Pack Your Bags: Here's How You Can Do A Fantastic Trip To Sri Lanka In INR 50,000

The new year is approaching {okay it is four months away but you know, travel should be planned early on} and it’s approaching with travel possibilities. If you want to give Goa a miss this year and want to give international travel a shot, Sri Lanka is probably one of the best countries to start with. Here we are, planning one under INR 50,000 or LKR 1,19,093 for the first week of January.

If you plan better {read early}, flight tickets will cost you starting at INR 16,000 {return fare}. With travel being one of the major chunks, you can lock it down at the cheapest rates right now. And remember to use Incognito mode while booking, so that websites don’t hike up prices every time you search.

We believe in going in circles when it comes to Sri Lanka, and we mean that geographically. We would suggest the following route:

Kandy {Two Days} > Nuwara Eliya {Two Days} > Una Watuna & Bentota > {Two Days} Colombo {One Day}

Starting from Colombo, you can hire a cab to go to Kandy, which is four hours away. Remember, there’ll always be a bit of travel between these places so be prepared accordingly. Let’s break it down for you and save you some Google Maps search minutes:

Colombo to Kandy: 115 km, 4 hours

Kandy to Nuwara Eliya: 80 km, 2.5 hours

Nuwara Eliya to Unawatuna: 254 km, 6 hours

Una Watuna to Bentota: 70 km, 1 hour

Bentota to Colombo: 80 km, 1.5 hours

There are a lot of cheap options for accommodation in Sri Lanka. Like these innovative capsules you can sleep in for INR 659 in Kandy, or this homestay for INR 923. You can even stay in this lake-facing bungalow in Nuwara Eliya for INR 4,802. Unawatuna also has some great budget options, like this hotel that looks smashing and has our vote for INR 2,330.

You can hire a reliable car/ taxi service if you want to travel in the confines of comfort. But it’ll come with a cost. We inquired with one travel service for the whole trip and it came down to INR 30,000 for the whole trip. But, if you stick to the budget, you can hop on to a train and let us tell you, Sri Lanka is quite well-connected. Here are some of the relevant routes we found:

Colombo – Kandy – Nuwara Eliya – Elle – Badulla
Colombo – Galle – Matara

A single meal should cost you INR 400 on an average. Do not go all fancy with your restaurant choice {okay, may be one day of splurging won’t hurt}. Opt for beach shacks, smaller establishments, street food and affordable cafes.

Kandy: Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, Horton Plains National Park, Dambulla Cave Temple, Temple of The Tooth

Nuwara Eliya: Devon Falls, Moon Plains, Mackwoods Museum, Lover’s Leap Waterfall

Una Watuna: Jungle Beach, Koggala Beach, Unawatuna Beach, Galle Fort, Stilt Fishermen Photo Spot

Bentota: Ventura Beach, Lunuganga, Moragalla Beach, Turtle Hatchery Project

Colombo: Galle Face Green, Beira Lake, Seema Malaka, Water World Lanka

The prices quoted are approximate and are as per our research done at the time of publishing this recommendation. They may vary at the time of booking, depending on when you do it.