Sri Lanka

We absolutely loved Sri Lanka, but whilst there we learnt a few tips and tricks which we wished we’d known before we’d gone. Here’s what we learnt - we hope it helps you too!

1) Make sure you get a SIM card at the airport. Dialogue appeared to be the best network and very reasonably priced. They don’t offer e-sims so you’ll either need a spare phone or be willing to take your normal SIM card out of your phone for the duration of your stay (which can cause problems with WhatsApp)

2) Uber is wide spread across Sri Lanka and we used it in the big cities, although it wasn’t readily available in the smaller places we visited. They also have a similar app to Uber called Pick Me. We didn’t use it as Uber worked well, but always worth having a back-up!

3) It’s likely that you’ll want to ride the train whilst in Sri Lanka to soak in the amazing views. Tickets are hard to come by on Sri Lankan rail’s website as the tour operators buy them up, but you can usually get them through 12GoAsia or Bookaway - albeit at a mark up. If you do buy them through an operator, make sure you go to the train station beforehand to collect your physical ticket as they don’t accept the email confirmation (sometimes you have to go to the operators office to collect tickets, or they will deliver to your hotel)

4) Although we never experienced this, we were warned not to use Uber for long journeys as drivers could stop halfway and demand more money due to high fuel prices. We therefore booked longer journeys through hotels with drivers they knew and trusted. It was a little bit more expensive but not much and certainly worth the peace mind

5) Be careful on unlit roads at night. The buses drive extremely fast and we have heard several tales now of tourists being involved in serious and even fatal collisions with buses. Either try go by taxi or make sure you’re walking into traffic, with a torch and able to get off the road if you need to 

6) Make sure you try the Hoppers! They are like a pancake but they’re spread across the pan and have super crispy edges. You can get them with eggs in the middle or just enjoy them with some jam and butter. They also go really well with a curry - don’t leave Sri Lanka until you’ve tried one! (They are made with Rice Flour so are GF too!)

7)If you love nature, we would highly recommend visiting Udawalawe National Park. We saw so much, including elephants, a phenomenal bird life and all sorts of reptiles. The park itself is doing great work in the conversation and preservation of bird life in Sri Lanka so not only do you see some amazing sights, you’re also contributing to a worthy cause. We used a guy called Lahiru (Lahiru Safari Guide Tours is him on google - would definitely recommend)

8) If you can, doing a cooking course whilst you’re in Sri Lanka. The way they cook is completely different to how we do things in the UK, and Europe even. It really opened our eyes to new techniques and a way of blending spices together, something which we really hope to bring into our cooking when we get back home 

9) Make sure you visit a tea plantation! We went to one in Nuwara Eliya, also known as little England as it’s a bit cooler than the rest of country. They are amazing and if you love tea as much as I do, it’s well worth the visit. We also got to sample different types of tea which was great fun and meant we even purchased a little for our trip too! 

We hope that helps, Sri Lanka is an amazing place and we really enjoyed our time there. There’s so much more we could tell you, but we think that those 10 points are really the highlights!