Sri Lanka Travel Guide | All you need to know | Sri Lanka Travel Tips | Places to Visit in Sri Lanka

so you're going to Sri Lanka [Music] there's something special about this little big island in the Indian Ocean voted as the top country to travel to in 2019 by Lonely Planet and virtually every travel blogger and vlogger you'll come across there's good reason that Sri Lanka should be on your must visit list and this video should help you navigate through the essentials before your trip outlets in Sri Lanka are type D standard voltage in runs 230 volts this Falls a little outside of the standard 220 volts that most people are used to for our American Travelers and everybody else who's used to 110 volts you're going to want to make sure you have a converter built into your adapter if I just confuse you here's an easy way to check for that look at the fine print on it most appliances these days have dual rated converters and you can tell by the input section on the plug you'll see an indication of the range of power it can handle for example this Appliance says it can handle 100 volts to 240 volts if your Appliance only says 110 volts do not try plugging it in with just an adapter remember that the adapters only help connect the different plug types they do not convert energy sources you can easily pick up an adapter before your trip or when you land they're sold almost everywhere since we carry a lot of beer on us we bring this three plug adapter which helps charge multiple devices at once consider packing one too if you're traveling with a few devices in Sri Lanka D and C type plugs look similar with the exception of the top Earth socket on the d-type the Earth socket has a spring mechanism that will need to be pushed down to fit the two-prong c-type plug into it this should be common knowledge but do not attempt this using anything that has metal in it instead use a toothpick or something similar most hotels will have Wi-Fi aside from hotels it's not hard to come by but it's also not as readily available as some other countries on this side of the world some connections will be fast and some will be slow in Sri Lanka internet penetration is low because user numbers and population is low we tried uploading videos while we were there and sometimes large files were sluggish for the most part we were able to accomplish everything we needed anytime we were in a Wi-Fi zone as time goes by demand should increase and internet connections should become faster but in the meanwhile enjoy your time disconnected and talk with the locals apps that you'll want to have downloaded are Uber pick me Airbnb Agoda Google Translate Google Maps and WhatsApp if you aren't already familiar Uber is a Rideshare app that can link you to drivers on demand keep in mind that Sri Lanka is still fairly new to Uber and rides aren't going to be as plentiful as they are in other areas of the world another Rideshare alternative is pick me you should keep both pick me and Uber on your phone and rotate between whichever is the most convenient and economical for your particular needs we are loyal users of Agoda when in Asia they typically have the best pricing of all the other book insights out there but honestly in Sri Lanka there didn't seem to be consistency in pricing set forth by Hotel owners so our best advice to you is shop around on several sites to see which one has the best deals we personally like Agoda because the reward system is nice and it comes in handy when you're traveling for months on end Airbnb allows you to book entire apartments or homes and also rooms in locals homes we put this one in here because it's always great to have more than just a hotel room when you're on the road especially if you're with a group of people our Lifesaver and definitely our favorite map out there is Google Maps it has up-to-date mapping and the capability of downloading maps in advance to work offline having an app translator is a great support tool and can really make your life easier Google translate may not be 100 accurate with its translations but it can get you pretty close to where you need to be and you can download languages for offline use we'll close this section out with WhatsApp more than 1.5 billion people are using this messaging system monthly and you should too it's an easy way to message and call International numbers have all these downloaded on your phone prior to arrival and make sure to update your method of payment within the ones that require it to make sure your experience is as seamless as possible you'll eventually notice a huge price discrepancy in goods and commodities in Sri Lanka versus neighboring countries like India or countries in Southeast Asia per se for example the same room you may pay 15 a night for in Southeast Asia will cost you around 30 to 50 dollars here from the hotel owners and locals that we spoke to the culprits seemed to be or was directly linked to governmental bureaucracy politics is usual in the words of Jay-Z no but seriously hotels are overall more expensive here and from what we've noticed a lot more of the weight comes in Via taxes and fees that are tapped on don't believe me shop around on Agoda or Expedia and make sure you head to that final payment page to see what the true price turns out to be there are a few workarounds for this the first booking in person versus online booking in person helps skip the fees and taxes our suggestion is to monitor hotels online before your trip and leading up to your stay if you notice that a lot of hotels are disappearing then you might want to book in advance if you see that there's still a lot of Hotel options available you stand a pretty good chance of walking in and negotiating a rate the downside of booking in person is that you have to have cash in hand online you can get away with paying by card if you're planning on traveling during national holidays you'll want to be a little bit more cautious in securing a room in advance of paying by card make sure when you book that you are aware if you will be responsible for payment at the property or online in advance if you're running low on cash or didn't Budget Hotels into your latest cash withdraw this could be an issue Airbnb is usually our go-to competitor against hotel booking sites in Sri Lanka we found Airbnb to be the more expensive option but we would always recommend competitively shopping both to see what site has the better offer the two most widely spoken languages here are sidhala and tanil the sinhalese make up the largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka which totals around 16 million people or 75 percent of the country's population the other 25 are comprised of tomatoes and Sri Lankan Moors both are native speakers up to Mill just to give you an idea here's a geographic layout of where you'll most likely hear the different languages to the north and east timo's the most present in the West Central and Southern portion of the country you'll hear sinhala unless you're familiar both languages scripts are going to be very difficult to decipher if you're a native English speaker or can speak English fear not a lot of things are written in English and around 25 of the populists are able to speak English as tourists we're constantly leading by examples so a great thing to do before your trip is to pick up a few words we found that these three words can take you surprisingly far hello in both sinhala and Tamil you can just say hello but in sahala they say or and delicious if you run into a situation where language is a barrier try using Google translate if that doesn't work body language and a big smile can usually set you straight tourist visas are usually issued for a maximum of 30 days we applied online in advance directly on the official website of the Department of Immigration which looks like this prices will vary based on your country of origin but for U.S Travelers the Visa costs for a 30-day entry is 35 we'll link it in the description below to save you some time it shouldn't take any more than 15 minutes to fill out before applying make sure your passport is valid for at least six months and you have an address for somewhere in Sri Lanka that you will be staying if you don't have one yet look up a hotel where you think you'll be staying and add that address unless you apply on a weekend or a holiday you should receive your Visa in a week or less we got ours within 48 Hours of applying now something to note you can only apply for the Visa two months prior to your departure date aka the day that you plan to arrive in the country the site advises to keep a printed copy of your visa on you when you arrive but we were never asked for ours the Customs agent had our information on their computers and processed us the same way they do at any International Airport for those of you wanting to stay more than 30 days there is an option to extend for up to six months but you will have to do that once in the country at the Department of Immigration being close to the equator means it's going to feel hot here really hot the temperature doesn't change much throughout the year your greatest weather variants will be dictated through the two Monsoon Seasons the Maha monsoon season will impact the east and north of the Island from roughly October to January this makes it an ideal time frame to visit the South and West areas of the country the yala monsoon season will impact the Hill Country South and West Coast from roughly April May to August September this makes it an ideal time frame to visit the north and east areas of the country December through March is considered to be peak season for the entire country weather-wise during this time frame you'll likely encounter a larger amount of tourists visiting a great compromise would be going in the shoulder months as you can still get the great weather and lower visitor numbers first things first Sri Lanka is very deceptive in size you might see it on a map and think that you can cover the whole thing in a week huge misconception although Sri Lanka appears small do not underestimate the time it takes to travel from one area to another road infrastructure here doesn't have the same maintenance and luxury as more developed Nations and although reliable the modes of transportation move relatively slow in short it can take between 6 to 10 hours to travel fairly short distances we would suggest spending a minimum of two weeks in the country and even then just know that you probably will not be able to see everything on your list okay so arriving into Sri Lanka most of you will come by plane arriving into Colombo International Airport just know that this is a solid 30 to 45 minute car ride away from downtown Colombo itself gumbo is a neighboring City to the airport and about half of the commute time of Colombo nagumbo also has a railway and bus station which can connect you to the entire country if you're arriving in the morning we'd suggest taking a ride share or taxi immediately to nagambo or Colombo and boarding a train to start making your way to your destination if you arrive in the middle of the day or will be arriving late at night our suggestion is to spend the rest of the day in your hotel or Airbnb into gumbo and head out early the following morning we'll cover different methods of transportation and how to get around the country quickly later on in the transportation section if you have it caught on by now Sri Lanka is hot you'll want to pack lightweight breathable items polyester shirts are my go-to's they not only dry quickly but they condense a lot better than cotton for packing purposes there's nothing wrong with Cotton shirts but they tend to feel a little heavier and trap more sweat ladies it really is hot here it's okay to dress how you want but the style here is certainly modest certain cities and towns will dress more modestly than others and here's my advice on how to adjust your wardrobe to be respectful and to feel respected from the locals when you're out and about in a city on a bus in a restaurant cover up you don't need to be like ET wrapped in a blanket but outside of the beach try using longer skirts or Maxis and tops that cover your shoulders there's no way to avoid it you are going to sweat a lot you'll of course want to pack a bathing suit or two and if you're planning on visiting the highlands which we would highly recommend you'll want to dress in layers backtracking to the bathing suit topic the country is rather conservative and covered up when it comes to clothing bathing suit bikinis are accepted at the beaches but do note that some locals will be fully clothed on the shore in some areas there were signs to help remind tourists of how the dress went on and off the beach we are not huge fans of traveling with hiking boots they're bulky heavy and take up a lot of space in your bag the only one place we could have used them was in Ella but still we managed to do all the hikes and Tennis Shoes remember to keep the packing light because you can do laundry almost anywhere you go there are several laundromats where you can drop off your clothes at a cost of one to three dollars per kilo close combat clean folded and ready to go there's always an option of buying detergent and washing your clothes quickly in the bathroom sink or in a bucket we would then dry our clothes in our hotel or hotel balcony or anywhere we can get creative with it clothing aside the only things worth mentioning that we brought were sunscreen and mosquito repellent you can always pick up some screen anywhere you go in Sri Lanka but it tends to come in smaller amounts SPF may be limited and it's a little more expensive just remember to always apply it the sun is significantly stronger here and you don't want to spend your time sunburn regardless if you're planning to check a bag or not ordering the larger sizes back home will save you money and you can always transfer the sunscreen into smaller three ounce TSA friendly containers for carry-on purposes we've mentioned bug repellent in our other no BS guides but we'll mention it here too listen do not waste your time or your money with those sprays for your clothing and your backpack mosquitoes are not interested in your clothing or your backpack we found that the best bug repellent to travel with is this mosquito lotion by ultrathon it's conveniently small and packs a punch a little of this stuff goes a long way so put a few dots on rub it in and you'll be safeguarded for at least 6 to 12 hours overall we found that Amazon has the best deals on ultrathon and sunscreen we'll include links to both in the description below another item that you don't necessarily need to pack but you should have some on you is toilet paper Sri Lanka is mostly on top of their game and having toilet paper in public restrooms but it's always wise to have some on you for those just in case moments something to note it is common courtesy to place youth toilet paper in a trash bin and not down the toilet here the reason for this is because the sewage systems aren't designed to handle anything except human waste be respectful and don't damage the sewage lines for this trip we opted to travel with a backpack versus a rolling suitcase although this topic is purely personal preference sometimes the roads and sidewalks aren't in the best condition for transporting a rolling suitcase there's also the issue of Transportation since we like to do everything on our own a backpack is a hell of a lot easier to throw or Smash down onto a truck bus train Etc then a traditional suitcase and it made for a nice soft cushion to sit on when we couldn't find a seat on public transportation if you're the type that's going to use transportation to drop you off door to door then a rolling suitcase is fine if you're the type that will Brave a mile or two to a bus station to save on a taxi then we'd suggest the backpack we use this one 70 liter North Face backpack between both of us we're able to fit all of our clothing and toiletry items in it but again we're simple Packers and it's hot in this part of the world so less is more hopefully we'll close this section out with recyclable only in Sri Lanka but a lot of places go overboard with their Plastic Products they're great for business owners because they're cheap convenient and great for distribution they're also terrible for the environment should they not be disposed of properly pack a recyclable bag with you and carry it around in your pocket you'll most likely be buying things as you go and you can help cut down the overuse of Plastic Products Sri Lankans move around a lot there's a lot of hustle and bustle in the larger cities and if you plan on taking public transportation like buses or trains personal space is sometimes a rarity don't worry though this is where you'll find the hidden beauty of the country it's the camaraderie The Compassion the intensity and in my personal opinion the pulse of the country and the reason you decided to visit trains and buses are also your most economical options we would highly suggest taking trains and buses versus arrange transportation or renting your own Tuk Tuk if you aren't a lucky traveler who can afford to spend two weeks or more in the country and you want to maximize your time arranging private transportation is totally fine and will help you out tremendously with travel efficiency just expect to pay a lot more we're not exactly sure about cost but you can find plenty of Articles where Travelers explain their approach and share costs for warning the buses can get pretty loud there's usually a loudspeaker or five on a bus that pumps a mix of Sri Lankan and South Indian music for most if not all of your journey taking a bus is as interesting as it is confusing the good news is though the entire country is basically serviced by buses so they come frequently ticketing is usually done on the bus some will have ticketing machines that print out a receipt and others will hand write tickets mostly the latter though prices will vary for distance traveled and whether it's on a public bus or a private bus just to give you an idea of cost we took the public bus from trinco Molly to Candy a journey that is around 180 kilometers the journey took about six to seven hours and cost us 258 rupees per person for shorter rides like Gall to hickodua it ran as approximately 50 rupees per person our biggest recommendation when taking buses is to do research ahead of time you can find Forums on TripAdvisor of people sharing routes and costs another recommendation is to talk with the locals who are also waiting for the bus to see what they're paying or observe what locals are paying once you're already on the bus the only tricky thing about that is you don't necessarily know how far they're going or what their final destination is honesty and pricing is usually followed but occasionally you'll run into a dishonest bus worker who tries to jack up the fare substantially sometimes they'll try to wait until you've been sitting on the bus for 20 to 30 minutes before they charge you so that you don't really have the option but to pay or get off try to pay when you first board the bus or within the first five minutes of the trip we had a guy kick us off the bus because we refused to pay his quoted fare of 270 rupees when it should have been around 50 rupees we just got off the bus waited for the next one to pass and paid the honest fair of 50 rupees if this does happen to you don't make a big scene or scold the worker simply tell them that they're not being honest and you're getting off the bus whenever it stops again lastly luggage should always go on the bus with you it's going to be packed regardless but somehow there is always room for bags depending on the size of your travel bag you may have to buy a seat just for it that happened to us about two to three times although most of the time they didn't charge us anything extra when the bus is packed the attendant will grab your bag and load it in the front near the driver we never had any issues with our bags going missing even when they were out of sight hello sir hello Madam taxisa taxi Madame where are you going what are you going expect to hear this a lot when you are in Sri Lanka drivers are Relentless in soliciting walking tours they even try to offer Jin arrived when she was training on one of her long runs you have to understand that the locals aren't purposefully out to offend or annoy you in any way Western concepts of privacy or Solitude don't hold the same weight in Sri Lanka as they do elsewhere remember some areas where you'll be traveling are small communities where everyone knows everyone Natural Curiosity amongst the locals will arise and when it does just politely respond back even if it's the same answer 100 times you may feel triggered to give an impolite answer but just remember you are their impression of outside tourism be as courteous and refined as possible the rest of us Taurus thank you with that being said there are a few things you'll want to look for when taking a tuk-tuk first off look for metered ones chances are it'll be nearly impossible to find them outside of Colombo the second piece of advice is to always negotiate a fair prior to getting into the tuk-tuk always negotiate down never take the first bid odds are they're going to throw out a price that is at least five to ten times higher if not more than the actual fare third be adamant about where you're going some tuk-tuk drivers may try to sway you into a special event or a hidden Market or try to take you somewhere you just don't want to go don't give in and always insist on your destination and lastly do not pay until the end of your ride this will protect you in the case that the driver tries to pull a fast one final tip for all you extra worried people out there when negotiating a fair make the driver repeat back to you the agreed amount of money after that show them the agreed amount of money and say this much this will just help you out in the long run and make sure your driver's not trying to skew the value at the end of the trip now this most likely won't happen to you but just in case it does it always pays to be cautious trains we know we know you've probably seen the pictures of people hanging out of trained doors overlooking tea plantations riding over beautiful bridges it's gorgeous isn't it don't let these photos fool you it's a little misleading as every blogger and vlogger you come by are only going to show you cinematics slow shots romanticizing the experience as if the entire Journey belongs on a fairy tale the reality might not necessarily be what you may have had in mind about riding the trains in Sri Lanka look everybody's entitled to their own opinion and you watch us because you've probably seen some of our other videos and you like our style of guide or you value our opinions the trains in Sri Lanka don't all face those tea plantations actually there's really only one route through the central portion of the country from nawara Lia to Ella which gives you access to that scenery is it worth the journey potentially depends on how you want to spend your time the first thing you have to realize is those trains get packed really packed if you're planning on taking the train from Candy to Ella and would like to avoid the crowds try boarding out a stop or two before the main Railway Hub in candy there are a few different class seats you can buy first second and third we don't really know much about first class seats other than the carts or air conditioned and the windows don't really open apparently these seats are very expensive and they sell out well in advance second and third class seats can be purchased the day of your trip at the train station this is what we did there's also an online ticketing system there's also second class reserved seats but to be honest with you we didn't bother with them and we actually don't know how true a reserved seat is the second class ticket gives you access to a seat with a little bit more cushion on them instead of the third class benches the beauty of riding in the third class is that you ride with the people this was the best experience in my opinion of the journey seeing how the culture moves and how the passengers interact with one another a tip when taking the train is to keep some small bills on you so you can take advantage of the different vendors that lock the train selling snacks like doll fritters fresh fruit and peanuts you have to try the peanuts they're warm they're salty and the smell alone will tantalize you okay back to the train ride the chances of you getting a window seat may be rare there's always the option of going to the doors to peep the visual but those also get packed and people just hang out near them because there's nowhere else to sit or stand we're not telling you not to go on the train you should if it interests you just know in advance that you'll be sharing your space with others and that there is a potential that you may not get a seat just be prepared to stand or sit on your bag for hours taking a bus van or car can be more comfortable and save you time we'll put it like this we vividly remember our train ride in Sri Lanka consisting of a lot of standing sitting on our bags and of course eating delicious peanuts for more information on trains destinations timetables what to expect and how to boat there's an amazing site that we've used in the past called the man in seat 61. we'll link it below from what we've observed motorbike rentals range from 8 to 15 US dollars a day the only time we rented a motorbike was in trincomale and that was because it was more economical than paying tuk-tuks to get from Beach to Beach highly researched option of getting around the country is to rent your own tuk-tuk it sounds like an adventure and I'm sure that it is but we opted out of this for two reasons number one daily tuk-tuk rentals not to mention the gas that you'll need are significantly more expensive compared to the buses and trains number two it takes a lot of time to get from City to City if you're driving your own tuk-tuk regardless of what method you choose to get around renting your own Tuk Tuk or renting a motorbike you will need an international driver's permit and you will also need an endorsement from the Automobile Association of Sri Lanka there's a lot of conflicting information online about what you need and how to get it the most concise source that we came across was a Blog by globetrove they went through the motions and you can read more about it in the link in the description when you arrive at the airport you're going to find a lot of currency exchange booths set up as with most airport currency dealers you're probably not going to get the best rate here our biggest suggestion is only exchange about 20 to 30 dollars just enough for transportation out of the airport and maybe a bite to eat of course you'll need to have cash in hand for your experience in the country and yes there are ATMs all over that are readily available but you'll have to battle the foreign transaction fees and ATM fees we've mentioned it in our other no BS guides but we'll give it a mention here too try traveling with a bank card like Charles Schwab debit card with it you can get unlimited waived International ATM transaction fees the other option aside from ATMs are exchange houses we didn't film any for obvious reasons but they are a great alternative for exchanging cash here's the information for two places we visited in the gumbo and Gaul they were very professional and had the best exchange rates at the time aside from these two there are loads of exchange houses we'd recommend using Google Maps to look them up and read reviews before pulling the trigger as with most things related to travel trust your gut instinct if you arrive in an exchange house and it doesn't feel right walk away and find another one closing the section out on a tip try to carry small bills around sometimes Street vendors store owners bus fare collectors tuk-tuk drivers you name it will not be able to make change for larger bills this minimizes the risk of you either having to wait around for change or having to pay a little more for things as change cannot be made tipping has become more and more prevalent with the rise of Tourism here now we're not necessarily one in dime type tourists so in our space tipping isn't as relevant wages in Sri Lanka are relatively low people in the service industry don't necessarily bring in a lot so although it's not required it is appreciated remember you should always tip based on your satisfaction with the service do not tip based on expectation tips will usually range depending on the service always tip whatever you feel comfortable with we're going to link a great site below with more information on tipping but the last thing you want to be doing is walking around handing out money like Lloyd Christmas Sri Lanka has a rich cultural history that is intertwined with colonization trade and war if you are a history buff there are amazing sites to visit that can transport you in time on the other hand many of you watching this video will be going to Sri Lanka to partake in experiences rather than history lessons the good news is that most of the experiences are history lessons so whether you know it or not you're going to be getting a good dose of culture in your life expect to see a lot of wildlife Sri Lanka was one of the most biodiverse and wildlife-rich countries that we visited thus far every day we saw either monkeys peacocks monitor lizards and if you're lucky wild elephants seeing a wild elephant just roaming around isn't terribly uncommon but to increase your odds there are plenty of Wildlife National Parks a lot of tourist attractions are really spread out outside of these areas you might encounter places that aren't necessarily tourist ready and even though 25 of the populace can speak English sometimes you'll find yourself in situations where smiles and body language are your best communication tools there are also other challenges like finding specific grocery items or toiletry items in case there's something specific you travel with Your Best Bets to pack enough of it to last you on your trip common things like toothbrushes toothpaste razors and so on won't be tough to find even in places like Ella unawatuna and hikadua you can find full-fledged grocery stores or mini versions that can carry a wide variety of things don't fret most of you will be traveling to well-known cities and you'll be more than okay another huge topic amongst Travelers are the attraction prices yes there is a very very large price difference between local prices and tourist prices one of the more popular attractions costs 30 US dollars per tourist to climb up while it costs about 30 cents for Sri Lankans to do the same thing here's our response to those overly opinionated people there is a substantial difference in annual household income per capita in Sri Lanka versus your respective country they designate these prices so that Sri Lankans can afford to be able to visit important landmarks in their own country and let's be real there's less than a handful of attractions that are going to really run you a lot more than the locals and even then is it really going to break your budget chances are if you've been able to afford a plane ticket to Sri Lanka in the first place you're probably doing more than okay if you do have an issue be it moral or financial just do what we do when we don't feel like paying for something skip it skip it climbing a rock does not define whether you've experienced a country or not expect to share your space with a lot of people in public transportation space is oftentimes a rarity don't worry though the rides will be memorable and you never know what kind of friends you'll make along the way expect to be stared at a lot you're different and you're a foreigner it's okay to be stared at don't worry it's a Natural Curiosity and remember you are their link to the world outside of Sri Lanka if it bothers you try to ignore it and if not smile wave and take advantage of your quasi celebrity status there may be people that try to pull you aside to persuade you to do or see specific things you like spices follow me you want a tour follow me some people are out there to genuinely help and others are out to make a commission if you do not want to be bothered just refuse the offer and the conversation now with that being said don't refuse every conversation with every single person who comes up to you we found in Sri Lanka many locals would approach us to simply be friendly or to practice their English a bit we met some interesting people with very cool stories and knowledge of the area not everyone you meet is out to get your money feel each situation out using your best judgment you may see a cricket match or 10 happening on fields roadsides or anywhere with a flat open area if you really want to impress some locals brush up on your qriket knowledge it can be a Golden Ticket a spark up conversation or an open invite to learn to play it's going to seem at times that everyone's going to try to help you figure out your trip by offering tours or overly catering to your tourist plan do not worry though you do not need a guide for Sri Lanka actually we'd recommend doing as much as possible on your own the question most people are curious about what to do from beaches to ruins to Wildlife Sri Lanka seems to have a bit of it all we'll start with the beaches being an island nation the coastline has many beaches that are worth visiting trichomale in the Northeast and Marissa beach in the South were two of our favorites if you're in the southern portion of Sri Lanka you'll most likely come across the city of Gaul this is a quaint City that gives you a nice little walk through architectural history from the colonization of the Portuguese through the Dutch and current day preservation by Sri Lankans inside the fort barriers itself things are going to be a lot more expensive so we'd recommend only spending the day walking around and exploring the area try staying in the neighboring town of Oona watuna it's a quick bus ride away and you get to enjoy the benefits of a few days on the beach we have several other detailed videos that walk you through exactly what we did in each Beach City beaches aside the next what to do item has to be the wildlife for those that want to take it in all at once there are more than several national parks that offer a chance to see elephants crocodiles and even leopards Rita recommend researching a lot before committing to one by researching you can get a better understanding of what to expect experiencing cost wise and if it's going to be your style or not we would also recommend visiting the highlands in the central portion of the country the Landscapes are postcard worthy this is an outdoor lovers Paradise with hikes through mountains tea plantations waterfalls and the picturesque nine Arc Bridge even though the town of L is extremely touristy it's absolutely worth a visit this also happens to be where little Adam's Peak is aside from the similarity of the name it has absolutely zero correlation to be very well known and much larger atom speed we weren't there during the season of pilgrimage so we skipped it if you're curious there's plenty of information online on how to get there where to stay what to expect Etc between swimming surfing and Hiking there is a lot to explore in Sri Lanka and you can use your time to be as ambitious as you'd like or as unambitious as possible and use your time to just relax look there are ways to tackle this country and there's really no wrong or right way to do it we spent three weeks in Sri Lanka and it felt rushed to us personally we think 10 to 14 days should be your minimum if you're going to come all the way here and if you have the luxury of time you could easily spend a month here we have multiple videos out that go into detail of each City that we visited but here's the cliff notes version of what we did like most we flew into Colombo spent the night in a gumbo from there on out we were constantly on the go first stop was sigria then we headed west to tricomale from there we went back Inland to candy and beelined Ella after we got our fix of the mountains we headed south to briefly visit UDA valway there on out we worked our way from east to west along the Southern Coastline stopping off in various beach towns three weeks later and we found ourselves getting off a bus back at the airport now it wasn't the season for us to climb Adams Peak and we didn't have time to explore jaffna in the very North or the popular surf town on the Eastern Shoreline called argumbay if those pique your interest there is plenty of information on them in various blogs scattered online this is an interesting topic do you like rice and Curry well good because here you can find it for breakfast lunch and dinner there is no one special recipe that is served everywhere the rice and Curry that you get will vary drastically from location to location and some will be good and some will be bad the good news is by the end of your trip you should be able to instinctively tell which place will be good and which one will be not so good all jokes aside you can find different Cuisines anywhere you go so if you get tired of the good old rice and Curry your taste buds won't be let down but since you're in Sri Lanka we would recommend you getting your fix of the local food before you head home it's inevitable that you'll hear the sounds of this dish being made before you taste it kotu is basically Roti vegetables eggs and a little protein that is cooked on a flat top all the while beating the out of buy a dough scraper and lack of better description it's basically a Sri Lankan stir-fry it's tasty it's heavy and it's generally cheap try it if you find yourself on the coast take advantage of the seafood fresh fish is a must it's usually served with a side of well you guessed it different curries poppers Hoppers are the Sri Lankan answer to encounter this food in a bowl shaped structure or served looking like a nest of noodles AKA string Hoppers Insider tip ask for an egg to be added in your Hopper to take it to the next level these dishes are usually served with a side of Curry Dal ensemble hands down our two favorite restaurants on the entire Island had to be Rea seafood restaurant in tricomale in maidi Hut in Ella if you happen to be stopping by any one of those destinations add them to your list if you are vegan Sri Lanka is a great place to be we're not 100 dedicated vegans but we do dabble and oftentimes we find ourselves eating vegan meals aside from the abundance of fresh fruit most of the food selections here can be made without meat or dairy the curry options seem almost unlimited but you do want to make sure to ask that they aren't including any butter just to make sure you're on the safe side lastly we'll close this section out with a little random dessert snack that we fell in love with they're called Wonder bars and they are a heaven in a five pack if you see them buy them although tap water is chlorinated it also contains microorganisms that your gut might not be so familiar with the water here is fine to brush your teeth and shower in of course but do not drink it directly from the sink you may be surprised to find out that outside of most of your fancy hotels the coffee and tea that you drink is going to be made with tap water and not bottled water so what happens if you accidentally sip it from the sink nothing you're not going to die or start turning green what happens if you sip it twice from the sink likely nothing point being don't make it a regular practice and stick to bottled water bottled water is sold virtually everywhere so you'll be in good shape a good way to cut down on plastic waste here is to buy the larger containers of water keep it in your room and refill a bottle for the day as you go we can't really speak on liquor because we're mostly beer and wine drinkers when out on the road from what we've observed the imported liquor was subject to a very high markup due to possibly importation and sales taxes still you'll be able to find it pretty much anywhere you go our suggestion is to stick with the beer lion Brewery has a great beer selection and their stock could easily be one of the best thoughts that I've had buying alcohol in Sri Lanka will lead you to establishments called wine stores these buildings are typically distinguished by their white and green paint jobs and it's the only place where you can purchase alcohol from what we've researched there are no compulsory vaccinations required to visit Sri Lanka although we would recommend being up to date on your tetanus and hepatitis before visiting we took typhoid pills before our trip we paid around sixty dollars for the pills and the treatment process took one week aim to finish your treatment at least two weeks before you go now this is a repetitive topic and our no BS guides so just to give you an idea of why we did the treatment in the past couple of years we've ventured out to Asia for months on end we took typhoid pills because we felt that they could come in handy typhoid is spread through contact with the stool of a person infected with the bacteria food safety practices here don't always meet the same standard as more developed Nations we tend to eat from the streets a lot so you can lower those standards even more it common to see the same hands that handle money also handle food and who knows what else they've handled chances are when you're in Sri Lanka you'll encounter a lot of wildlife the monkeys in Sri Lanka are not timid they're known to approach people and personal space is not something they take into consideration monkeys aren't a common source of rabies but a bite can lead to infection and fever due to a high level of bacteria in their mouth so with that being said keep your distance and avoid eye contact as it's seen as a threat more likely than not you won't be affected At All by the wildlife we're not telling you to take anything rather consult your physician and see what works best for you in your upcoming trip another question we get a lot is Travelers Insurance we've done trips where we've had traveler's insurance and we've never needed it we've also done trips where we didn't have travelers insurance and Jen got sick but luckily Health Care was provided free of charge point being you can never call it ahead of time we're not telling you to get travelers insurance or to not get it but it could save you a headache and an unexpected Financial hassle just contacts we've always used the Voyager essential plan through geoblue we'll include a link below so you can check out their plans the biggest issue you'll run into here are price discrepancies with alcohol prices are fixed tourists and locals pay the same some wine stores display prices and some won't we ran into issues where the vendors would try to quote higher prices for us because we weren't Sri Lankan if this does happen to you there's a few things you can do to avoid the hassle one have the exact amount of money in hand for your payment two save a picture of the price Table Three ask to speak to a manager or the owner of the store buses bus tickets should be the same price to everyone both tourists and locals some buses are public and some are private we found that the public buses will be more honest with pricing and the privately operated ones will try to negotiate harder another thing to look out for is people trying to pull you aside to offer special visits packages or tours always use your gut instinct to fill out the situation and when in doubt just walk away as we've mentioned previously spend a few minutes researching threads with info and pricing before you visit a certain area this will ensure that you're aware of what to expect and that you have a general idea of costs when we visit Ed Park we research prices again and had a pretty good idea of what we should be paying unfortunately when we got there one guy haggled us and we were pressured into an unfair price looking back we should have approached more Safari drivers to negotiate but we were pressed for time and ended up taking his offer we paid 16 000 rupees when it should have been around six thousand to ten thousand we felt safe during our entire trip we walked around a lot in the daytime and a lot at night time again even when our bag was outside on the bus nothing ever happened I went running all the time by myself and not once did I feel threatened I would actually argue that this is one of the safest places I've felt internationally while running and I've never been greeted by so many warm Smiles along the road now we know that not everybody's going to have the same experience as us unfortunate situations are usually situational by being in the wrong place at the wrong time so here's a few things you can keep in mind it kind of helped curb those threats if partying always keep your eye on your drink or try to keep it covered never take drinks from strangers secure your valuables tightly this means don't leave your money or jewelry in that easy to access back pocket of your backpack keep your hotel windows and doors locked try to tell fellow friends or Travelers where you're going and when they can expect you back and always always always be aware of your surroundings our point of view has been and will always be never let fear keep you from traveling to any funny internet person out there that's planning on leaving an edgy comment of religious beliefs and wrongdoings I'm warning you in advance that we do not tolerate insensitivity or segregation and we will delete any untasteful comment Sri Lanka is a developing nation and sure there won't be luxuries that you'll encounter as easily as you will in other developing countries but it can be a fascinating and certainly a rewarding experience with the right mindset as always leave a thumbs up on this video if you found it helpful be sure to share it with anyone traveling to Sri Lanka and if you like this content and want to see more subscribe to our Channel and activate the notifications tab to be the first to receive our latest no BS guides and more and stay tuned for the next country it's going to be a good one thank you [Music]

Channel: Fly Sri Lanka

Views: 14,823

Keywords: Travel Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Tourism, Explore Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Travel Guide, Best Places to Visit in Sri Lanka, Things to Do in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Vacation, Sri Lanka Beaches, Adventure Travel Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Wildlife, Budget Travel Sri Lanka, Luxury Travel Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Hotels, Travel Tips for Sri Lanka, Top Tourist Destinations in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Honeymoon, Scenic Landscapes of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Travel Blog, Backpacking Sri Lanka, Visit Sri Lanka

Id: PljJEwFpJ_4

Length: 43min 33sec (2613 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 28 2023