Having got home from Sr Lanka a few days ago we decide a Top Tips blog would help those thinking of going to Sri Lanka to maximise there enjoyment and not make some of the mistakes we did. 

1. Apply for your e-visa, ETA online prior to going. It’s easy and saves you queuing and waiting to do it on arrivals, it’s also cheaper. Make certain you apply for it on the official website so that you are not overcharged. You don’t get a paper ETA but you receive a message saying it’s been granted and it’s automatically attached to your passport number. We did print off the email saying it had been granted but we didn’t need it. We did it through the link on https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/sri-lanka/entry-requirements

2.  Once your ETA has been granted the email allows you to fill out an online entry form…..oh how I wish I had done this…when you arrive if you’ve already done this you walk straight through to a set of immigration booths and straight out…those who had done it were out in moments. The rest of us queued to fill in the form online only to find the machines not working, we then queued for a paper form, then queued for a space to fill in one for each of us. Then the final queue was about 100 people going through 3 immigration booths one at a time..it seemed to take forever…all because I couldn’t be bothered to spend 10 minutes filling in the online form prior to arrival.

3. Once you’ve passed through immigration and customs you come into a large hall with Foreign Exchange booths prior to the next section where the guides, drivers etc wait. We strongly recommend you change money here. The Thomas Cook booth offered the best exchange on both US$ and £. Change enough for your trip, because we didn’t see another exchange booth throughout our trip. Ask them for small denominations because they like to give you LKR5000 notes and no porter, tuk-tuk driver or waiter will be able to give you change for LKR5000, so ask for quite a few 100’s and 500’s. Some hotels and shops will change US$. We had to change in a fabric shop in Kandy and didn’t get a great exchange rate. You also need to keep some US$ because some attractions have international visitors entrance fees in $ although I think you can pay in LKR ( Sri Lankan Rupees) ours was all paid as part of our holiday.

4. If you are being met by a guide or driver they will be holding a placard with your name on. PLEASE make certain it’s the right person….we instantly saw a placard with Jackson  on it, so we greeted the driver and started going with him, when I asked if he was going to be our driver for the whole trip. He responded that he was just taking us to our hotel in Colombo…..hang on!!!!! Our hotel was in Negombo…..it seemed there were two Jackson’s on the incoming flight…so back we went. We quickly found our guide and driver Suminda, who also had a placard with Jackson on it!! He greeted us with a warm welcome and a garland of orchids each…and yes he was our companion for all of our vacation….phew just missed a catastrophe!!

5. At the back of the arrivals hall are the telecom sales booths. We carry a Huawei router when we travel so that we have portable WiFi . We had been recommended either Dialog or SLT Mobitel. We went for the SLT Mobitel the data SIM card was US$13 for 60gb. This lasted us our entire trip and we WhatsApp every day to UK , surfed the internet and used Facebook, uploaded our blog and photos to Flickr. We usually used our own internet rather than the poor signals we so often had in hotels. Once again it’s easiest to buy it at the airport…they’ll even fit it and check it’s working. 

6. Try and go to a supermarket on the way to your accommodation. We really recommend that you purchase an electric plug in mosquito repellent. Not all places have them and they really work…we didn’t just have it on at night we left it on all the time. The other purchase is “Kick” Citronella Spray… a big bottle you can spray on ankles, feet, arms etc…I used it twice a day  but you could probably get away with just in the evenings…even my husband used it when he noticed a lot of bites on his legs. 

7. When using a tuk-tuk  agree the price before you get in. Try and ascertain the rough price from your hotel or restaurant…but if you can’t ask the price and then the best price which is usually about half the original price. 

8. Try and only book Bed & Breakfast. We found half board in some places, gave you no choice or only a choice of two mains and the protein portions were very meagre. In one hotel it was just fried rice with very little tasty additions and a chicken drumstick, the chicken must of died from anorexia!! Having said this the half board  at The Beach & Bliss 4* hotel was superb. But if you just book B&B you can choose from the menu or choose to eat at an alternative restaurant.

9. Some UK bank cards don’t seem to work in the ATM machines and we didn’t really find out why. My husbands Santander card worked. It only allowed a maximum of LKR50,000 a day which is approx £135. My NatWest card got declined twice at 2 different locations, I was too afraid to try a 3rd time..we don’t know why. So make certain you have enough cash to see you through ……credit cards aren’t always accepted. The Commercial Bank didn’t charge for ATM transactions. The HNB charged LKR800 about £2. 

10. If you plan to do the train journey from Kandy to Ella you need to book in advance 1st Class air conditioned reserved seats are the best….loads say 2nd class reserved seat are good…but people open the windows and it gets very hot…in 1st class you can still walk through the carriages and look out of the open window. Tickets are difficult to get so contact an agent like Jetwing travel well before you go and ask them to get you tickets. There’s no point turning up on the day and expecting to get a reserved seat ticket.

11. If you go to Ella you need to prebook accommodation and a restaurant …it’s very busy….the recommended best restaurant is The White Rabbit…which we had our hotel  prebook..when we arrived every table was full and people were being sent away…the food was superb.

12. If you decide to stay at Sea World Botique, Mirissa make certain you state you want a sea-view room. They are divine and the road side are small, noisy and not so great. 

13. The food at Beach & Bliss, Mirissa is superb. The restaurant SALT or perhaps it’s SOLT, Mirissa is a real experience…sitting at the waters edge, selecting your own fish having it cooked and served to you under the star….wonderful experience. 

14. If you do pay by credit card be warned that they add 3 or 4% for the privilege.

15. If you are attempting to climb either Dambulla Cave temple ( 364 steps) or Sigiriya Rock Fortress(1200steps) you need to do it in the early morning before it gets too hot and crowded.