If wellness travel is on your 2023 bucket list, Sri Lanka should top it. With beautiful beaches and wildlife encounters as well as ancient culture to enjoy, Sri Lanka makes for an incredible travel destination.
Although Haiti has had its fair share of turmoil in its past, life seems to be steadily improving and offering something for every type of traveller.
Culture
Sri Lanka holidays provide an authentic opportunity to experience its culture at its finest. Gain insights into traditional local practices while immersing yourself in its spiritual heritage at one of many temples or shrines on the island.
Enhancing both body and mind is an increasingly popular travel trend for 2023, and Sri Lanka provides plenty of wellness options ranging from yoga classes to Ayurveda treatments.
Sri Lanka is generally safe for visitors, though economic crisis-driven protests and shortages of food, fuel and medicine may compel protesters to demonstrate. When traveling there, check with your country’s foreign office for advice before visiting, carry a Covid test result as proof and obtain travel insurance; additionally cover up when visiting temples and stay clear from nude/topless beaches.
Food
Due to a recent decline in the rupee, local food is much cheaper than usual. Restaurants and hotels remain operational, though luxury imported foods (such as cheese and liquor) may become scarcer.
Sri Lankan cuisine is an eclectic medley of home-country recipes, Dutch influences, Indian spices and Malay influences. Highlights of Sri Lankan cuisine include intense curries and custardy cakes alongside rice and roti, string hoppers and kottu; carb-heavy diced roti dishes; fresh seafood from the Indian Ocean as well as tropical fruit dishes.
Beaches
Sri Lanka boasts numerous beaches where you can taste salt in the air and feel sand sift out of your hair, ideal for beach holidays between November – April and May – September when southwest and west coasts are free from monsoonal rains.
Arugam Bay is an ideal spot for surfing enthusiasts of all levels from around the globe, drawing surfers of all levels from March until August on boat tours to experience its iconic swells. Additionally, Arugam Bay makes for an unforgettable dolphin spotting experience during boat excursions available between these months.
Nilaveli Beach offers another amazing beach experience. Boasting miles-long of powdery white sand that seems too good to be real, here you can walk along its shores while seeing cows graze or take a boat trip out to Pigeon Island and snorkel the crystal-clear waters there.
Wildlife
Sri Lanka, as a global biodiversity hotspot, holds many surprises for the nature traveler. Herds of Asian elephant and troop of monkey roam forests in tropical lowlands; waterfalls cascade from cloud forest highlands; and there are over 400 endemic bird species scattered about both land and sea.
On this week-long adventure, enjoy Jeep safaris through national parks to spot amazing animals and birds before setting sail on a whale-watching cruise along the southern coast – looking out for dolphins and sea turtles along the way – before concluding your tour in Mirissa.
Avoid feeding wild elephants; doing so only habituates them to humans and may increase the chances that they act aggressively towards people. Also, swimmers in rough seas should stay clear of beaches as drowning is the second-leading cause of traveller deaths visiting Sri Lanka.
Accommodation
Sri Lanka remains captivating despite recent turmoil; while some parts may seem less-than-ideal for tourism (with congested roads and limited English outside of tourism realm), hotels remain open, food is plentiful, and beaches remain gorgeous.
Due to the economic crisis, short-duration power outages and some limited supplies of food and medicine may occur; most facilities have backup generators available and you should expect some minor protests as a result of this.
G Adventures is dedicated to investing as much of your travel money back into local communities, so when you travel with us your dollars and euros go further! From eco-lodges to immersive cultural experiences, your trip with us could make a true impactful difference in society.
