Remember this meme of "expectation vs reality"? Well, that was the one. Getting up at 4 am and paying a hefty amount of money... to see a bunch of peacocks. Probably the biggest disappointment of our trip, especially considering we were with the kid. Peacocks are fun, until ninth or tenth time you see them shaking their rear by the road. After that they become another kind of fun. Looks like the other animals delegated their job to peacocks that morning. Truth be told, we did see some other animals - the beginning and the end of our visit were the most interesting bits. But in between them - just several hours of tedious cruising the same rough roads among the bushes, swallowing the dust of the jeep in front. The jeeps around were also plenty, same as peacocks. The experience becomes even more spicy with a kid - they don't tend to be very patient. We couldn't suffer it for very long, so asked for an early wrap-up. Being much glad we didn't take the full day. The other couple riding with us supported ardently. Maybe it was just our bad luck that day, seeing so many positive reviews. Maybe it's just the ones with positive experience who write them - others preferring not to bother. I'd say - I don't understand how the animals would show up with such traffic in this not so large area. I'd say - reduce the number of vehicles entering the zone drastically, if you want to make it a real "national reserve", and not just another money-squeezing overmarketed attraction.
Janaka is a great guide and very nice. The safari with him as guide was awesome and we saw all animals WE wanted to see. I totally recommend to book a safari with Janaka.
Our driver, Sudu was amazing. Not only an excellent driver but he also told us a lot about the animals and the park. He was very informative, professional and also funny. December isn't the best time to visit Yala National Park due to frequent rain however thanks to our guide/driver he enjoyed the experience a lot
Best experience ever and Sudu the best guide. He was so professional, he knew amazing spots inside the park and we saw amazing animals, plus he gave us amazing breakfast and very good explanations about the animals - if you are considering a safari, ask for Sudu! Super profesional, EVERYTHING PERFECT! ✨
We booked this half day tour as our 3rd and final safari in Yala. What we liked about our driver: he escaped the crowds. Everyone else went one way - he went another. He seemed to have a very good grasp of where to search for leopards and identified the exact area by listening for the warning call from the deer. We probably wouldn’t have spotted the big cat without our guide’s help. Unfortunately, some idiot self driver came up and refused to turn off his motor and scared off the leopard before it would come out of the bush but we did get a few nice pics. The driver also ensured we got front row seats to a group of elephants including two babies. I will say that I wished the driver could have just stopped for a bush toilet instead of letting me wait for 45 min and making me run through the pouring rain to a regular one, but oh well - I know these are technically the park rules. For travelers who are pressed for time, I think this is an excellent option. However, I would recommend everyone to do the full day tour because you get to see other corners of the park and increase your chances to also see a sloth bear.