11 things you need to know before visiting Sri Lanka

Bring Sunscreen & Insect Repellent

While you can get both on Sri Lanka, they're not always easy to find, and they're often extremely expensive compared to what you'd pay elsewhere. This is especially true of sunscreen. Make sure you're well supplied before arriving.

Full moon/Poya Days

Full moon days, known locally as a "Poya Days", are very busy at temples and religious sites around the country. Expect temples and shrines to be full of locals worshipping and leaving offerings.
There are also no alcohol sales on these days from the off licenses, you'll still be able to buy in bars and restaurants.
If you're thinking of hiking Sri Pada/Adam's peak then be aware that in addition to regular religious holidays, Poya days are insanely busy and you may be in a queue all the way to the top. If you can even get to the top.

Wildlife

Sri Lanka has an incredible array of wildlife that you can see when visiting the country. Wild elephants, bears, and leopards are the most sought after sightings on land while dolphins, blue whales, sperm whales, sea turtles, and occasionally orcas.
If you're hoping to see some of the incredible wildlife then you need to make sure you're visiting the right places at the right time of year. You can see most species for most of the year but only in certain places.

"Hotels" Are Local Restaurants

Somewhat confusingly, most local restaurants are called "hotels". These types of restaurants will mostly have a only a few types of food, say kotthu, fried rice, fried noodles, and rotti, with as many variations on each one as you can possibly conceive. They're great value places to eat if you're on a budget.

While most will offer rice and curry, it is predominantly a lunchtime offering and not possible if you go for dinner so bear that in mind.

Ella to Kandy Train

One of the most famous and beautiful train journeys in the world. Maybe not surprisingly, is also important to plan ahead for.
You can book your tickets in advance online and we highly recommend you do this to make sure you get a comfortable seat by the window for what is a very long and slow train ride through incredible landscapes.
If you're renting with tuktuk rental and want to do the train journey then you can ask them to drive your tuktuk for you to the other end so you can drop your tuktuk, experience the train, and pick it up at the other side.
You could also drive the route yourself, our favourite, and enjoy the various viewpoints and waterfalls along the route with the time to get amazing photos and truly enjoy them.

Shoes Off

All temples/religious sites and most guesthouses will ask you to remove your shoes when coming inside. So be prepared to walk around barefoot on the floor or bring socks if you don't like the idea of doing that.
We also highly recommend wearing footwear thats easy to slip on and off as it does get annoying quite fast to be constantly tying and untying shoelaces.

WiFi

WiFi is still very expensive in Sri Lanka, compared to wages, and often is not very fast, not very reliable, or not unlimited so you'll see signs asking you to not stream Netflix etc.
Relying on your hotel wifi for anything important isn't a great idea, even in the digital nomad hubs. Luckily local sim cards with masses of data are extremely cheap.

You can buy a Hutch eSim before you arrive and get lots of data for not much money. Hutch is really best in urban areas and doesn't work well in the countryside.
You can get a Dialog or Mobitel eSim at stores in the country but not before arriving, which is frustrating. The coverage from both of these is better than Hutch but they're a little more expensive.
If you're using a physical sim card then you can grab one at the airport no problem.
We do not recommend eSim apps like Mobitel, Airalo etc for Sri Lanka. They are 4 or 5 times the price of the local sims. At worst you can get a short term sim so you can use a ride hailing app at the airport when you arrive and then sort a local eSim for better value.

PickMe App

The best ride hailing app in Sri Lanka is PickMe. You can use it to get a taxi at the airport when you arrive and also tuktuks around any of the major cities. You can pay by card on the app too.
Just be aware that drivers won't take you places far out of town where they can't get another fare. If you're looking to get a tuktuk to some remote waterfall and back again then you'll need to negotiate with a driver directly so that they'll wait for you. Best to get your guesthouse to help with this, but its not difficult to do.

Buses

Buses are plentiful and the main way that many locals get around. If you don't mind cramped conditions and no aircon then you can easily navigate between cities using the buses.
Two things to be aware of, they are often extremely busy with little space for bags and you may not get a seat even on a 3 or 4 hour journey.

Secondly the drivers drive insanely fast and aggressively for the size of vehicle and the width of the road. We have seen a bus almost go onto two wheels going round a corner in Sri Lanka. Be ready for that.

Spicy Food

Sri Lankans love spicy food. Pepper is indiginous to South India and has been present in Sri Lankan cuisine for thousands of years. You'll see dried red chillis, big pale green chillis, and small round red chillis (these are savage) in every market.
Sri Lankans are also extremely aware that, especially white, tourists are not used to spicy food and may not enjoy it. If you are worried about the food being too spicy, don't be. Simply asking for "no spice" or "a little spicy" will get you something you'll enjoy. Since everything is cooked fresh to order they can customise nearly any dish for you.
If, like us, you love spicy food then you need to remember to ask for it whenever you order and really emphasise how hot you want it. "Sri Lanka spicy" is a good way to get something maybe 80% of the way to what the locals eat.

Island Time

Nothing happens quickly in Sri Lanka, very few things happen exactly on time. Tours will always try to start and finish exactly as described but won't always succeed. Public transport runs on its own schedule which is loosely related to the published version.
If you're eating out then expect 30-40 minutes for your food to arrive. Everything is made to order and mostly from raw ingredients. Just relax, take in the atmosphere and enjoy the more laidback vibe of things happening at a slower pace.