Sri Lanka Trip Review: Truly Awesome!
Hello everyone! My friends and I just came back from an 11-day trip to Sri Lanka over Chinese New Year. I absolutely loved the trip, so I wanted to share my experiences and tips about this incredible place with you all!
1. Is Sri Lanka Worth Visiting?
Yes, absolutely! 100% worth it! Especially if you have kids. It's animal paradise! Elephants roam freely on the roads. I watched a baby elephant spend five hours just washing grass by a lake. Amazing! Kids will love Sri Lanka because of all the safaris, animals on land and in the water, and even the chance to swim with sea turtles. How cool is that?
Even without kids, Sri Lanka is still a great choice. The biggest draw for me are the clean and beautiful beaches. I actually prefer Sri Lanka to Bali. In Bali, you need to stay at resorts in Lovina or take a boat to Nusa Penida for nice beaches. In Sri Lanka, Galle and Mirissa are more than enough. Sri Lanka also offers all sorts of adventurous activities and relaxing getaways, just like Bali. Plus, the seafood is freshly caught, unlike the frozen seafood in Bali.
2. When is the Best Time to Visit Sri Lanka?
The best time to visit is between December and April because it's the best season in the South. I only visited temples in the North and didn't explore the beaches there, so I'm not sure how beautiful they are. But the beaches in the South are incredibly stunning and clean. I even like the beaches there more than Almafi or Costa de Brava.
3. Where Should You Go in Sri Lanka?
If you're a Buddhist, you can visit Anuradhapura to explore the temples. The Rock Carving Temple in Dambulla is also very beautiful and worth a visit. For a basic itinerary, you should visit Sigiriya, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya (like our Cameron Highlands), Ella, and Galle. I especially loved Galle because I met a super friendly tuk-tuk driver who showed me all the best places to eat and have fun from morning until midnight. It was awesome!
If you're physically fit and devoted to Buddhism, you can try climbing Adam's Peak. However, the steps are steep, the wind is very cold, and you might get stuck in traffic during the pilgrimage season in January and February. So, it's not recommended for those who are not physically active. It took me a total of 12 hours to get back to the hotel (including a 5-hour wait on the mountain!).
Don't go to Colombo. I regret wasting a day there. It was so boring!
4. Should You Book the Kandy-Ella Train?
Everyone raves about this train ride, so you might want to book it. However, getting these tickets is even harder than getting tickets to the Colosseum in Rome. I couldn't get a ticket for that train, so I booked a steam train instead. The trip was still satisfying, but I missed the Nine Arch Bridge (because I bought the wrong ticket; I should have gotten off one stop later) and didn't get to see the tea plantations.
5. How is the Food in Sri Lanka? Is it Expensive?
If you can eat local food, it's cheap. You can feed two people for MYR 10-15, but it's mostly curry. If you want to try local food, go to a curry buffet. There are many options, so you won't get bored. Local restaurants usually only serve naan bread with a bowl of curry (no meat) or huge fried rice.
Food gets progressively more expensive as you go south. Seafood is very pricey. The best thing to do is go to Galle, call my tuk-tuk driver friend, and he'll take you around and cook for you. Delicious, affordable, and very much to the Malaysian taste. Oh my, I still miss his cooking so much!
Western food costs around MYR 15 per person (this is for 5 people sharing 4 dishes) in the North or the Kandy-Ella area. In the South, it's around MYR 30 per person (including seafood).
6. Should You Book a Driver for the Whole Trip or Just for Certain Legs?
Drivers in Sri Lanka can be quite unreliable. They might show you a nice car in a picture but then bring you a worse one. So, if you're travelling in a group, I recommend booking with a reputable driver for the whole trip if possible. The driver I booked was very honest and helpful. Also, the tuk-tuk driver/chef in Galle is extremely friendly. He now also takes groups of up to 14 people, so if you need his contact information, PM me. Otherwise, I think they are mostly unreliable.
7. What's the Train Experience Like?
The steam train experience is okay. The train is clean and beautiful. There's no air conditioning, but the weather is cool like in Cameron Highlands, so it's fine. The local train from Galle to Colombo is an "indescribable" experience. The scenery along the way is very beautiful (running along the coast), but the three-hour ride has no air conditioning, and you have to fight for a seat. So, if you choose this option, remember to bring a small suitcase. In Sri Lanka, luggage is not allowed at the front of the train or next to the aisle but has to be placed above your head (just like on an airplane). Imagine carrying 15-20kg of luggage up there! Luckily, my tuk-tuk friend from Galle was keen to join us on the trip to Colombo. He ended up being my porter! Without him pulling me along and carrying my luggage, I would have been standing for three hours all the way to Colombo!
8. What are the Hotels Like in Sri Lanka?
Be warned that most hotels don't have hot water or air conditioning. So, check carefully with the hotel before you arrive.
9. Sri Lanka E-Visa?
There are fake websites, so be careful. The fake website looks exactly like the government website, but the funny thing is that when I tried filling in the information, it sent me an email urging me to pay immediately or I wouldn't get a discount. That sounded fishy. To differentiate, remember that the price of the ETA is MYR 235 but the fake website charges MYR 700 per person.
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