Sri Lanka Travel Forum

Hey Everyone,

I am Australian who is planning on travelling to Sri Lanka in late December this year. The government here has issued a 'reconsider all travel' warning to Sri Lanka due to the increased violence and bombings etc.

I am looking for some feedback on how safe it is for a tourist over there at the moment. So if you have been over there recently or are a local I would love to here from you.

Cheers,

Andy

Hi Andy,

A repeat question on the forum which has been answered by many positive answers.

Well, its a fact that there had been loads of security violations in the country during the recent past but had been no harm to the tourists visiting the country. You should ofcourse avoid north and north east for security reasons and also avoid large gatherings in any place of the island. Also colombo has been having bit of threats so better avoid Colombo as well and there isnt much to see in the city anyway. Down South and other tourist areas are fine and free to go about. Also, I would advise you to avoid public transport if possible and always use a car and a driver for your safety since you are new to the country as well.

The government has done their best to secure most places in the island within the ongoing war in the north presently, but your personal safety should be always looked into by you.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Treshi.

Hi Andy,

Siding with Treshi, as usual. We're back for 10 days now from Lovely Lanka and did not feel less secure than on earlier trips. We even used long-distance buses which have quite heavy security checks now; local buses and trains at Colombo we indeed advise against, the long-distance hill trains are still safe and too beautiful to miss...

Have a nice time,

<Erik> & [Sandya]

Hi Andy

I am Australian too and went over in Feb and I didnt feel unsafe at all. I was freaking out leading up to it but once I got there after a day or two I was used to it. driving next to buses scared me a little but other than that I didnt feel like I was in any danger - it was the best holiday ever, you will have a great time! I'm so jealous!!

Hi, I went to Sri Lanka travelling for 3 weeks in summer 2006 and all the info you mentioned about bombs was on the british website. However, I still went and I had a fantastic time with no problems. I stayed in Negombo which was a short distance from Colombo and travelled to places from there. I never heard about anything bad happening to any tourists. We just avoided the north areas as that was where the civil unrest was. Don't worry about having a bad holiday... the place is AMAZING! It is the most beautiful country I have ever visited and the people are lovely.
Hope you have a great time
Bekah