Sri Lanka Tourist Information

By | March 18, 2022

According to Thesciencetutor, Sri Lanka is a country with stunning nature and beaches where you want to completely relax and forget about everything. It is such a beach and relaxing holiday in Sri Lanka that made the country famous all over the world – this is really an amazing place for tourists!

Although, of course, there are also options for more active recreation – diving and surfing, for example. Yes, and lovers of historical sights will have something to see. Have you decided to go to this amazing country and make a tour to Sri Lanka ? Then check out useful information for tourists.

Sri Lanka: location. The island-country is located in the South of Asia, washed by the waters of the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal.

Sri Lanka: the capital. The capital of Sri Lanka is the city of Sri Jayawardena Pura Kotte (most often it is called simply: Kotte). The administrative center of the country houses the Parliament and the Supreme Court. But the actual capital is Colombo – the main and largest city of the country, the residence of the President is also located here.

Sri Lanka: language. The official languages ​​of Sri Lanka are Sinhalese and Tamil. But most of the locals also speak English at a high level.

Sri Lanka: visa. The price for a visa to Sri Lanka is $25. You can get a visa at the airport upon arrival in the country. There is also the option of applying for and purchasing an e-visa, which will cost $20.

Sri Lanka: features of customs control.The customs rules of Sri Lanka impose a restriction on alcoholic products – you should not take with you more than 1.5 liters of spirits and 1.5 liters (two bottles) of wine. Perfumes are limited to 250 ml. For any tobacco products, you will need to pay upon import from 6 to 1300 rupees, depending on the type and quantity. Of course, the import of drugs, weapons and ammunition, explosive materials is prohibited. In addition, you should not take with you plants, meat, medications (except those that are necessary and for which there is a doctor’s prescription). The import of pornographic and atheistic materials is also prohibited. Regarding export from the country, the restriction applies to corals, shells and other marine values. Also, you can take out no more than 10 kilograms of tea for free, more than this weight you need to pay extra.

Sri Lanka: climate and seasonality. The climate in Sri Lanka is very “tourist” – the average temperature in any season of the year is from +28 to +33. Most often, you can expect +30 degrees during the day and 5-7 degrees less at night. The water temperature near the beaches is about +26 to +28.

Sri Lanka: time. While in Sri Lanka, you need to add +2.5 hours to Kiev time in summer, and +3.5 hours in winter.

Sri Lanka: currency. The official currency here is the Sri Lankan rupee. For 1 dollar in Sri Lanka, you can get about 140-145 rupees (LKR).

Sri Lanka: tips. You can leave about 10% for tea in a Sri Lankan institution. Although quite often the tip is already included in the bill.

Sri Lanka: telephone. It will be most profitable in Sri Lanka to buy a SIM card from one of the local operators, for example, Mobitel or Etisalat. They provide prepaid services (referred to as “prepaid”). The mobile phone also has a prepaid tourist tariff of Rs 500 and 1200, which provides a package of SMS and calls to local numbers and numbers in the home country, as well as a certain amount of MB of mobile Internet.

And be sure to remember the emergency numbers:

  • police: 119,
  • ambulance and fire service: 110.

Sri Lanka: electrical grid. In Sri Lanka, the mains voltage is 230V. Regarding the types of sockets, they are non-standard and additional adapters will be needed. Most often you can find round three-pin sockets (2 thin and one thick round plug) and a British-style socket with three flat plugs.

Sri Lanka: dress etiquette. There are no strict clothing requirements for tourists on the island, but you should not enter the temples in clothes with an open back, shoulders, stomach and in shorts or miniskirts. Also, most often in temples you need to take off your shoes.

Sri Lanka: official holidays. There are a huge number of holidays in Sri Lanka (since more than one religion and belief is popular in the country) and they are celebrated very brightly. From what will be of interest to tourists, this is definitely:

  • European New Year (1.01);
  • local New Year (13-14.04);
  • Independence Day (4.02);
  • holiday-festival Esala Perahera is a bright holiday that lasts 11 days and 10 nights. At night, processions of pilgrims take place, carrying out the preserved relic – the tooth of the Buddha. And, of course, everything is celebrated very brightly and noisily – dancers, interesting national costumes, elephants, fire shows – what you will not find at this holiday! In 2016, it falls on August 8-18 (every year the date shifts)

Sri Lanka Tourist Information