Sri Lanka stole our hearts with its breathtaking jungles, lively beaches, and flavorful food. We spent 3 weeks exploring Sri Lanka, but could have easily stayed here longer! This amazing country truly has so much to offer. The big question remains: can you enjoy Sri Lanka without breaking the bank? Absolutely! In this budget breakdown, we’ll give you our budget breakdown for 3 weeks in Sri Lanka. Prepare yourself to be amazed, but in a positive way. We also share some valuable tips for visiting Sri Lanka on a budget.
How much did our trip to Sri Lanka in February 2024 cost? Here’s our budget breakdown for 3 weeks in Sri Lanka:
Flights
As you might remember from our India Budget Breakdown, taking a direct flight from Belgium to Sri Lanka was expensive. That’s why we made a stopover in India! We booked our tickets from India to Sri Lanka 4 months ahead. The total price for both of us was € 249,73, including luggage, seat selection, and a meal. We had a direct flight with SriLankan Airlines, which took around 4 hours. We are satisfied with the price we paid, and don’t think we could have gone much cheaper! We’re glad we made a quick stopover in India, especially since we can now say that we visited the Taj Mahal. 🥹
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Total cost of flights: € 249,73
Accommodation
In our world trip preparation guide, we mentioned that we wanted to cut costs by alternating between “nice” and “affordable” accommodations. Usually, we don’t mind spending more on accommodation for unique stays like sleeping in a church, but during our world trip, we’re trying to spend less. We ended up paying € 463,22 for both of us for 20 nights, which averages out to € 11,58 per person per night! We’re really proud of ourselves for this.
We mostly stayed in homestays, which often came with breakfast included. Even though we always had our own room and bathroom, we managed to spend even less than we did in India. Mind you, we had to share bathrooms for the most part of our time in India! Of course, we did splurge a bit on some stays, like spending € 44 per night to sleep among rice fields at Rice Rice Villas and € 31 per night at Habibi Hostel & Restaurant. All in all, if we look at value for money for our accommodations, we can’t be happier!
Total cost of accommodation for 20 nights: € 463,22
Transportation
We mainly traveled between cities by bus in Sri Lanka, which is super cheap: less than € 1 per ride! The priciest thing transportation-wise was getting a taxi from Nuwara Eliya to Ella, which set us back about € 20. Here’s a quick rundown: we’d booked a minivan through 12go.asia, but once we were on it, we found out our driver wasn’t licensed to take tourists around. This meant we had to scramble for last-minute transportation, what an adventure. Luckily, we met two other Belgians in the minivan. We decided to split the taxi fare with them, which helped save some money.
In the cities, we either rented a scooter or used tuktuks to get around. Renting a scooter cost us around € 6 per day, which was really cheap! Even with refueling, we never spent more than € 10 in a day. We also hired a tuktuk driver for a whole day in Kandy, which cost us € 19,34.
Total cost of transportation: € 226,43
Food
We were really surprised by how much we spent on food. It totaled € 556,78, which averages out to € 26,51 per day for both of us. In the mornings, we mostly grabbed food from local bakeries, never spending more than € 5 including drinks. But it’s when we dined out that our spending went up, especially when we did not go for the local restaurant options. Our priciest dinner was in Tangalle, where we splurged on a big meal with cocktails and fresh seafood, totaling € 37,13. This combination of eating seafood and ordering alcoholic drinks makes for a pretty expensive meal (for Sri Lankan standards). Also, in Ella, our dinners typically cost around € 25 each night, and since we stayed for three nights, it added up quickly.
Despite these expenses, we have no regrets because we’re food enthusiasts and love dining out! However, cutting back on alcohol and skipping Western meals now and then could’ve saved us some money. This only applies to the more “touristy” or trendy places, though. Eating out at a super local restaurant where you can only order kottu or rice and curry will never break the bank, and it tastes sooo good!
Total cost of food: € 556,78
▶️ Discover 14 restaurants you can’t miss in Sri Lanka.
Drinks
Alcohol isn’t very common in Sri Lanka, and also not that cheap. Expect to pay (almost) the same prices as you do back home for a beer, maybe a little cheaper. It also took us a whole week before we even tried our first cocktail! Kelvin had a few beers during our trip, and we only had one cocktail each on two nights. So, in total, we only spent € 35,16 on drinks for both of us!
Total cost of drinks: € 35,16
Sightseeing
We did a lot of sightseeing in Sri Lanka: waterfalls, a safari, tea plantations, snorkeling… You name it! Many things in Sri Lanka are either free or have a small entrance fee. We did make a big decision to save even more money, though! Instead of going up Sigiriya Lion Rock, we climbed Pidurangala Rock and saved over € 50! People we met along the way told us this was a great decision, because all of them preferred Pidurangala Rock over Sigiriya Lion Rock.
The priciest thing we did was a half-day safari in Yala National Park, which was € 83,16 for both of us. Next was visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens of Peradeniya, costing us € 17,85. Climbing the Ambuluwawa Tower was the third most expensive at € 12,32. Everything else ranged from € 1 to € 5, like Pidurangala Rock, Diyaluma Falls, and snorkeling at Turtle Beach. In total we spent € 153,13, which is definitely affordable for 3 weeks of sightseeing!
Getting excited by reading about all our sightseeing and exploration? Great! Just pick some of the activities from the list below to follow in our footsteps.
Total cost of sightseeing: € 153,13
Good to know
The more people in your jeep when going on a safari in Yala National Park, the cheaper your ticket. So make sure to make some friends during your holiday in order to save some money! 😉
Other
In this category, we’ve got all sorts of expenses like supermarket purchases, visas, laundry, and a sim card. The priciest thing here were the visas, which totaled € 94,13. Visas for Sri Lanka are really expensive unfortunately. The people that read our Budget Breakdown for India will remember we only paid € 49,28 there – half that of Sri Lanka. Next up, we spent € 26,49 on doing laundry twice. Then, we got a data sim card for € 19,55 to use for a month, bought at the airport so more expensive. Lastly, we paid € 10 to use a coworking space. Gotta write those blog posts somehow! 😂
Total cost of other expenses: € 187,36
Total of our 3 weeks in Sri Lanka
Here is our budget breakdown for 3 weeks in Sri Lanka in February 2024:
Total per category for the two of us
✈️ Flights: € 249,73
🛏️ Accommodation: € 463,22 (€ 23,16 per night)
🚌 Transportation: € 226,43 (€ 10,78 per day)
🍛 Food: € 556,78 (€ 26,51 per day)
🍹 Drinks: € 35,16 (€ 1,67 per day)
🐘 Sightseeing: € 153,13 (€ 7,29 per day)
🛒 Other: € 187,36 (€ 8,92 per day)
💰 Total excluding flights: € 1 622,08 | € 77,24 per day for 2 | € 38,62 per day per person
💰 Total including flights: € 1 871,81
Excluding our flight expenses, we spent € 77,24 per day for both of us, or € 38,62 per person per day. This is hands down the most budget-friendly trip we’ve ever taken! We’re feeling pretty proud of ourselves. Our biggest spending category was food, totaling € 556,78. We realize we could have saved some money by eating more at local places. This is something we’ll definitely try to do during our next trips of our world trip. The second largest expense was accommodation at €463,16. However, when you break it down, it’s only € 11,58 per night per person. Pretty affordable in our books!
For budget travelers visiting Sri Lanka, a reasonable daily budget per person, covering food, accommodation, transport, and other expenses, would range from € 50 to € 70. This estimate assumes you’re only eating at local places, using the bus as main transportation, and mainly staying at homestays or hostels.
We’ve had an amazing time in Sri Lanka! The people are incredibly friendly, and the food is absolutely delicious. It’s such an underrated destination, we highly recommend it to everyone and would definitely visit again! We think we’ll see a big increase in tourism in the coming years, and rightly so – this country is amazing.
Tips and tricks for saving money in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is definitely one of the most budget-friendly destinations in Asia. To help you make the most of your trip without breaking the bank, we’ve gathered all the tips and tricks we’ve learned so you can keep your wallet happy while exploring Sri Lanka.
1. Accommodation
The best way to save money on accommodation is by staying in homestays! This means staying with a local family who rents out a room. Usually, they’ll provide a tasty breakfast, and you’ll get insider tips from your hosts on hidden gems to explore. Don’t expect luxury, but we’ve always found the rooms to be simple, clean, and with private bathrooms. The only downside is that sometimes the water isn’t hot, and the WiFi coverage can be spotty. This can be said about tons of places in Sri Lanka, though.
2. Transportation
The most budget-friendly way to travel around Sri Lanka is by bus. It’s not just practical, it’s an adventure in itself! Picture this: loud music, colorful lights, and bustling with locals. Quite the experience! Your luggage goes up front with the driver, and usually, you’ll even find an empty seat. While there’s often no air conditioning, the open doors and windows provide plenty of breeze. Locals will try to convince you into going for the A/C bus, but we really preferred the much cheaper, more fun local buses!
For exploring cities independently, renting a scooter is your best bet. Tuktuk rides can add up quickly, but a scooter never costs more than € 6 per day! We rented one six times without any issues, it was really freeing to wander around on our own. And here’s a final tip: don’t rely too heavily on Google Maps! We’ve been there, done that, and ended up on dead-end streets more than once. Forewarned is forearmed!
3. Food
One tip we should’ve followed more is eating at local places! Sri Lankan cuisine is both tasty and budget-friendly. We found ourselves dining out a few times (pizza, avocado toast, you name it), which made our spending soar. But when we grabbed breakfast at a local bakery, we never spent more than € 5, drinks included. And for dinner, a local meal cost us at most € 10 for two. We still think back to all those tasty kottus we’ve eaten!
Read our other budget breakdowns:
6 days in India: Budget Breakdown
40 days in Thailand: Budget Breakdown
26 days in Vietnam: Budget Breakdown
16 days in the Philippines: Budget Breakdown
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