Sri Lanka Practical Guide: SIM Cards, Cash, Apps and Everything Else

Sri Lanka's mobile network coverage is good across the main tourist areas and most of the country. Dialog and Mobitel are the two main providers and Dialog has the widest coverage, particularly in rural areas. Buy a SIM card at the airport on arrival or at any Dialog or Mobitel shop in the first town you reach. The process requires your passport, takes ten minutes, and data packages are inexpensive. A monthly data package that gives you more than enough connectivity costs less than three dollars.

Cash is king outside Colombo. ATMs exist in all main towns and accept international cards without significant problems. The best rates for currency exchange come from bank ATMs rather than exchange bureaux. Carry smaller denomination notes for tuk-tuks, markets, and small restaurants. Most establishments outside the main cities and tourist towns do not take cards. Carry enough cash for a full day whenever you are travelling.

PickMe is the app you want for tuk-tuks and taxis in Colombo. It functions like Uber, shows you the fare before you confirm, and eliminates negotiation entirely. It works well across the city and most drivers are prompt. Uber also operates in Colombo and is a reliable alternative. Outside Colombo, metered apps are less useful and direct negotiation or a trusted driver contact is the better approach.

The drinking water in Sri Lanka requires bottled or filtered water for visitors. Tap water is not safe to drink without filtering and the risk of stomach trouble from unfiltered water is real. Every guesthouse and hotel provides bottled water. Buy a large bottle in the morning and refill from filtered sources where available to reduce plastic. Sri Lanka has a serious plastic waste problem and the fewer single use bottles in the system the better.