Dec 31, 2018 02:13 PM
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(Updated Dec 31, 2018 02:13 PM)
Our trip to SriLanka(Booking order - YH4553492) starting from the booking, sight-seeing, itinerary, travel(driver, vehicle) – every aspect was extremely disappointing. Here are some of the notable ones:
• Hotel changed from a good one which was agreed upon during booking to a mediocre one(just when the travel vouchers were being generated).
• Driver/contact details not shared with us even 12 hours before travel(although it was supposed to be shared 24 hours before travel) – upon repeated mails and calls, it was shared a few hours before our departure.
• On Day1, we were given 2 temporary vehicles whose drivers failed to take us to the places which were mentioned in the itinerary(as they did not have one and were not from the travel agency). We were just left to fend for ourselves with no direction. Upon much discussion with the local tour coordinator, a permanent vehicle was promised on Day 2. On Day 2, the driver arrived late and hence our plan to visit Sigriya(rock climb) was a big flop, as we reached the placed around 1 PM(when it was too hot and extremely crowded). This kind of routine continued on all days.
• Drivers on the first day, were big time cheaters trying to fool us and extract money from us – one incident was when the driver told us that he will buy us tickets for the Kandy Cultural dance for a reasonable price, when it was free as it was included in our itinerary.
• Permanent driver who was allocated to us on the next few days, also argued with us that our itinerary was not a feasible one and that Yatra guys are not practical enough to plan the trip. On most days, we would start late because of his late arrival and during any stops he would just disappear and we had to wait near the vehicle for 30-45 minutes(all lead to waste of time and fatigue).
• Every single day, the driver would not guide us on the plan for the day, start time, etc. Most of the day would be just spent on road travel. As per our itinerary, we were supposed to be covering places in Colombo, Sigiriya, Kandy, etc. but we probably only covered about 50% of the places. The rest we could not cover due to the delay from the driver/vehicle issues/traffic or was too crowded due to bad planning.
• As per the inclusions, none of these were provided – 500ml water per person per day, 5% discount voucher for shopping(urban island), free head and shoulder massage at Spice Garden in Mawanella, Special discount to shop at Gem shop, Chauffeur was not able to communicate properly in English, X mas supplements.
• In order to reach the destination on time and visit places(driver delay and late start), we never stopped for lunch on most days(although we had a child and senior citizen in our group). We literally starved!
• More than a vacation, we had to constantly get into a discussion with the driver or coordinator to get out travel plans moving.
• On the whole, this was the most stressful vacation. We did not enjoy the trip one bit as we hardly saw any place(it was more of a road trip – just sitting in the car -> reach the hotel -> have dinner and get set for another day in the car!)– waste of money, time, effort, and destruction of mental peace. Nothing was memorable to share. We are regular travelers and this was our first experience with Yatra(it will be our last association with them). It has been the worst experience. We would completely discourage anyone from choosing this tour operator. We paid huge money and completely lost it – big time cheaters! Only till they get the booking and money they bother you with multiple phone calls – once they receive the money – they don’t believe in serving and satisfying the customers!
