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Visa Free Entry to Sri Lanka for Australian Passport Holders (Was US $35)

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Visa Free Entry to Sri Lanka for Australian Passport Holders (Was US $35)Affiliate
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Taegukgi on 04/08/2019 - 22:00 lonelyplanet.com (1375 clicks)
Last edited 04/08/2019 - 22:03
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This deal was previously meant to start on 1/5 but was scraped due to the bombings.

Due to a decline in tourism, Sri Lanka is now reintroducing the visa free program for 48 countries including Australia.

Further, the Sri Lankan government has dropped airline fees by decreasing ground handling charges for airlines and lower aviation fuel and embarkation taxes.

Sri Lanka’s Tourism Minister John Amaratunga announced Wednesday the government will waive the existing visa fee ($20 for nationals from South Asia and $35 for everyone else) from 1 August for arrivals from 48 countries* as it continues to revive its punctured tourism industry. According to Reuters, the free visa applies to both tourists and those visiting for business purposes and will be effective for six months.

*The free visa initiative applies to nationals from US, Canada, the UK, European Union nations, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, China, India and Indonesia.

Credit to TA for original post.

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closed Comments

    • GePees on 05/08/2019 - 11:38
      +2

      This will save hours of my time before the holiday. These YouTube links will be a good starting point for me. So helpful..

      • MachineLearner on 05/08/2019 - 15:32
        +1

        I am originally from Sri Lanka (I don't want to emphasis how great Sri Lanka is, because then it would be a biased statement), and there are many many things in these videos that even I haven't tried. I am filling up my bucket-list for my next holiday back at home! :D

  • Sage on 05/08/2019 - 11:40
    -4

    Risk death for a saving of $35USD!

  • GOCAT9 on 05/08/2019 - 11:42

    Here is a tip for people planning on visiting Sri Lanka-I was there a couple of years ago.

    Sri Lanka is one of those countries which is really into dual pricing-one price for locals and another for all tourists on most places where travellers and tourists frequent.

    I remember one tourist attraction I went to: cost me A$33 to get in. Locals paid 30cents!!

    Most places had massive disparities similar to this.

    Just be aware.

    • discovolante on 06/08/2019 - 15:54
      +2

      Agree! I have seen this dual-pricing practice in many developing countries unfortunately. and we recently experienced same Thailand recently too.
      In SriLanka you will notice this dual pricing mainly for entrance tickets to historic places like the Sigiriya-Rock-Fortress or Temple-of-the-Tooth. I personally condemn this practice, but I see why they would not charge US$20-30 from a resident because they just can't afford it, and the place would then be deserted. On the contrary, entrance tickets to an Australian historical place like the Sovereign Hill in Ballarat costs almost $60 per person www.sovereignhill.com.au/visit/opening-times/

  • discovolante on 05/08/2019 - 12:04
    +22

    I'm from Melbourne but I have SriLankan heritage as a part of me. So i've been there many times. Here's my 2 cents;

    You'd be surprised at the amount of things Sri Lanka has to offer as a tourist destination!
    * Many thousands of years culture
    * Traditional events (like the NewYear festival in April)
    * Authentic food
    * Authentic arts/crafts
    * Tropical beaches
    * Hill country with rainforests/waterfalls
    * Unesco world heritage sites (like The Galle Fort)

    Not to mention the friendly helpful people + affordability to AUD/USD exhange.

    Ok now the not so good side of SriLanka:

    • People drive like maniacs! So I wouldn't recommend driving
    • Traffic in major cities are chaotic during rush hour
    • There will be the odd scammer who will try to sell something to tourists. Just ignore or say NO.
    • It's hot and humid most times of year particularly Feb-May is very hot, unless thats your cuppatea.
    • People are not good at queuing, but you have all the right to tell them nicely; There is a QUE HERE.
    • Public transport is of poor standard, so i'd only take it for the experience but not as a reliable commute.
    • Some people stare. Just ignore
    • Not every shop takes plastic money, carry some cash
    • Mosquitoes! Take repellants

    Do's and Don'ts;
    * Do eat street food. They are so yum and authentic to SriLanka
    * Do tip. Rs100 to Rs500 is normal but it depends on the place and price of service.
    * Do take the Train from Ella To Kandy. It's very scenic
    * Do visit Galle Fort (It's such a unique place). Lot of culture, arts and crafts
    * Do experience night life in Colombo but remember they smoke indoors so clubs stink of cigarette. Yuk
    * Do visit the buddhist/hindu/muslin/christian places of worship. It's part of the SL culture
    * Do wear decent clothes when visiting places of worship
    * Don't wear headwear (caps or hats) to religious places
    * SriLankans don't like taking photos with people's backs towards the religious statue
    * Don't stick to the big cities. See the villages, stay at motels.
    * Don't let your guard down for your belongings. They love to go for walks in a blink of an eye. Petty crime happens but not different from any other developing country.
    * Don't worry about serious crimes. SriLanka is really NOT an un-safe place to be. The civil war north of the island ended in 2009. The 2019 Easter bombing was unfortunate event happened to an un-related place like SriLanka

    Flights are relatively cheap. Regular rates from Melbourne are roughly; AirAsia is AUD ~$600, SriLankanAirlines (direct) ~Aud 1000, SingaporeAirlines /Thai /Qantas ~1200. I''d try to avoid Christmas/NewYears peak time when prices are generally high.
    Hotel prices of course depends on if you want the 5 star Shangri-La, an exotic jungle villa, a beachfront cabana, an airbnb or the neon streetsign saying "Rooms Available".

    Transport is very cheap. Use UBER to PICKME (find via AppStore or PlayStore). Stay away from hop-in taxis/tuktuks, they will rip you off. GoogleMaps work, but not as well as in here in Aus. Its perfectly ok to pull over and ask the average Joe for directions.

    Get a SIM card from the airport or from a streetside shop. Costs about AUD 2 for the SIM + AUD 2-4 recharge credit which will include a decent amount of calls+data). The main providers are Dialog, Mobitel, Etisalat, Airtel. You get free Wifi coffee shops etc, but i'd recommend get a local sim.

    I travel around the world with wifey at least twice per year. And we've traveled a lot. I've told people that Greece/Italy are my favourite places to re-visit. But SriLanka is not far behind and im not just saying because i'm part Srilankan, but because SriLanka is not promoted properly as a tourist destination, and unknown to many, mainly because of the poor leaders of the country.

    • UFO on 05/08/2019 - 12:19
      +4

      What a terrific review, thanks very much for the detail in it.

      I've never considered SriLanka as a destination as you're right, it doesn't really get promoted well here.

      But I think I'm going to give it a go!! Cheers :).

      • chutibuti on 07/08/2019 - 08:40
        -1

        Unbiased review,, i am from Melbourne, been to this country many times, if you are a traveler this is must place to visit.
        Many things to offer, Definitely not bad as someone trying to highlight here. Again , premeditated, targeted , once in a decade unfortunate event should not bring down this beautiful country.
        What i heard from the news was that those who involved with that attack is 99% dismantled already. Again walking in Melb CBD streets isn’t safe either, yes, narrowly escaped two incidents sofar.

        But share, check with the people those who know visited this country earlier

    • npnp on 05/08/2019 - 12:37
      +4

      Excellent review.. Sums all up very nicely and accurately.

    • ussv on 05/08/2019 - 13:46
      -1

      Sitting in AirAsia for 8+hours is pure torture.

    • ussv on 05/08/2019 - 13:47
      +1

      Also tipping is not required. You don't have to if you don't want to. It's not encouraged.

      • Some Guy on 28/08/2019 - 16:51

        Except when it's forced. Incredible how often vendors didn't have change so simply just didn't give us any.

    • SDF05 on 05/08/2019 - 15:30
      +2

      Upvote for a terrific review and for the Dos and Don'ts, i approve as a fellow Lankan. Really sums up the Lankan experience.

      I would say Google Maps is about 90% reliable, i went on a trip to Jaffna and it was really easy finding places (even the place we stayed at) and without it i would've had to go back to talking with random guys for directions. Saved me a lot of time and hopefully anyone that goes there too. I think Google Maps has Colombo covered pretty much 99%, so no need to ask for directions most of the time.

      UBER and PICKME are the go-tos but go with PICKME first since Sri Lanka is used to that more than UBER.

      Flights are incredibly cheap at this time so please get them before they slowly increase them as time goes on.

      Definitely stay away from hop-in taxis/tuktuks, most definitely they'll rip you off.

      And please wear decent clothes that aren't revealing and stuff. And bring some slippers too, temples and churches mostly have a strict no shoes inside rule so it'll be easier to wear slippers (these are very very cheap in Sri Lanka, no need to buy them from Australia). People in Lanka can be a bit annoyed and pissed off when tourists wear revealing clothes and stuff, it's just how the country is, but don't worry about people telling those things at you.

    • de9299 on 05/08/2019 - 23:11
      +1

      Fantastic comment, thank you for taking the time to showcase SriLanka.
      Do you know know if there are any good scuba diving spots ? I'd love to visit for the food, forests and diving.

      • discovolante on 06/08/2019 - 14:22
        +1

        I'm not a diver myself but the south coast from Hikkaduwa to Unawatuna is popular for scuba. There are many PADI diving clubs too. Google's you best friend here :-)
        As for food, i think its best to start from street food and work your way up to specialty foodie places like the Dutch Hospital Precinct in Colombo and Galle. Star class hotels have authentic SriLankan restaurants too but you pay the price. Do your homework on Srilankan cuisine before you go and you won't be dissapointed.
        As for forests, Sinharaja is the main rainforest in SriLanka. There are many different classes of accommodation available within the forest. If you like forests, you'd probably like seeing the waterfalls too, which are mostly in hill country, but SriLanka being a small island, most places are only few hours apart. Driving in country areas are not too bad, so you can probably hire a car. Can easily get one with driver if you're not comfortable with driving conditions there. www.malkey.lk is where I always rent cars (with driver) when we visit. They are a 24hour service and the most reliable in my experience

        • de9299 on 06/08/2019 - 15:03

          Thanks mate, appreciate the advice!

  • ussv on 05/08/2019 - 13:44
    +3

    Currently Sri Lanka is under heavy military protection, so it's considered quite safe. Don't leave your identification in the hotel/accommodation, make sure you bring it along with you wherever you travel in the country in case there are random checks.

    Source: I'm a Sri Lankan living here.

  • ModiSulak on 05/08/2019 - 13:57
    +4

    I'm from Sri Lanka and could confirm there are no issues as some of the websites claim there to be, Sure there was alot of terrorism during the Easter Sunday, but now the even when getting down from the Airport, the security is heavily tightened and there is military and police throughout the country, doing inspections etc.

    Plus another advantage is - The hotel prices are really cheap these days, so you can take advantage of that.

    Hotel Recommendations, when I went for my visit last month

    Sigiriya - Ula Galla (Used to be 1000$ for a villa now only for 400$)
    Hamanthota - Shangrilla
    Mirissa - NumberOneMirissa
    Ella - MistyHillsElla]
    Colombo - TAJ

    ^ That was my itinerary.

  • davebern on 05/08/2019 - 14:44
    +5

    Thanks dealbot. Just in time for our trip next month….saved $70USD between us.
    The Sri Lankan embassy told me to be wary of unoffical online visa sites. They said to use their official site www.eta.gov.lk and they recommended using the Firefox browser rather than Chrome.
    The old fees are still listed on their website but when I applied, there was no fee involved.
    We got our Visa confirmations emailed in under one hour.

  • MachineLearner on 05/08/2019 - 15:35
    -1

    How to rent and ride a TukTuk in Sri Lanka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS4zFIvpgFk
    For the ones who like a real adventure!!! :P

  • [Deactivated] on 05/08/2019 - 16:19

    Save USD $35, that's all temptation I need - gets ready to book flights. I bet tourism numbers will explode with a deal like this…

  • MisterQ on 05/08/2019 - 21:56
    -1

    First prize - a week in Sri Lanka

    Second Prize - two weeks in Sri Lanka

    :-(

  • Polak on 08/08/2019 - 11:23
    -1

    Flights are certainly not cheap getting over there, basically the same price as going to Europe, however if you managed to pick up some cheap Bangkok flights recently you can jump over there for substantially less.

    • Eeples on 08/08/2019 - 18:14
      -1

      Rubbish.

  • Eeples on 08/08/2019 - 18:12
    -1

    I didn't go in early July.
    Air asia gave a full refund for them cancelling the flights.
    Travel insurance looked difficult too.
    Went to South Korea instead. (I see the irony btw).
    Maybe I'll try Sri Lanka when the machine guns come off colombo's streets.
    I would be looking at Train Travel and seeing Jaguar. Temples and beaches.

  • FirstWizard on 13/08/2019 - 11:04

    Just applied for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) which was free (Even though it said US$35 on the landing page). Got the approval notice in less than 10mins.
    Flights booked for Oct!!!

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