Prices in Sri Lanka

We heard a lot of opinions about the prices in Sri Lanka, but you never know until you are in the country of interest.

While prices vary by region and season, here is what we encountered during our month long visit (October- November)here in Sri Lanka price wise. For the record- I love shopping at the local markets and support local economy rather than spending money in a big supermarket. Local markets had lower prices than markets everywhere in Sri Lanka that we shopped. Local markets also had better selection of fruits and vegetables, at least for us.

1$US ~ 325 rupees

Food Prices:

Locally baked bread loaf – we bought some for 80 rupees and some for 140 and even 180 rupees.

In the store we saw sandwich bread for 180-300 rupees

Coconut Milk -330 ml – 220 rupees; 500 ml- 375 rupees (we bought Sera brand as the ingredients were only coconut milk and water). They also sell Coconut Milk powder, which we were not interested in buying because of the ingredients, but that powder definitely would be a lot cheaper for the amount you get.

Coconut oil , virgin and organic- 500 ml – 860 rupees.

Ghee butter- 230 ml – 1260 rupees, approximately 3.87 $ US .

Organic coconut flour – 500 gr- 399 rupees, around 1.23 $ US.

1 kg avocados- ~400-500 rupees

1 kg papaya – ~170-250 rupees.

1 kg cucumber – ~ 280-550 rupees (depends on the type)- around 0.86$US-1.69$US;

1 kg tomatos ~ 260-350 rupees.

1 kg onion ~ 200-300 rupees;

1 kg garlic ~ 2400 rupees;

1 kg pineapple ~ 200-300 rupees;

1 kg raw sugar ~ 450 rupees;

1 kg carrots ~220-280 rupees.

1 kg baby banana, or sour plantain ~ 200-300 rupees (0.62$- 0.92$ US );

1 kg passionfruit ~ 350-750 rupees (varies from 1.07$ US to 2.30$ US).

10 eggs ~ 380-600 rupees and depends on the size a lot;

1 roll of toilet paper ~200-300 rupees;

1 pc coconut, young- 80-300 rupees.

8 pc cinnamon sticks, 1st grade, about 10 cm long – 500 rupees.

5 l drinking water bottle – 360-600 rupees, varies where you buy it and by the brand as well.

1 kg of pompano fish at the local fish market – 1000 rupees;

1 kg of tuna – 1200 rupees.

Local coffee- 200 gr – 750 rupees.

Black tea, powder- 200 gr – ~600-1200 rupees (1.84$- 3.69$ US);

Other goods:

Baby wipes – 950-1260 rupees, the more expensive ones actually were water wipes and was pleasantly surprised that they had this selection.

Car rental – we paid 26 euros per day. Where else we looked, it was at 40$ US per day. If you get a car with a driver – we were offered at 55$ US per day.

Tuk tuk rides – in Negombo it was around 100 rupees per 1 km; touristy places had other rates- like 2 km for 500 rupees, or 3 km for 500 rupees. It varies by region and place for sure. You can definitely negotiate.

Tuk tuk rental 10-15$US per day plus around 2-3 $US insurance per day plus 150$ US deposit .

Scooter rental – starts at 2000 rupees per day.

Accommodation- room for 2 people with AC ~7-10 $US/ night. Family room with at least 2 king size beds and a kitchen- starts at around 15-17$US/ night- most of our rentals were around 25-35$US/ night and most of them had a pool. As we explored Sri Lanka around, the highest accommodation prices were near Hikkaduwa Beach as there was a cluster of foreign people owning properties and renting them.

Experiences:

Cinnamon experience ( around 1.5 hours including having coconuts, tea and biscuits)- FREE, but you are expected to support locals and buy some cinnamon from them. We also inquired at the official factory named Cinnamon Experience – a very touristy place – and it was 30$ US per person. Kids 6-12 – 15$ US.

Safari experience at Yala National Park (either 4 hour or 8 hour)- ~33$ US per adult and around ~17$ US for children 6-12. Under 6 – Free. Safari jeep -prices can vary 12000 rupees to 32500 rupees depending if it is a half day or full day safari and if you reserve it through the park or get it from a local driver. Obviously getting it through a park is around 20$ US more.

Snake Farm experience in Koggala (about 30-45 min)- while initially the owner asked 2500 rupees per adult and kids were free- we agreed on 3000 rupees for all of us (we were 3 adults and 3 kids)- so it is definitely negotiable.

Tea plantation experience (about 1-1.5 hours)- some tours are around 2000 rupees, but we chose to do a more local tour which was FREE. You are expected to tip the tour guide – asking around we were told around 1500-2000 rupees is sufficient.

Surf school in Weligama Beach – 1 hours for 2 kids – total 4000 rupees (around 12$US)- including board rental.

Snorkeling trip with glass bottom boat from Unawatuna beach – 1.5 hours – 7500 rupees (23$ US) including snorkeling gear.

Restaurant basic meal prices:

I snapped a picture of a restaurant menu at a very touristy street near Unawatuna beach-

Fried rice at the local restaurant -600-900 rupees (generous portion).

Chicken curry at local joint – 900-1500 rupees;

Juices vary 200-600 rupees

Pizza 1600-3200 rupees for a 12in pizza.

Veggie rotti 100-500 rupees.

Veggie samosa- 50-300 rupees.

Egg role – 100-300 rupees.

Hopper- 100-300 rupees.

Hopefully this gives you an insight of the prices in Sri Lanka. A lot of things you can negotiate like tuk tuk rides and taxi rides as well as accommodation prices especially if you are traveling off season. Some areas in Sri Lanka are catering strictly to the tourist and are a lot higher, and those areas we found to be near Unawatuna and Hikkaduwa Beaches and going north along the coast towards Colombo.

I hope this information is of value to you. Thank you for reading!