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Guides, collections and the stories behind Sri Lanka's places, people and experiences.
Guides to Sri Lanka
Practical advice, cultural context and inspiration for exploring the island well.
guides · 5 min read
How to Create a CeylonFind Listing People Can Trust
A strong listing answers the buyer's first questions before they need to ask. Use the right category, honest details, accurate location, price and clear photos.
travel · 4 min read
Jaffna and the Northern Peninsula: A Practical Guide
Jaffna rewards travellers who slow down: living Hindu temples, island ferries, palmyrah country and one of Sri Lanka's most distinctive regional cuisines.
guides · 4 min read
How to Support Local Businesses While Travelling Sri Lanka
A practical guide to keeping more of your travel spending in Sri Lankan communities—without turning every purchase into a performance of 'responsible tourism'.
travel · 4 min read
Trincomalee and Nilaveli: Harbour, Temples and East-Coast Sea
Trincomalee is more than a beach base: a deep natural harbour, an active pilgrimage city and the gateway to some of the east coast's clearest water.
motors · 4 min read
Renting a Car, Tuk-tuk or Scooter in Sri Lanka: What to Check
A self-drive checklist covering licence validity, insurance, deposits, vehicle condition and the practical differences between cars, tuk-tuks and scooters.
motors · 3 min read
Selling a Vehicle in Sri Lanka: From Advert to Ownership Transfer
How to prepare the vehicle, create a useful advert, handle inspections and payment, and complete the ownership transfer properly.
property · 4 min read
Where to Live in Colombo: A Neighbourhood Guide for Renters
A practical comparison of central Colombo and the surrounding residential areas, based on commute, housing style, walkability and daily life.
property · 4 min read
Renting a House or Apartment in Sri Lanka: A Practical Checklist
What to inspect, what to put in writing, and what to verify before paying a deposit on a house or apartment in Sri Lanka.
guides · 3 min read
Buying a Used Phone or Laptop in Sri Lanka: A Testing Checklist
A hands-on checklist for verifying identity, activation locks, IMEI, battery, display, ports, cameras and connectivity before paying.
business · 3 min read
How to Make a Local Business Easier to Find Online in Sri Lanka
The practical information customers need before they call, visit or ask for directions—and how to keep it consistent across the web.
business · 3 min read
Hiring a Local Service Provider in Sri Lanka: A Safer Checklist
How to define the job, compare useful quotes, verify the provider, structure payment and document changes before work begins.
guides · 3 min read
Villa, Guest House, Hotel or Homestay? Choosing a Stay in Sri Lanka
The accommodation label matters less than privacy, facilities, access and the total price. Here is how Sri Lanka's main stay types differ.
travel · 3 min read
Sri Lanka Practicalities: Visa, Money and Staying Connected
The non-scenic part of planning a trip — entry requirements, how money actually works day to day, and getting a working SIM at the airport. What to sort before you land, and what can wait.
travel · 2 min read
Whale Watching and Diving in Sri Lanka
Blue whales off the south coast, wrecks off Trincomalee, and reef diving that never quite recovered from the 2004 tsunami and decades of dynamite fishing. What's actually worth doing, and where.
travel · 3 min read
Sri Lanka's Festivals and the Buddhist Calendar
Vesak lanterns, the Kandy Esala Perahera, and a monthly full moon holiday most visitors never notice until they hit a closed bar. Here's the rhythm of the Sri Lankan calendar.
travel · 2 min read
The Kandy to Ella Train: What to Expect
Regularly called one of the great train journeys in the world, and for once the reputation is earned. Here's what the ride actually involves and how to get the most out of it.
travel · 3 min read
Sri Lanka's Best Beaches, Coast by Coast
Sri Lanka has three coasts, and the monsoon means only one of them is having good weather at any given time. Here's what each stretch is actually like, and when to go.
travel · 3 min read
A Traveller's Guide to Colombo
Most itineraries treat Colombo as a night either side of the airport. Here's what the capital actually has, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, if you give it a day or two.
travel · 3 min read
Getting Around Sri Lanka by Train, Bus and Tuk-tuk
The train is the reason to travel slowly here, the bus goes everywhere for almost nothing, and the tuk-tuk covers the rest. How the island's transport actually works.
travel · 4 min read
Backpacking Sri Lanka: Routes, Budgets and Hostels
Small island, cheap buses, good hostels and a two-week loop that covers beaches, hill country and ancient cities. How to travel Sri Lanka on a backpacker budget.
travel · 3 min read
Sri Lankan Food: What to Order and Where
Rice and curry is a dozen dishes, not one. Hoppers, kottu, sambols, and the difference between Sri Lankan and Indian food — a guide to eating well on the island.
travel · 3 min read
Ceylon Tea: How a Blight Made the Hill Country
The tea estates that define Sri Lanka's highlands are barely 150 years old, and they exist because a fungus destroyed something else. The story behind the landscape.
travel · 3 min read
Colonial Sri Lanka: Portuguese, Dutch and British
Four and a half centuries of European rule left forts, churches, railways and a legal system. Here's how to read the layers — and where each one is still standing.
travel · 3 min read
The Four Faiths of Sri Lanka
Buddhist stupas, Hindu gopurams, a candy-striped mosque and Portuguese cathedrals — often on the same street. A traveller's guide to the island's religions and how to visit respectfully.
travel · 3 min read
Kandy and the Temple of the Tooth
The last kingdom to fall, a relic that conferred the right to rule, and the biggest procession in the Buddhist world. Kandy is where Sri Lanka's living tradition is most visible.
travel · 3 min read
The Cultural Triangle: Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya
Two ruined capitals, a rock fortress and a cave temple, all within a few hours of each other in the dry zone. Here's what each one is and how to see them without burning out.
travel · 3 min read
A Short History of Sri Lanka
Two and a half thousand years of recorded history on an island you can drive across in a day — irrigation kingdoms, three European empires, and a country still writing its own story.
travel · 2 min read
Wildlife and Safari in Sri Lanka
Leopards, the world's largest gathering of wild elephants, and blue whales offshore — all on one small island. A guide to the parks and when to visit them.
property · 2 min read
Buying Property in Sri Lanka as a Foreigner: What Actually Applies
Foreigners cannot buy freehold land in Sri Lanka. They can hold 99-year leases, buy apartments above the fourth floor outright, and own through a local company — each with real trade-offs.
travel · 2 min read
Surfing in Sri Lanka: Seasons and Where to Go
Warm water year-round and two surf seasons on opposite coasts. Where to learn, where to progress, and when each break is working.
travel · 2 min read
Sri Lanka's Hill Country: Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ella
Tea estates, cool air, colonial towns and one of the world's great train journeys. A guide to the central highlands and how to travel between them.
travel · 2 min read
Things to Do in Galle: A Local's Guide to the Fort and Beyond
The Fort takes half a day. The rest of Galle — the beaches, the stilt fishermen, the tea country an hour inland — takes considerably longer, and most visitors miss it entirely.
travel · 2 min read
The Best Time to Visit Sri Lanka: Two Monsoons, Explained
Sri Lanka has no single dry season. Two opposing monsoons hit opposite coasts at opposite times — which means somewhere on the island is always in season.
motors · 8 min read
Buying a Used Car in Sri Lanka: What to Check Before You Pay
Import restrictions have made Sri Lanka's used car market unlike any other — cars appreciate, mileage tampering is common, and the paperwork matters more than the test drive.