Sri Lanka is suffering from a severe economic crisis and violent protests broke out in the country in March 2022.
At the time, some governments, including the UK, issued travel advisories warning their citizens not to travel to Sri Lanka.
We visited Sri Lanka in April 2023 and this is our experience of whether it is safe to travel to Sri Lanka and what the country is like at the moment as the economic crisis continues.
Read on for our experience of travelling to Sri Lanka in 2023!
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Is it safe to travel to Sri Lanka in 2023?
In 2022, Sri Lanka entered a severe economic crisis. The country experienced high rates of inflation and people faced food, fuel and gas shortages as well as regular blackouts due to lack of electricity.
Many blamed the government at the time for mismanaging the economy and, in March 2022, protests broke out against the Prime Minister.
These were mainly centred in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, and at times they turned violent. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters.
We visited the country one year after the protests. As tourists, we felt completely safe throughout our time in Sri Lanka.
Although there were still signs of economic problems, the anti-government protests had died down at the end of 2022 when the former Prime Minister resigned.
In the UK, the government no longer advises citizens against travelling to Sri Lanka.
Like any country, there are always risks. The current UK government travel advice is to be vigilant, avoid large gatherings and keep up to date with developments via travel advice and local media.
In summary, yes it is safe to travel to Sri Lanka in 2023 but, like in any country, you should be vigilant and responsible.
Is Sri Lanka open to tourists?
Yes, Sri Lanka is completely open to foreign tourists, with few restrictions in place. We applied for our visa before travelling and breezed through immigration.
However, although Sri Lanka is open to tourists, we found there were very few other tourists there. Although we haven’t been to the country before, so it is hard to compare, many of the hotels and guesthouses we stayed in had very few other guests and multiple times we were the only diners at restaurants.
This was great in some ways – no long queues or issues with things being booked up and we felt that our experience in the country was more ‘authentic’ as we met lots of other Sri Lankans, rather than just being surrounded by tourists.
But the Sri Lankans we spoke to were clear that they would like more tourists to return. The country’s economy relies heavily on tourism and it suffered badly during the pandemic.
There is now a foreign currency shortage, in part from the lack of tourism. So yes, Sri Lanka is open to tourists and many of the people there are keen for tourists to return.
Are there fuel shortages in Sri Lanka?
Throughout 2022, there were severe fuel shortages in Sri Lanka. The worst of these shortages have ended and drivers working in the tourist industry, like taxi and tuk-tuk drivers are being prioritised when it comes to assigning fuel. Although this made us feel a little guilty, it shows how much Sri Lanka values getting tourists back and means that your trip won’t be jeopardised by fuel shortages.
Sri Lanka’s famous trains are also running as normal, so you’ll have no problem getting around the country.
Are there coronavirus restrictions in Sri Lanka?
No. Although you should check the regulations for your country, we did not need to take any tests or prove our vaccination status to enter Sri Lanka.
Once there, some people wore masks but there was no requirement to or any other covid-related restrictions.
Is it cheap in Sri Lanka?
While Sri Lanka is still a relatively cheap country compared to “Western” standards, prices have risen due to general cost of living increases.
Given the food and fuel shortages of the past year, it makes sense that things like taxis and restaurants are more expensive than they used to be.
Expect to spend $7-10 on a meal for two and $30-50 per night for a mid-range hotel.
What currency do I need in Sri Lanka?
Before we travelled to Sri Lanka, we read a few posts online which said that, because of currency shortages, hotel payments were being taken in US dollars.
We therefore took a bunch of dollars, but it turned out this wasn’t the case. I don’t know whether those posts were outdated or just wrong, but we paid for everything in Sri Lankan rupees, including our hotels.
Occasionally tour companies would offer to let you pay in dollars, but generally people seemed to want rupees.
Sri Lankan rupees are a closed currency which means it is difficult to get outside of the country and you are very limited in the amount you can bring in.
This wasn’t a problem though. There are several ATMs at the airport past customs, so you can withdraw rupees as soon as you land. We didn’t have any trouble finding ATMs that accepted our debit cards during our trip, but we’ve heard it can be difficult in more rural areas.
You can also use the currency exchanges at the airport, where the exchange rates are apparently very similar to the ATMs. We also read that you can change back any unused currency there at the end of your trip, but we didn’t need to do this.
In our experience, most hotels and some restaurants and bars accept card payments but we mainly paid in cash as it was easier and quicker.
Is now a good time to go to Sri Lanka?
In summary, yes! Is it safe to travel to Sri Lanka in 2023? We think so.
Like with visiting any country, should you do plenty of research before you go, but we believe now is a great time to visit Sri Lanka, both because the country desperately needs tourists (and foreign currency) and because it is so quiet.
We found that we could go sightseeing and visit tourist hotspots without having to worry about big crowds and long waits.
We never felt unsafe or at risk during our trip. In fact, we were greeted by lots of friendly local people telling us how happy they were we’d chosen to come to Sri Lanka and giving us advice on our trip.
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That’s all for is it safe to travel to Sri Lanka in 2023? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
