Wadula Safari - Yala

We wouldn’t stay here again… The bungalows of the hotel were really worn off, the TV was not working, there was no restaurant, no pool, no fridge (so warm drinks in a really hot climate!). All in all the property was only reachable by a Safari car and it took 20 min on an extremely bumpy road to the center (the center was also not really inviting). Instead of two the nights we booked we only stayed one (although paying the full price hence we couldn’t imagine staying more than one night). I honestly cannot understand the positive reviews bei any means and if I were to book again I would book a hotel closer to the center as well as with a pool and a restaurant. In general I would recommend staying one night in yala since there’s not much to do besides the safari. The safari we booked (offered by the hotel) was also not good, the driver was not ambitious as we didn’t even see elefants. Overall it was disappointing although the two guys managing the hotel were engaged. But it just wasn’t enough for us and way too boring.

They were very friendly and good to organise a Safari and provided tasty meals. We were very close to the Safari park and had monkeys around us, buffalos and other animals. It was special.

The place was very isolated, they faded to pick us up as it was very difficult to find. Once you’re there you depend on everything on them.

We spent 3 nights at Wadula, 1 full day safari and one afternoon safari. Family of 4, kids aged 11 and 8. The safari lodges are on Temple grounds so you’re in a very special place. You can’t purchase alcohol here or in the surrounding temple grounds, but there’s a place not too far where you can; all you need to do is ask. They might even drive you there. Cash is king here - rupees not dollars or cards. There’s a local cash point in town. The lodges literally border the safari park as we noticed on our drive from the pick up point. We travelled 4 hours down from Pasikudah. The pickup point for Wadula is by the temple; the taxi wouldn’t be able to cope with the rough terrain, I shared my location from my phone and the pick up was seamless and perfectly organised. The accommodation is very comfortable with everything you need, colour tv :), AC, etc. I’ve never slept so well! There’s no wifi but very good 4g coverage. I purchased a Sri Lankan SIM card with a little help from our taxi driver when we first landed - he used his ID to get it for us, it’s at their discretion. The lake is beautiful to see and they organised a little sunset walk. The food was DELICIOUS. We enjoyed every single mouthful. You are in the middle of the jungle with a lake full of crocodiles so you can understand why they don’t want you walking around in the dark on your own. We left it to Wadula to organise our safari’l trips. And wow, did they deliver. Our driver was very experienced and the spotter who rode with us was one of the park rangers. As the lodges are close to the entrance we were the first into the park. We saw everything we wanted to see. Pick up was from our lodge and they prepared us lunch, snacks, fruit and drinks. They really did spoil us.

Nothing

Great location in a bushy setting- we saw crocodiles, black faced languar monkeys, peacocks, toucans and a host of other birds around our accommodation The rooms were rustic outside and polished inside The food was excellent The aircon was good and needed Our hosts (two brothers) were excellent- they organised our safari, onward transfer and all our food. They went out of their way to make sure that we were happy at all times I chose this location so we could enter Yala from the quieter, Kataragama entrance and this worked well for us

The bed is a little bit too firm

Staff and management were just excellent - very friendly. We ate both evening meals at the hotel and the food was good, portions large and prices reasonable for remote location ($5-$7 per meal). Great service and attentive staff. Nice chalet style bungalow rooms, relatively modern but could do with a bit of a renovation in the near future

Wet room bathroom

The lodge was really clean and excellent size with good air conditioning. The hotel organised a great safari and transfer to next destination. They communicated well prior to arrival re safari options. Food made to order was lovely.

A fridge in the room would be good. As location is remote with no store nearby, it would be good to let guest be aware and then if they need to buy any bits in advance.

Surrounded by nature and wildlife, plus lovely room. Very helpful staff.

The staff were super friendly and couldn’t do enough for you. They have new mattresses which were soft and very comfy. The safari was incredible, and the driver was just amazing. I highly recommend Wadula Safari, unforgettable experience.

Very nice and clean rooms. We stayed in a bungalow in the middle of the jungle. The bungalow had nice high ceilings, a little porch and aircondition. The hosts are very nice and made us feel very welcome. We had a nice Dinner surrounded by oil lamps in the middle of nature. The hosts organized a half Day Safari for us and packed a nice breakfast with fruits and sandwiches. The place is very close to the park entrance so we started at 5:30 am bit were still one of the first jeeps in the park. The beds are comfortablewe slept really well.