Galle/Unawatuna/Weligama/Mirissa: Yala National Park Safari

The safari was incredible, made especially good by our jeep driver, Pradeep, he was so knowledgeable and was so determined to find a leopard for us, which we did! He was hidden away in the bushes but we still saw him. As well as a elephant, who came up so close to our jeep, you could see how happy Pradeep was for us, he really did make our experience special. Our drive to and from Weligama, was pretty slow, we did go on the toll roads but not sure our driver went out of 4th gear! However, it was still only 2 hours 40 minutes with a stop, which we hadn't planned on, our driver suggested we stop for lunch "lakeside" which wasn't lakeside at all, there was no menu and food was very average, when we got the bill we found we were paying for our drivers lunch too! We were not impressed, Dont mind paying but he should have asked first. Saying that, it didn't spoil our whole experience, we were worried about going in the afternoon as everyone says do the morning but so glad we did.

We done an afternoon safari in Mid July and was picked up from Mirissa. Our driver to and from Yala national park was very informative of areas of interest we were passing through and happy to answer any questions. They journey took about 2/2 and half hours to Yala. The Jeep safari was great, we saw lots of animals including elephants and one leopard. Overall we felt the activity was overpriced, considering you then had to pay 30USD per person to gain entry to the park. However would recommend visiting the park. You will get covered in dust, so don't wear your best clothes.

Long drive from Galle. We left at 3.30am but was worth it to get to the Yala gate at 6am. Saw loads of animals including one leopard, elephants, a python, all kinds of birds. Yala was really a wild place. Connection was good and the safari vehicle perfect for this trip. I think it was good value to go from Galle. It's a long day so be prepared for it but worth it if you enjoy getting out into nature.