I recently took the Jewels of Sri Lanka 15-day tour. Most people would describe this tour as ‘hectic’ as it is a non-stop ride, attempting to hit all the important sites and activities while maintaining a tight timeline. This may not be the most ideal holiday (for some) but it was exactly what I was looking for. I prefer to see as much as possible in the time allotted. There were a few moments where you could either relax or take an optional excursion (rafting, boat rides, etc) – I opted for the latter each time and did not my regret my decision at all. Our guide was amazing as a tour leader. He made everything seamless, whether it was simply checking into a hotel or arranging an excursion up ahead. The tour really went off without a hitch over the course of the 15-day tour. He would coordinate everything down the letter and even make adhoc changes at the request of the tour group. My only complaint was his English=speaking capabilities. I found at most times he didn’t not understand us and vice versa. I feel like we missed out on a lot of pertinent info with respect to the history and cultural facts of the site we were visiting. As I said above, the itinerary was a bit aggressive but that was welcomed by most of our group. This is definitely a tour for the willing and able bodied individual. I feel that I experienced all that the country had to offer in its rich tapestry of cultural and offerings. The only thing this is that there were times where I wish we had more free time to explore on our own, but we had to move on to the next item on the schedule in order to fit it all in. But we all have to take the good with the bad…. As for the food, we had amazing meals (small towns and village homes) and we meals that we’re not so great (inner cities and enroute rest stops)… It depended on the situation. All in all, I had an amazing time with the tour and the group that participated. I was a solo traveler and would highly recommend this to anyone that is looking for an adventure. Below are a few recommendations that I would like to suggest: 1. Airport pickup should be included in the package – anything else is just amateur 2. Each day, it would be helpful to handout the itinerary for the following day with rough timelines. I felt there was too much time and repetition of what was in store each day. 3. A little more time (when possible) to free explore at certain historical sites and bazaars