Tips for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is quickly becoming a hot spot for tourists coming from all over the world.  With several different unique landscapes including white sandy beaches and treacherous jungle terrain it’s not wonder this place is catching on as a popular tourist destination for travelers from all over the world.  Follow these easy tips for Sri Lanka to get the most out of your trip to the beautiful country.

1: NEVER BOOK A HOTEL IN ADVANCE.

Bargain for a better price once you’re there, even the high-end hotels will always come down in price. We negotiated every place we stayed at and usually ended up paying within our budget.  $15-25/night.

View from our balcony room in Hikkaduwa at Tigri Guesthouse. We paid $12/night here.

2: ALWAYS CARRY SMALL BILLS.

Tuk tuk drivers, food vendors, small shops, etc. will never have change; or at least they’ll say they don’t.   Avoid overpaying by bringing small bills and being able to pay the exact amount.

3:  ALWAYS BUY TRAIN TICKETS AHEAD OF TIME IF YOU KNOW YOUR PLANS.

The trains DO fill up.  You could get stuck without a ticket for a train you need to catch or worse, you could get stuck having to sit in 3^rd class!  Honestly, it’s unbearable.  If you don’t get a seat you could be standing for hours on a hot, crowded, muggy train.

Sweaty with a backache on our first train ride…riding in 3rd class for 3 hours.

4: GO TO THE TRAIN STATION EVEN IF THE TRAIN YOU NEED TO GET ON IS SOLD OUT.

If a train is fully booked and you need to get on it, go to the train station an hour before the train is scheduled to leave.  Chances are the trains aren’t completely sold out and you can buy a ticket last minute.

Train ride through Tea Country.

5: DONT BE SURPRISED IF YOU HAVE TO STAND ON THE TRAIN FOR HOURS, COME PREPARED. 

Despite how you feel about this, many Sri Lankans ride trains without tickets, therefore, taking the seats of people who did buy tickets.  If you don’t mind kicking a Sri Lankan out of their seat, then go for it.  Some German girls we were with kept kicking people out of their seats who didn’t have ticket.  Don’t count on the ticket collectors to kick them out of your seat either, they just let it go.  Therefore, make sure to bring plenty of water and maybe some small snacks like peanuts to avoid dehydration and train sickness.  I can’t reiterate enough how hot it gets.

6: AVOID PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AT NIGHT.  

It’s probably fine all the time, I was just sick and not paying attention and someone took my wallet out of my backpack in Colombo in the middle of the night…FAIL.  Throughout the entire trip we took the public bus and trains all over Sri Lanka. Every other time it was perfectly fine.  Moral of the story: be aware of where your belongings are.

7: IF YOU HAVE THE MEANS, HIRE A DRIVER.

Although public transportation is fine and budget friendly, it takes FOREVER!  Negotiate these prices. We took a taxi to the airport for 4000 Sri Lankan Rupees- the starting price was 9000.

8: THE CULTURAL TRIANGLE IS NOT AN EASY OR QUICK TASK, ESPECIALLY ON A BUDGET.

It takes a long, long time to see everything…days!  It doesn’t seem like it would since most sites are within 30-60 miles of each other, but trust me it takes longer than you could ever imagine.  Getting around Sri Lanka takes forever (sorry if I’m repeating myself).  If you want to see everything plan for at least 3 days unless you have a private driver, then it might take 2 days. If time is an issue, go to Kandy for one night then wake up and choose to do one thing. We had a time constraint so we chose to do Sigirya rock.

Pidurangala Rock

9: GO TO PIDURANGALA ROCK: #8 WAS  A LIE, WE DIDN’T GO TO SIGIRYA, WE WENT TO PIDURANGALA, GO THERE.

Sigirya has a $30 entrance fee, so we hired a tuk tuk driver to take us to the rock next to it, Pidurangala. It was our driver’s suggestion and it only has a $5 entrance fee.  The views on top of the rock overlooking the jungle were magnificent.

Top of Pidurangala

10: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU EAT AND DRINK.

Now this rule generally applies for all places around the world. I mean, you could get sick at the Four Seasons in Maui…just be extra careful in developing countries. ALWAYS make sure the caps on your water bottles are not resealed.  If you’re debating, don’t take the risk. I got deathly ill in Sri Lanka and was out for 4-5 days.  I couldn’t eat a thing.  I was nauseous the entire time and an overall major pain in the ass to everyone around me 🙂

There you have it!  10 things to know about Sri Lanka.  If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to ask!

Hannah

Hannah has been traveling the world since she was a little girl. She started her travel blog Heels to Hiking Boots in 2012. Heels to Hiking Boots is all about the modern female traveler. The woman who can throw on a pair of heels for a night out, and then wake up and lace up her muddy hiking boots for a day of exploration.