15 Sri Lanka Tips That You Need To Know
Last Updated: June 29 2021
Sri Lanka is a beautiful country, and one of our favourites to date. From the incredible scenery to the amazing wildlife, there is so much to love about Sri Lanka. We spent 4 weeks travelling through Sri Lanka; starting from Colombo, travelling along the coast and then up through central Sri Lanka, finishing on the east coast. We saw wild elephants on safari, swam in the clearest of oceans and relaxed on plenty of beaches. In comparison to other countries, Sri Lanka is so easy to travel through. To make your travels even easier if you are visiting Sri Lanka, here are 15 Sri Lanka tips you should know!
The Top Sri Lanka Tips You Need To Know:
1. Be mindful of the wildlife in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka isn’t like your normal holiday destination when it comes to wildlife. If you are driving down the road, there is every chance of you seeing something exotic like a herd of wild elephants or a cobra. Due to this, it is very important you are cautious when travelling through Sri Lanka. Don’t approach a wild animal, just leave them be. It just isn’t worth the risk of injury for that ‘cool selfie’.
The other issue in Sri Lanka when it comes to wildlife, is the exploitation. There are lots of animals that get exploited here in the likes of ‘elephant orphanages’ and people asking you to pay money to take pictures with their pet monkey! An example of this is the Pinnawala elephant orphanage, where people have recently came out and talked about the ethical issues surrounding this tourist site. It seems to be very common throughout Sri Lanka, so do your research before you visit anywhere. It is our responsibility as tourists to avoid this kind of entertainment at all costs.
If you looking for responsible animal encounters, why not read our blog post on whale watching in Mirissa here.
2. Sri Lankan food can get super spicy
Sri Lankan food can be so so spicy! It’s not even just the curries that are spicy, but even the fried rice! Usually people will ask you if you want the food mild or spicy when you order it. We always tend to go for the mild option. That’s because even the mild option can be quite spicy haha, so goodness knows what the spicy option is like!
We have learnt to always get drinks with every meal, and make sure we have plenty. If you aren’t good with spicy foods just keep this in mind, and make sure you let the person who is taking your order know! They will very often tone down the spices for you.
3. Bad WIFI
Now we know people don’t tend to go on holiday to Sri Lanka and sit on their phones all day! However, especially for travellers nowadays WIFI is a necessity. Out of all the countries we have visited, Sri Lanka had the worst WIFI by far. Sometimes it was none existent, and sometimes you would be connected with full signal and it just wouldn’t work. Also at other times the guesthouses just seemed to turn it off without warning.
We also found that if our accommodation WIFI was ran by Dialog that it would be amazing the first few hours, and then would literally not do anything for days. So bizarre! This happened with Dialog WIFI in literally every accommodation that had it! If you need internet connection, honestly you are just better off purchasing a sim card and topping it up when you need it. That is what we did and it was so much more reliable than WIFI.
4. Set off early for hikes
Sri Lanka can get extremely hot; even in the mountainous areas of Ella and Nuwara Eliya. There are plenty of hikes to do around these areas, especially Ella. Make sure you start these hikes early in the morning, as by mid afternoon the weather is sweltering. We hiked up to Ella Rock and Little Adams Peak during our stay in Ella, and we started around 7am. This gave us plenty of time to get the majority of the walk done before the heat started, and we were back by midday!
Another positive thing about setting off early for hikes is that the places are usually a lot quieter, but also it gives you a chance to avoid the afternoon downpours. During our stay in Ella, the thunderstorms would generally start in the early afternoon. When it rains in Sri Lanka, it really rains so keep that in mind. It is definitely best to get back by the early afternoon if you want to stay dry and cool! Definitely one of the top Sri Lanka tips to keep in mind!
5. Public transport is super cheap!
Whilst travelling through Southeast Asia, our transport costs took up quite a big proportion of our monthly spends. However in Sri Lanka that is definitely not the case! Public transport is incredible in Sri Lanka, with buses and trains being very frequent. Ticket prices for both the trains and buses are super cheap. If you are looking to save money, ignore the private cars, tuk tuks and taxi’s.
The most expensive bus journey we took was a 6 hour journey which cost 640 LKR (about £2.70) for the two of us. The most expensive train journey we took was the famous Kandy to Ella train. These tickets cost us 1200 LKR (about £5.20). Other than this, journeys usually cost around £1-3 for the two of us. The public transport is super cheap, so definitely something to take advantage for. This is one of the top Sri Lanka tips to take notice of!
6. You will probably encounter power cuts
We went through a really bad spell of power cuts whilst we were staying in Nuwara Eliya and Ella. We had at least one power cut every day for 7 consecutive days. The power cuts lasted between an hour and 8 hours, so it was pretty frustrating! Whilst we were staying in Ella and Nuwara Eliya, apparently there was a problem with one of the power plants. However, when we spoke to other travellers that had stayed in Ella previously, they had also experienced power cuts.
Our advise is to take full advantage of charging up devices, whilst the power is on. It also may be an idea to always keep a small torch with you. We were supplied with candles and a torch, but probably best to have your own. You may never encounter a power cut in Sri Lanka, and it could just be that we got really unlucky! However it is always best to prepare for these situations!
6. Be prepared to wait for your meals
A lot of the restaurants and cafes in Sri Lanka have really good home cooked food. However, this means that it can take a while to get your order. When ordering the good old Sri Lankan curries we often waited for over an hour for our meal and that’s because every single dish is home cooked. However, this also means the food is really good! The curries will often come with side dishes, which is why they take so long to make.
Some restaurants, especially those on the beach will have it stated on the menu that certain dishes need to be pre – ordered. The food is definitely worth the wait, but keep the time in consideration. Probably best not to order a Sri Lankan curry if you have transport to catch.
8. Prepare yourselves for the stray animals
We have been to plenty of countries where stray animals are a problem. However no other country hit home with us in the way that Sri Lanka did. We had some real upsetting moments in regards to the stray animals that are left to wander around, and we witnessed some pretty horrific things. I’m not going to write about them in detail here, as we feel that it would be really unfair to! If you are an animal lover like us two, travelling through countries like this can be very difficult!
Sri Lanka really does have a large number of stray dogs and cats; some who look really healthy and some who don’t. We left water for them wherever we could, and tried to make sure they weren’t just running out into the road. It was heartbreaking to see how many animals had just been left to fend for themselves, and even more heartbreaking that we knew we didn’t have the money to help. It seems to be a real problem here, with female dogs having puppies all the time, but we really hope one day that it will be sorted out and these animals can live peaceful lives.
9. Make sure to negotiate prices (One of the top Sri Lanka tips)
This is probably one of the most important Sri Lanka travel tips in this post. Haggling applies to pretty much everywhere in Asia. Tourists always tend to get overcharged, and as a traveller you are probably already used to that. Nobody wants to be taken advantage of and that is why it’s important to haggle and negotiate prices. Whether it is tuk tuk drivers, or market stalls make sure you haggle!
Tip: download the app ‘Pick Me’. It is basically like Grab, and gives you the chance to book a tuk tuk or car. We could only get this app to work in Colombo and Unawatuna, however there is still a reason you should download it. It gives you a price estimate for your journey, meaning you roughly know what price to pay. This means you can negotiate the price down effectively. The app does tend to have really low prices, so you will tend to pay more with a standard tuk tuk driver. However you will know for sure if you are getting totally ripped off!
10. Food portions in Sri Lanka
When ordering curries, and local dishes in Sri Lanka the food portions are absolutely huge! Often the curries will come with at least 3 different types of dishes, and often some free sides such as poppadoms. We made the mistake of ordering two curries a few times, and honestly we were stuffed. It was far too much food for us, and we could have done with just one! If you are travelling with another person, and on a budget then this is one of the best ways you can save money!
The price of a Sri Lankan curry often ranges from 300-800 LKR (about £1.30-3.40) and this can feed two people, so you will be saving on money this way! It is definitely a good thing to know before visiting Sri Lanka!
11. Avoid drinking tap water
It is generally known to avoid all tap water in Asia. The same is true with Sri Lanka. Generally a lot of the water in Sri Lanka may be safe to drink. However it won’t be like water in the UK for example, and can very easily cause an upset stomach. If you are holiday, or travelling that is the last thing you want. Avoiding ice if possible also goes a long way to help, however don’t be over paranoid about it. You will most likely drink it one way or the other, whether it is fruit juices or something else. A little bit generally doesn’t matter, but don’t drink it freely from the tap.
12. The local Sri Lankan people are lovely
Sri Lankans are lovely people, and every local we met often went out of their way to help us! We have had so many heart warming experiences with people whilst travelling, and Sri Lanka is no different.
One of our experiences occurred just as we arrived in Colombo for the first time. Our flight had gotten us in late, and we ended up being late to our accommodation. We had tried to let them know, but weren’t sure whether they had received the message. It was night time, and as our taxi driver pulled up to the accommodation it was clear there was nobody there to answer the door. Instead of leaving us the taxi driver stayed with us, and even rang the accommodation owner a few times as we didn’t have a sim card yet. He stayed with us, until the owner let us in and we are beyond grateful. It was pitch black, and we were in the middle of a dark alley and we had no phone data or signal. He is one of the many wonderful people we met in Sri Lanka.
13. Sri Lanka is home to the famous ‘Kandy to Ella’ train journey
Sri Lanka is home to the famous train ride of Sri Lanka. It is one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world, according to many travellers. If you are looking for a true Sri Lankan experience, then we would 100% recommend this journey! If you are looking for authentic travel though, don’t book a first class ticket or a ticket for the observation car.
You can read more about the Kandy to Ella train journey here.
14. The weather is really hot here!
As with anywhere tropical, the weather here is super hot! Of course that isn’t always a bad thing, but there are precautions you should take.
Make sure you always have water with you, and you cover up for at least a good chunk of the day. The weather here is beautiful, but it can also be quite dangerous. As a lot of hotels are located on the beach, a lot of people are swimming in the ocean and don’t feel the intensity of the heat straight away. Make sure you always wear sun cream, and be careful with drinking too much alcohol. It can leave you super dehydrated in this weather!
Just please make sure you take the precautions to stay safe on your trip!
15. Understand the currency before you travel
The currency in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan rupee. Make sure you have a rough idea of the exchange rate, and shop around for exchanging your money. As always the amount you can get for your money differs, and a lot of the hotels work out prices from the Sri Lankan rupee. You don’t want to be taken advantage of, just because you don’t have a rough idea of what you should be paying.
If you are wanting some more Sri Lanka travel tips, why not check out this page.
Thank you for reading this post! We hope that these Sri Lanka tips have helped you plan your time in Sri Lanka, and if you have any more questions you can drop us a comment at our Instagram here. There are so many things to do in Sri Lanka and places to visit, that it is impossible not to love this country.
Have you ever visited Sri Lanka or somewhere else tropical?
P.S If you want to know more of our travel tips, why not follow our Pinterest here.
Thanks,
Jack & Abbie.
MORE SRI LANKA POSTS!
The Best Things To Do In Ella – Sri Lanka
10 Awesome Things To Do In Mirissa – Sri Lanka
The Sri Lanka Beaches That You Have To Visit
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I’m one half of Acouplescalling. I'm passionate about all things travel and photography and I love sharing my experiences with others. I've seen a lot of the world already and I want to help as many people as I can do the same thing!
