Sri Lanka Travel Guide: Our Best Tips for Your Trip

General Tips for Your Sri Lanka Trip

Sri Lanka is a destination that works for travelers of all ages. Along the way, we met couples of every age, plenty of 50+ travelers in groups, and families with young children. Solo travelers and young backpacker groups were less common.

Here you’ll find our tips for traveling Sri Lanka with kids

Sri Lanka really does have a lot going for it. The country is great for a beach vacation or a complete road trip around Sri Lanka. You can go on amazing hiking tours and visit incredible cultural highlights. The east and south also have excellent surf spots.

As a solo traveler, it’s probably not quite as easy to connect with other travelers as it is in, say, Thailand or other typical backpacking destinations. Some cities do have backpacker hostels, but especially in the highlands you’re more likely to stay in small guesthouses with two to three rooms or in hotels. If that’s not a problem for you, Sri Lanka is perfectly doable as a solo traveler.

For solo female travelers, Sri Lanka is only partially suitable. It’s not impossible to travel the country alone as a woman, but in some areas it’s certainly not particularly pleasant. If you have no experience traveling solo, Sri Lanka might not be the best destination to try it for the first time.

Especially in Colombo, Jenny found it really uncomfortable to be stared at by men in an unpleasant way — even though she was only wearing long pants and a T-shirt.

In other parts of the country — for example in the east, the highlands, and the south — she felt much more at ease, and people there approached her differently. The pushy vendors are everywhere, of course, and curious (but not unpleasant) glances are something you’ll attract almost everywhere.

Our Tips for Solo Female Travelers in Sri Lanka

Avoid staying in Colombo if possible. Since the city offers very few reasons to stick around, that’s not much of a loss.

Here you’ll find our travel report from Colombo

Try to sit next to women on buses. Just politely point to the seat next to her and she’ll understand why you want to sit there and make room for you.

Never confirm that you’re single. The Lonely Planet even recommends getting a fake wedding ring and always carrying a photo of a male friend so you can show a picture of your “husband.”

Outside of the beach, avoid dressing too revealingly. Jenny mostly wore thin long pants and a T-shirt. In the north of the island in particular, it’s recommended to swim in shorts and a T-shirt.

The Best Time to Visit Sri Lanka

There’s no single best time to visit Sri Lanka — which is actually a good thing, because you can basically travel there year-round. But it also means that at any time of year, it will be raining somewhere on the island.

The short version: in the north and east, you’ll have the best weather from May to September, and in the south, west, and highlands from December to March.

Since the best time to visit Sri Lanka is a complicated topic, we’ve written a separate article where we explain everything in detail.

Read our article on the best time to visit Sri Lanka

Trip Length for Sri Lanka: How Much Time Should You Plan?

You should plan for an absolute minimum of ten days in Sri Lanka, but ideally around three weeks. We spent five weeks on the island and could easily have stayed another five. You won’t get bored there anytime soon — there’s simply an incredible amount to see and experience.

If you want to see all the major highlights at a fast pace, you’ll need about 10 days. But then you’ll really be moving from place to place every day and can only briefly check off each attraction.

To see the most important sights without rushing and still have a few relaxed days at a beautiful beachfront hotel in Sri Lanka, you should plan for about three weeks.

Of course, it also depends on whether you can afford a private driver to take you from A to B, or whether you’ll use public transportation (bus, train).

Even though distances in Sri Lanka are usually not very large, you should still plan plenty of time for getting between destinations.

Attractions in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a small country with an incredible variety of things to see. The highlights can broadly be divided into four categories: cultural sites, stunning landscapes, wildlife, and gorgeous beaches.

We’ve written a detailed article about the top sights for you here:

The most beautiful attractions in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s most important cultural sites are gathered in the Cultural Triangle in the center of the country. The ancient royal cities of Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, and Kandy have magnificent historical monuments and temples to offer.

In the heart of the triangle, the cave temples of Dambulla and the rock fortress of Sigiriya are two more must-sees. The Cultural Triangle is home to five UNESCO World Heritage Sites that you absolutely shouldn’t miss.

To the south of the Cultural Triangle lies Sri Lanka’s highlands. The train ride from Kandy to Ella is a wonderful way to travel through the highlands and watch the landscape slowly roll by.

Our report on the train ride from Kandy to Ella

In Nuwara Eliya and Ella, you can go hiking through the highlands and discover the tea plantations. Popular hiking destinations include Adam’s Peak, the Horton Plains with World’s End, and Little Adam’s Peak.

Sri Lanka also has incredibly diverse wildlife, best explored on safari in Sri Lanka’s national parks.

In Yala National Park, for example, you can spot wild leopards. Elephants can be found in, among other places, Udawalawe National Park in the south or Wasgamuwa National Park near Dambulla.

We even saw wild elephants nearby without being in a national park at all. Off the coasts of Trincomalee in the east and Mirissa in the south, you can also spot whales and dolphins.

And then of course there are the beaches in Sri Lanka. Whether on the north, east, west, or south coast — everywhere you’ll find gorgeous sandy beaches perfect for swimming, surfing, diving, and relaxing.

The one thing you shouldn’t expect in Sri Lanka is noteworthy cities. Most towns consist of a busy main road around which life revolves, with quieter side streets where things calm down considerably.

The only truly worthwhile town is Galle in the southwest of the island, which has a very special charm thanks to its historic fort.

Trip Planning for Sri Lanka

Getting There: The Best Way to Reach Sri Lanka

Simple — you fly. There are direct flights to Colombo from major European hubs, as well as various connections with one stopover in the Middle East.

We flew from Kuala Lumpur to Colombo with Air Asia. That makes Sri Lanka easy to include in a broader trip around Southeast Asia at a great price.

One general tip on booking flights: The cheapest prices are usually found either three months or three to four weeks before departure. Of course, exceptions to this rule exist.

Flight prices vary widely. There are occasional deals for around 400 euros, but if you find a flight for around 500–600 euros, that’s a fair price. We always search for the cheapest connections on Skyscanner.

Find the cheapest flight price for your trip to Sri Lanka

Transport from the Airport to Colombo

The airport is located about 40 minutes north of Colombo by car. For the transfer from the airport to Colombo, you can choose between a taxi, a private driver, or a public bus.

A taxi costs around 20 euros to the city center of Colombo, depending on how well you negotiate.

The public bus gets you to the center of Colombo for 100 LKR (about $0.60). You’ll find the bus behind the exit on the left side.

You can find more info on getting to Colombo in our article about Colombo:

Is a stay in Colombo worth it?

If you want to get from the airport to your destination as stress-free as possible, we recommend hiring a private driver.

You can book one before your trip so they pick you up right at the airport. That way you don’t have to haggle with a taxi driver over the price or squeeze onto a packed bus to Colombo.

Our recommendation if you’re not traveling as a backpacker on a very tight budget: Book an airport transfer through Getyourguide. The booking process is straightforward, the price is very reasonable, and you can count on it working.

Book an airport transfer in Colombo

Entry Requirements for Sri Lanka

To enter, you’ll need a passport that is valid for at least six months beyond your travel end date. Every child also needs their own travel document.

You must also apply for a fee-based visa online before your trip.

To do so, simply fill out the form on the website www.eta.gov.lk.

A 30-day visa costs a fee of $50 USD.

If for some reason you’re unable to apply for the visa online beforehand, you can also do it upon arrival at the airport.

However, we advise against this, as you’ll not only pay $60 USD for the visa, but also face long wait times.

What should you watch out for when filling out the visa?

Make sure all information is correct, and especially don’t make any mistakes when entering your passport number (be careful not to confuse the letter O with the number 0, or vice versa).

Make sure you select the correct purpose of travel when filling out the form.

After you’ve applied for and completed the visa online, you’ll receive a confirmation by email within a few days. You should print this out and present it upon entry.

You may also be asked to provide proof of a return flight ticket, so you should have a copy of your return ticket with you.

Extending Your Sri Lanka Visa

If 30 days aren’t enough, you can extend your visa at the Department of Immigration and Emigration in Colombo. Show up relatively early in the morning. Francis and Sabrina from My-Road have written a great article about this that we highly recommend.

Note! We do want to say that we don’t think it’s right to bribe anyone to speed up a visa extension. That only encourages an unhealthy development of tourism. We arrived at 7:45 AM, filled out all the necessary paperwork, and walked out about two hours later with an extension stamp in our passport — no money slipped to anyone.

Sri Lanka Packing List

On our Southeast Asia packing list, you can read exactly what we bring on our travels:

To the Southeast Asia packing list

There we’ve listed the complete contents of our backpacks.

There were really only two things we missed in Sri Lanka that weren’t in our backpack: an umbrella (which we just bought there) and a rain jacket (we just picked up two cheap plastic rain ponchos for emergencies).

It rained a lot in the highlands. If you’re not prepared for that, you’ll be constantly soaked — and over time, that gets pretty annoying.

A few travel items from our backpack are especially worth highlighting for a Sri Lanka trip: waterproof bags and a waterproof dry bag, as well as a rain cover for the backpack.

We also always recommend bringing a Pacsafe. It’s a portable steel-reinforced bag that you can secure to fixed objects (bed, wardrobe, pipe) with a steel cable and lock.

We use it every day and honestly can’t imagine what we would have done without it in Sri Lanka.

Check out the Pacsafe

Beyond that, it’s worth keeping in mind that Sri Lanka is home not only to many Buddhists, but also Muslims and Hindus, for whom revealing clothing is not particularly welcome.

So if you want to dress respectfully, wear pants that go past the knee (although in coastal towns, shorts are generally fine) and T-shirts whose sleeves cover your shoulders.

If you’re traveling — as a woman — to the east or north, consider packing board shorts for swimming.

During our time in Trincomalee and Uppuveli in the east of the island, we saw plenty of tourists in standard swimwear, but local women swim fully clothed (sometimes even in jeans). Ultimately, everyone has to decide for themselves how much they want to respect such religious customs.

Travel Guides for Sri Lanka

Since Sri Lanka has been developing rapidly since the end of the civil war, it’s worth traveling with an up-to-date guidebook — information from a few years back can already be quite outdated.

We traveled with the English Lonely Planet and were really happy with it. The latest edition is from 2025, making it very current.

Lonely Planet Sri Lanka

Vaccinations and Travel Medicine

You should definitely take care of vaccinations before your Sri Lanka trip well in advance. In addition to your standard vaccinations — tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough (plus measles, mumps, rubella) — we got the following:

Hepatitis A and B is absolutely essential.

Japanese Encephalitis: The risk of transmission in Sri Lanka is low and mainly limited to rural areas. This vaccination is primarily recommended for long-term travel.

Rabies: There are an incredible number of stray dogs in Sri Lanka. Since rabies is always fatal, we strongly urge you to get this vaccination. We occasionally felt a little uneasy in Sri Lanka around “wild” dogs and monkeys, and were really glad we decided to get vaccinated. The situation with the rabies vaccination isn’t entirely straightforward — the Institute of Tropical Medicine has more information: Rabies information from the Institute of Tropical Medicine.

Typhoid: This vaccination is primarily recommended for longer stays.

Please consult your doctor for detailed advice and check your government’s official travel advisory website before your trip.

Mosquito Protection in Sri Lanka

There is currently no vaccine for malaria or dengue fever. Sri Lanka has a significant problem with dengue mosquitoes, as do many other Asian countries. These mosquitoes are most common in cities and, unlike malaria mosquitoes, are also active during the day.

We therefore recommend that you very carefully apply mosquito repellent at all times of day, sleep under mosquito nets, and carry a malaria standby medication just in case.

It’s best to buy mosquito repellent locally. It’s significantly cheaper in Sri Lanka than back home and much better suited to the mosquitoes there.

You can find mosquito lotion at pharmacies throughout Sri Lanka (tip: the one with the pink cap worked really well for us).

A great tip for treating mosquito bites is an insect bite relief pen. We have one with us and, despite initial skepticism, we’re now genuinely impressed by it.

Check out the insect bite relief pen

Essential Medications for Sri Lanka

Almost every town in Sri Lanka has a pharmacy that is reasonably well stocked. Still, we recommend bringing a few things with you.

Local pharmacies often don’t have everything in stock, and limited English skills can make it very difficult to get the right medication.

In a pinch, you might end up getting painkillers or even antibiotics for everything.

Something you should definitely bring is medication for diarrhea and/or stomach problems. Imodium is available in Sri Lanka, but charcoal tablets are more suitable. If you’re looking for a similar medication locally, ask for “Probiotics” or directly for “Bifilac.” For stomach cramps, Buscopan is also available.

Of course, you can also play it safe and bring a complete kit, including malaria standby medication. For a trip to Sri Lanka, however, that’s not strictly necessary.

But if you’ll be traveling in Asia or Southeast Asia for an extended period, we recommend checking out our travel medicine section in our Southeast Asia packing list. There you’ll find all the medications we bring for long-term travel.

Hotels in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, you can stay in upscale Ayurveda hotels, well-known hotel chains, or budget guesthouses. The selection is large, but during the peak season from December to April, things can get quite full.

Especially in towns near popular attractions, almost every family has at least one guest room, often several. We booked all our accommodations the day before through booking.com and had a great experience with it.

Read more: Our article about all our accommodations in Sri Lanka.

Transportation in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka may be only about the size of Bavaria, but covering the same number of kilometers there takes much longer than you’d expect. The country has been working hard on new roads for a few years now, but you should still always plan plenty of time for getting around.

Taking the Bus in Sri Lanka

Buses are the most widely used form of transportation in Sri Lanka. Even the most remote places are served by buses.

It’s not always immediately obvious where a particular bus is headed, but the two terminal stops are always displayed on the outside.

To find the right bus, simply go to the local bus station and tell someone where you want to go. They’ll point you to the right one. In smaller towns, there’s usually just a bus stop on the side of the road.

In these cases, you should at least figure out in advance which direction your destination is, so you can stand on the correct side of the road.

A quick wave will stop passing buses, and you can then just ask the driver if he’s heading to your destination.

Buses in Sri Lanka run very frequently. On some routes, buses run almost every five minutes. Even more remote destinations are often served every 30 minutes.

Bus tickets are dirt cheap. Even multi-hour rides rarely cost more than the equivalent of one dollar. You simply buy your ticket on the bus — every bus has a conductor who walks through and sells tickets to passengers who have boarded.

The seats on public buses are very narrow. Most buses have a row of two seats on the left and a row of three on the right. If you’re over 5’11” (1.80 m), legroom becomes more than tight.

Bus drivers in Sri Lanka are the kings of the road. If you don’t get a seat, you’ll get a free workout thrown in — you’ll need a lot of strength to hold on during the wild passing and braking maneuvers.

Some bus drivers are truly reckless, and we were relieved every time we made it through a ride. For trips significantly longer than two hours, we’d recommend taking the train or a private driver instead. You’ll have much more room and can also use the bathroom along the way.

Some routes are also served by somewhat more comfortable AC buses with air conditioning and a bit more space. These run much less frequently, however, so it’s best to check with your guesthouse in advance whether one is available to your next destination.

Taking the Train in Sri Lanka

Taking the train is a wonderful way to explore Sri Lanka while getting from A to B. The train route between Kandy and Ella is an absolute MUST for every traveler, but other parts of the island are also great to explore by rail.

Train tickets are also very affordable. The train from Aluthgama to Galle, for example, cost 100 LKR per person — about 60 cents (travel time: one hour).

Many trains have 2nd and 3rd class; some trains also have 1st class. 2nd class is perfectly fine and much more comfortable than the bus.

3rd class is a genuine experience in itself, and you’ll probably be stared at like a curiosity. The comfort level is significantly lower than 2nd class, and it’s not unlikely that there won’t be a free seat.

For most routes, you buy your ticket directly at the station before your journey.

For some very popular routes (e.g., from Kandy to Ella), you should buy tickets as early as possible, as trains fill up quickly.

Also, be sure to hold on to your train ticket until the end, as you’ll need to hand it in at your destination station.

There’s a very good English-language website with information on train travel in Sri Lanka: Information on train travel in Sri Lanka (EN). The Sri Lanka Railways website is also useful for checking connections.

Taking a Tuk-Tuk in Sri Lanka

Tuk-tuks are omnipresent on Sri Lanka’s roads — there’s probably not a single family in Sri Lanka where someone doesn’t own one. Tuk-tuks are the ideal way to get around for shorter distances.

In Colombo, there are officially tuk-tuks with meters, but we’ve never actually encountered one being used with the meter running. So you’ll need to negotiate the fare with the driver before you get in.

A good benchmark is 50 LKR per kilometer, though many drivers will ask for significantly more.

You can of course also do full-day tours by tuk-tuk. In Dambulla, for example, we spent a day driving around with the owner of our guesthouse, and he showed us Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya (or the alternative: Pidurangala), Warane, and wild elephants.

For the tour we paid 4,500 LKR (about $30). Entrance fees to the attractions were of course not included.

A cool alternative: rent your own tuk-tuk in Sri Lanka and explore the island at your own pace! The best-known tuk-tuk rental provider is Tuktuk Rental.

Domestic Flights in Sri Lanka

Flying within Sri Lanka isn’t very common — the country simply isn’t that big. A few small airlines, such as Cinnamon Air, offer domestic flights, but prices are usually steep.

A great and affordable alternative is Helitours. Helitours is part of the Sri Lanka Air Force and operates several domestic air routes that are also open to civilian passengers.

Currently, Helitours flies from Colombo-Ratmalana airport to Trincomalee and Jaffna.

Tickets are affordable and can be purchased on short notice. We flew with Helitours from Colombo to Trincomalee and paid about $30 per person for the flight.

The airline flies modern Chinese propeller aircraft, and there’s even a small snack box for every passenger on board.

Flights can be booked online on the Helitours website up to 48 hours before departure. If you need something more last-minute, you’ll have to visit the Helitours office in Colombo in person.

It’s best to call ahead to check whether seats are still available on your desired flight. Here you’ll find the contact information for Helitours.

Traveling Sri Lanka with a Private Driver

A car with a driver is the most luxurious but also the most expensive option for exploring Sri Lanka. We wouldn’t recommend driving yourself.

Traffic and driving behavior in Sri Lanka is truly not for the faint of heart. Unless you’re a total adrenaline junkie, you probably shouldn’t get behind the wheel.

We traveled with a private driver, for example, with five people from Ella to Unawatuna on the south coast. For the roughly six-hour drive, we paid a total of 11,000 LKR (about $75).

A driver for a longer road trip costs about $50 per day including gas. Many accommodations offer free lodging and meals for the driver.

Money & Currency in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, you pay in Sri Lankan rupees, with 1 euro equaling approximately 150 LKR (as of November 2015).

Almost every town has at least one ATM where you can withdraw cash. Standard debit cards are generally not accepted by these machines, so it’s best to withdraw money using a credit card. A fee-free travel credit card will save you a lot of money here — check what’s available in your home country.

Travel Costs in Sri Lanka: How Much Does a Sri Lanka Trip Cost?

You can of course travel very luxuriously and expensively in Sri Lanka. But you don’t have to. On our Sri Lanka trip, the two of us spent pretty much exactly $60 per day.

We didn’t stay in the cheapest accommodations, ate a lot as always, and paid some pricey entrance fees.

If you cut back, you can certainly travel even more cheaply. If you want a bit more comfort in your lodging, you’ll need to budget more.

Here are some reference prices in Sri Lanka:

• Basic double room without air conditioning: $10–15
• Basic double room with air conditioning: $20–30
• Meal at a local restaurant: $1–2
• Meal at a tourist restaurant: $5–6
• A beer (0.65 liter): $2–3
• A coconut from a street vendor: $0.30–0.50
• A bus or train ride (one to two hours): $1
• A tuk-tuk ride (5 km): $2
• Admission to a well-known attraction or national park: $30

Do You Tip in Sri Lanka?

In Sri Lanka, almost everyone expects a tip from you. Especially in the hospitality industry, wages are extremely low, so many workers rely primarily on tips to get by.

In restaurants, it’s standard to leave about 10% of the bill for the servers. Some restaurants automatically add a 10% service charge, though it’s sometimes questionable whether that money actually reaches the staff.

Housekeeping staff, porters, guides, and drivers also expect tips. For housekeeping, you can budget about 20 LKR per day, or 100 LKR per week.

For hotel porters, 20–40 LKR per piece of luggage is generally expected. Drivers and guides typically expect a tip of about $3–5 per day.

Please do tip, but don’t overdo it!

Food and Drink

The food in Sri Lanka is seriously diverse and delicious. The cuisine is most closely comparable to Indian food, but only up to a point.

Don’t be afraid to try everything! Food in Sri Lanka is relatively spicy, though noticeably less so than in Thailand or India. If you don’t like spicy food, make sure to say so before ordering.

Our favorite food was actually at the small local eateries that don’t look particularly inviting from the outside. Go where the locals eat and you’ll have a truly amazing culinary experience.

And here’s some good news for vegetarians: Sri Lanka is a great place to eat meat-free. There are many dishes made entirely from vegetables, and without exception they’re delicious.

Popular Dishes in Sri Lanka

The national dish is rice and curry. This dish has very little in common with the curry you might know from Thai cuisine.

A rice and curry consists of a large mound of rice and many small curries, which are either served alongside in small bowls or ladled around the rice on the plate in generous spoonfuls.

Depending on the restaurant, there can be anywhere from three to ten different curries. One usually contains chicken or fish, while the rest are typically vegetarian.

Another specialty is kottu. A roti — a thin flatbread — is cut into strips and then stir-fried with your choice of vegetables, fish, or meat, usually seasoned quite spicily.

Another national dish is hoppers. These are small pancakes fried in a small wok-like pan, which gives them a characteristic bowl shape.

Hoppers are often served with an egg and are then called egg hoppers.

There are also string hoppers. When you order string hoppers, you get a flat patty made up of many small noodles pressed together. Hoppers are eaten with various accompaniments and are popular as a breakfast option too.

On this page you’ll find a very detailed overview of Sri Lanka’s cuisine and dishes.

Drinks in Sri Lanka

When you’re in Sri Lanka, you absolutely must try the famous King Coconuts.

They’re sold at the roadside for just a few cents, cracked open with a machete, and drunk through a straw.

It’s said that Sri Lanka’s King Coconuts are the best in the world.

Sri Lanka is also a paradise for fresh fruit juices. Pineapple, mango, passion fruit, melon, papaya — you’ll find whatever your heart desires.

The beer brand found throughout the entire country is Lion Beer. It’s served in large 0.65-liter bottles and tastes pretty good.

Internet and Phone Calls in Sri Lanka

The internet in Sri Lanka was surprisingly good. Of course there were a few exceptions and accommodations where the internet didn’t really work, but overall it was absolutely adequate for basic tasks, posting blog entries, or looking something up.

For mobile internet, we recommend picking up a local SIM card right at the airport in Colombo. In the arrivals hall (after collecting your luggage), every mobile network provider in Sri Lanka has a small booth.

We recommend the provider Dialog, which in our experience has the best network coverage. Just go to their booth and tell them you’d like an internet package (we got 5 GB).

Make sure they don’t sell you a tourist SIM card — those are really more geared toward being able to call home.

The staff will make a copy of your passport and then set up the SIM card directly on your phone.

It’s worth having them write down the name of the plan you need to recharge the card.

A SIM card including 5 GB of data costs about $8. This keeps you connected at all times and also lets you use your phone as a hotspot if needed.

Top-up cards are available at almost every kiosk, and you can reload your balance for a small amount (about $1 per GB depending on the provider).

Is Sri Lanka Safe?

Since the end of the civil war in May 2009, there have been no political unrest or terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka.

That said, military and police presence throughout the country is still relatively strong, and in front of important political or military buildings you may occasionally see a soldier or two with weapons at the ready. You get used to the sight fairly quickly, though.

All parts of the country can now be traveled without any issues. Since the end of the civil war, the north and parts of the east have been demined.

In both of those regions, there are still occasional demining operations in progress. These areas are all off-limits and accessible only to the military.

Here’s what you should keep in mind on your trip to Sri Lanka:

Photos of military installations or buildings are prohibited — this includes train stations, among other things.

Don’t be surprised if you have to pass through security checkpoints during your travels, and above all, simply follow the instructions of the military. That said, nothing like this ever happened to us.

Especially in the east of the country, in and between the towns of Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Arugam Bay, you may encounter military checkpoints that inspect buses or trains. It’s best to always have your ID with you. Again, this never happened to us either.

You should not travel alone into the backcountry (especially in the east and north) or ignore signs such as “No Entry.” There are still isolated mines in some of these areas.

Always dress appropriately, especially at temples and religious sites.

Break-ins and thefts are apparently on the rise. Secure your valuables — for example, as we do, using a Pacsafe (a genius thing!).

Only truly upscale hotels have an in-room safe. We personally didn’t have any bad experiences, nor did we hear of anyone having something go missing. But caution is always better.

Communicating with Locals

One important thing upfront: when Sri Lankans shake their head, they are not expressing disagreement or disapproval. We admit it sounds a little odd, but Sri Lankans “wobble” their head to express agreement.

Now, on to general communication in Sri Lanka:

There are two official languages: Sinhala and Tamil. If you ask a Sri Lankan how to say an English word in their language, they’ll sometimes ask you back: in Tamil or Sinhala? So you’ll always have to keep track of words in two languages.

Here are the most important words in Sinhala:

Hello – hallo
Good day – subha davasak
Yes – ou
No – nehe
Thank you – stutti
Please – krunakara
Excuse me – samawenna
Bye – gihin ennam
Goodbye – newatha hamuvemu
one – ekka
two – dekka
three – thunna
four – hathara
five – paha
six – haya
seven – hatha
eight – atta
nine – nawaya
ten – dahaya

If you’d like to learn more words or hear the pronunciation, check out this website.

We were genuinely impressed, though, by how good the English is among younger Sri Lankans. Even young children often speak excellent English. With the older generation, communication becomes considerably more difficult.

The sales persistence of Sri Lankans can often be hard to bear, and you really need thick skin to avoid getting annoyed or snapping back with a sharp “No! I don’t want anything!”

Always try to stay calm and respond politely with “No, thank you. I don’t need anything.”

Honestly, it can be very difficult to distinguish between genuine goodwill and purely sales-driven intentions. Still, you shouldn’t assume that every friendly gesture is just an attempt to make money.

Our tip: Simply try to use your common sense whenever Sri Lankans approach you and want to “help” you.

Rules of Conduct in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a very relaxed travel destination. Nevertheless, there are some behavioral guidelines you should follow during your trip:

When visiting religious sites: always remove headwear, always take off shoes, and keep shoulders and knees covered.

Been invited by a local family? Shoes off at the door. Gifts are always welcome (but are rarely met with excitement and opened immediately).

Shoes are generally also removed before entering your hotel room. This applies, of course, when you’re being shown a room as well.

Rice and curry is eaten with the hand, but tourists are usually given a fork and spoon. Be sure to eat only with your right hand. The left hand is considered unclean.

When handing something to someone, always use your right hand as well.

Never point the soles of your feet at people or Buddha statues. Feet are also considered unclean.

Photography in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a dream for photographers. Around every corner there’s a great photo opportunity — colorfully dressed people, wildlife, historic temples, stunning landscapes.

Unfortunately, buying camera equipment in Sri Lanka beyond a few memory cards is not easy. So make sure you don’t forget anything before you go.

If you don’t want to lug around countless lenses, a travel zoom lens is really helpful in Sri Lanka. Our Tamron 16-300mm lens served us extremely well in Sri Lanka.

Check out our camera gear for travel

An absolute no-go is posing in front of Buddha statues. This is considered a major act of disrespect and is actually punishable by serious penalties.

If you’re lucky, you’ll only have to delete your photos. But in more severe cases, deportation from the country is a real possibility.

People in Sri Lanka are often very willing to be photographed. Of course, you should always ask for permission first — even if it’s just with a smile or a quick nod.

Animal Welfare in Sri Lanka

Riding elephants, watching cobras, whale watching, and holding tiny baby sea turtles in your hands. At first glance, it all sounds amazing. But we’d ask you to take a second look.

Animal welfare is not exactly a high priority in Sri Lanka. As wonderful as it may seem to ride an elephant or hold a baby turtle, please don’t do it!

Elephants are not kept in species-appropriate conditions, are often mistreated, and are simply not meant to carry tourists around. Please don’t ride elephants — not just in Sri Lanka, but anywhere! You can read about why elephant riding is animal cruelty and what you can do to help here.

In Sri Lanka, there are several sea turtle rescue stations where you can see and even touch tiny baby turtles. It all sounds very appealing, and the stations advertise that the turtle eggs are safer there than on the beach. That may well be true, but unfortunately it’s not quite that simple.

After the turtles hatch in the tanks at these stations, tourists are allowed to pay to release them into the ocean.

The problem is that when baby turtles hatch on the beach, they still have nutrient reserves from the egg. They need these reserves to swim out to the open ocean for about three days — giving them the best chance of escaping their natural predators, which typically lurk near the shore.

When baby turtles hatch in the tanks at these facilities and then use up those reserves quickly, they have very little chance of survival when they’re finally released into the ocean.

Unfortunately, many whale watching tours are also not very animal-friendly. Whales are sometimes aggressively pursued and surrounded. One highly recommended operator in Mirissa is Raja and the Whales, with whom you can take such a tour without any concerns.

In places that are very popular with tourists — such as Galle Fort — you’ll often encounter street performers who want to show you their cobra or monkey. Here too, we ask you not to support this animal cruelty.

In general, we want to ask you to always think first before paying for animals used as tourist attractions.

Thanks to a wonderful reader who pointed us to the Dog Care Clinic near Unawatuna, we’d like to tell you a bit about it here as well.

We mentioned above that there are many stray dogs in Sri Lanka and how important it is to be vaccinated against rabies. But now we’d like to focus on the dogs themselves. Many of the tens of millions of stray dogs in Sri Lanka lead very sad lives, are not treated well by locals, and struggle against often fatal diseases, as well as parasites and malnutrition.

Very close to Unawatuna (Galle) is the Dog Care Clinic, which was founded during the civil war and after the tsunami by German woman Marina Möbius.

The clinic is open 365 days a year and provides mostly free spaying and neutering, vaccinations, and treatments. More than 50,000 dogs have already been spayed or neutered, and over 500,000 dogs have been vaccinated against rabies.

As a result, there hasn’t been a single registered case of rabies in the area for over two years. In this region, you don’t need to be afraid to pet the dogs — though you should still be careful, of course.

Sick and weak dogs are taken in and nursed back to health. In addition, Marina uses the clinic to support a large number of poor and elderly people.

The clinic is funded more than 80% by Marina herself out of her own pocket. The rest comes from donations from supporters around the world.

If you’d like to get involved in animal welfare in Sri Lanka, this is the place to do it — and if you find a sick or injured dog while you’re there, please reach out to the clinic.