9 Travel Tips To Plan Your Next Sri Lanka Holiday

Sri Lanka offers a tranquil experience with turquoise beaches, dense green sceneries, gorgeous Buddhist temples, and warm, welcoming locals to delicious mouth-watering dishes. So, it’s a paradise that you can enjoy like no other.

Despite being an extraordinary destination, you must plan and research thoroughly to experience a long-lasting, memorable vacation. Otherwise, things can go horribly wrong. So look at these crucial tips before you set foot on the plane. First and foremost, let’s take a look at when is the best time to visit Sri Lanka.

1.When Is The Best Time To Visit Sri Lanka?

The time of the year to visit Sri Lanka will depend on the location you’re interested in exploring in the country. Unlike some non-equilateral countries, we have no major seasons since Sri Lanka is an equilateral country.

Usually, the peak season to visit Sri Lanka falls between December and April. Seeing the fabulous beaches on the south coast is ideal in this period. Also, most of the accommodations and sightseeing attractions will be crowded with tourists during that time. Also, from October to January will be the monsoon season where the central, north, and eastern regions are wet.

So, considering all the above facts, the best time to visit any part of Sri Lanka is the shoulder season from April to October. This way you’ll avoid crowds and explore the whole country leisurely.

2.What Are The Visa Requirements To Travel To Sri Lanka?

An on-arrival visa facility is available. However, many tourists who have visited the country don’t recommend this method. Because who would like to waste their time and toil their energy in long queues by filling out forms and answering plenty of questions from immigration officials, particularly after a long flight?

So, to avoid all such hassles, applying for an ETA(Electronic Travel Authorization) document before you travel by yourself here is recommended. With this procedure, you get your visa for 30 days with double entry.

It will cost you merely:

• $20 if you are from the SAARC Region( Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Pakistan).
• $50 for any other country.

Also, ensure your passport is valid for 06 months from arriving in Sri Lanka.

3.Which Part Of Sri Lanka Worth Exploring?

Although Sri Lanka is a small country, it will cater to the needs of every traveler.

Beach Lovers

If you’re a beach lover, Sri Lanka has plenty to offer, with gorgeous beaches along the south and east coast. Some famous beach destinations include Hikkaduwa, Mirissa, and Unawatuna in the south and Arugambay on the east coast. In addition to marvelous sightseeing in these locations, they’re pretty places for surfers.

Also, the lighthouse in the southern city of Galle is UNESCO’s World Heritage Site.

Hill Country

The Hill Country is central to Sri Lanka, where you can visit tea plantations, picturesque waterfalls, and mountains to hike. Nuwara Eliya, or ‘Little England,’ is in this region. With a climate similar to England, Nuwara Eliya offers the most beautiful tea estates in the country, rose gardens, British-style houses, horses, and a golf course that adds to an ideal vaccination retreat.

Also, a train ride from Nanuoya (The closest station to Nuwara Eliya) to Ella will produce breathtaking sceneries you have yet to experience elsewhere.

Wildlife

If you’re a wildlife fan, Sri Lanka has plenty to offer, as there are natural wild parks such as Yala and Udawallawa. You can see Asian elephants and leopards in their natural habitats.

Historical Sites

In Cities like Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, you’ll see the buildings of Buddhist temples and their architecture, which were built back in the times of ancient kings from 377 BC. There are also UNESCO World Heritage sites like Sigiriya, which has ancient paintings carved in rocks.

So, with Sri Lanka having plenty to offer, how do you plan your itinerary to cover all this beauty? Well, that’s what you’ll find out next.

4.Plan Your Itinerary Wisely, Considering The Travel Distance.

Sri Lanka is only 435 km tall (North to South) and 240 km Wide (East to West). However, it can take many hours to travel from one point to another due to road congestion.

It would help if you took extra precautions while driving to be mindful of reckless driving by bus, tuk-tuk drivers, and motorcyclists. These drivers may overtake the vehicle in hazardous areas or enter the main road from minor roads without respecting the Giveaway signs.

Does it sound scary?
Fortunately, all the drivers from the major tour and travel agents are well-trained. They even go the extra mile to protect tourists’ lives when confronting reckless driving in the country. There are also highways in the country where you can drive from Colombo to Galle (160 km) in approximately one and a half hours, which would otherwise take up to 4 hours.

Many tourists (first-time visitors) make the mistake of including too many places in many regions of the country in the first two weeks without considering the road factors. As a result, you’ll only see the country’s beauty from the vehicle’s window.

So, as a remedy, it would help if you plan your itinerary to focus on seeing a few of the country’s major attractions in one area before moving on to the next.

5.Be Prepared to Taste Mouth Watering, Authentic Local Food

If you come to Sri Lanka and don’t taste any of the dishes mentioned below, you’ll likely regret the missed opportunity. Because Sri Lanka food has a unique taste which you can’t match with any other.

Here are the top dishes that will make you mouth-watering:

Rice With Colorful Curries

The main meal in Sri Lanka is rice with dhal (lentils) and a combination of chicken, fish, and other vegetable curries in an authentic local restaurant. The standard price is Rs.500 onwards, depending on the class and the restaurant’s service quality.

String Hoppers With Curry and ‘Sambal.’

String hoppers, or “idiyappam” as it is locally called, are a breakfast staple that most households here consume daily.

The dish is made using steamed wheat flour or roasted rice flour dough. The dough is then squeezed through a cylindrical mold to form thin, thread-like noodles woven into circles. These noodle-like circles are then placed onto mini wicker mats before being steamed to perfection.

Ideal to serve with either potato, dhal, and meat or fish curry. And not to forget the sambal( where the shredded coconut is mixed with chili powder and other hot spices) and add more spice to the meal.

Hoppers

Hoppers are bowl-shaped pancakes prepared from fermented rice flour and coconut milk. They tend to come out crispy around the fringes and more dense at the bottom when cooked in small round hopper pans over a medium-heat gas flame.

You can season the hoppers simply with salt and pepper or make them spicy using hot sambals. There are also egg hoppers where the egg is cracked to the bottom of the plain hopper.

Kothu-roti

Available in hotels and restaurants where the chef dices stir-fried vegetables with eggs onto a flatbread roti. It’s usually a carb-heavy meal. You can serve it with just gravy.

6. What Clothes Should I Pack for Sri Lanka?

Unless you’re traveling in the hill country, the rest of Sri Lanka is pretty warm. Thus, you’ll always sweat when traveling outside due to the high humidity prevailing in the country. So, it’s ideal to pack your baggage with light clothing.

You’ll notice that major cities have no strict dress code unless you visit places of worship, including Buddhist and Hindu temples. However, as you move away to the outskirts of Colombo, the communities are conservative. Therefore, avoid wearing clothes that expose your body, including low-cut tops, hot pants, or crop tops for ladies.

When visiting Buddhist temples, you should wear long clothes that cover your body. If you wear sleeveless dresses, cover your shoulders with a scarf.

Furthermore, make sure to cover any Buddha tattoos if you have any. Sri Lankans consider this an insult to the Lord Buddha. In the past, authorities have arrested and deported tourists with Buddha tattoos.

So, last but not least, pack yourselves with cotton or linen tops, trousers, and skirts, and you’ll be fine.

7.How Much Cash Should I Take To Sri Lanka?

The amount you should carry to Sri Lanka will depend on your itinerary and whether you’ll stay on a budget or luxury accommodation. Here is a rough estimate of what you might confront at the time of writing.

Accommodation- If you find a travel agent, they’ll find the total and create the itinerary for you when you pay them before arrival. If not, the accommodation can range from as low as $15 to as high as $100 per night.

Transport- If you would like to enjoy to the fullest, then a rental car is a sensible option. It would cost you around $37 per week. Otherwise, buses are much cheaper, costing you $1-$2 for a single journey that may last several hours. The train will cost up to $10 for a single ride.

Meals- If you eat outside, it will cost up to $15.

Sightseeing- please visit this link for further information.

Also, most of the ATMs may decline to issue money to foreign debit cards — however, most of the hotels accept Visa and Mastercard.

8.What Kind Of Accommodation Is Available To Cater To My Budget?

Depending on your budget, Sri Lanka has various accommodation options to suit your needs. For example, if you’re a super duper wealthy traveler, there are 5-star and 4-star hotels to choose from in major tourist attractions of the country. There are also clean, hygienic 1- to 3-star hotels that provide exquisite hospitality you can’t find elsewhere.

In addition to hotels, there are hostels, villas, camps, resorts, and guest houses from budget to luxury. Lately, many tourists with a low budget also prefer to stay with local homestay families. It’s a perfect experience to learn about Sri Lankan culture and their food.

9.Do I Require a Local SIM?

Most SIMs from your home country will not work in Sri Lanka. Therefore, purchasing a local SIM on arrival at the airport would serve you better while traveling across this beautiful country. You’ll find these counters in the arrival hall of the airport.

The Major careers are Dialog, Mobitel, and Airtel. Out of these, Dialog has broader coverage across the entire country. Mobitel has a limited range and limited daily usage as well.

You can compare the providers in terms of their network coverage, call rates, and data packages to suit your needs through the leaflets they provide at the counters.

What Are The Requirements In Getting A SIM?

1. Provide a copy of your passport, which you can get from the service provider.
2. Fill in the registration form with all your details as the law requires it. Make sure to register under your name.
3. Choose the most suitable package depending on the factors mentioned above.
4. Then, pay and activate the Sim.

How Much Do I Have To Pay For The SIM?
As for Dialog, the price ranges from Rs.100(US$0.30) to Rs.1000 (US$3.09), depending on the package you select. Always ensure to check with the provider.

Wrapping It Up

I hope you found these travel tips to Sri Lanka helpful. If you liked them, please clap and engage with the article. Stay tuned for more information by following me on this Medium platform.

Thanks for reading.