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A Last Minute Getaway From Colombo

We all dread history lessons but after following travellers on Pikanite including the Ragbourne Travel Family around the cultural triangle in Sri Lanka, we couldn’t be more inspired! If you’re feeling adventurous and feel like getting off the beaten track, get on the App and take a coastal trip around and through the ruins of ancient Ceylon!

Photo Credit : Toby Andrews

First stop, Sigiriya.

Travelling in a group can be tricky and you don’t want to move around hotels too much. So, settle in at Lakmini Lodge, our boutique hotel pick with postcard views and is a 2 minute drive away from the Lion's Rock. Climb Sigiriya rock or if you’ve ticked that off the list before, climb Pidurangala rock and take in Sigiriya from a whole new perspective.

Photo Credit : Harlee Keller

Second stop, Polonnaruwa.

Take a day trip up to Polonnaruwa, it’s about an hour’s drive away from your hotel in Sigiriya. Rent out some bikes and cycle back through time in the UNESCO World Heritage City.

Photo Credit : Ragborne Travel Family

Third stop, Arugam Bay.

On to #arugambay! Yeah surf and sand is fun but we’ve got 3 words for you, Tuk tuk safari! Take a bumpy ride up to the lagoon or to Kumana national park. Then come back to Babar Point and relax in your villa-styled room by the pool.

Next stop, Tissa.

Take off to Tissamaharama and set up camp at AEON hotel. Take a jeep ride to Yala National Park in the morning and spend quiet evenings by the lake in full view of crocs, ele's and amazing wildlife!

Photo Credit : Ragborne Travel Family

Last stop, Weligama.

Call it in at a beachfront hotel like Twenty-Two Weligam bay. Far quieter than Unawatuna or Mirissa, Weligama is a good stop to spend a day not doing much but simply relaxing by the beach and maybe daring to jump on a surf board.

Photo Credit :  Camilla Sofie Hugstmyr

Need a break from the city? Get the Pikanite App and find hotel deals up to 60% cheaper than anywhere else!

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The Travelling Sisterhood: Why Women SHOULD Travel

As the world celebrates International Women’s Day on 8 March and the great leaps forward that women have made over the past decades and centuries, we look at how travel fits into this picture of progress. Why should women travel more? What’s in it for the ladies?

1. Goodbye, Comfort Zone

Let’s face it. There are very few radically different things you can do while staying at home, in the city of your birth, surrounded by the people you’ve always known. Try something too different, and you’re bound to see the inquisitive face of an aunty peering around the corner.

Some might term it escape, but travelling liberates women from the social norms and expectations that crowd them in, particularly in a conservative society like Sri Lanka’s. If it’s always been your dream to ride the waves like a pro, grab your bikini and head down to the surf schools mushrooming in Weligama. If you feel like conquering a mountain would get you out of your funk, join the hiking groups that regularly take on Little Adam’s Peak or Pidurangala. Step out of your comfort zone and just be.

2. Discover You

Solo trips aren’t for everyone. But it must be said that the women who have tried it, swear by it. Travelling alone means you get ‘me time’ like you ain’t never got before. It also means fending for yourself and entertaining yourself. It’s daunting, but it’s also the best possible chance you will get to discover you in this always-connected age.

Ladies do have to take extra precautions when going solo – keep your family/friends informed, travel by day, book quirky but safe places (find our top picks here), and keep your phone charged for emergencies. Remember, you can always make up for these things by enjoying the passing scenery without the distraction of someone talking, reading uninterrupted, or just chilling in the hotel room and ordering in since you don’t need to join anyone for dinner. Yay!

3. Treat Yo Self!

Hey, you work hard. You put in those nine hours, listened patiently to those annoying clients, and even dragged yourself to those 4.30pm-on-a-Friday-are-you-serious meetings your boss tends to set up. Girl, you need to treat yo self!

We know that the usual salary self-treat is a fancy bag or a spa date, but why not swap that out for a different experience? Just pick a good day (TGIF?), book a place here, grab a friend, and head out! You can pick a place in the city, or opt for an out-of-towner. What you do with the rest of your stay is up to you – walk on the beach, use the hotel spa, soak in a bubble bath…just treat yo self!

4. Join the Conversation

Travelling feeds the soul, but it also gives the mind a lot to think about. As women increasingly join the conversation at all levels of life, it’s important to explore all the avenues through which we can expand our knowledge. And you’d be amazed at how much you can learn just by travelling around Sri Lanka.

Whether it’s the life cycle of dolphins in Kalpitiya, or Dutch architecture at the Galle Fort, or the history of the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Sri Lanka is a treasure chest brimming with history and culture. And travelling is the key to opening it.

5. It’s a Rich (Wo)man’s World

With travelling becoming easier, and the world becoming more connected, travel blogging has taken social media by storm. You’ve only to browse through Instagram to find the countless successful women who travel for a living. And what a living it is!

It takes some time to establish yourself, but even freelance travel blogging if done right can be both satisfying and lucrative. The more you travel, the more you hone your style and the more connections you make. You become a powerful influence that can inspire and empower other women out there to do something they once thought they never could. So start moving now!

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Bleisure - The New Buzzword in Business Travel

When you’re just starting out, travelling for business is exciting and fun, and often the best way to see new places, all expenses paid. But, with time, regular business travel often becomes a headache and something you drag yourself to out of necessity. ‘B leisure’ is what’s new in business travel – travelling for work, but still having a good time. Here are a few tips:

Tip 1: Book a hotel room that wont break the bank or your back.

If picking the hotel is up to you, look out for that hotel you’ve always wanted to visit, because this is the perfect opportunity. Always choose well rated and reviewed hotels to avoid the dark side of business travel.  And if you’re your own boss (and accountant), scope out pikanite for a great hotel that won’t burn through your shoestring Accommodation budget. If the hotel is being booked by your employer, it’s time to give that HR person a call! Staying at a property you like is the first step to bleisuring like a boss.

Tip 2: Grab them off-season deals

If you have the option of planning your meetings, explore off-season timings. Most hotels bear the seasonal offloading by cutting rates and offering great discounts (you can find the really great ones here). If you’re the one making the call, this is the ideal way to do a luxury business break on a budget.

Tip 3: Eat out

Unless your work calls for meetings over dinner, most of your business will be done by the end of the day. While it might be easiest to stick to the hotel restaurant, that might also be the least interesting option. Exploring your dining options in the area is now super easy thanks to a whole host of apps catering to that, plus opting to eat out means you get out of the hotel and experience the vibe of the new place around you. Take the time off for yourself – you won’t regret it.  

Tip 4: Make the most of the facilities

You know how you always mean to go for a massage but never have time? Or how work travel is the perfect excuse to fall out of your work-out routine? No more! Many guests only use a small percentage of all the facilities a hotel has to offer. What better way to wind down after a long work day than a soothing date with the hotel spa? If your mode of de-stressing is to punish yourself at the gym – hit the hotel weights. Or take a turn around the hotel and its grounds, or even just enjoy a drink on the rooftop bar. Vegging out with the free wi-fi is great, but there’s a lot more you can do when you’re traveling on work.

Tip 5: Get used to the idea of ‘bleisure time’

Travelling on work can be tedious at best and stressful at worst, but part of the bleisure concept is getting your head around the idea that it’s OK to have me-time and fun during work trips. Guilt-tripping yourself into checking e-mails every five minutes during dinner maybe…diligent, but not always as useful as you may think. Get out, get a massage, have a drink; a more rested and relaxed you is a more productive you!

Download Pikanite Now via http://www.pikanite.com/ for amazing hotel offers and exciting trips! 

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The Biggest Travel Myths Tested and Busted!

1. Travelling is only for trust-fund babies.

We’ve all done it. Looked at that perfect Instagram travel profile and thought, “I’d travel too, if I had the money.” The thing is, you no longer need to be uber-rich to travel, you just need a budget, an eye out for good deals, and the urge to get away. Used with care, credit cards and payment plans make it easier to manage your finances and still visit all the places you want to. And good deals are everywhere, including here. Maybe you really are too broke to make an extended Euro trip, but Sri Lanka’s got so much to offer her travelers that you’ll never run out of places to visit or stay.

2. You can’t travel without planning everything.

We all have that one travel buddy who loves to plan, and plan, and plan some more. From hotels, to daily budgets, to minute-by-minute itineraries, he’s got it covered – and there’s nothing wrong with that! Just don’t think that’s the only way to travel. Spontaneous travel can be life-changing, not just because it forces you out of a comfort zone, but also because it can constantly surprise you. What’s wrong with taking a little detour from a boring business trip and deciding to spend a day on the beach in Mirissa? Or walking around the Galle Fort? Or cuddling down in Kandy? If that’s too adventurous, why not scope for deals to stay this Friday night at a nice hotel, right here? While it does pay to plan essentials like transport and time off from work, a little last-minute travelling never killed nobody.

3. Solo travel is a bad idea.

Solo travel has a bad rap, especially for women. While it’s undeniable that women need to be extra careful when they travel alone, ladies who do make solo trips will tell you it’s worth it. No one’s denying that it’s fun to travel with friends and family, but there’s just something about going somewhere new alone, especially in this uber-connected world where time for yourself is a rare commodity. 

Initiate yourself into the solo travel club by choosing a place close by. Pack an overnight bag, book your room and head out! The rest of the day is yours. Draw that bath, drink that wine, binge-watch that series, no one’s around to say no.

4. The inter-web is bad & distracting.

This isn’t exactly a myth, since we can all admit to having watched cat videos on loop at some low point of our life. There’s so much travel-related content online, it can bog you down in an instant and you won’t even know it. But the internet has also revolutionized travel and how we view it. Today, you can browse destinations and hotels while you’re in the bus or bored at work, you can book in a second online and you can use Google Maps to find your way there. We might add, app sites like Pikanite crunch down the entire process into a few minutes’ browsing during which you get all the information you need on the best deals in town on one, easy-to-use app. It’s true what they say. The internet is our saviour!

5. Travelling is overrated.

Boo. The myth is that you can be fine living out a comfortable life at home, surrounded by the things you love – and that’s almost true. But the truth is that travel lets you live more. The best part is that, in Sri Lanka, travel doesn’t equate to hour-long flights or train rides – almost every cool place you could visit or stay at is only a few hours away! It’s up to you to make the most of your travel. And there’s no better time than now.