What a trip to Sri Lanka costs in 2026

What a trip to Sri Lanka costs depends mostly on your rooms and how you travel. The big sights add about US$90 plus 25,599 rupees per person on a classic two-week route, about 55,400 rupees in all (October 2026). Rooms start around US$12 a night, and a car with a driver costs about US$40 to 80 a day.

This guide lists every price we could confirm, with the date we checked it. To add up your own trip, use our cost calculator, which uses the same dated prices.

How much does a trip to Sri Lanka cost?

There is no single figure, because rooms and transport vary so much. What we can give you is the price of each part, and two sums built only from those prices.

As a rough guide, Rough Guides (2025) suggests about 15 to 30 US dollars a day for budget travel, 30 to 75 dollars for mid-range and more than 75 dollars for higher-end travel. It does not say whether this is per person, and its own mid-range room and driver prices are higher, so treat these as low estimates (checked October 2026).

What do the main sights cost?

Add up the fixed costs for one adult on a classic two-week route, at prices checked in October 2026:

• Sigiriya: US$35.
• Polonnaruwa: US$30.
• One Yala park fee: US$25, in the tourist season.
• Temple of the Tooth, Kandy: 3,000 rupees.
• A reserved second-class train seat from Nanu Oya to Ella: 1,200 rupees.
• Whale watching: 20,000 rupees.
• A Dialog tourist SIM: 1,399 rupees.

That is US$90 plus 25,599 rupees, or about 55,400 rupees in all at the Central Bank rate of 331 rupees to the dollar on 2 October 2026. It leaves out the safari jeep and the park's service charge, vehicle fee and taxes, and the ETA fee of US$50 if your country is not on the free list.

How much are rooms and a driver for two weeks?

Rooms and a driver are where the money goes. Using Rough Guides' 2025 figures, 13 nights in basic guesthouse rooms come to about 156 to 390 US dollars per room, or about 520 to 1,040 dollars in boutique hotels. A car with a driver for 14 days at 40 to 80 dollars a day comes to about 560 to 1,120 dollars per car, before tips and anything the quote leaves out. These are per room and per car, so two people sharing pay half each. They are guidebook figures, not 2026 quotes (checked October 2026).

How much is a room?

Rooms are the biggest variable. Rough Guides (2025) puts a basic double room in a guesthouse or homestay at about 12 to 30 US dollars a night, a boutique hotel or small villa at about 40 to 80 dollars, and resorts and safari lodges from about 100 dollars, rising well above 300 dollars in places. Prices are highest from December to March on the south and west coasts, and in July and August on the east coast.

How much is a car with a driver?

A car with a driver is the most common way to tour the island, and the official tourism site recommends it. Rough Guides put the price at about 40 to 80 US dollars a day in 2025, depending on the car and the distance. No 2026 figure has been published, and fuel rationing since March 2026 may push prices up. Get two or three written quotes and agree what is included: fuel, tolls, the driver's room and meals, and any daily distance limit. Our guide to hiring a driver explains how.

How much is the visa (ETA)?

Every foreign visitor needs an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), applied for online at eta.gov.lk before you fly. As checked on 3 October 2026:

• Most nationalities: US$50 for a 30-day double-entry tourist ETA.
• South Asian (SAARC) nationals: US$20.
• Visa on arrival: US$60, or US$25 for SAARC nationals.
• Children under 12: free.

Since 25 May 2026, citizens of 40 countries pay nothing for a 30-day tourist ETA, among them India, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. They must still apply before they travel. Not every European country is on the list: Ireland and Portugal, for example, are not. No end date has been published, so check before you book. The fee is not refundable. Our ETA guide has the details.

How much does it cost to get around?

From the airport. The official Airport Taxi Service has counters in the arrival hall and fixed fares per car. As listed in October 2026, an air-conditioned taxi costs:

• Negombo: 3,780 rupees.
• Colombo Fort: 8,100 rupees.
• Kandy: 21,384 rupees.
• Galle: 23,328 rupees.
• Dambulla: 24,192 rupees.
• Sigiriya: 28,188 rupees.

Each extra kilometre beyond the destination you booked costs 130 rupees. The airport's route 187 air-conditioned bus to Colombo Fort runs 24 hours, takes about 50 minutes and costs 325 rupees, plus 325 rupees for baggage over 23 kg. More in Colombo airport to Kandy or Sigiriya.

Tuk-tuks. In the Western Province, which includes Colombo, the official meter fare is 110 rupees for the first kilometre and 90 rupees for each kilometre after that, from 23 March 2026 and still the latest rate in October 2026. Between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. the provincial rules add 15%. Outside the Western Province there is no published rate, so agree the price before you get in. See tuk-tuk prices.

Buses. Buses are the cheapest way to travel. At the official fares in force from 6 July 2026, Colombo to Kandy costs 521 rupees on an ordinary bus, 1,018 rupees on an air-conditioned bus and 1,230 rupees on an expressway bus. See buses in Sri Lanka.

Trains. As checked on 3 October 2026, no train runs all the way from Kandy to Ella because of cyclone damage; the open scenic section is Nanu Oya to Ella. Sri Lanka Railways' published fare tables, still dated August 2022, list reserved seats from Nanu Oya to Ella at 2,000 rupees in first class, 1,200 in second and 900 in third, and unreserved tickets at 600, 300 and 160 rupees. Booking online adds 5%. Foreign visitors pay the same fares as Sri Lankans. See the Kandy to Ella train.

What do entry tickets and safaris cost?

• Sigiriya: US$35 for a foreign adult and US$20 for a child aged 6 to 12, charged in rupees: 11,690 rupees for an adult at the Central Cultural Fund's rate in late September 2026. You can order online and collect the ticket at the site counter. See is Sigiriya worth climbing.
• Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura: US$30 each for a foreign adult and US$15 for a child aged 6 to 12: 10,020 rupees for an adult at the same rate. At Anuradhapura, ask at the counter whether the ticket covers the working temples.
• Temple of the Tooth: 3,000 rupees for foreign visitors; visitors from SAARC countries, Thailand and Myanmar pay 2,500 rupees. The ticket includes the temple's museums. Older guides give 2,000 rupees: the price rose in 2026.
• Galle Fort: there is no ticket to enter the fort or to walk its ramparts. The museums and the galleries in the bastions charge their own fees.
• Whale watching from Mirissa: the season runs from about November to April. In October 2026 one Mirissa operator listed an adult ticket at 20,000 rupees and a child aged 5 to 11 at 10,000 rupees, including government fees. Prices vary between boats.

All prices above as checked October 2026.

How much are national park fees?

Yala, Udawalawe, Minneriya, Kaudulla, Wilpattu and Horton Plains are in the same fee band. Under the latest official fee table we could confirm, set in August 2022 and in force since 2 September 2022, a foreign adult pays 25 US dollars for a daytime visit in the tourist season or 20 dollars at other times. A child aged 6 to 12 pays 15 or 10 dollars; children under 6 enter free. Each group also pays a service charge of 10 dollars per vehicle and a vehicle fee of 300 rupees for a jeep or 150 rupees for a car, and taxes are added at the counter, so the final price is higher (checked October 2026).

Jeep hire is a private price on top of the park fees, so agree it with your driver or hotel before you go. No official or recent published figure exists. The most recent guidebook figure we found is Lonely Planet's from January 2025: about 23,000 to 33,000 rupees for a safari for two, including entrance fees, tax and the jeep. At Minneriya, a safari operator told the Sunday Times in August 2026 that a foreign visitor typically pays around 11,000 rupees in park charges at the gate, including tax and service charges, before the jeep. Our safari guide compares the parks.

How much do food, water and a SIM cost?

Local food is cheap. In January 2025, Lonely Planet put a plate of rice and curry at about 650 to 1,600 rupees, and dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant at about 5,000 to 7,200 rupees; fine dining for two was about 13,000 to 23,000 rupees. Prices may be a little higher now. A 1.5-litre bottle of water may cost no more than 150 rupees: that is the legal maximum price from 10 June 2026.

A local SIM is cheap too. Dialog's cheapest tourist plan costs 1,399 rupees for 20 GB of data for 30 days, and SLT-Mobitel's 1,540 rupees for 30 GB for 30 days (prices including tax, as checked October 2026). Their counters in the airport arrival hall are open 24 hours. Bring your passport: every SIM must be registered. See getting a SIM.

How should you pay, and what is the exchange rate?

On 2 October 2026 the Central Bank of Sri Lanka's indicative rate was about 331 rupees for 1 US dollar, 372 rupees for 1 euro and 436 rupees for 1 British pound. Banks and exchange counters give you a little less. Rates change every day.

Some big tickets are set in US dollars and charged in rupees. The Central Cultural Fund, which sells the Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura tickets, uses its own rate: 334 rupees to the dollar on 24 September 2026, so the rupee price can be a little higher than the Central Bank rate suggests. National park fees are also set in dollars.

Plan to pay mostly in rupees, in cash for tuk-tuks, buses and small shops; Visa and Mastercard are taken at hotels and larger shops. ATMs are common in towns and at the airport, but not every machine takes foreign cards. Bank of Ceylon, for example, charges 500 rupees for each withdrawal with a foreign card, as checked in October 2026, and your own bank may charge as well. If a machine offers to charge you in your home currency, choose rupees.

Do not plan to buy rupees before you travel: each person may bring in only up to 20,000 rupees, about 60 US dollars. The banks, exchange counters and ATMs in the arrival hall at Colombo airport are open 24 hours.

Service charge, tax and tips

Many hotels and restaurants add a service charge, often 10%, and larger businesses add VAT at 18%, so check what the bill already includes. Tipping is not required. For a driver who has been with you for several days, Rough Guides suggests about 5 to 10 US dollars a day.

What does a trip from India cost?

For visitors from India, the tourist ETA is currently free: India is one of the 40 countries on the free scheme that started on 25 May 2026. You still need to apply on eta.gov.lk before you travel. Without the scheme, Indians would pay the South Asian rate of US$20 (checked October 2026).

Visitors from India may be able to pay at shops showing a LANKAQR code with a UPI payment app: the Central Bank of Sri Lanka lists apps connected to India's Unified Payments Interface among those LANKAQR accepts. More than 470,000 businesses were registered for LANKAQR at the end of March 2026. Carry cash and a card as well.

There is also a passenger ferry between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai, near Jaffna, which first ran in October 2023. It has stopped for months at a time in bad weather, so check with the operator, Subham, before you plan around it. See the India–Sri Lanka ferry.

What we could not price

• Flights, including from India: we give no figure.
• Food per day, and the cash you need each day: no dated, credible figure.
• Tips for guides and safari crews: no credible figure.
• Expressway tolls and the Dambulla cave temple ticket: not confirmed in October 2026.

Questions people ask

How much does a Sri Lanka trip cost?

Rooms and transport decide most of it. Rooms start at about US$12 to 30 a night, a car with a driver costs about US$40 to 80 a day (Rough Guides, 2025), and the main sights on a two-week route add about US$90 plus 25,599 rupees per person (October 2026).

What is the cost of a Sri Lanka trip from India?

The tourist ETA is currently free for Indian citizens (since 25 May 2026). Most prices in this guide apply to you as well, but some sites charge South Asian visitors less: the Temple of the Tooth charges 2,500 rupees instead of 3,000.

What is a daily budget for Sri Lanka?

Rough Guides (2025) suggests about 15 to 30 US dollars a day for budget travel, 30 to 75 dollars for mid-range and more than 75 dollars for higher-end travel. Its own room and driver prices are higher, so treat these as low estimates.

Is Sri Lanka expensive for tourists?

Local food, buses and SIM cards are cheap: a plate of rice and curry was about 650 to 1,600 rupees in January 2025. The big costs are rooms, a driver and the entry tickets, which for foreign adults are set in US dollars, such as US$35 for Sigiriya.

Is it cheaper to pay in rupees or dollars?

Pay in rupees. If a card machine or ATM offers to charge you in your home currency, choose rupees. Dollar-priced tickets are charged in rupees at the seller's rate, such as 334 rupees to the dollar at the Central Cultural Fund on 24 September 2026.