The best time to travel & travel route for Sri Lanka

SRI LANKA

The best time to visit and itinerary for Sri Lanka + tips

WHAT IS THE BEST TIME TO TRAVEL TO SRI LANKA?

Sri Lanka's seasons are influenced by the two monsoon winds Yala and Maha. Yala brings heavy rainfall in the South-West from May to September, and Maha brings bad weather in the North-East from October to March. We travelled the route below from the end of November to the beginning of February and hardly had any rain!

Theeplantages in Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka

Itinerary + tips

The best travel route is of course different for everyone, but we can give you some recommendations for the places we have been. We ended up staying 3 months in this beautiful country. We did not get tired of looking at it and decided to stay longer each time.

Sri Lanka is not that big and if you don't have as much time as we do you can easily travel through it in 3 weeks. You could then skip Hikkaduwa and Jaffna and add destinations like Arugam Bay and Trincomalee depending on the season you travel.

Almost all destinations are within a convenient loop, which makes travelling through Sri Lanka extra easy!

Our route:

Negombo

Recover from your flight in Serendib Village .

Hikkaduwa

Enjoy a delicious fresh smoothie bowl at Steffi's Mandala .

Become aware of the impact of the massive tsunami that hit the country in 2014 at the Tsumami Museum .

Galle

Eat the most delicious crab at Bastille Fort .

Take a walk along the city walls.

Go watch a cricket match (in the stadium or just on the street!)

Unawatuna

Learn to cook from super chef Wasantha .

Weligama

Eat the most delicious tuna at Dorians Guest House and Restaurant .

Learn to surf at Surf'n Lanka .

Chill out after your surf lesson at Hangtime Hostel and try their delicious fresh kombucha.

Tip from flip: make your own coffee? Ask them at Hangtime Hostel if they want to grind their delicious coffee for you!

Actually not in Weligama but in Ahangama, but there is a lovely beach with sunbeds: Kabalana Beach.

Mirissa

Want to dine out and fancy some delicious cocktails? Go to Concept La Mer .

Polhena

Chill atBlue Corals Beach Bungalow and snorkel with sea turtles.

Hiriketiya

Enjoy the beautiful bay with palm trees and take a surfing lesson at one of the many surf schools or have a party in Hiriketiya.

Thelulla: Kingdom Eco Lodge

Sleep in a clay bungalow in the middle of nature at Kingdom Eco Lodge and watch the elephants pass your bedroom. One of the highlights of our trip through Sri Lanka!

Ella

Enjoy the enchanting view from your private balcony at Chamodya Home Stay .

Nuwara Eliya

Visit the tea plantations and tea factories where tea is grown and processed in the traditional way.

Kandy

Take a walk around the beautiful lake and have a coffee at Secret Alley Cafe .

Sigiriya

Climb Pidurangala Rock and enjoy the view of Lion's Rock.

Enjoy yourself among the rice fields and have a chat with the friendly owner at Nelu Villa .

Habarana

Sleep in a tree house and dine by the campfire at Usha's Tree House .

Dambulla

Be enchanted by the beauty of the UNESCO-awarded Golden Temple .

Jaffna

Stay with a Sri Lankan family and learn about the culture at Malabar Homestay .

Wilpattu National Park

Start your safari from Wild Wadi Wilpattu and sleep on the most comfortable mattress in Sri Lanka, after taking a dip in your own private pool.

Kalpitiya

Learn to kitesurf and eat at Windy Waves in laidback Kalpitiya.

Feel like exercising and in need of a good coffee? Check out BNKR .

Colombo

Cook your own food again and work in silence as a digital nomad in your own apartment .

Unieke accomodaties in Sri Lanka Usha Tree House

Tips voor een bezoek aan een theefabriek in Sri Lanka

De beste reisroute + tips voor Sri Lanka

Is Sri Lanka safe?

We can be quite brief about this. The answer is yes. In the 3 months that we travelled through Sri Lanka, we never felt unsafe.

The people of Sri Lanka have had a lot to deal with in the past decades. There was a civil war for 27 years, the country was one of the worst hit countries after Indonesia by the tsunami in 2004, and in recent years the country has been in a serious economic crisis. Some things have become 4 times more expensive in a short time and people are struggling to make ends meet. So that is certainly something to take into account. But things are slowly getting better. People want to move forward, they are resilient and hospitable. Everyone is eager for tourists, ready to show you their beautiful country.

It is always good to check the travel advice in advance. But don't be put off. Our experience is that as long as the color is yellow, there are some general risks that always apply when traveling to faraway countries, but that you can go there just fine!