The jewel of Indian ocean
Best time to visit
We wanted to avoid the rains which typically run from May-September in the south and west. There are multiple monsoon seasons, so checkout weather for each place before you visit. We chose to go in December which is dry, not very hot and pleasant
Visa
An e-visa was required when we visited Sri Lanka costing $20. You can apply here
Getting In
Colombo is the post popular entry point. We took Indigo airlines from Chennai to Colombo and back
Currency: Sri Lankan Rupee
The currency has undergone massive devaluation in the recent years due to economic and political instability. We paid for our tour in USD. Most people prefer transacting in USD these days to avoid rapid devaluation. You will find many shops willing to exchange USD above market rate. We did exchange small amounts at multiple shops to minimize chances of being scammed
Getting around
We booked a tour including hotels, car and driver from Elegance Lanka, whom we found on Travel Triangle. The driver was punctual, the rooms were booked as per our preference and overall arrangement was very good. The owner Buddhika was very responsive to all our queries
We had kept Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa as standby places we would visit if time permits and negotiated a separate price for that. There was some pushback to even include these places saying it is definitely impossible to cover them in the time we had (which was not true and we were able to cover them to a large extent although not fully)
We were finally charged little more than agreed upon rate as the owner mentioned was a mistake when he quoted the original price. This was a small glitch, which led to some back and forth. The owner had also agreed to give up the extra amount with a very emotional note on the loss he would incur. We finally gave up since it was a relatively small amount and did not want the owner to be in a loss
Places to see
- Colombo
- Pinnawala Elephant Sanctuary
- Dambulla
- Anuradhapura
- Sigiriya
- Polonnaruwa
- Kandy
- Nuwara Eliya
- Ella
- Galle
- Bentota
We cover our one week plan in detail in a separate post here
Things to know
- Sri Lankan currency and its people are under massive cost pressure. Be a little more generous in your dealings than usual
- Experience a Perahera or local festival to get a glimpse of local traditions and fanfare
- Negotiate before you accept prices in tourist traps like Bentota Madu river boat ride
- Go beyond the Ramayana trail. Sri Lanka has many architecture masterpieces from the Buddhist influence
- Avoid taking a guide at Anuradhapura. These are mostly unofficial touts to collude with the ticketing personnel or completely bypass them. There are no ticket checks at the sites, so they end up taking the ticket money without ever paying the system. We were aware of this but couldn’t do anything about it as our tour agency ended up doing the same
How much does it cost
We spent around $750 per person
- Flights: $280 (Chennai – Colombo return + Includes domestic flights in India)
- Hotel + Tour including hotels, breakfast, dinner and transport from – to Colombo: $350
- Food: $<50 (We carry our own food/ shop at supermarkets)
- Entry fee: $70
- Visa: $20