Sri Lanka is shaped like a tropical teardrop, fantastic scenic and cultural variety. It is exotic, with wonderful history and culture, eco-adventures and wildlife viewing, and wide smiles. In recent years the quality of accommodation has improved significantly, with many boutique heritage hotels and wonderfully luxurious resorts. The image of the island has moved more upscale – as have the prices – but we now rate it as one of the most exciting tropical destinations.

The beaches are good, but for us the real joy of the island is to tour around, staying in the very special boutique hotels and then end in a resort for a few days. The flying time from UK is 12 hours.