Sri Lanka Favorites

  Temple near Aluthgama, Bentota
by WStat
 
  • Temple near Aluthgama, Bentota
      Temple near Aluthgama, Bentota
    by WStat
  • Restaurant
      Restaurant
    by tim07
  •   Favorites
    by tim07
  • Bank of Ceylon at the airport
      Bank of Ceylon at the airport
    by explore_discover
  • Sign Board at Boarding Lounge
      Sign Board at Boarding Lounge
    by explore_discover
 
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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Superb!!

by nishir

Thank you everyone.. we had a really amazing time in Sri Lanka...As this is a Tip too I will like to add that we went in January 2012 for 6 nights 7 days. We were 2 adults with 1 infant (23 months).We did a car right from the airport for 7 days. From there we went on to Yala Lake View (in Tissa - 45 min from Yala National Park) stayed for one night.. After an Amazing Safari, proceeded to Ella..Ella is lazy, laid back & a PERFECT PLACE to rejuvenate... 2 days at Sun Top Inn in Ella & we went to Kandy... A highly commercialised town Kandy is nice in its own way.. 2 nights at Casamera Hotel in Kandy, we left for a night in Colombo at Grand Oriental Hotel...All in all this trip was amazing, Sri Lanka is superb & its people are more than amazing.. very hospitable & more than willing to help...

Travel in Sri Lanka

by dieters7

If you can make it a 5 night stay, I would also suggest going to Kandy and doing day trips from there. Although the beaches in the south around Hikkaduwa and further are wonderful, to be honest, you can see wonderful beaches all throughout south-east asia. I would not stay in CMB. Depending on how much luxury and pampering you need will also determine what you see and how you get there. There is a train trip from Fort Station to Kandy. On the Inter City Express (not really an express!), there is a "1st Class" observation car. Now, it's certainly not the cleanest "1st class " you're gonna get, but the trip itself is absolutely amazing. You will see parts of the countryside you wont see from a car. Photo opportunities abound!From Kandy, you can get your hotel to arrange a driver to take you to places like Sigiriya, Pinnawala, tea plantations. In Kandy itself, you can hire a tuktuk and ask...

Roadside restaurants

by tim07

Travelling by road between places, especially in the Hill Country, can be long and tiring. Thankfully there are plenty of restaurants along main roads where you can stop for a rest or a meal.I stopped at a roadside restaurant at Kitugala as I travelled from Nuwara Eliya to Bentota. The restaurant was in a lovely location next to a river and served good food.

Tip Photo
Shopping close to Wattala

by shawnbrito

Pegasus Reef is just 3km away from my home (Its my home town).. You have picked a very good Hotel to spend your holidays as they have refurbished the hotel and its in topping condition.. I used to stroll down the beach at night and dip in the shallow end of the peer (just 300m from Pegasus)Many of the large shopping centers your looking for are in the heart of Colombo (10km away) and the prices are reasonable.. (But not as cheap as in India)If your traveling by Taxi, ask the driver to take the strait road through Mattakuliya (Its closer to Colombo).ODEL (which is @ Union Place) is a good optionHouse of Fashion (Located in Bambalapitiya)Majestic City (Bambalapitiya)Liberty Plaza (Kolpity ->2km from Bambalapitiya)You can also check the many shopping complexes in the Wattala Town itself (just 2km from Pegasus)NEVER USE ANY alternative currencies apart for "Sri Lankan" Rupees!!Some Hotels...

Cell Phone charges for Tourists to SL

by sahanj

a sim card in SL capital colombo is around 1-3 dollars and can be recharged very easily. SL has very good coverage in cell phones and most tourist should consider taking one and smsing their loved ones when they are here as well as for their added safety. The rates for SMS abroad to any country is only around US cents 5 per sms. call rates per US, UK and developed countries are around 5-10 US cents per min also. Main telecom players in the market are Dialog, Mobitel, Etisalat and Huch.

High Days and Holidays

by Maxus

Sri Lanka has lots of bank holidays, around 25 (comparped to 9 in the UK) the principle Christian and Muslim Holidays are honoured, there’s Sinhala & Tamil New Year and Buddhists celebrate each full moon with something called Poya Day. Shops, banks and offices close so towns can appear quiet while hotels and beaches get busy as richer Sri Lankans leave the city for some beachside R&R.You can get details of public holidays in 2010 here: http://documents.gov.lk/Calendar/Calendar2010/English.pdfOn Poya Day some locals don white clothes and head for temples often miles away from where they live. Roads and trains get busy and public transport generally can be unpredictable so Poya Day might not be the best time to travel. You will have a problem buying alcohol on Poya Day, but it can be done - your hotel, guest house or a friendly three-wheeler driver will probably find you a drink.

Tip Photo
When monkeys attack

by supune

When you go to Dambula, a Buddist Temple that was carved out of rock (supposedly by one man), there's lots of monkeys around. The monkeys occassionly come out and snatch stuff from people. There was a little 2 or 3 year old boy in our group. He could barely talk. His mom had given him a pouch of roasted cashews, and he was happily eating away until a monkey came and stole his pouch. The kid cried and cried until his mom bought him a new pouch. Back to happily eating. Then, another monkey came and snatched the cashews again. This time the monkey didn't run off; he just started teasingly eating the cashews in front of the kid. The kid got mad and slapped the monkey! While the monkey was dumb-struck, the kid grabbed the cashews back and went back to happily eating the nuts.

Wonderful People ! Come and Visit Today !

by stanfordpeter76

Hi !Am already here, got here as soon as I heard the war was over. Staying for 6 weeks. Safer than most countries now. This is my 6th trip, and it is wonderful!The whole nation was celebrating the victory ! Already traveled to Kandy, Trincomalee, and the Tea Gardens in the Mountains these past few days.Come and enjoy !Well the nicest place in Sri Lanka is Kandy, the old world charm of the Kandyan Kingdom is still to be found here. Of course you need to have a good knowledgeable person to show you around. I mean , that if you have a good driver/guide, then you can really see Kandy and the rest of Sri Lanka as well. Kandy is good to see the traditional dances, handicraft making, shopping (gems too), visiting some of the most beautiful places I have been to, not forgetting the famous Ceylon Tea ! I have been lucky to find a good driver/guide who is very nice and really knowledgeable...

Buffalo Curd: First Aid for a Dodgy Stomach

by Maxus

By the roadside and in village shops everywhere you will find people selling buffalo curd or Mee Kiri in Sinhala (Mee = Buffalo and Kiri = Milk).Mee Kiri is my secret weapon against stomach trouble while in Sri Lanka, all that healthy live bacteria can wipe out unpleasant things going on in your tum, hardly my favourite thing about Sri Lanka but it works. If your stomach has been damaged by antibiotics (and even c diff) this really is amazing.For more advice on stomach problems see the delhi belly tip in the warnings and dangers section.

Tip Photo
Photographs

by Maxus

Some Sri Lankan people may not have taken many photographs but they wouldn't let that stop them having a go.If you ask someone to take a photo that’s important to you, it might be an idea to check it first rather than just assume that it will come out ok.

Tip Photo
Related Sri Lanka Favorites Tips

Top 3 Hotels in Sri Lanka

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Palm Garden Village Hotel  Anuradhapura

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227 Hotels in Sri Lanka
 
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Reviews and photos of Sri Lanka attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Sri Lanka sightseeing.

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Favorites: Cities in Sri Lanka
  1. Colombo Favorites
  2. Kandy Favorites
  3. Negombo Favorites
  4. Nuwara Eliya Favorites
  5. Bentota Favorites
  6. Galle Favorites
  7. Unawatuna Favorites
  8. Anuradhapura Favorites
  9. Sigiriya Favorites
  10. Sri Lanka Favorites
  11. Polonnaruwa Favorites
  12. Trincomalee Favorites
  13. Beruwala Favorites
  14. Dambulla Favorites
  15. Kataragama Favorites
  16. Pinnawala Favorites
  17. Bandarawela Favorites
  18. Batticaloa Favorites
  19. Ella Favorites
  20. Chilaw Favorites
  21. Nilaveli Favorites
  22. Induruwa Favorites

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Questions and Answers

ladoie profile photo

Q:  Hello there. I need some advices about Sri Lanka. I'm going there in end of February till the beginning of March. one day in... 

HansDK profile photo

A: Missing out on Sigiriya Rock? You can find some tea plantations around Matale (between Dambulla and Kandy), but the 'real' tea plantations are in the hill country... 

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