Sri Lanka is a small island in the Indian Ocean. From beautiful beaches, greenest tea plantations, tons of remarkable temples, juiciest mangoes and the freshest coconuts to a perfect hikes with an amazing views at the end. Sri Lanka has it all. It is truly a country for everyone. Continue reading our Sri Lanka Ultimate Guide to find out more!
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Best time to visit
It really depends on where you want to go. Sri Lanka’s weather is quite different on the north and south, so the best time to visit varies with the destination as well.
Anyway most people visit the southern part of Sri Lanka.
South: December to March
North: May to September
Center: January to April
Visa
Yes. If you want to visit Sri Lanka you need a visa and your passport has to be valid for at least 6 months. Also you can’t enter the country without onwards ticket, so make sure you buy one in advance or if you are not sure how long you are staying just buy the cheapest flight from Sri Lanka and decide afterwards!
Applying for visa
Online:
You can easily apply online on www.eta.gov.lk. It took us only an hour but it is better to apply at least a week upfront. It costs 27 pounds and is valid for 30 days.
On arrival:
If something happened and you couldn’t apply online, don’t worry. You still can get a visa on arrival at the airport for extra 4 pounds.
TIP: Make sure you write down the first address in Sri Lanka. You need to fill that in your entry card before the immigration counter. The card will be given to you in an airplane.
Vaccination
Even that legally there are no vaccinations needed you should get these two if you are not planning to stay longer than month or two:
DTP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Polio) and Hepatitis A
There are a lot of mosquitos in Sri Lanka and you don’t want to ruin your travel.
Weather
It also depends on where you go, but mostly Sri Lanka is super hot and humid. In numbers it’s usually 28°C so pack most of your clothes for this temperature. BUT in Ella it can be only 20°C. One trousers will do.
Currency
In Sri Lanka they use Srilankan rupees – LKR.
212,6 LKR ~ 1 GBP
159,3 LKR ~ 1 USD
7,3 LKR ~ 1 CZK
Cost of travelling in Sri Lanka
Accommodation
If you don’t want to sleep in horrible conditions your budget for one double room with A/C (2 persons) should be around 16 – 20 pounds / 20 – 24 with breakfast.
Double room with FAN only can be around 10 – 15 pounds, but like we said Sri Lanka is super hot and humid. In mountain town Ella there is no need for A/C, but on the beaches it is better to pay 2 pounds per person extra and have a nice sleep rather than sweating whole night.
Transportation
Taxi
We used a taxi only once after our arrival at 1 AM to get us to our guesthouse. For Sri Lanka it is the most expensive option. It should be around 90 Rupee / 1 km = 0,5 / 1km.
Tuktuk
Again we barely used tuk-tuks but when we did we had to be really strict. They are very used to give tourists 6 times higher price than for locals. It should be around 50 – 70 Rupee /1 km = 0,3 /1 km.
Bus
We used the bus the most. Not only because it is the cheapest way, but it is also an experience. Sometimes you have to stand the whole journey and you have to be really fast when getting on and off, but hey! It is a fun!
TIP: There are 2 types of public buses – RED and BLUE. Blues are actually not public ones, so they don’t need to provide you a ticket, so it is easy for them to tell you a double price. They are really fast but can be sometimes dangerous.
Kandy – Habarana: 130 LKR ~ 0,60 GBP/pp
Mirissa – Tangalle: 95 LKR ~ 0,5 GBP/pp
Udawalawe – Ella: 185 LKR ~ 1 GBP/pp
Train
Also common way of transportation. There are 3 classes. First class has an air-conditioning but in our opinion, you would miss a part of the experience and that would be a shame! If you are deciding between the second and third class, there is not a big difference. It only matters on very busy routes as most of the locals travel in 3rd class. It can get very crowdy in 3rd class. Don’t be scared and sit in the open doors of a train like locals do. It is soo much fun! Just make sure you pay attention and be safe.
Colombo – Kosgoda: 2nd class 190 LKR ~ 1 GBP/pp
Kosgoda – Thirugama: 3rd class 30 LKR ~ 0,2 GBP/pp
Habarana – Colombo: 3rd class 160 LKR ~ 0,8 GBP/pp
Food and drinks
Bottled water 1,5 l 80 LKR ~ 0,40 GBP
Lion beer 0,3/0,5l 300/500 LKR ~ 1,4/2,4 GBP
Coca-Cola 0,3l 100-200 LKR ~ 0,5-1 GBP
Local dish – Fried rice, curry, kottu: 250-700 LKR ~ 1,2-3,2 GBP
Sim card with internet
There are few options to choose from. We bought Airtel SIM card right at the airport. It was the cheapest option and we didn’t have any problems during our stay. The package included 12GB and little cash for local SMS and calls. Together we paid 1400 LKR/6,5 GBP.
Route guide
1 & 2 day: Colombo / Negombo
The first and the second day we would advise you to stay either in Colombo or Negombo. Paradoxically Negombo is closer to the Colombo Airport, so if you arrive late in the night it is probably better option as you have to take a taxi anyway. It is not the most beautiful part of Sri Lanka so don’t be disappointed and look forward to what is waiting for you! Sri Lanka is really beautiful country. Enjoy these 2 days relaxing after the flight and get used to a temperature.
NOW! Most of the people head to Kandy first and then all the way to the coast, but if you can’t wait to enjoy beautiful beaches of Sri Lanka – continue following our route guide. If not just go to the end and follow it in the other way around!
3 day: Kosgoda
If releasing little baby turtles is on your bucket list, you can’t skip Kosgoda. Just make sure you take the train early to make it on time. The releasing takes place at 6:15 pm and it costs 1500 LKR / 7 GBP.
Except that there is pretty much nothing else to do so one day is completely enough.
4 – 7 day: Pittiwella Beach & Galle Fort
Pitiwella beach is a perfect base for one day trip to explore amazing Galle Fort and enjoying almost private beach with super cool vibes at the same time + it is super budget friendly. Stay at Smile beach hostel & cabanas, their hospitality was something incredible! ♥
8 – 11 day: Unawatuna Beach
There is nothing better than watching the sun disappearing while enjoying cocktails on the beach. Unawatuna is perfect for swimming as the sea is not very rough. There is also an amazing Pagoda and secret beach nearby!
12 – 15 day: Mirissa Beach
Originally we wanted to stay only one day, but we loved it so much, that we extended our stay 3 times haha. There is a lot to do in Mirissa. Beach is smaller than in Unawatuna, but there are great waves for surfing or just having fun in waves. Don’t let me start about delicious seafood for few pounds.
16 & 17 day: Udawalawe National Park
Sri Lanka has 3 amazing national parks. Udawalawe National Park is one of them and according to our guide, it has the most wild elephants. Sooo if you are elephant person, definitely choose this one!
18 – 21 day: Ella
After more than 2 weeks, there is a chance that you won’t be sweating whole day. Ella is a small town high in a mountains and the temperature is around 20 °C – Yaay. There are so many things to do in Ella. From a tea plantation nearby to the amazing hikes to Ella Rock and Little Adams Peak. And of course the famous Nine Arch Bridge can’t be missed as well!
22 day: Delhousie & Adam’s Peak
One of the worst and the best ideas in Sri Lanka is to climb Adam’s Peak. The holly mountain where every night hundreds of people climb 5500 steps to pray or to just witness the incredibly beautiful sunrise. It is very challenging, especially mentally, but if you can, don’t skip it. It was one of the best experiences we had during our trip.
23 – 25 day: Kandy
City of temples with the biggest Buddha of Sri Lanka. Visit huge markets with all kinds of products – personally, fruit markets are our favorites ones!
25 – 27 day: Habarana
Three days are perfect for exploring all the beauty around Habarana. One day you can climb the Pidurangala Rock and the other day Lion’s Rock. The third day you will have enough time to take a bus or tuk-tuk to Polonnaruwa. Rent a bicycle there to explore The Ancient cities.
28 day: Colombo
Before your flight is better to stay near to the airport rather than stress about transportation. Airport King´s Gate Transit Hotel is perfect budget place with walking distance to the airport.
Author: Onthewaytoo
Published: 08/08/2018
