What a trip to Sri Lanka costs depends mostly on two things: where you sleep and how you get around. Those vary too much to quote one honest number, so this page does something different. It lists the prices that are officially published, all checked in October 2026, and shows how to turn them into a budget of your own, with what recent visitors report for beds and meals clearly marked as their reports.
The short answer
- The biggest fixed costs are the ancient city tickets, priced in US dollars: Sigiriya is USD 35, and Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa are USD 30 each.
- A tourist SIM with 20–30 GB of data costs LKR 1,399–1,799 for 30 days from Dialog, or LKR 1,540 from SLT-Mobitel.
- The tourist visa (ETA) is free for 40 nationalities and USD 50 for most others when you apply online.
- Accommodation and transport make up most of the rest, and you control both.
The exchange rate used on this page
Prices here are in rupees (LKR) or US dollars, as the official sources give them. On 2 October 2026 the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s indicative rate for the US dollar was LKR 326.17 to buy and LKR 335.19 to sell. The Central Cultural Fund converts its dollar ticket prices at its own rate, which was LKR 334 per dollar in its table updated on 24 September 2026. Rates move, so recheck before you change money.
Before you land: visa and SIM
Tourist visa (ETA). According to the official ETA fees page, from 25 May 2026 nationals of 40 countries, including the UK, the USA, Australia, India, China, Germany and France, get a 30-day tourist ETA free of charge. Most other nationalities pay USD 50 when applying online (USD 20 for South Asian countries), or USD 60 on arrival (USD 25 for South Asian countries). Children under 12 of any nationality get a free 30-day tourist ETA. A free visa is still an ETA you have to obtain; the requirement isn’t waived.
Tourist SIM. Dialog and SLT-Mobitel both sell tourist SIMs and eSIMs in the arrivals area at Bandaranaike International Airport, and you need your passport. Prices as published by the operators, including tax:
- Dialog: LKR 1,399 for 20 GB, LKR 1,799 for 30 GB, or LKR 2,450 for 50 GB with unlimited WhatsApp, each valid 30 days and including some call credit.
- SLT-Mobitel: LKR 821 for 7 days with 15 GB, LKR 1,540 for 30 days with 30 GB, or LKR 5,131 for 30 days with non-stop data (fair-use rules apply), each with unlimited local calls.
Ancient city tickets
The Central Cultural Fund (CCF) sells tickets for the big heritage sites at each site’s counter, or online through its eTicket service. Prices for foreign visitors from the CCF price table (updated 24 September 2026, including 18% VAT):
- Sigiriya: USD 35 (LKR 11,690); half ticket USD 20 (LKR 6,680)
- Polonnaruwa: USD 30 (LKR 10,020); half ticket USD 15 (LKR 5,010)
- Anuradhapura: USD 30 (LKR 10,020); half ticket USD 15 (LKR 5,010)
- Ritigala: USD 6 (LKR 2,004); half ticket USD 3 (LKR 1,002)
The half ticket is for children aged 6 to 12. Each ticket is good for a single entry on the day it is issued, so don’t plan to come back the next morning on the same ticket. Ticket counters open from 7 am to 5 pm. Visitors from SAARC countries and students with a valid international student card or Green Card can ask for cheaper relief tickets by showing a passport.
Other official ticket prices
- Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy: LKR 3,000 for foreign visitors (LKR 2,500 for SAARC countries, Thailand and Myanmar), including the temple’s museums. Buy only from the ticket machines inside; the temple says tickets sold by anyone else are not valid.
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya and Hakgala Botanic Gardens: LKR 3,540 for foreign adults, LKR 2,360 for foreign students with proof, and LKR 1,770 for children aged 5 to 12 (Department of National Botanic Gardens).
- Colombo National Museum: USD 5 for foreign adults and USD 3 for children, or USD 8 and USD 4 for a combined ticket with the National Museum of Natural History (Department of National Museums).
National parks and safaris
Park entry for places like Yala and Udawalawe is set by the Department of Wildlife Conservation, which last revised its visitor fees by gazette from 2 September 2022. We couldn’t find the current fee table on the department’s own website, so we don’t quote it here. Most visitors go in a hired safari jeep. Recent visitors (2025–26) report that the jeep is priced per vehicle, not per person, and that a jeep quote often covers only the vehicle and driver, not the park ticket. Ask what is included before you book: entry, the jeep, or both.
Trains, buses and tuk-tuks
Sri Lanka Railways sells reserved seats on its seat reservation site. We don’t list fares here: they depend on the train and the class, and we couldn’t find a current official fare table to cite. For tuk-tuks, recent visitors (2025–26) report that ride-hailing apps such as PickMe show the price up front, which saves haggling; with a street tuk-tuk, agree the price before you get in.
Beds and meals: what visitors report
There are no official prices for these, so treat the following as recent visitor reports (2025–26), not quotes:
- A rice and curry lunch at a local eating house: roughly LKR 300–800.
- A private room in a simple family-run guesthouse: roughly USD 10–25 a night.
Above that, the range is too wide for a useful figure: a room with air-conditioning, a pool or a view can cost many times more, so price your own dates and places.
How to build your own budget
Add up four things, in this order: For cards, ATMs and changing cash, see our guide to money in Sri Lanka. For a lower-cost route, see backpacking Sri Lanka.
- Fixed costs: the ETA (if you pay one) and a SIM.
- Tickets: pick your sites from the lists above.
- Getting around: price trains on the booking site, and if you hire a car and driver, get a written quote for the whole trip.
- Beds and food: nights times your room rate, plus meals.
Here is the ticket line for a classic loop through the ancient cities and Kandy, per adult at the October 2026 prices: Sigiriya LKR 11,690 + Polonnaruwa LKR 10,020 + Anuradhapura LKR 10,020 + Temple of the Tooth LKR 3,000 + Peradeniya gardens LKR 3,540 = LKR 38,270. That is before a single bed, meal or tuk-tuk. If your budget is tight, choosing one or two of the three ancient cities rather than all of them is the biggest saving on this list. If you are still deciding how long to stay, our guide to how many days you need in Sri Lanka helps.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
How much is the Sigiriya ticket?
USD 35 for a foreign adult (LKR 11,690 at the Central Cultural Fund’s rate in September 2026) and USD 20 for children aged 6 to 12. It is valid for one entry on the day of issue.
Is Sri Lanka expensive to visit?
A 30-day tourist SIM costs under LKR 2,000 and entry to the Temple of the Tooth or the Peradeniya and Hakgala gardens LKR 3,000–3,540, but the main ancient city tickets are USD 30–35 each. What you spend on beds and transport decides the rest.
How much does a tourist SIM cost in Sri Lanka?
From LKR 821 for a 7-day SLT-Mobitel plan with 15 GB, or LKR 1,399–1,799 for 20–30 GB over 30 days with Dialog.
Do I have to pay for a Sri Lanka visa?
Not if you are from one of the 40 countries on the free list, but you still need to obtain an ETA. Most other nationalities pay USD 50 online.
Are there cheaper tickets for children?
Yes. Children aged 6 to 12 pay a half ticket at the Central Cultural Fund sites, children aged 5 to 12 pay LKR 1,770 at the botanic gardens, and children under 12 get a free 30-day tourist ETA.
Sources: ccf.gov.lk (ticket issuance), ccf.gov.lk (index.php), eservices.ccf.gov.lk, eta.gov.lk, dialog.lk, mobitel.lk, sridaladamaligawa.lk, botanicgardens.gov.lk (royal botanic gardens peradeniya), botanicgardens.gov.lk (botanic gardens hakgala), museum.gov.lk, dwc.gov.lk, cbsl.gov.lk, seatreservation.railway.gov.lk and recent visitor reports. Header photo: Chamixth / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
