When Lal shook my hand at Colombo airport I knew we would be in safe hands for our trip round Sri Lanka. I had organised my own travel itinerary and contacted several private driver companies online but chose to use our accommodation provider’s recommendation as the price was a little cheaper than the others.

Lal is a friendly gentleman who told us about his family, Sri Lankan life and pointed out landmarks and answered our questions. We laughed together over the other drivers who chose to take their lives for granted on the road and  we soon realised that Lal was a careful and considerate driver who made our trip very special.

I would recommend a personal driver as the roads are poor, sign posts limited and in the cities you have to jostle with the bright blue Leyland buses, motorbikes and tuk tuks, I’m sure if it had been down to me we would have been lost, injured or much worse! A comfortable air conditioned car is what this traveller of a certain age needs!

Lal was happy to stop whenever we chose to for comfort breaks and he also recommended a stop at an elephant orphanage and the cashew village of Kajugamar. I would have no hesitation in recommending Lal or a private driver rather than hiring a car in this lovely country.