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Sri-LankaSri Lanka is a beautiful country with friendly people, beautiful nature, interesting history and attractions, and wonderful beaches. But in addition to the pluses, there are also minuses that can disappoint unprepared tourists. In order not to be disappointed, you need to understand that you should not compare holidays in Sri Lanka with Thailand, Vietnam, or even with Russian southern resorts, everything is different here.
We tried to make as objective a review as possible, collecting all the pros and cons that you have a chance to encounter during your vacation or travel.
Cons, or why not go to Sri Lanka
- 1. In Sri Lanka there are no resorts with a developed urban or at least close to this infrastructure. All resorts rather look like villages with the appropriate setting and atmosphere. There is not a single resort, in terms of development, reaching even the simplest places of rest in other Southeast Asian countries, or even in the Russian South, here. See overview of all resorts in Sri Lanka...
- 2. There are no big shopping centers and supermarkets. The only exceptions are Colombo and Kandy, but you are unlikely to rest there.
- 3. Transport is poorly developed. There are buses and trains, and you can go almost anywhere and inexpensively. But they are not suitable for more or less comfortable movement. Sometimes even in trains you have to go standing at many hours of travel, because there are no places, what can we say about buses, whose drivers are so famous for careless driving at high speeds. At the same time, in Sri Lanka you will not find inexpensive tourist buses or group transfers between resorts. Therefore, for traveling around the country there is such a choice: rent transport, hire a taxi, or Master inconvenient local transport. Learn moreabout transport in Sri Lanka and what to use here...
- 4. It's a dirty country by our standards. Mud is everywhere in Sri Lanka, even in national parks and sacred places. Although the country's leadership is trying to teach people to cleanliness, apparently, more than one generation will change before the locals stop throwing garbage anywhere.
- 5. High prices for visiting attractions for tourists. The island has several iconic attractions included in the UNESCO World Heritage list, but in our opinion the price for visiting them is extremely high. For example, to visit Sigiriya costs $ 30, Polonnaruwu – 25, Anuradapuru – 25. And if you can still understand that for a visit to the Archaeological Park Polonnaruwa, which you can see all day, you will have to pay $ 25, then for an hour walk around Sigiriya $ 30 is too much.
- 6. There are no inexpensive group excursions. Inexpensive group tours by bus, sightseeing tours in Sri Lanka are almost impossible to find. We met only in Hikkaduwa, and very little. At all other resorts there are none at all, and you will have to get acquainted with the sights either by yourself mastering local transport, or buying expensive individual tours by car.
- 7. The kitchen is monotonous. Anyway, the local food is too monotonous for our taste. There is no such wealth of flavors and aromas, as, for example, in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia. The main dish you will have to eat here is rice with Curry and rice with chicken in different forms. Despite the abundance of spices, only salt, pepper and Curry are usually served as seasonings, and no 5-6 jars with different sauces, as in Thailand. Read more about Sri Lankan cuisine here...
- 8. Fruit. Surprisingly, the tropical island of Sri Lanka is tight with exotic fruits. Mostly bananas and coconuts are sold everywhere, but real exotics like Mango, Mangosteen, lychee, rambutan, etc.are not common.
- 9. Locals, especially young ones, can be too intrusive. In non-popular tourist places, the appearance of European tourists on the beach causes such a stir that it is simply impossible to relax and relax: everyone wants to meet and chat, especially young people. Moreover, they have no "brakes" at all, and they can start touching your things without asking, talking about sensitive topics, asking for money, etc.
- 10. No entertainment. In Sri Lanka there are no usual tourist attractions like water parks, dolphinariums, tourist pedestrian streets, amusement parks. Not at all. Nowhere!!!
- 11. Lots of crows and stray dogs. For some reason we don't understand, there are a lot of crows and dangerous stray dogs here. Who like, but US (authors of the site) this is constantly "annoying" while traveling. There were even cases of being bitten by dogs.
Pros, or why you should go to Sri Lanka
- 1. Beautiful weather and sunshine. Few resorts boast a year-round season, and Sri Lanka can. It is always warm here, you just need to choose the right place during the year. To know when and where to go, see overview of seasons in Sri Lanka.
- 2. Low prices. If you do not take into account the inflated prices for visiting attractions and excursions, in general, in Sri Lanka you can relax and travel very, very cheap. If you want to save money, you can live a whole week for $ 100 per person, and at the same time also move between resorts and cities. See prices in Sri Lanka...
- 3. Few tourists. Most of Sri Lanka is still not trampled by tourists, including beach resorts, and this is a plus. And this is one of the few Southeast Asian countries where there are still few Chinese.
- 4. Very cheap transport. With all the disadvantages of transport, which are mentioned above, if you get used to buses and trains, you can travel all over the country for a penny.
- 5. Very friendly people. In general, Sri Lankans are very friendly. Just incredibly friendly. Always ready to just talk or help, unless they cross the boundaries with their obsession. But all this does not apply to taxi drivers and those working in tourism, they have a completely different approach: to get as much money as possible from a tourist.
- 6. Great surfing. If you love surfing, then this is the perfect place. The waves here are simply magnificent, and at any time of the year. You just need to choose the right place at the right time.
Do not be alarmed by the fact that the reasons not to go turned out to be more than pluses. In fact, these are not even minuses, but rather features that for someone will be minuses, and for someone on the contrary will be a reason to definitely visit Sri Lanka. And if you have something to add or you do not agree with something, you can share your opinion on our forum.