Palm-fringed beaches meet ancient rock fortresses and misty tea highlands, while elephants roam national parks and iconic train rides wind through emerald landscapes. Sri Lanka is where the wild, the sacred and everyday life blend beautifully together.
Sri Lanka is incredibly easy to get around, as the island has excellent public transport:
Trains: The Kandy to Ella train journey is one of the most famous in the world, and an experience not to be missed while travelling in Sri Lanka. While that’s one of the most spectacular routes, travelling by train is a great way to travel around the entire country, as the trains are frequent and cheap. Book tickets directly via the Sri Lanka Railways website.
Buses: Another quintessential Sri Lankan experience is the buses, which are quite an experience! Expect music, bright colours and not much personal space, but it’s a fab way to get chatting to locals. The bus network is huge, connecting lots of smaller villages as well as bigger cities, and the fares are exceptionally cheap. I did most of my travel by bus when I was in Sri Lanka. Catching them is super easy. Just show up and ask someone for help if needed. You pay in cash once you’re on board. Google Maps isn’t always reliable for times or routes, so locals are your best bet.
Private Transfer/Minibuses: Many hostels and guesthouses can help you book private transfers, a popular option for getting to/from the airport. You can share with other travellers and split the cost.
Tuk Tuk: Tuk tuks are a classic part of Sri Lankan life, with many families owning their own tuk tuk instead of/as well as a car. Tuk tuks are particularly useful in larger cities like Colombo, and you can book them using the rideshare app PickMe. You can also hire your own tuk tuk to drive around the country!
Hire Car: Sri Lanka is pretty small and easy to drive around, so hiring a car is a good option. Just be aware that traffic in cities like Colombo is chaotic and so best avoided.
The best time to visit Sri Lanka depends on which coast you’re heading to, as the island has two monsoon seasons affecting different regions at different times. The south and west coasts are typically best from December to April, with sunny skies and calmer seas, while the east coast shines from May to September. Temperatures remain warm year-round, but expect higher humidity and heavier rains during the monsoon months.
There are loads of amazing accommodation options in Sri Lanka, ranging from luxury resorts to laid back surf hostels. I always book my accommodation through trusted providers like booking.com and Hostelworld, but always read the reviews carefully just in case of fake reviews.
I always recommend checking the official government advice from your own country of citizenship. For example, I’m from the UK so I use the UK Government’s Foreign travel advice website, and navigate to the “Entry requirements” section of the country I wish to visit. That will show me the most up-to-date advice and the correct links to use to apply for a visa officially, without being scammed. E.g. “Sri Lanka: Entry requirements”.
Be aware that if you just google “Sri Lanka visa”, you’ll find lots of 3rd party websites offering to do the application for you, which at best will charge you quite a lot of money and at worst may scam you completely.
If you would rather someone else take care of the application for you to save you time and hassle, I can recommend iVisa. iVisa offer an end-to-end visa application service where they take care of the entire application for you. You just need to sign up via their website and fill out the information they need from you for the application. Note that they charge a fee for this service, so it will be more expensive than applying directly yourself.
Here are some of the resources I’ve found particularly useful for travelling in Sri Lanka. Download the apps before you go to ensure a smooth and stress-free experience! Check out my Useful Travel Resources page for my complete go-to list of websites and apps.
Currency:
Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR)
Capital City:
Colombo
Languages:
Sinhala, Tamil
