driver and Local/Guides

Private Tour: If you have booked a private tour then you will be accompanied by a Driver Guide or a Driver and Local Guides. These will be available to you during all scheduled sightseeing. Private Tours can depart on any day of the week depending on flight and train schedules and the opening days of the attractions. They will follow the itinerary as described in the brochure unless you have been advised otherwise and you will still have all of the same meals, sightseeing and local excursions included.

This add-on to Kerala is fully escorted.

Safari Vehicles

Your safari will be taken in a jeep, this is a large open roofed truck that seats up to 6 people. Safari drivers take you to areas of the park where wildlife are more likely to be seen but as with all wildlife experiences nothing can be guaranteed. Please note that many paths inside the park are bumpy and dusty.

Your accommodation is selected for convenience, location, comfort or character. Hotel accommodation is generally rated as local three to four-star standard, but please note there is no international classification system for hotels, and differences in facilities and quality do exist between the UK and India. All group tours hotels have private bathroom facilities and air-conditioning, where needed. Rest assured that all accommodation used by Mercury Holidays is regularly inspected by our staff and partners to ensure that standards meet your needs.

A triple room is available but please note that this will be a twin room with a fold away bed for the 3rd passenger.

House Boats

During this tour you will have a night’s stay on board a traditional houseboat as the best way to experience the backwaters of Kerala. The houseboats are built using traditional methods and there is no standardised design or layout. Your group will be split across a range of houseboats each one with between one and six bedrooms. Some will have a single deck consisting of bedrooms and a seated dining area, others may have an upper deck as well. The simple bedrooms feature en-suite and air conditioning but of necessity do not have the same comfort/facilities of a hotel room.

The crew on the ship will prepare your meals in a traditional Keralan style and are employed from the local villages so their English is basic. The guide will be available but as the group is split he will not be on your houseboat at all times.

There will be some activities arranged in the evenings but there is little to do after dark so we would recommend bringing board games, cards, books, etc… to take advantage of this time for relaxation.

Breakfast is always western style and served in the hotel each morning. Dinner (when included) will be taken in local restaurants or at the hotel. A variety of restaurants are visited giving you the chance to experience a range of dishes and flavours. Please note: Please take cash for drinks in the hotels as cards are not always accepted.

There are some dry hotels in Sri Lanka, and some hotels where alcohol can be consumed on the premise but must be brought in from outside. Your guide will pre-warn you of this and if anyone in the group would like to purchase drinks before getting then he will arrange for you to visit a local shop and get what you need wherever possible.

Please contact Customer Experience for questions about other dietary requirements or allergy information. Vegan, vegetarian and non-spicy meal options are available, all meal requests need to be sent over to our suppliers before travel.

It is not recommended to drink the tap water, even in developed countries water may contain unfamiliar elements that can cause upset stomachs. In less developed countries water is not filtered in the same way. 2 bottles of water are supplied per person per day on your tour.

Alcoholic Drinks

During a full moon and religious holidays alcohol shops are closed and it is prohibited by law to serve liquor in any establishment on that day.

Please note that Kerala has strict laws regarding the governance of the sale of alcohol in public places including hotels and restaurants. The sale and consumption of alcohol is therefore often restricted in hotels, varying from one establishment to another. You may however bring your own alcohol with you for private consumption in your room.

In Sri Lanka they celebrate various festivals throughout the year, Vesak Poya is considered one of the most important Buddhist festivals in Sri Lanka and is celebrated on the full moon poya day falling in May. The celebrations begin on the full moon day and continue for a week, where every corner has magical and colourful lanterns. Thai Pongal is the equivalent to a thanksgiving festival usually celebrated in January, followed by the Sinhala and Tamil New Year which is usually celebrated in April, it is a festival were people ensure their houses are clean, purchase new clothes, and prepare many traditional sweets.

It is seen as respectful to cover your shoulders and not to expose too much skin in Sri Lanka, so it would be advisable to pack a shawl or similar for women to cover up, including wearing up to/covering your knees when entering religious buildings etc.

Please note that plastic bottles are banned in the national parks so keep a reusable water bottle for your tour.

On your arrival in Colombo you will be met by a representative from our local agent, Aitken Spence, holding a sign displaying: “Mercury Holidays”. The Mercury Holidays/Aitken Spence representative will show you to your transfer vehicle. Your guide will be able to answer any queries.

If you need to contact Aitken Spence during your stay the details are:

Aitken Spence Travel (Colombo): 04th Floor Aitken Spence Towers 02 315, Vauxhall Street Colombo 02 Sri Lanka Contact number: 0094 112 499623

Emergency contact information: Please find below the emergency contact details for Aitken Spence Travel Contact Telephone number Rizmika 0094 772 916461 Anu 0094 774593182

Please find below the emergency contact details for Jayasree Travel and Tours for whilst you are in Kerala

Ms Jayasree Vikraman: 0091 974 700 5888 Mrs Samitha Azhar 0091 974 471 3380 Mr Biju Unnikrishnan 0091 952 618 8860 Mr Harish Kumar 0091 952 618 8859 Mr Amit Bhardwaj 0091 995 898 8719