Start with the part almost nobody checks before booking. A foreign driving licence is not valid here on its own, and neither is an international permit. Both have to be converted into a locally issued document, either a recognition permit from the automobile association or a temporary licence from the motor traffic department, and driving without one is illegal and can void your insurance. The paperwork is only the beginning. The roads are narrow, the overtaking is committed, buses own the centre line, and the traffic contains tuk-tuks, lorries, dogs, cattle and the occasional elephant. Which is why the standard way to travel here is a car with a driver, quoted by the day, usually with the driver's own meals and lodging in the rate. That is not luxury but arithmetic.
Getting in is the other moving part. Many nationalities currently receive a short tourist authorisation at no cost, but the scheme has been extended and revised several times and the eligible list with it, so the only sensible source is the government portal. Copycat sites that mimic the official page charge many times the real amount and rank well in search, so type the official address rather than clicking the first result. Compare flight and hotel prices for Sri Lanka once the dates are firm, because on an island this size where you land barely matters and when you land matters enormously.
The classic route is a loop that explains itself on a map. North of the capital sits the cultural triangle: the rock fortress rising out of flat jungle, the painted cave temples nearby, a ruined royal city beyond. The road climbs into tea country through Kandy, then drops to the southern beaches and the walled Dutch port. Leopards mean a detour to the dry southeast, whales the south coast in the right months. A fortnight covers the loop comfortably, a week means choosing two of the three landscapes.
One leg is better done without the car, and it is the famous one. The hill railway from Kandy through the tea estates runs on a booking system worth understanding. Reserved seats open roughly a month before departure and disappear quickly in high season. Unreserved tickets are sold at the station on the day and always get you aboard, but guarantee nothing more than a place to stand for several hours. The usual arrangement: book the reserved seat well ahead and have the driver meet you at the far end with the luggage.
Where you sleep follows the loop. Sigiriya has eco lodges and garden guesthouses in the paddy fields below Lion Rock, quiet and best for an early climb. Kandy has colonial era hotels and hillside guesthouses above the lake and the Temple of the Tooth, cooler than the coast and walkable in the centre. Ella has cabins and small hotels on the ridges near Nine Arches Bridge, a backpacker town that grew up and priced itself accordingly. And Galle has boutique hotels and family guesthouses inside the ramparts of the Dutch fort, the most atmospheric night on the island.
The booking list is short. Arrange the car with a driver for the whole trip rather than in pieces, and agree the itinerary and what the daily rate covers before paying anything. If you insist on self driving, or on renting one of the tuk-tuks companies rent to visitors, get the local permit first, at the airport counter or in the capital, because the rental desk will ask and the police certainly will. Safari jeeps are booked through the lodges or park operators and leave before dawn, so they need arranging the day before. Check car hire, driver and safari prices for Asia travel alongside the rooms, since the good drivers and the park jeeps are spoken for in the same weeks.
Season here is two seasons at once, which is what ruins badly planned trips. The island has two monsoons on opposite schedules: the west and south coasts are at their best through the northern winter, the east coast comes into its own through the middle of the year, and the hill country stays cool and damp whenever you visit. There is no bad time to come, only a bad combination of time and coast. One more thing: the two most visited blocks of the main leopard park close for several weeks each year in the driest stretch, while other blocks and parks stay open. Personally, I would take the loop anticlockwise, finish on the beach rather than starting there, and give the driver the freedom to change the order when the weather argues.
Q: Can you drive in Sri Lanka on your own licence?
A: No. A foreign licence or international permit has to be recognised locally first, through the automobile association or the motor traffic department, and driving without it is illegal and can invalidate your insurance.
Q: Is a car with a driver expensive?
A: It is quoted as a daily rate that usually covers the driver's own food and lodging, which is why the gap between a car alone and a car with a driver is smaller than visitors expect.
Q: How far ahead should the hill train be booked?
A: Reserved seats are released about a month before departure and sell out fast in high season. Unreserved tickets are sold on the day and always available, but they buy standing room rather than a seat.
Q: Do you need a visa in advance?
A: Many nationalities currently get a free short stay authorisation, but the scheme has changed repeatedly and the eligible list with it. Apply through the government portal only, and ignore lookalike sites charging many times the official amount.
Q: When is the best time to visit?
A: It depends on which coast you want. The west and south are driest in the northern winter, the east in the middle of the year, and doing both in one trip means accepting rain on one of them.
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