Things you need to know before travelling to Sri Lanka
We found the people of Sri Lanka to be incredibly kind, helpful, and welcoming. But don’t take it for granted. We also found that we had to double-check everything, as there’s a laissez faire attitude that doesn’t go well with organising holidays. While we were very lucky with our first hotel, which was run by a former tour guide who was amazing at sorting everything from transport to safaris to train tickets, not everyone we came across had this skill.
In fact, it was notably at the only five-star hotel we stayed at where we found people were the worst at coming through in their world. First we were told staff would organise Knuckles Mountains hiking for us and then never heard back (luckily we had already sorted it ourselves). We also asked for filtered water and were handed back bottles filled from the tap. It’s small things like this that you can’t always rely on being done well when they could be done quickly instead.
Another example of this is that drivers, especially tuk-tuk drivers, will try to get you in the car before you’ve agreed a price and will ignore the first couple of times that you ask until they realise you’re not getting in without them saying how much.
Again, these things are relatively minor. But they’re not something you expect to come up against in better-equipped holiday destinations and it’s definitely something that could ruin the experience for less hardy holidaymakers.
Pick local hotels and homestays
Our experience was that the friendliest and most helpful people were in small, local hotels, guesthouses, and homestays. We stayed in the Grand Serendib in Kandy which makes a big deal about being a five-star hotel and it was by far the worst service we received during our time in Sri Lanka.
In smaller places people are happier to help and are much better at arranging transport and trips for you (without it seeming like a burden). So if you don’t have your entire trip pre-booked this is a big benefit of choosing small (and often cheaper) accommodation.
Know how to get around Sri Lanka
The best way to get around Sri Lanka is with a driver. We didn’t need one for our whole holiday – although it’s very common to book a private car for your whole trip. So instead we used them one day at a time when we were transferring or trying to see a lot of things in one go.
We found that our hotels were very helpful in arranging drivers for any kind of journey we needed. If you have a driver for your whole trip you may be expected to pay for their dinner and board. But using them as-and-when meant that we just had to tip at the end of the journey.
Driving in Sri Lanka
Don’t even try it. A lot of the locals don’t even drive themselves in Sri Lanka. I can’t figure out what the rules of the road are here, if there are any. A triple overtake on a corner is a fairly common occurrence and beeping your horn means anything from ‘hello’ to ‘I’m overtaking you’ to ‘move out the way’. Oh and don’t be surprised if your transport doesn’t have a seatbelt.
Having driven in Mexico, Namibia, and the Greek Islands – all of which pose their own risks – this is one place I was truly glad not to be behind the wheel.
Getting the Kandy to Ella train
Another popular mode of transport for tourists in Sri Lanka is the famous blue train that takes you from Kandy to Ella via Nuwara Eliya. Our first hotel, the Sapphire Garden in Habarana, even helped us to secure these tickets as it can be hard to get them as tourists. Reserved first and second class tickets go on sale 30 days before the journey and are mostly taken up by resellers like Viator and Klook.
These resellers hike the price to somewhere between £20-70 so we were grateful to our host for sorting the whole complicated system and getting us a fairly good deal. Be aware that your seats may not be together (we had no problem swapping, though). And expect delays of at least an hour.
If you have your ticket in advance you really don’t need to get to the station early – it won’t get you on the train any faster as there is basically no queueing system. This is another reason to pay the higher cost for a reserved seat.
What’s the food like in Sri Lanka
The food was one of the highlights of Sri Lanka for me. Not only is it delicious, it’s also super and easy for vegans and veggies to find great dishes on any menu.
Sri Lankans like their food hot. Like, really hot. I thought I was good with spicy food until I put a spoonful of sambal on my rice expecting it to be like chilli flakes. Luckily, most restaurants check your spice tolerance when you order – this is probably something they only do with tourists! – so you can tell them if you’d prefer to avoid the chilli, or dial things down to a regular-medium heat level.
Also, the coffee is not good. It says a lot that the best coffee we had was the instant stuff in our hotel rooms. The pots of coffee that came with breakfast tasted earthy and sort of muddy – not like coffee at all. Depending on where you’re staying you might be able to find a good coffee shop. And in places like Ella and Mirissa there were western-style breakfast and brunch spots where you can probably get a proper coffee. But otherwise, stick to tea. It’s what the Sri Lankans are good at.
Oh and if you’re eating with your hands, always use your right. Eating with your left hand is considered unsanitary.
Check your water bottles
Most bottles come with sealed caps so you know the water is fresh and the bottle hasn’t been filled from the tap. Check that drinks with ice have been made using filtered water – even if that means filtered tap water. It might sound over the top, but always checking and always buying bottled water from shops and hotels means you’re less likely to get sick.
Have plenty of cash
You’ll need to pay cash for almost everything. I think we made card payments twice in Sri Lanka and both times were in Mirissa. Even if you find a trip to book via Viator or similar, you’ll likely get a better deal if you contact the company directly… and then pay them in cash. Which leads on to…
Don’t use the wrong bank for cash withdrawals
Sri Lanka has two government-run banks: Bank of Ceylon and People’s Bank. You can withdraw here using Starling with no fee (or your bank’s regular fee, but with no extra charge on top). All other banks are private and will charge you on top of your regular exchange rate.
Be prepared to tip
It’s customary to tip everyone from your guesthouse owner to your driver and other service people. There is no set percentage so we went off what we thought was fair based on the service we received. This could be anywhere from 500 to 3000 LKR. However, do check whether service charges are being added to your bill in restaurants so you can decide whether you want to tip on top of that fee.
Be prepared for the humidity
I can’t overstate how humid it is in Sri Lanka. We were there during an exceptionally hot week where highs were over 38°c. But expect to buy a lot of bottled water and feel very sweaty, especially when you’re in the north or south.
High levels of humidity can be dangerous as it’s harder to regulate your body temperature so again – while this definitely is not something that should put you off visiting Sri Lanka – it’s something to be aware of. Don’t let the pictures of moody, cloudy landscapes fool you into thinking the air is cool here!
Find out how to dress for the weather with my Sri Lanka packing list here.
The logistics
Check whether you need a visa to enter – at the very least you will need to fill out an arrivals card. Similarly, check whether you’re arriving from or have travelled through a country that requires vaccination proof to enter Sri Lanka.
Obviously, be respectful at the sites you visit and never do anything that could be considered offensive towards Buddha or statues of the Buddha. In some cases this means not posing for photos in front of his image. On a related note, dress respectfully and check the dress code for any historic or religious areas you’re planning to visit.
Find out more about how we spent two weeks in Sri Lanka here.