Review Author: Eminem33, New Zealand

Review Date: 14 Aug 2019

Review Body: What great service Kalum and his team provide! Fast, helpful replies to queries and fuss-free booking! We had his cousin Sam take us on the safari in a jeep with yellow race car seats! We were buzzing as soon as we saw him pull up. Sam was knowledgable and fun and his English was great! The actual safari was mind-blowing - from the first crocodile to the last elephant of the 100s we saw during our visit. It was extremely special and we have a memory for a lifetime. Sam was respectful of the animals and never got too close like I know some companies do. His knowledge of the park was evident too. A nice touch was when Kalum brought his own jeep up next to ours to personally introduce himself to us. Loved every minute and have even used Kalum's services to book our driver from Habarana to KandyWhat great service Kalum and his team provide! Fast, helpful replies to queries and fuss-free booking! We had his cousin Sam take us on the safari in a jeep with yellow race car seats! We were buzzing as soon as we saw him pull up. Sam was knowledgable and fun and his English was great! The actual safari was mind-blowing - from the first crocodile to the last elephant of the 100s we saw during our visit. It was extremely special and we have a memory for a lifetime. Sam was respectful of the animals and never got too close like I know some companies do. His knowledge of the park was evident too. A nice touch was when Kalum brought his own jeep up next to ours to personally introduce himself to us. Loved every minute and have even used Kalum's services to book our driver from Habarana to Kandy

Review rating: 5

Review Author: g_francoforte, Germany

Review Date: 29 Sep 2018

Review Body: We contacted Kalum after reading about his safari tours on trip advisor. That was definetely one of our best decisions during our trip! We went to about 8 cities/regions in Sri Lanka and met everywhete very friendly people, but Kalum and his cousins (we met two of them) are on top of that list. After contacting him via E-Mail, Kalum picked us up at Nilaveli beach and brought us to Kaudulla National Park where we had a wonderful Safari with Kalums Cousin (a great guy who is really respecting the animals, not like many, many other guides we saw); he explained a lot, bought us fruit and shared food with us ... beyond friendly. After the safari, Kalum picked us up and brought us to our guest house in Habarana. After that we decided to do more activities with those guys and went to Lion’s Rock the day after with another Cousin of Kalum (very friendly and funny guy as well, which climbed the rock with us - we had a lot of fun). In the evening we did a cooking class with the cousin who did the safari with us (who is also a Chef) at his home and it was magnificent! He explained us a lot and we had one of our best dinners in Sri Lanka. On the third day Kalum drove us to Kandy to our next guest house. Not to mention that he he stopped here and there to let us taste the fruits of his country as well as the best curd wih honey that we had, that was simply a very nice company we had! All in all: Contact Kalum if you want to do any of these activities, I can not imagine that it gets better than that. We did a lot of great things, creating a lot of great memories. Thank you!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: ElodieB1643

Review Date: 18 Jul 2018

Review Body: We found Kalum close to our hotel in Habarana and found his contact via trip advisor. We contacted him a day before for the safari via WhatsApp. All went super smoothly. He is just amazing ! As it was the birthday of my man the day of the safari, he arrived with a birthday cake as surprise and we blow the candle very early morning 5am as he gently proposed to take us to Pidurangala rock for the sunrise (instead of us going by tuk tuk ). Then in afternoon we went on his advice to Kandulla Park. We did the safari with his cousin Asanka, the 4 hours one. It was just so nice as we saw all small lizards and eagles before meeting with many elephants. We saw plenty! Just magic! Asanka could spot all the wildlife around and really took time for us to enjoy. The kids loved it. We also had a very unforgettable moment when 2 male elephants started to fight and run next to our Jeep! Asanka kept all the time good distance from the animals. Great fresh pineapple and watermelon after all the emotions. We also drove with Kalum day after to Polonnaruwa to bike into the ruins and enjoyed so much the cooking class with Asanka in the evening. I can highly recommend! Best meal of the holiday! Last day trip with him to Kandy where we did stop to visit Dambulla caves and spices gardens. Do not hesitate to contact him and ask your questions or wishes. His prices are fine as well. You will not regret it! Thank you so much for all the formidable moments we shared!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: natasha999999, Australia

Review Date: 20 Nov 2018

Review Body: We found Kalum through trip adviser and used his services for 2 days. In summary , it has been a fantastic experience. The Elephant safari with Kalum and cooking class with Asanka are not to be missed - we had fabulous time. On day 1 Kalum picked us on his jeep from the hotel and took us to “hunt” elephants . Roads flooded throughout the park area after heavy rain earlier that day . There were a lot of other safari tour jeeps (with clients ) stuck in mud waiting to be rescued . Kalum navigated these difficult roads with ease , he is a very talented and safe driver . He is the best driver we used so far . Kalum has his methods to spot elephants and many times we were privileged to get close to these beautiful animals by ourselves (without other safari jeeps standing next to each other with engine on) We also enjoy chatting with Kalum – his English is very good and he answered a lot of questions we had about sri lanka’s life from local point of view . He showed us where to try local street food – we wouldn’t find it ourselves … The highlight of the second day was a cooking class and dinner with Kalum's cousin Asanka. Asanka is a professional chef , he used to work at hotels and now he works with Kalum. We cooked , we talked , we laughed.. the dinner was excellent , not to be missed experience. One tip though – you want to start no later than 5 pm to have dinner @7.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Anastasia G, Germany

Review Date: 30 Jul 2019

Review Body: We booked our morning safari on a very short notice just the day before. Kalum was super easy to contact via phone and WhatsApp. Our driver Jeewan picked us up the next morning and we could tell from the beginning on that he is a very experienced and careful driver, super aware about safety and always listening to the guests. The safari (we opted for the 4 hour package) was amazing! We saw three crocodiles (which apparently is super rare), lots of monkeys and birds, and of course the majestic elephants. Jeewan drove slowly and very carefully and we could tell he was respectful towards the elephants. Other jeeps we saw there drove way faster and louder unfortunately :( Jeewan was also very knowledgeable about the animals and their behaviour and we learnt a lot. In the end, after a short break with fresh fruit and water provided by Kalum, the driver dropped us off at the bus station (they had actually helped us to find out which bus to take etc) and he even offered to wait with us. All in all: simply a perfect experience. We would always recommend Kalum Jeep Safari over the other, seemingly cheaper but actually less responsible tour providers. It was definitely worth the money, and honestly a totally fair price. Thank you to Jeewan and Kalum!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: emmahY2708WY, United Kingdom

Review Date: 10 Aug 2017

Review Body: Kalum is an enthusiastic and energetic guide who took us to see hundreds of elephants at Kaudulla National Park. He made this decision to take us there because of his local knowledge of where the elephants would be. If we had booked a ticket online with Minneriya, we would have been left disappointed. He picked us up on time, from our hotel, and we spent just under five hours with him. He was the most reasonably priced guide we could find at $40pp. Over half of this money is spent on the tourist entry fees to the park. His love for his job is evident and really rubbed off on us - he got us excited about the elephants and we had a lot of fun with him. He was able to share his knowledge of elephants that he has accumulated over the past 12 years and has a good grasp of the English language, making communication possible. There can be up to 300 jeeps in the park at any one time - all gathered around the herd of elephants. Kalum deliberately avoided following all the other jeeps, offering a much more personal service because of this. As the safari was drawing to an end, Kalum cut up a pineapple for us to enjoy, which was a really nice touch. We would completely recommend Kalum and his safari - what a lovely guy!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: beckkypexploring

Review Date: 18 Aug 2018

Review Body: I was keen to do a safari in Minneriya, which became Kaudulla based on advice I was given where I was staying, but the price I had been quoted seemed quite high, so I took to TripAdvisor and found Kalum. He was so quick to respond with all the details and was willing to be a little flexible on costs as I was on my own, but he had no other trips going that day. Kalum collected me from Sigiriya by car and took me to meet his cousin in Habarana, with the jeep. The journey to Kaudulla was longer than I had expected, but the jeep was very comfortable and fitted with seatbelts. Kalum's cousin was very good at spotting animals and when we got to the elephants, he was extremely respectful of their space - finding spots away from most other jeeps for me to sit/ stand (the roof was open) and watch them for as long as I wanted without getting too close to them. He cut up a fresh pineapple for me to enjoy while I was watching the elephants and when one area started to get busier with jeeps, we moved off to another quieter area! Talking to Kalum in the car on the way back, he is really keen to maintain the same high standards for his clients no matter who is driving the jeep.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: beckypexploring

Review Date: 18 Aug 2018

Review Body: I was keen to do a safari in Minneriya, which became Kaudulla based on advice I was given where I was staying, but the price I had been quoted seemed quite high, so I took to TripAdvisor and found Kalum. He was so quick to respond with all the details and was willing to be a little flexible on costs as I was on my own, but he had no other trips going that day. Kalum collected me from Sigiriya by car and took me to meet his cousin in Habarana, with the jeep. The journey to Kaudulla was longer than I had expected, but the jeep was very comfortable and fitted with seatbelts. Kalum's cousin was very good at spotting animals and when we got to the elephants, he was extremely respectful of their space - finding spots away from most other jeeps for me to sit/ stand (the roof was open) and watch them for as long as I wanted without getting too close to them. He cut up a fresh pineapple for me to enjoy while I was watching the elephants and when one area started to get busier with jeeps, we moved off to another quieter area! Talking to Kalum in the car on the way back, he is really keen to maintain the same high standards for his clients no matter who is driving the jeep.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: TLZR

Review Date: 18 Jun 2019

Review Body: Engaging Kalum for our safari tour to Minneriya was one of the highlights of our trip to Sri Lanka. Not only is Kalum very friendly and easy to contact, he goes out of his way to ensure that you are having a good time on the safari. We were promptly picked up at 1pm for our safari and during the safari itself, he even provided some fruits and refreshments for us amidst the incredibly hot day. We saw many elephants and wildlife in the park and we left the park feeling happy that day. The following day, we decided to arrange with Kalum to bring us to Ritigala Strict Forest Reserve where he once again promptly picked us up and even guided us around the Forest Reserve for a very modest fee. Due to his excellent services and that we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Kalum, we also arranged for him to pick us up at 4.30am to Pidurangala so that we can watch the sunrise. After that, Kalum even offered to send us to Colombo for a very reasonable fee. All in all, we would definitely recommend Kalum Tours to anyone as he is a very friendly, funny and good natured person. Thank you Kalum for the memories and fun! We will be back

Review rating: 5

Review Author: 960sinag

Review Date: 23 Mar 2019

Review Body: Kalum was a recommendation of a friend back home in Germany. My friend said, he never leaves any reviews, but for Kalum he left one ;-) I planned to travel to Sri Lanka with my mom without any tour operator and did the planning myself. At some point I started looking for transports and drivers and texted Kalum whether he could organize that. He always replies within minutes on WhatsApp, he literally ALWAYS has a solution and could make anything possible. We agreed on a fixed price beforehand and I paid it bit by bit to the drivers. Even during the journey I changed our plan and needed another transport - he spontaneously drove us himself and we had a fun ride with him for 7h! It's a lot of fun to talk to him, he has a great sense of humour. I guess I was not the easiest customer and changed a lot of things while traveling - It was a never a problem. Pure customer satisfaction and service orientation here. So even tho he offers tours, he made all of my requests come true ;-) I regret we didn't go on a tour in the Habarana area with him! Thanks a lot Kalum, see you again one day and all the best! (From my mom as well :-))

Review rating: 5

Review Author: PJOH127, United States

Review Date: 01 Aug 2019

Review Body: Kalum and his jeep safari was amazing. My family - two adults and two children did the four hour safari and had a great experience. Based on Tripadvisor reviews I reached out to Kalum and he was as described - friendly, warm, personable, guided us to the right national park (initially I had wanted to go to Minneriya however based on Kalum’s rec ended up at Kaudulla). He told us about all the animals and gave us details on elephants. He is very good at spotting animals that are hard to see and is very knowledgeable about the wildlife in the park. We saw many birds, chameleons, giant squirrels, monkeys, brown fish owl and most importantly elephants. We must have seen about 100+ elephants- so much that at the end of four hours both my kids were exhausted. Kalum also cares about wildlife and habitat protection and as a plus he is knowledgeable about other things to do in the area. He is a young man building his business and doing a fine job keeping his customers happy. Highly recommend him and this jeep safari. Later on we learned that we saw way more animals on our safari than many have seen at Yala recently.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: PJOH127, New York

Review Date: 01 Aug 2019

Review Body: Kalum and his jeep safari was amazing. My family - two adults and two children did the four hour safari and had a great experience. Based on Tripadvisor reviews I reached out to Kalum and he was as described - friendly, warm, personable, guided us to the right national park (initially I had wanted to go to Minneriya however based on Kalum’s rec ended up at Kaudulla). He told us about all the animals and gave us details on elephants. He is very good at spotting animals that are hard to see and is very knowledgeable about the wildlife in the park. We saw many birds, chameleons, giant squirrels, monkeys, brown fish owl and most importantly elephants. We must have seen about 100+ elephants- so much that at the end of four hours both my kids were exhausted. Kalum also cares about wildlife and habitat protection and as a plus he is knowledgeable about other things to do in the area. He is a young man building his business and doing a fine job keeping his customers happy. Highly recommend him and this jeep safari. Later on we learned that we saw way more animals on our safari than many have seen at Yala recently.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Laura L

Review Date: 08 Mar 2018

Review Body: Kalum knows everything about the national parks in Sri Lanka. We went on a safari with him to Kaudulla. We wanted to go to Minneriya, but Kalum’s advice was to go to Kaudulla, since the chance to spot large group of elephants was much higher there, due to the season. This advice turned out to be a very good one, we saw plenty of elephants, some herds of 50/60. Moreover Kalum respects the animals and does not stress them by going to close or making noise. He really cares about them. Unfortunately, in both parks there are many jeeps (where plenty of them didnt seem to care about the elephants) and although Kalum tried to avoid the crowds in advance by going to less popular spots, it was not always possible to avoid the crowds. Nevertheless, Kalum provided a tailor made private tour with a personal touch and attention. We also used him as a driver to go to several locations. He drives safely and offers fair prices. And last but not least, he is nice guy with humour and is interested in his clients and an excellent wildlife spotter (crocodile, birds, monkeys, cameleons, foxes and of course elephants).

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Chao, China

Review Date: 23 May 2019

Review Body: Second time to Sri Lanka after visiting last year. This time I visit with my parents and I msg Kalum told him I would like to do safari with him again. Last time did a full day, morning in Kaudulla and afternoon saw almost hundred of elephant in Minneriya. Unfortunately this year the rainy season comes late and all elephants moved to smaller Echo Park. As Kalum suggested we went to Echo Park around 30 elephants there and we were the last to leave the park because we helped another jeep's broken tire. But out of luck, we were the only the jeep saw a herd of elephant of around 30 in number crossing the street to migrate into Echo Park from Minneriya area. And in the end we saw 4 tuskers that day, that was quite rare. Of course it is all about luck when it comes to Safari, but Kalum is the type that will make extra effort to get more from the safari and to satisfy the customer. He is talkative knowledgable and prepare water and fruit for guests. If you book from the streetside jeep it is cheaper but they normally dont talk only point the animals for u and that's all.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: mayayaSlo

Review Date: 05 Feb 2019

Review Body: I contact Kalum via email and he response within a few minutes even time in Sri Lanka was middle of the night. That was the first thing I was impressed to! I told him, safari will be birthday present for my sister and he said that he will do his best to make day unforgettable and amazing. And it really was. He took us to safari and get really close to elephants and avoid crowd of tourists. He told us many interesting info about elephants and other animals around. He gave us water and food and was funny and joking. After safari he took us to the center. While driving he saw elephant at the road and he stop immediately so we could see him. On the way home he said we will stop for a few minutes. He took us to his cousin who is a master chef and he make surprise for my sister and give her birthday cake! We were almost speechless and really super surprise! Kalum is really the best choice you can do for safari tour, real professionall, good company, kind and funny... I definitely recommend him to all that want a great safari driver and great company.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: margroc

Review Date: 10 Nov 2019

Review Body: Where should I start... From the minute one Kalum goes out of his way for you, for your tastes, your desire to discover and does everything possible to fulfill your dreams. Mine, to see a wild Elephant. At the beginning of the Safari there were a lot of cars around. We started the Safari with all the rest but at some point Kalum changed the direction. He said we were going to a special place. Very bad road and no other cars. The rest of the Jeeps were driving the easy road. Finally! An ELEPHANT!! And not only one, a group of 36. There were female elephants, male elephants and babies. The whole group for us alone. NO OTHER JEEP NEAR !!! We were able to enjoy them 100% all the time we wanted. When we decided to continue we met the rest of the Jeeps, those who had followed the easy route. And we saw more elephants again, but this time from farther away and with many more people. Kalum decided to follow an alternative route, more complicated and thanks to that he made me a very special gift. I could never thank you enough. QUE MONOOO!!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: tris m, United Kingdom

Review Date: 24 May 2017

Review Body: Kalum is a kind thoughtful honest man. After using him on our first day to go to Ritigala we were so impressed that we booked him everyday for the rest of our holiday. We went on 2 safari's with him and saw about 100 elephants on each safari we went to Minneriya national park and Kaudulla national park. He has a real passion for nature and wildlife and is extremely knowledgeable about all the animals,and birds and their behaviour. He has eyes like a hawk and even spotted a tiny lizard on a blade of grass as we were driving down the road. We also used him to take us to polonnurwa, Pidurangalla and Dambulla and he was the perfect host every time always going that extra mile to ensure we enjoyed our trips like buying us Pineapple which he diced up and and presented it beautifully on a tray on the bonnet of his jeep he also checked we had enough water and bought us mangos and king coconuts. He made our holiday perfect in every way I can't recommend Kalum enough. He was a star.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: 40criss, UK

Review Date: 19 Dec 2018

Review Body: It was our first time going on a safari and wasn’t really keen on doing it. But after reading all the reviews here about Kalum safari we decided to try it. We didn’t do the safari with Kalum as our tour guide but with his cousin IP instead. They’re the embodiment of customer service! Always making sure you’re happy and enjoying yourself. They don’t focus only on elephants but also in other species of animals, small and big. We met Kalum and we could tell why people love him: super calm, such a nice snails and a willingness to make your safari memorable. At dusk we went for a bit of off roaring and tried to spot some more animals. Amazing! If you’re indecisive, give it a go. IP and Kalum are amazing! If you don’t see the animals you want is not because they didn’t try. Ps: IP was also our photographer making sure we had good pictures to show when back home and arranged a beautiful pineapple for us to try. Thank you both for such a great experience!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: 959isabellp

Review Date: 15 Nov 2018

Review Body: Kalum is the best safari tourguide we could've imagined! He's very funny and has a perfect sense of humour. He's very attentive and had water for us during the whole tour. He picked us up at our hotel and even let us decide which national Park we want to visit. We choose Kaudulla NP and it was the perfect decision. He saw every little ant or chameleon and stopped for every animal so that we had a chance to see it too! His driving skills are over the top. He helped at least 5 trucks out of the mud which where stuck, and was probably the only one who knows how to drive a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Everyone called him for help and assistance. Once we reached many elephants, he told us everything about these magical creatures. He was also very respectful to the animals and didn't drive too close to them which we highly appreciated. It was our favourite Sri Lanka experience so far and we thank kalum so much for this special day. Isabell & Gerhard

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Kevin R

Review Date: 15 Nov 2019

Review Body: During our stay in Dambulla we were looking for a Safari Tour and found Kalum's contact details on Tripadvisor. He responded within a few minutes and was able to organize a tour for us to Kandulla National Park for the next day. His tour guide Jeewan picked us up at the hotel on the next day with his jeep which was already a great experience until we reached the National Park. The tour in there was even more impressive as we saw plenty of different animals and more than 200 elephants. In addition, Jeewan was very knowledgable about all the differnt animals and a great and super supportive guide during the whole day. For that reason, we decided to ask him as well for a sunrise hiking tour to Pidurangala Rock on the next day. After a 4am pick-up we had a great hike to the top of the mountain with an amazing sunrise view. Thank you again Jeewan for making these two days so special and an unforgettable memory!

Review rating: 5

Itinerary Day 1

Itinerary Summary: Spot wild elephants gathering by the river bank during the golden hour.

Itinerary Description: 02.00 pm: Main Entrance of Minneriya National Park. 02.30 pm: Begin your game drive at Minneriya National Park. 05.00 – 05.30 pm: Finishing time of your Safari