Ninety minutes from Chennai, free visa, and the only country where a beach, a tea estate and a leopard safari fit in one week. Colombo, the south coast, the hills and the cultural triangle — hand-picked and heritage hotels, rates quoted live on WhatsApp.
Flight time1.5–2.5 hrsChennai 1.5, Bengaluru/Kochi 1.5, Mumbai 2.5, Delhi 3.5 — all non-stop to Colombo
Visa for IndiansFree ETA, onlineFee waived for Indian tourists; approval still mandatory. Apply at eta.gov.lk before you fly. 30 days.
Best monthsDec – Mar (south & west)East coast (Trincomalee, Pasikuda) best May–Sep. Hills year-round.
Time differenceSame as IST
CurrencyLKR₹1 ≈ 3.5 LKR
Hotel market30 five-star · 31 four-star · 25 three-star167 SLTDA-classified hotels · Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, 2024
01
Chapter One
Notes from us, on Sri Lanka
Things we’d tell a friend before they booked. Specific, opinionated, occasionally inconvenient.
i.
One week, one loop: Colombo → south coast → hills → back.
Colombo (1) → Bentota or Galle (3) → Kandy or Nuwara Eliya (2) → Negombo (1). Driving distances are short but slow — budget 3–4 hours between stops, and the Colombo–Galle expressway is the only fast road. A car and driver for the week costs less than one night in a Maldives villa.
Honeymoon: swap Bentota for Tangalle or Weligama — quieter, better resorts.
ii.
The free ETA is free, not optional.
Sri Lanka waived the visa fee for Indian tourists, but you still need the Electronic Travel Authorisation approved before you board. It is a five-minute form at eta.gov.lk; airlines check it at check-in. Thirty days, double entry.
We send the ETA link and a filled-sample with every booking.
iii.
Veg food is everywhere. Hotel breakfasts are the best in Asia for Indians.
String hoppers, dal, sambol, idiyappam — the breakfast table looks like Kerala. Taj, ITC and Cinnamon hotels run full Indian kitchens, and every town has a “pure veg” Tamil restaurant. Jain is manageable at the big hotels with notice.
Try the Sri Lankan rice-and-curry at least once — it is mostly vegetarian anyway.
02
Chapter Two
Where to stay in Sri Lanka
The area decides the holiday. Pick one, then we pick the hotel.
You need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), but the fee is waived for Indian tourists. Apply at eta.gov.lk before travel — approval is usually within a day — and carry the printout. It allows 30 days, double entry.
Sri Lanka or Goa / Kerala?
Sri Lanka costs about the same as a good Goa holiday once flights are included, adds a foreign stamp, and offers a safari, tea hills and heritage on top of the beach. For a first international trip with parents or kids it is the easiest option on this list.
Which coast, which month?
South and west coasts (Bentota, Galle, Mirissa, Tangalle): November to April. East coast (Trincomalee, Pasikuda): May to September. The hills and Colombo work year-round.
Can we do Yala safari?
Yes — base at Hambantota or Tissamaharama for one or two nights; morning and evening jeep safaris for leopard and elephant. We book the lodge and a reliable jeep operator together.
Start today
Tell us your dates. We’ll send Sri Lanka rates within the hour.
Hotel, visa guidance, transfers and a GST invoice in INR — one WhatsApp thread, one person, start to finish.
