We had plans to meet Megan’s mom in Singapore at the end of December, which left us about two weeks to fill after our group tour in India concluded. Sri Lanka wasn’t a country on our radar when we began our RTW trip, but after looking at a map and flight options, it seemed to be the next logical stop. We were so glad we went! This small island nation ended up being one of our favorite places we visited on our entire trip. From the varied landscapes to the delicious food to the welcoming people to the plethora of outdoor activities, we loved our time in Sri Lanka. Plus, it was very affordable!
As I was writing this post, I kept wanting to include more travel tips and share our experiences, so you can expect a Sri Lanka itinerary sometime in the next few weeks future. If there’s anything specific you want to know, please tell me in the comments!
For now, here’s a breakdown of every cent we spent in Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka: $1,131.73
Transportation: $106.50
The central “hill country” part of Sri Lanka is known for its gorgeous train routes, including one from Badulla to Kandy that is often (deservedly) called one of the prettiest train rides in the world. Even better: Train tickets are only a few dollars each! We paid $1.50-$3.50 USD per person, depending on the route. For almost anywhere you want to go in Sri Lanka that doesn’t have a railway, it’s very easy to get around with private transport. Our accommodations often helped us book a driver to get from place to place. We paid $45 USD to go from Galle to Udawalawe (~80 miles) and $25 USD to go from Udawalawe to Ella (~55 miles). Average: $8.19/day.
Lodging: $385.84
We were very happy with most of our accommodations in Sri Lanka. We spent our first and final nights on the island at larger hotels in Colombo for around $45-55 USD/night (we especially enjoyed C 1 Colombo Fort and its rooftop breakfast), and the rest of our time was mostly spent in homestays ($25-30/night) and small hotels ($30-$40/night). My favorite accommodation in Sri Lanka was Rest Full Homestay in Ella because its breakfast was unbelievable (see the featured photo at the top of this post for proof). I would legitimately start thinking about the breakfast around 3-4 p.m. the prior day. We also loved our homestay at Southern Comforts in Galle. The location was superb, and our host surprised us with complimentary sandwiches and snacks for our ride to our next destination! Average: $29.68/night.
Eating out: $282.87
As tended to be the norm by this point in our RTW trip, we ate out pretty much all the time. Sri Lanka was one of our favorite countries for food, so we definitely patronized the local restaurants and ate all the kottu roti we could find. Average: $21.76/day.
Treats: $104.62
We like treats, so this category includes any coffee, dessert or alcohol that was not purchased as part of a meal (or a grocery run). Hmm … I’m a little surprised by this number. I guess we really like our treats! This included quite a few ice cream cones in Galle (we visited four different ice cream/gelato shops), a few cocktail evenings and lots of coffee. We also happened to be in Galle during a street food festival! So we couldn’t pass that up. Average: $8.05/day.
Groceries & personal items: $45.22
“Groceries” is generous here; they were more like convenience store snacks to eat in our room. This also includes about $20 worth of personal care, but I honestly can’t remember what that entailed now. Laundry? Toiletry restock? Both? Average: $3.48/day.
Entertainment (tours, etc.): $120.34
The majority of our entertainment costs (~$92) were spent in Udawalawe, where we did a private guided safari in Udawalawe National Park and visited the Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home. We also paid a taxi driver in Nuwara Eliya $25 USD to take us on a half-day tour around the area, including hiking a waterfall and visiting a few tea estates. The remaining amount was small tips throughout our trip. Average: $9.26/day.
Gifts & souvenirs: $9.12
We send our niblings postcards from (almost) every place we visit, and in Sri Lanka we were tickled to find postcards made from elephant poop! I hope they appreciated them as much as we did. 😉 We also found some beautiful illustrated postcards, one of which is framed on the wall in our home now. Average: $0.70/day.
Travel insurance: $77.22
We have travel insurance through World Nomads for $5.94/day. Travel insurance costs will vary depending on chosen plan, length of travel, location, etc.
Total: $87.06/day = $43.53/person* per day
*Did you know we have a new page on the blog completely dedicated to Money & Budgeting? We also list our country-specific costs on this page, but those numbers might differ a bit from the numbers shown here. The numbers in our detailed budgeting posts (like this one) are a true reflection of what we personally spent on our trip. The numbers on the Money & Budgeting page are meant to reflect what a typical tourist traveling at our comfort level can expect to spend.
Of course, you can always spend far less (or far more) than the numbers listed here or on our Money & Budgeting page. These figures are provided as a loose guide to help you plan travels within your budget range.
Feature image: Complimentary breakfast at Rest Full Homestay in Ella, Sri Lanka (December 2019)
