Prices in Sri Lanka for tourists

Sri Lanka is still a relatively new mass tourist destination. Less than 20 years ago, a civil war lasting several decades ended here, and only after that tourism became available as a mass direction and began to develop rapidly. Because of this, some tourists think that prices here for everything are very low, since local tourism is fighting for the tourists who have appeared in the country. But in fact, that's not entirely true. Unfortunately, local tourism business "big shots" and the government, in our opinion, are trying to "skim as much cream as possible" from the flow of tourists that has poured into the country, and therefore prices for some tourist services and goods by Asian standards are unjustifiably inflated here.

Here is our updated selection of prices for the most important goods and services for tourists, which you can use to calculate your vacation or travel budget:

Tour prices to Sri Lanka

The minimum price for a seven-day tour departing from Moscow with accommodation in a more or less normal hotel starts from 200,000 rubles for two, and the cheapest tour from 150,000, which can quite compete with the cost of a self-organized trip. Therefore, if your goal is just to spend a few days by the sea, you can get by with buying a tour. You can check tour prices to Sri Lanka using the following trusted online tour search and booking services, or through the search form:

• Tours to Sri Lanka on Level.Travel
• Tours to Sri Lanka on Travelata.ru
• Tours to Sri Lanka on Onlinetours.ru

If you want to create a more complex and longer program for visiting Sri Lanka with acquaintance of different places in the country, then prices for excursion tours increase sharply, and independent trips remain out of competition.

Hotel prices in Sri Lanka

The situation with hotel prices looks like this: in Sri Lanka you can find relatively inexpensive accommodation, but it will be just a shed compared to accommodation of the same price category, for example, in Thailand. But if you go a little beyond budget accommodation by Asian standards, then you can already get a good hotel with all amenities. It's hard to find something in between for reasonable money here.

Transport and flight prices in Sri Lanka

Fortunately for tourists, transport prices in Sri Lanka are simply ridiculous, at least as long as we're not talking about tourist transport. Travel by land on local public transport, both urban and intercity, costs mere pennies. Mainly public transport here is represented by urban and intercity buses and trains. For example, a trip on a local comfortable air-conditioned bus from Negombo to Colombo costs 1500 rupees. On non-air-conditioned buses, the fare is even less: from Hikkaduwa to Galle you can travel for 200 rupees. A city bus ride in Colombo costs from 44 rupees. A train ride from Colombo to Hikkaduwa (distance 100 kilometers) costs 200 rupees.

The famous and ubiquitous tuk-tuks are also to some extent public transport and are very actively used by locals. At the same time, tuk-tuk drivers charge tourists three times more, and for an amount less than 500 rupees they won't even move. There are tuk-tuks with meters (Taxi meter), but in practice it's unrealistic for a tourist to ride on meter. Therefore, it's better to order tuk-tuks and taxis through the Pick-me app or the international Uber, where the cost of a trip starts from 200 rupees (0.6 USD).

As for domestic flights, there are no regular flights between the country's airports. There are only private charter flights on small planes or helicopters that anyone can order. But they are very expensive, it's cheaper to take a taxi.

Motorbike rental in Sri Lanka can be found from 2200 rupees (6.65 USD) per day, but such a price cannot be found everywhere, usually higher. In less touristy areas, motorbike rental is asked from 10 dollars per day.

Food, drinks and fruit prices in Sri Lanka

Prices for food and drinks in Sri Lanka are by no means lower than in Russia. And some products, such as eggs, milk and meat, are much more expensive.

As for fruits, there is also a problem here. Unfortunately, on an industrial scale, very few varieties of fruits are grown in Sri Lanka despite the wonderful natural conditions. And although almost all known varieties of exotic fruits can be found for sale in season and out of season, their prices are very high. Perhaps only bananas, jackfruit, papaya, coconuts, durian and mango (in season) stand out in terms of affordability. And all other fruits are difficult to find out of season, mainly they are imported and very expensive, especially compared to other Asian countries, and especially Southeast Asia.

Prices for packaged products are almost the same everywhere, only in some places in private shops they may be sold at inflated prices, but this is rather an exception. In general, prices for all products in Sri Lanka are set by the manufacturer and indicated on the packaging, and they are sold everywhere only at such prices, even in private shops (with rare exceptions).

However, at the same time, you can eat in cafes and restaurants here very, very cheaply, but only if you learn to find establishments for locals and get used to enduring sometimes prevailing unsanitary conditions and monotonous tasteless food. The minimum bill for dinner without drinks in such places will be from 400 rupees (1.21 USD). To eat tasty, you will have to visit cafes and restaurants already oriented towards tourists, where the minimum cost for one dish will be from 1000 rupees without drinks (3.02 USD), but to have a full meal with a drink and pleasure, you will need to leave at least 2000 rupees/person. It is worth noting that prices in tourist establishments vary greatly from place to place and between resorts, and sometimes even in completely unattractive places for a completely disgusting dinner they can ask as much as in a restaurant for tourists, so always check the price of a dish before ordering.

Alcohol and cigarette prices

Alcohol and cigarettes in Sri Lanka are also very expensive due to high taxes. Below is a selection of prices when buying in stores, in cafes and restaurants it's twice as expensive:

Excursion and attraction prices in Sri Lanka

High prices for excursions and visiting attractions in Sri Lanka defy any explanation. Rather modest attractions charge fees for which in other countries you can visit several places at once. But the worst thing is that prices for tourists and locals differ by dozens of times. For example, to visit the famous Pigeon Island in Trincomalee, tourists without boat cost must pay 50 dollars, while locals pay only 3 dollars. Moreover, some attractions like temples and historical sites are generally free for local residents, but charge tourists from 500 rupees. Of course, excursion prices are also very high.

Here is an example of entrance fees for some main attractions:

Communication and internet prices

Local SIM cards are very inexpensive if you buy them wisely. In official mobile operator stores in cities and at the airport, you can buy a SIM card with a plan for just 1399 rupees for 20GB valid for one month. Moreover, in fact, you will only pay for the plan itself, and the SIM card will be given for free. But if you buy SIM cards not in official stores, but in tourist places like travel agencies and from private distributors, you will pay several times more. Read more in our separate guide about buying a local SIM card, so as not to make a mistake and overpay.

Souvenir and other prices

Cheap souvenirs in Sri Lanka will have to be searched for, or you need to bargain very hard. Usually even the simplest magnet at the market is offered for 300 rupees. As an option, you can buy souvenirs in stores with fixed prices. Nevertheless, something interesting and for reasonable money can be bought from hands near popular attractions, but again you need to bargain.