Olanka Travels Reviews 

We had an extremely disappointing and frustrating experience with Olanka Travels during our trip planning to Sri Lanka. Here’s a breakdown of the issues we encountered:

1. Bait-and-Switch Tactics with Hotel Bookings
Within just an hour of paying the deposit after receiving their invoice, we were informed that 3 out of the 5 agreed hotels were “unavailable” due to the “peak season,” which they claimed was beyond their control. This clearly shows they did not verify hotel availability before asking for payment or issuing the invoice. Instead of offering proper resolutions, they switched us to poorer-quality hotels but still attempted to charge us for the originally agreed-upon 4-star hotel rates.

2. Unfair Deductions for Hotel Changes
When we opted to book our own accommodations for 3 nights in Mirissa—a location they claimed was a highly touristic and expensive area—they only deducted USD 150 from the total bill. This essentially valued their replacement hotel at just USD 50 per night, exposing how they likely intended to overcharge us while offering subpar alternatives. This practice reflects dishonesty and a complete lack of transparency.

3. Deceptive Refund Policy
After deciding not to proceed with them, the agency refused to provide a cash refund, wanting to offer only travel vouchers instead. They claimed this was part of their refund policy, but their written policy or invoice contained no mention of such restrictions. This attempt to mislead and manipulate customers is incredibly unethical.

4. Unresponsiveness After Payment
Our agent from Olanka Travels, Amandi, was very responsive during the initial discussions - going as far as arranging weekend call and frequently pushing for the deposit. However, after we paid and chose to cancel due to their failure to deliver as agreed, they became unresponsive. Over a week has passed since we requested a cash refund, and they are still "seeking management approval." This delay is completely unacceptable.

Conclusion
Olanka Travels’ conduct was unprofessional, unethical, and deeply disappointing. They prioritize securing payments over fulfilling customer expectations and fail to take responsibility when issues arise.

I strongly advise against booking with this agency. Instead, book a driver directly, we received a quote of just USD 700 for 9 days, and arrange your own accommodations through platforms like Booking.com. We were able to book better-quality hotels within our budget despite Olanka Travels’ claims that we would not find good rates elsewhere.

I am still waiting for their response regarding my refund and plan to report them to the Consumer Affairs Authority for misrepresentation and deceptive practices.

Do better, Olanka Travels!

I always wanted to organise a tour in Srilanka and didnt know how I could do it. Luckily Olanka Popped up and that was the best thing which happened to me.

This was my best trip ever not only Srilanka but wherever I have been . I have to say Kanishka in Operations was so helpful, accomodative and knew exactly how I wanted. In addition the Driver/tour guide Kamal was so professional and knew exactly what we required. Drove very professionally and was very friendly.
the whole tour was 7 days and we did not have a single bad experience. Everyday, every moment was so memorable with so many different beautiful places visited. Saw the beauty of Srilanka which I wouldn't have ever done if not for Olanka. The accommodation was great and exactly the way I would have wanted. It was a dream come true to me.
It rained one day and we were to go to to Meemure and it was muddy was told. Kamal the driver called Kanishka and organised to go to Polonnaruwa instead with no additional cost. It was amazing service and very professional
I cant wait to go back again on another memorable tour in Srilanka with Olanka and will never hesitate to recommend Olanka to anyone who would want to travel and experience the beauty of Srilanka which lot of friends are inquiring from me already.

the experience was exceptional and met my expectations above and beyond

Thank you Olanka. I will remember this tour for many many years

Trip was well planned by Chathumi and Rashmi. Had a 11 day trip. Driver Indrajith was professional in bringing us to places.

The hotel choices were great except for Marissa, Hotel Mandara. Hotel seems to be very old and not kept up to date. The location was too inside.

Great trip. Tour from 1st September to 4th September 2024. From Colombo to Kandy,Nuwara Eliya and back to Colombo. Had Very nice and enjoyable trip. Tour accommodations were excellent in both Kandy and Nuwara Eliya in 5 star hotels. Chauffeur shelom was very cordial and having excellent driving skills. Took us in whole trip professionally and very decent manner. Thanks to Chama for arranging the amazing tour.

Well from the initial booking with Pravindya she has been really helpful and listen to the changes we wanted in the package . She tried her best to meet our requirements along with the pricing . Also after landing we had such an amazing welcome by the team . Along with the most kind , enthusiastic driver Dinesh who is our personal tour guide and driver through out the journey. He is so patient wants us to take the beautiful memories of sri lanka . I made a right decision by booking with olanka travel for 6 of us a family trip .
Thankyou for giving us the most wonderful trip .

Olanka Travels
We were really happy to choose Olanka. Their service was very very exceptional from the day we started asking quotes. Ms.Navodya was so professional in handling our itinerary. She made all the elements covered and provided a detailed one.
On arriving to the day we left the country, we were guided by a calm and professional chauffeur Mr.Anushka Indiga and driver Mr.Ridhigar. They walked through all the spots and explained the history, importance of the places. He understood our requirements and made our stay so comfortable.
Thanks Olanka.

We had Great experience in Sri Langka. We enjoyed the 5 days travelling which was planned by Olangka Travels. It was super fun and much relaxing. The hotel was good except hotel in Nuwara Eliya, the room was smelly and the TV is not working. Last day was very rushing as not enough time to do our shopping. The travel was very helpful and advised us when we needed her.

We recently had the pleasure of exploring Sri Lanka with Olanka Travels, and it was truly an unforgettable experience. From start to finish, the team was professional, organized, and attentive to our needs. Our itinerary was well-planned, allowing us to visit stunning locations like Sigiriya, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Galle, and Colombo without feeling rushed.

The accommodations were comfortable, and the local guides provided insightful information about Sri Lanka's rich history and culture. Transportation was seamless, and we always felt safe and well taken care of.

A special shoutout to our driver, who was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and made sure we were comfortable throughout the journey. Olanka Travels made the trip hassle-free, allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in the beauty of Sri Lanka.

If you're planning to visit Sri Lanka, I highly recommend Olanka Travels. They exceeded our expectations and made our vacation truly special!

We had a wonderful time in Sri Lanka thanks to Olanka. Our itinerary was carefully prepared and tailored to our requests. The hotels were beautiful and we had a unique experience every single day of our trip. We were lucky to have a kind and professional driver Anura who showed us the beauty of Sri Lanka whilst taking great care of us. He was extremely patient and helpful in accommodating our wishes. We would definitely recommend Olanka to anyone who wants to see the best of the beautiful country.

From the moment I made the inquiry on google for the holidays, the response have been really prompt & quick, our holiday experience was made invaluable

Samalya connected with me on whatsapp and understood our requirement, after made atleast 10 options/changes, before we finalized
After the process was smooth for payment, booking, etc.

Our trip was planned from airport pick up to 3 different places in Sri Lanka with 2 nights in each place, we visited Bentota, Nuwera Eliya & Colombo, however, we covered Galle & Kandy day trip, This way, we covered beach, hill station, shopping and the trip was memorable without any glitch.

Also Taranga who picked us from airport and until he dropped us back on the 7th day of our tour was very co operative, no rush with excellent driving skill.

Maybe given a chance, we would definitely come back to explore more....

Regards,
Nissar

My partner and me went on a 10 days holiday around the country. The experience was excellent. We are very happy both with Olanka services and their incredible country they showed us.
Our guide driver, Amila, is a 10/10 and he was taking care and providing with the best tips and sightseeings during the whole trip.
Also a big shoutout to Wasuda, who introduced us to Olanka and provided the best tour and hotels for us. We were able to met her and is a very nice person.

With my wife Henia we had a wonderful time in Sri Lanka from July 30 to August 8.
In the design of the trip Rangica Lakshi from Olanka Travel was very helpful and had excellent knowledge about the posibble routes and various hotels. I was extremely impressed in the design period by her attentive attitude, patience and quick response 24 hours a day.
She also checked during the tour that everything goes well. We enjoyed meeting her in Colombo in the last day.
The other excellent surprise was the driver. We asked for an English speaking driver, knowledgeable and kind and this perfectly describes our driver Mr. Janith Perrera.
From the meeting in the airport upon arrival on July 30 to the departure hall on August 8 he was always there, guiding us, supporting and helping beyond words can describe.
Thank you for excellent tour.
Henia and Levy Raskin
Israel

I had booked my tour to Sri Lanka from 9th to 14th August'24.
Coordinator name : Ms Mery Princyla

Worst part of the tour
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The worst coordinator, no responsibility, no commitment, attitude, un ethical, non customer friendly, rude, poor communication, and un accountable.

She is the most unreliable person and not bothered about the customer once the entire payment is paid. Worst part was she'll tell you that she is in a meeting whenever you to reach her.

We reached Colombo on 9th early morning around 4:30 am. No one was there in the airport to receive us. Suddenly, Mr Rion of Olanka called me and informed me that he was to collect the balance payment and he collected the payment. She not bothered to inform us the person's name who will be collecting the payment.

After 8th August till 14th August'24, she didn't had the basic courtesy to call and speak to us. On 13th, she had sent a whatsapp message which I'll put it down for your understanding about her lethargy and behavior.

[13/08, 09:48] Mery Princyla Olanka Travels Srilanka: Good morning sir

[13/08, 09:48] Mery Princyla Olanka Travels Srilanka: Is everything good

[13/08, 09:48] Mery Princyla Olanka Travels Srilanka: How was your tour

[13/08, 09:49] Mery Princyla Olanka Travels Srilanka: Our tour tour end yesterday so I missed to message you

[13/08, 09:49] Mery Princyla Olanka Travels Srilanka: Did you get the breakfast

It's a classic example of the unprofessionalism.

Total disappointment.

The worst part in our trip was that she didn't communicate the hotels that my full name and we are pure vegetarians. She works as a courier person whose job is to just deliver. That's all.

If you try to reach Mr Ravi -CEO, his standard reply will be that he is in Australia.
No doubt, Olaka Travels is the most unprofessional tour operator.

Best part of the tour
-----------------------
I want to really mention, appreciate and our sincere thanks to Mr Vidurinda of Pinthaliya Hotel, Mr Rifkan of Victoria and Mr Mohan of The Palms for arranging vegetarian foods during our stay.

The best part of tour is that we got a good person as our guide/chauffeur Mr Viranga Thalagala who is very cordial, simple, customer friendly, good communication, patient, soft, polite and so caring. Thank you Viranga. He can be contacted in +94 71 843 3021.

My advice to people is to contact the hotels directly in Sri Lanka to avail the best discount and excellent service.

Don't ever plan your trip with Olanka Travels to avoid disappointments.

I responded to an advertisement on the company's website.They got back to me saying their website is being upgraded and the tour price is different as well as the hotels and tours offered.This is false and misleading advertising.They offer a well priced tour on website but when you want to book the tour the price and services offered change completely.Goodbye I don't need to be scammed.

We provided our flight schedule reaching Colombo on 2Aug and Return Flight on 10Aug ETD 0050hr.
We were given itinerary till 10th. We did not realise until the last minute on 9th, that it ticked one of us that we have to be at the airport on 9th evening!
Upon realising, we sent text to Sanduni, the coordinator, only to be offered with free buffet diiner on the 9th.
Quite ridiculously, as we had paid for transportation and a hotel stay on the 9th! We requested for refund but was turned down flat. The errror occurred from a professional travel agent!! The coordinator was bold to say that we had accepted the itinerary!
We email to the founder of Olanka and heard nothing, not even a courtesy reply. They Dont Accept blame and they just want sales.
Poor Management.

The reponse from the Olanka team is unreasonsable. Your professional team should advise better. Well, your reply shows the behaviour of the
whole team.

This is the first time that our family used the sevices of Olanka travels. To be honest, we were having some doubts because these days, dealing online with travel and tourism companies is quite risky.

After taking whatever precautions we could, we decided to go ahead and plan an 8 day/9 nights holiday through Olanka. And we realised that we made the right decision. All the three destinations we planned in Sri Lanka, the hotels, the kind of rooms we needed, the driver attached to us for the entire duration, the food requests - everything was taken care of by Olanka very well.

We would recommend Olanka travels and our Olanka contact person Shanika. They really rose to the ocassion and did a wonderful job of making our stay happy, comfortable, pleasant, and more importantly, safe and secure.

Hi every one, I want to share my experience with Olanka that might help to plan your trip to Sri Lanka. Overall I had a wonderful tour with Olanka. Starting from the itinerary till conclusion of the trip Ms Rangika from customer service guided and coordinated efficiently to make my stay worth memorable. I would mention here that Olanka quoted the least price of the trip as per my requirements. Moreover Mr Thissa who was detailed with the transport as driver was so polite, social, cooperative and served as the best guide to brief in depth the details of all historic and visiting places. Overall my 5 x days family trip to Sri Lanka remained outstanding with good memories.

We have know Thushira for a few years now .he has always been very helpful as our guide. His knowledge of the history of Sri Lanka is briliant .this trip he took us to Dambulla and Pinawalla elephant orphanage.l would recommend Thushira as your guide as he’s very knowledgeable and his English is briliant too
Steven &Teresa Rosser from uk

simply the best experience

I want to give a huge shoutout to Sanduni from O'lanka Travels. My friend Maria and her partner Victor from Spain had their first trip to Sri Lanka early this month and Sanduni made it absolutely perfect. Her service was top-notch!

Sanduni was incredibly dedicated and patient, answering all our questions with such flexibility. She crafted an agenda that fit all our needs and gave us the best pricing possible. Her attention to detail and willingness to go above and beyond made the entire experience seamless and enjoyable. Her warm and friendly approach made us feel welcomed and valued throughout the planning process.

What stood out the most was Sanduni's ability to accommodate last-minute changes and special requests without any hassle. She provided excellent recommendations for activities and dining, ensuring we experienced the best of what Sri Lanka has to offer. Her local knowledge and passion for her country shone through in every interaction, making us even more excited about our trip.

I also want to highlight the exceptional service provided by their driver, Kamal. He was with them for 10 days, and his professionalism, knowledge, and kindness were outstanding. He made sure every part of their journey was comfortable and stress-free, sharing local insights and making sure they experienced the best of Sri Lanka. His driving skills and courteous nature made a significant difference in their trip.

These folks from O'lanka Travels truly provide great services. If you're planning a trip to Sri Lanka, I highly recommend working with Sanduni and her team. You won't be disappointed!