For those with a slightly smaller budget, going about in Sri Lanka is not so easy as it is in India or Nepal, where cheap guest houses and restaurants are in abundance. Here are a few tips!
The guest houses I stayed was Sea House. You'll find it here . It's a tiny little guest house with a very nice manager. A single room was 1500. If you look around in the area, you might be able to find a room for 1000, but no less then that. You can find a few guest houses with rooms for 1500 rupees.
Good restaurant are plenty, for non-veggies the seafood is paradise. For the veggies, nice dishes are a cheese kotha (sliced roti with vegetables and cheese), or rice & curry. Also I had a very tasty Sri Lankan style buryani (rice with spices, veg, and mine included some ananas). For less then 300 rupees it's difficult to find something decent to eat, normal prices range between 400-600 rupees. The cheapest option is to get a lunchbox, that's what many locals do! It's usually rice with a few different side dishes, like vegetables, dal, mango curry, chicken and some seafood. It's really fine food, very tasty. The good thing about Sri Lanka, is that you don't need to worry about hygiene as you should in India. Their hygiene is pretty good and I've neither heard nor read about problems with the food.You can get the lunch boxes for about 200 rupees. Then, the best thing to drink is coconut water! For only 50 rupees you can get them at the beach or along the road in vegetable stands.
Housing and food will take the larger part of you budget, travelling around won't cost you that much. The cheapest, and according to Lonely Planet also the most amazing, are the railways, but unfortunately they were having a strike when I had to travel. Buses from Colombo are also very cheap and can take you anywhere in Sri Lanka. If you have some travel companions, tuk-tuk's and taxi are also affordable. As always in the east, before you get in, make sure to negotiate the price.
More information you can find through Google, and the newest Lonely Planet is, as always, a good companion as well. Google maps on your phone can also be a great aid. Have fun!
Negombo ocean
When you arrive in Colombo, a smart thing to do while still in the airport, is to get a Sri Lankan sim card. There are several companies you can choose from; I chose air-tel, which for 1000 rupees offered me a sim with 10gb valid for 1 month, and some calling credit. Enough to get me going for the next month. Changing money is of course also a good idea, but don't change too much, as in the airport they give you very bad rates. Outside the airport you can get much better rates.
Then how to get away from the airport. Instead of taking a taxi, you need to walk only a few hundred meters to get to the main road. From there you can take a tuk-tuk, which are cheaper.
Most of us will want to chill out a bit before continuing the journey. A good option is to crash in a town called Negombo beach. This is only a few minutes drive from the airport, much nearer and thus also cheaper to go then Colombo. Also, big cities, especially capital, tend to be more expensive. If you take the tuk-tuk to Negombo, make sure to negotiate the price for Negombo beach, not just Negombo, since it's a bit further. 1000 rupees or a bit more should get you there.
Fisherman's chill-out hut with fish drying in front
Good restaurant are plenty, for non-veggies the seafood is paradise. For the veggies, nice dishes are a cheese kotha (sliced roti with vegetables and cheese), or rice & curry. Also I had a very tasty Sri Lankan style buryani (rice with spices, veg, and mine included some ananas). For less then 300 rupees it's difficult to find something decent to eat, normal prices range between 400-600 rupees. The cheapest option is to get a lunchbox, that's what many locals do! It's usually rice with a few different side dishes, like vegetables, dal, mango curry, chicken and some seafood. It's really fine food, very tasty. The good thing about Sri Lanka, is that you don't need to worry about hygiene as you should in India. Their hygiene is pretty good and I've neither heard nor read about problems with the food.You can get the lunch boxes for about 200 rupees. Then, the best thing to drink is coconut water! For only 50 rupees you can get them at the beach or along the road in vegetable stands.
Housing and food will take the larger part of you budget, travelling around won't cost you that much. The cheapest, and according to Lonely Planet also the most amazing, are the railways, but unfortunately they were having a strike when I had to travel. Buses from Colombo are also very cheap and can take you anywhere in Sri Lanka. If you have some travel companions, tuk-tuk's and taxi are also affordable. As always in the east, before you get in, make sure to negotiate the price.
More information you can find through Google, and the newest Lonely Planet is, as always, a good companion as well. Google maps on your phone can also be a great aid. Have fun!
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