What comes to mind when you think of Sri Lanka?
Palm trees. Tea. That classic ‘influencer leaning out of a train’ shot.
And based on recent news – a hell of a lot of economic turmoil…
A lot of people advised me not to go – said I should wait until later when things have calmed down.
Sadly for the Sri Lankan people, things are only getting worse, with inflation sitting at 55% year on year, and costs such as power rising by around 75%. It’s the worst financial crisis they’ve had in seven decades, with enforced power cuts every day and businesses shutting down across the country.
So why the doom and gloom to begin telling you about a place that should be straight to the top of your travel list?
After almost a month there, I can tell you I only scratched the surface of this paradise, but the experience I had was everything I hoped and more.
Sri Lanka is an incredibly varied country so there really is something here for everyone…
On one hand you’ve got the ‘jungle’ in the central inland area, where you can hike, visit tea plantations, and see all kinds of beautiful wildlife on safari. On the other hand, you have the coastline surrounding Sri Lanka, where surfing is second nature and sunsets are liquid gold. And on top of all that, you’ve got the people, who are just incredible. Helpful and genuine, smiling through their silent struggles, and doing their best to showcase their country at every turn to visiting tourists.
So – let me convince you this country is worth adding to your ‘must-visit’ list for 2023…
GETTING THERE
My initial journey over from the UK was quite challenging, delayed flights, missed connections, surprise transit visa payments (watch out for this one if you fly via Riyadh), but all of my angst dissipated when Sri Lankan airlines upgraded me to business class for the last portion of my journey – talk about arriving in style!
Their service is second to none, and the onboard food delicious – definitely try fly with them if you can.
When you land, the first thing you’ll need to do is get a visa on arrival if you haven’t organised one already (I did this online about a month in advance and it’s a really quick procedure. Visas last for 30 days and cost approximately $35). It’s also worth getting some local currency (£1 = approx 500 Sri Lankan rupees) and a local SIM card, which is really easy to set up and much much cheaper than using your home data abroad (I paid around £2 for 20GB)
It’s worth taking note that Bandaranayike airport isn’t particularly close to Columbo city if that is your first stop, so you’ll need to take a 30 minute taxi either through Uber or one of the local options there. The train is also an option if you can navigate your way to the local station – just watch out for the timings as these aren’t always accurate online!
GETTING AROUND
Trains are of course the obvious method of transport that Sri Lanka is best known for – winding through the green landscapes with people hanging out of the doors and windows. Book any class (I booked second class and this was great) and find yourself a seat near a window. There aren’t any assigned seats so you might have to wait for a seat if you’re on a particularly busy train, in which case try to stay near the doors to get a glimpse of the views.
The food on the trains is one of my favourite things – every 15 minutes or so, there’s usually a vendor selling a variety of snacks or drinks. These aren’t snacks of the packaged variety, so if you are avoiding street food these aren’t for you, but if you love street food and want to try something homemade, definitely don’t miss these! Some of the best things I had included little shrimp pakoras, veg samosas, and of course, chai tea.
One thing I did accidentally buy which I’d recommend avoiding was betel nuts, which are sold wrapped up in a large leaf. For anyone that doesn’t know, betel nuts are chewed for their psychoactive properties, in small quantities with tobacco, slaked lime, and sometimes sugar or other sweet things for flavour. The residue leaves a red colour inside the mouth, but can also commonly lead to cancer of the mouth and tongue – hard pass thanks..!
Other forms of transportation around Sri Lanka are of course buses, and the classic tuk tuk.
Tuk tuks are the easiest way to get around, and usually start at around £1 or 500rs for a 10-15 minute journey. Especially in Columbo I’d recommend wearing a face mask as there are plenty of exhaust fumes.
The bus option is not for the faint hearted, but was my favourite way to travel throughout my time in Sri Lanka, and also the most widespread. If you like rollercoasters – this is for you! Ignore any timings you see on your phone, and instead ask at a local bus station or hotel. In my experience, they always run late, but arrive a little early in case and put your bags up front with the driver, then get a seat by the window if you can. There will be someone that comes to you to ask where you are going and then will charge you the relevant amount (my journeys ranged between 1-6 hours and cost between 20p-£1.50).
You’ll be with lots of locals as this is the cheapest way to travel, so do try to cover up a bit if you can – personal space doesn’t exist on the bus, and the last thing you want is to be sticking to your neighbour.
If the bus is packed, do not despair – there is always space! Locals will jam themselves into any space possible, which can be uncomfortable, but also useful to be wedged next to someone when the bus is doing what feels like a hundred miles an hour around a corner (yes, they always drive like that).
If you’re lucky, you’ll get yourself on a ‘party’ bus, with colourful interior, neon lights and loud music playing – I’m not entirely sure why they have these sometimes instead of the normal buses, but I can tell you they are a hell of a lot of fun!
In terms of cost, do expect to pay more than the locals to get around – pretty much everything you buy will have a ‘tourist tax’ added to it, which is pence for us, but really helps to boost their economy, so don’t complain, and just pay it. The only exception to this is the tuk tuks, where you can haggle a bit to what you think is fair.
If none of the above appeals to you, or if you’ve got yourself into an area with limited public transport options, private cars are also an option and are pretty easy to come by. Ask at your hotel, check Uber, or even ask your tuk tuk driver, who undoubtedly will know someone who knows someone. Expect to pay around £45-60 for around 2-3 hours – for this you’ll get an air conditioned car or minivan, which will stop as needed for you to get lunch, drinks, or in some cases, visit tourist destinations. I did this from Kandy to Sigiriya and stopped at the Danbulla caves, medicinal herb gardens and various temples along the way.
FOOD
So, onto my favourite part – the food!
If you’re anything like me, Sri Lanka is absolute food heaven, and you should eat your fill…
Breakfast options are either Western (eggs, white bread and jam), or Sri Lankan, where you’ll get dhal and pol sambol to go with either your eggs, or your string hoppers. You’ll also get coconut pancakes, and sometimes toast and jam too.
Tea is of course a staple here, and there are plenty of varieties – my favourite is masala chai tea which not everyone has, but get it if you can. Depending on what kind of coffee you usually drink, you might find it more bitter here than usual, but Sri Lankans drink their coffee long, so for Europeans it comes across as quite watery, but still decent.
For lunch or dinner, the World is your oyster, and being an island, seafood is in abundance here. Fish, prawn or crab curry are an absolute must try, although some places will need you to order the crab a day in advance so they can get it fresh from the market.
If you don’t feel like something fishy – classic rice and curry can be found anywhere and is similar to an Indian thali, small bowls of assorted veggie curries with rice and poppadoms. Spice wise, I never overly struggled with anything I ate – if you can handle a madras or similar then you’ll be fine with their average to high level of spice.
Other excellent options include hoppers – a bowl shaped pancake filled with egg or sweet goods, roti (or sometimes spelt rotty) – a flakey flatbread with various sweet or savoury fillings, devilled meat or fish, and kotthu – chopped up roti cooked with egg, spices and vegetables.
For those with a sweet tooth, definitely get the buffalo curd with kithul treacle – it’s a local delicacy that’s sweet, salty, creamy and tangy all in one.
If you can, do a cooking class while you’re here, and you’ll see how easy it is to make some of these dishes with the proper ingredients and know-how.
Drinks-wise, I know we are always told to avoid tap water, ice, salad and cut fruit, but I indulged in all of these (the tap water was accidental!) and wasn’t ill once.
If you want salad, ask them to wash it in filtered water, and get fruit cut in front of you to make sure they don’t wash it in tap water.
A lot of the time the ice is filtered water, so just check this and you should be fine. Fresh juice, coconut water and lassis are classics here too and all delicious and cheap. Cocktails were a bit touch and go, but where you see a decently stocked back bar you can usually get a good drink – my favourite was a £3 martini at The Royal Bar & Hotel in Kandy.
MORE PRACTICAL INFO
The majority of the time I stayed in hostels, which are cheap as chips (quite literally – I stayed in one that was £2.50 a night!), and pretty comfortable. You might see a bug from time to time and they won’t be as beautifully furnished as a fancy hotel, but you can get a private double room with en suite bathroom from around £5 upwards a night, usually with a fan and mosquito net.
It’s worth checking if you want hot water (in the hot season cold showers are quite welcome!) as not all hostels have this, it’s quite expensive for them to run and as it is there is already a 1-2 hour power cut every day across the country.
The only thing I found weird was the distinct lack of sockets, or in fact that some sockets were at the top of the wall and totally unreachable, so make sure you bring a portable battery pack just in case. I also bought a Sri Lankan/Indian adaptor locally as although a lot of places have English or EU sockets, some are the older round three pin style which are hard to find.
I won’t go into detail on suncream, vaccinations etc – the sun is hot, wear suncream. Get vaccinations. That’s about it.
Haggling – this is another obvious one when travelling in Asia – you are expected to haggle. However, do be aware of the cost to them versus the cost to you. Yes, some people will be trying to rip you off, usually taxi drivers or shops owners. That being said, keep in mind what is going on in the country you are visiting that could affect the cost, ie a fuel shortage. Remember the work that can go into planting and harvesting (manually in most cases) the food you are eating, and look out for handmade items when you shop vs what you would expect to see mass produced – don’t overpay for the latter. Depending on all of the above you can usually haggle to half or two thirds of the original price.
The last practical point I’d make is about being an English tourist there – be conscious of the history between our countries, be respectful and cover up where it’s relevant, and do expect to be stared at, especially as a woman. Locals will want to befriend you, take pictures with you and swap numbers. If you don’t feel comfortable just give a firm no.
I didn’t feel particularly unsafe while there, but I wouldn’t go walking around alone after dark just in case, and always keep an eye on your things when moving around.
THE PLACES TO GO
So now that you’ve learnt almost everything there is to know about coming to Sri Lanka – here’s my honest review of some of places I went and the activities you can do here:
Columbo
To be totally frank, I didn’t find a lot of things to do in Columbo, so I only stayed a couple of days here, and then moved on. There are some decent shops and a couple of temples, but the main thing I enjoyed was the sunset at Galle Face – get a beer and watch the magic happen. If you feel like something a bit fancier, Galle Face Hotel is the one for you.
Kandy
Kandy was where I really started exploring the Sri Lankan culture – as touristy as it is, there is plenty to see there.
Start with an evening of Kandyan dancing at the Red Cross building, and then walk the five minutes to the Temple of the Tooth – check in your shoes (you’ll get used to going barefoot in temples here) and explore the beautiful architecture within. Don’t get excited about seeing the famous tooth – it’s pretty much under lock and key, but the ceremony is beautiful to watch for a while.
My favourite part of Kandy was undoubtedly the Botanical Gardens, which are huge and incredibly well preserved. Entrance is about £4 – take a picnic and relax there for an afternoon.
Big Buddha – this is great if you want to see a good view but don’t particularly like exercise (I feel you) – a tuk tuk will take you the majority of the way up, and then you walk the last part up the side of the giant Buddha’s head to see over all of Kandy.
Other things you can do include beautiful towers (which I didn’t do) and gem museums (which I did do, but are only worth it if you actually want to buy something – otherwise a bit of a tourist trap).
Sigiriya
I took a private car from Kandy to Sigiriya, which is ideal if you want to see things en route (!)
Dambulla Caves – one of the most incredible things I’ve seen and a must-see in my opinion. Built in 80BC, these UNESCO designated caves are one of the oldest Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the World.
Medicinal gardens are another stop you can make on this journey, and I will admit, I was sceptical at first – however – the tour is free, and the information you learn on the healing properties of plants is incredibly interesting. Tip as much as you feel it was worth, and enjoy the free medicinal massage at the end!
An absolute must do when you arrive in Sigiriya is hiking Pidurangala rock at either sunrise or sunset. I did it at sunrise and it was incredible. Hike time is about 20-30 mins, and if I can do it, anyone can do it! A lot of people pay to go up Lion Rock, the main hike in Sigiriya, buy Pidurangala is cheaper and in my opinion, better views.
Trincomalee
This was one of my favourite places – a lovely seaside town to the east of Sri Lanka, where you won’t see many tourists, but was one of the most authentic and undiscovered places I visited, with beautiful beaches and stunning seafood.
Ella
Ella is probably the most well known place in Sri Lanka visually – ranging from the Nine Arches Bridge to the sweeping tea plantations covering the area. Don’t miss out on these, even if they feel touristy – I did a tea plantation tour at Kinellan Tea Factory, which is walking distance from the town centre, and costs the grand total of £1.50 to go around.
Another excellent thing to do in Ella is a cooking class – I did Priya’s Cookery Class which cost about £6 per person and lasted about 2-3 hours (including eating time!) – we made around 9 vegetarian dishes all from local produce under Priya’s watchful eye.
The South Coast
So – there are plenty of places to relax, surf, eat and pretty much anything else you want on the South Coast..
Tangalle – I really enjoyed this area because its exactly the right balance of tourists and locals – some fantastic restaurants and lovely beaches.
Hirikiteya – a beautiful cove where you can surf or relax. Quite crowded but great if you want to meet people or start your surfing skills.
Dikwella – my favourite beach so far – super clean and almost abandoned. Don’t miss a visit to Smoke and Bitters, number one cocktail bar in Sri Lanka – expensive yes. Worth it? Absolutely yes. Ps. Get the smoked goat curry and thank me later.
Weligama – this is the biggest area I visited in terms of beaches, tourists and surfing. If you are feeling a bit out of your comfort zone in other areas then go here and just enjoy the hippie vibes.
Galle – So the obvious thing to visit here is Galle Fort, which is brilliant to visit for one day, and full of great cafes and restaurants. In terms of accommodation however, I’d recommend staying in Unawatuna, which allows you to have the beach vibes but then to visit the surrounding areas easily.
Hikkaduwa – this is the last place I visited before going back to Columbo, and I’d thoroughly recommend it as a last stop to relax, surf (of course), and even see some turtles. I will add however – while it’s lovely see see these beautiful creatures, the area has been capitalised upon for tourists, so do expect to see plenty of people in the same area. Try to avoid feeding the turtles, as this will come with a hefty price from the touters nearby, and instead just sit back and watch these majestic creatures swimming around you.
So that’s it – my list in a nutshell. Obviously this is not an extensive list of the many things to do in Sri Lanka – this is just what I covered – but there are hundreds of other things you can do if you so choose.
I cannot stress enough how wonderful this place is – it’s another perfect example of a country that has had it’s fair share of bad media coverage, but deserves a visit at least once, if not multiple times, to really see everything it has to offer.
