Sri Lanka
No stress country
Year Visited
2025
In
By airplane to Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport
First Money
ATM is located outside of airport at the right hand side after exit from building. Fee is 800 Rupees everywhere.
No problem to find ATMs in other cities and places.
First Transport
By airport exit is bus station. Bus to Colombo central station costs 350 Rupees. Takes approx. 1 and half hour, 35 km. From Central Station is possible to take bus anywhere and it is also nearby main train station Colombo Fort and in city centre.
Inland Transport
The traffic is very chaotic and seems dangerous, made worse by the fact that they drive in the wrong (English) direction, but they drive wherever there is space, stopping and pulling out onto the road in a completely unpredictable manner. Cars, but also trains drive extremely slowly, arouf 30 km/h. The fastest are buses.
It is possible rent a scooter.
Ticket to train is better to buy in advance, if is possible locally, but also online easily. But they want your passport number.
People
Very friendly, nice and helpful people everywhere. Even tuktuk riders and taxi drivers.
Also no problem to speak english with all of them.
Accomodation
Weligama: Surasa Beach Resort – great from all views, directly by ocean
Ella: Top Heaven -great from all views, very close to center
Nuwera Eliya: Blue Moon Residency – good location, bad everything
Colombo: Urban Deck – good location, clean, but very noisy
Shopping
Enough small shops but also bigger air-conditioned markets at european level
Eating, drinking
Water is drinkable.
Food is at good level, somewhere really delicious (fishes, rotti, devilled chicken, chicken curry).
Beer “Lion” tastes like donkey piss.
Weligama: fish restaurants front of Surasa hotel, Rotti Hut at the corner to city center. I recommend Sithum and Real Fish Point.
Ella: Fish & Chips Restaurant and Rotti Hut fron of bus station. Cafe Chill.
Places of Interest
Weligama beach
Yala National Park
Ella 9-arc bridge
Nuwera Eliya tea plantages
Colombo Gangaramaya Temple. The center of Colombo really stinks of shit. Probably because of the sewage system right under the sidewalks.
Out
By airplane from Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport
Colombo to airport, bus number 187 from Colombo Fort Train Station. Price 300 LKR, time 1:30 to 2 hours. Bus will kick you out approx 5 minutes by walk to airport entrance.
Airport shops are insanely overexpensive! E.g. the same tea in Colombo costs 5USD, but at the airport 30! But inside of airport at the left side before check-ins is mini-market with standard prices.