We visited the Club Hotel Dolphin for the second week of our tour around Sri Lanka. We booked with First Choice who were first class! No problems with them in booking or with any part of the holiday.

Before you go make sure you have sorted out your malaria protection, pills, DEET insect repellent, and other travel accessories. Insect repellent and malaria protection is a must the mossies are prolific ot there!

The tour was booked through Hem Tours who the top holiday companies also use, such as Kuoni. We were in a group of 4 and Bubsy our guide was simply amazing, he had been doing the job for 20 years and seemed to know everyone, but more importantly he knew everything about Sri Lanka!

We booked the discover Sri Lanka tour. This was a 7 night tour where you can experience breathtaking scenery, Buddhist temples and a wealth of history and culture. Highlights include an excursion to an elephant orphanage, the World Heritage Site of Kandy and the legendary Sigiriya Rock fortress. We also stayed in Nuwara Eliya which is just like England and a nice break from the oppressive heat. They even had a golf course running through the town, certainly on my list of courses to play!!

All the hotels we stayed in on the tour were great, 3 star plus, with good food and great service. Nothing is ever too much trouble for the Sri Lankans, even if you don't tip them!! On the subject of tipping, expect to do it a lot. Make sure you get small rupee notes such as 20, 50 and 100 for tipping when you change your money or buy things, they are so grateful even for as little as 20p!

Money...change it at the airport or withdraw from an ATM as you can't bring much in. There are ATMs in the big towns and cities. Hotel exchange rates are also pretty good.

Another tip, buy your bottled water on your travels in villages etc not in hotels. Price is 1/3 of hotel price from local stores and you are helping the locals more not the hotel chains.

Back to the tour.....climb Sigiriya Rock, the views are amazing from the top. We climbed at sunset; it was quieter, cooler and quite breathtaking. It is a steep climb but not as bad as it looks. I am scared of heights but a local guide helped me up offering words of encouragement and a helping hand all for about £3.

You MUST without a doubt visit the Elephant Orphanage a great experience, but even better was the elephant safari. Bubsy booked through a mate and we were on safari for 4 hours and saw over 30 wild elephants for £10 each. An experience we will never forget!

All the Temples were great, and the sizes of the Buddha’s carved into the rocks at Dambulla are quite something. But the greatest memories came from the people we met on the way, the wildlife, monkeys rummaging through bins, snakes round my neck and the fruit bats in Kandy.

So after long week on the road it was great to come to a relaxed hotel for a week on the beach. Our stay at the Blue Dolphin was fantastic. We booked a deluxe room in the main complex, it had a sea view, and it was a large room with a TV (great for catching up on the cricket!). Everything ran smoothly from checking in, to dinner, to having your sun bed laid out for you in the morning (for £10 we had the same spot with beds, towels and parasol everyday).

The food was good everyday; you can have curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Plenty of choice with western dishes as well and lots of choice for vegetarians.

"ASDA" to right of the beach as you look at the sea is a great place to grab your souvenirs and them all cheaper than whilst on tour, though the quality of the wooden goods was not as good. We think that adds to the hand made look though. A great place for your batiks. "TESCO" to the left was also not bad but with less choice.

The pool was great to cool off in and if you feel more energetic you can play volleyball or get involved with the entertainers. If you are not interested just tell them, they will not be offended and will not harass you.

If you are brave enough the sea is warmer than the pool but I believe it can be dangerous at certain times of the year. When we went it was OK but do not go in alone or if you are not a strong swimmer as undercurrents can be strong. You can always just paddle on the edge with the local dogs, which are really friendly and well looked after. And if you want to collect shells, here is a great place!

Finally, take some pencils, pens and exercise books for local children you meet on the way. It is really appreciated but be prepared to be mobbed, it can be scary but ask the older girls and boys (they speak English) to organise them into a single file otherwise you may loose everything!! Please give the children gifts and not money, they want to be educated not become beggars.

Overall this was a great holiday, at a great price. Visit Sri Lanka as soon as you can!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

For more travel stories and travel reviews follow the links or look at www.walkandtravel.com