Written here, checked here
The things worth knowing before you come
Most of what is written in English about travelling in Sri Lanka was written by someone who spent nine days here and has not been back. We live here. That does not make us better writers — it means we can check a fee, a road or a train, and then put the date on it.
Every number is checked
Fees, permits and drive times come from the source or from doing it ourselves, and each page carries the date it was last verified.
We say the unhelpful thing
Yala is crowded. The observation carriage is a mistake. Pinnawala is not a sanctuary. A guide that recommends everything recommends nothing.
We correct them
The train situation has changed four times since the cyclone. When something moves, the page moves. Tell us if we are behind.
01Planning
The best time to visit Sri Lanka
There is no bad month. There is a wrong coast.
Sri Lanka has two monsoons on opposite sides of the island, so somewhere is always dry. A month-by-month guide to which coast to be on and when.
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The Sri Lanka ETA, explained properly
Forty nationalities now pay nothing. Everyone still needs one.
Sri Lanka's ETA rules changed on 25 May 2026 — 40 nationalities now pay nothing. Official fees, the full country list, and how to spot the copycat sites.
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Is Sri Lanka safe?
Yes — and here is the honest list of what does go wrong
An honest answer from people who live here: what is genuinely safe, the real risks (roads, sea, dengue), the common scams, and advice for solo women travellers.
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02Getting around
Getting around Sri Lanka
The island is small on a map and slow on the ground
Honest driving times between every major stop in Sri Lanka, plus what a car and driver, a self-drive hire, the trains and the buses each actually cost.
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The Kandy to Ella train
Half of it is running. Here is which half, and what to do about it.
Nanu Oya to Ella and Badulla reopened on 20 June 2026. Kandy to Nanu Oya is still closed after Cyclone Ditwah. How to ride the scenic section anyway.
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03Money
Sri Lanka on a budget
What US$40 a day actually buys, and where the money really goes
A genuine budget breakdown for Sri Lanka in 2026 — guesthouses, buses, rice and curry, entry fees — plus the costs that ruin budgets and how to cut them.
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Sri Lanka at the top end
Where the money is worth spending, and where it simply is not
What premium travel in Sri Lanka actually buys in 2026 — tea bungalows, staffed villas, private safari, Bawa architecture — and the upgrades not worth paying for.
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No obligation
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