Thinking about visiting Sri Lanka? Here’s everything you need to know before visiting for the first time.
Climate
Sri Lanka’s climate can be confusing for first time travellers as the country has two monsoon seasons. The south-west (Yala) monsoon season is from May – July whilst the north-east (Maha) monsoon season is from October – January. We visited Sri Lanka in June and therefore travelled the north-east and central regions. You can generally expect warm weather (25-30°C) year-round unless you are in the mountains (Ella or Nuwara Eliya) where it can be cooler.
History
Sri Lanka experienced civil war from 1983 – 2009. This arose from a group fighting for an independent Tamil state in the north-east of the island. Consequentially, the island is still recovering and whilst tourism is starting to boom the industry is not yet as developed as other countries.
Religion
Sri Lanka is predominantly a Buddhist country. In order to be respectful, when entering a Buddhist temple ensure you cover your knees and shoulders and remove shoes and hats. As temple grounds can be hot in the sun it is advised to bring socks to prevent your feet from burning. It is prohibited to pose for photos standing in front of Buddha with your back to Buddha (ie a selfie). From my experience, whilst dressing modestly at all times is not essential in Sri Lanka you may feel more comfortable, particularly if in less-touristy areas, to opt for more modest outfit choices.
Accommodation
We found accommodation for tourists to still be developing in the regions we visited (June 2024). We were travelling on a budget of approximately £20/night and found that this would get us very basic private accommodation compared to what the same budget could get us in South East Asia. It is possible on a backpacker budget but manage your expectations. More luxurious accommodation is available but this does come with the expected price tag. We found there to be limited accommodation between very basic and luxury but as we did not travel the heavily trodden path this may be different in the south-west.
Modes of transport
You will find yourself using a variety of modes of transport in Sri Lanka. Be flexible with your plans, prepare to think outside the box and expect to use trains, buses, tuktuks and ride-hailing apps (Uber, PickMe, Kangaroo Cabs). In the regions we visited a number of hotel owners were happy to give us a lift or collect us from the station for an additional fee if ride-hailing apps were not available in the area. Do not book connecting transport unless you have a number of hours wiggle room as transport rarely runs to its expected schedule.