Colombo Court Blog Colombo
Before you travel to Sri Lanka: what our team would tell a friend
Ten practical things about money, tuk-tuks, temples, food and the weather that make the first days easier, from people who live here.
Sri Lanka is small, friendly and easy to travel in. A few things are worth knowing before you land, and they are the things we find ourselves telling guests at the desk on their first morning. Here they are in one place.
Ten things
1. Ask the price first, or use the meter. Tuk-tuks in Colombo have meters; ask the driver to use it, or book through PickMe, the local ride app, which shows the fare before you go. Either way you will pay a fair price and skip the negotiation.
2. Carry some cash. Cards work in hotels, restaurants and larger shops. Markets, tuk-tuks and food carts are cash only. ATMs are everywhere in the city.
3. Cover up at temples. Shoulders and knees covered, shoes and hats off before you enter. A light scarf in your bag solves most of it. White is traditional but not required.
4. Try the food, all of it. Rice and curry is the national dish and comes in every heat from mild to fierce; say “less spicy” if you would like it gentler. Egg hoppers, string hoppers, pol roti and kottu are the everyday classics. Crab curry is the one worth travelling for. Breakfast here is a good introduction.
5. Drink bottled or filtered water. We filter and bottle ours in glass on site. Elsewhere, sealed bottles are everywhere.
6. Poya days are dry. On the monthly full-moon holiday no alcohol is served anywhere. Plan your rooftop evening for another night.
7. The weather comes in two halves. The south-west coast and Colombo are driest from December to April; the east coast is driest from May to September. The best time to visit explains why the answer is two answers.
8. Wildlife is close. Leopards at Yala, elephants at Minneriya and Udawalawe, whales off Mirissa. Even Colombo has monitor lizards in the lake and squirrels in every garden, including ours.
9. Keep valuables in the room safe, and keep the conversation with strangers to the weather and cricket. Sri Lankans are genuinely curious and genuinely helpful; a little ordinary care is all that is needed.
10. Slow down. The island rewards people who do fewer things. How many days in Colombo is a fair question, and the answer is usually more than you planned.
