The official currency of Sri Lanka is Sri Lanka Rupee, which is abbreviated as LKR and symbolised as Rp. One Sri Lanka Rupee is equivalent to 100 cents.
The denominations of the notes encompass 2,000, 1,000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 20 and 10. Coins are available in denominations of Rp10, 5, 2 & 1 and 50, 25, 10, 5, 2 & 1 cents. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka issues the Sri Lanka Rupee.
US Dollars, Euros and Pounds sterling are the other currencies accepted in Sri Lanka.
The major banks in Sri Lanka are Bank of Ceylon, Nations Trust Bank, People’s Bank, Hatton National Bank, Seylan Bank, Sampath Bank and HSBC. Banks in the country are operational from 9 am to 1 pm from Monday to Saturday. Some banks that are located in the malls like Liberty Plaza also have night banking facilities.
All the commercial banks possess a network of ATMs in the major cities. ATMs of the national banks of the country do not accept international cards. Other ATMs in Sri Lanka accept international Visa, MasterCard and Cirrus/Maestro cards.
The most commonly accepted credit cards in the country are MasterCard, Visa, Amex and Diners Club. Money changers are the best option for exchanging money in Sri Lanka. These are located in Colombo, the major cities and tourist centres, such as Hikkaduwa.
Thomas Cook, Visa and Amex travellers’ cheques are most commonly accepted in the country. Travellers’ cheques in Pounds Sterling or US Dollars can be exchanged in the country for Sri Lanka Rupee.
To exchange travellers’ cheques, one can opt for banks and money changers. Banks have special counters for foreign exchange that accept Thomas Cook, Visa and Amex travellers’ cheques. For exchanging them, one needs to pay a transaction fee of $1.36.
Currency can also be exchanged at bureaux de change, banks and hotels. However, the rate of exchanging cash is more than exchanging travellers’ cheques.
In Sri Lanka, the import and export of local currency is limited to $45.36. Further, Indian and Pakistani nationals cannot carry their local currency to the country. The import of foreign currency is not limited. However, all amounts above $5,000 need to be declared.
I want to go on a cruise.... I got two options. Sri Lanka or Andaman. I want to go to a place where i can sit and relax for a while. And i heard that Sri Lanka is quite expensive. But has better nature than Andaman. Which one would you suggest??
Akshay
Want to visit Sri Lanka. Suggestions?
Starting from sightseeing options till some really good properties.
Also let me know if i have to hire any tour guide to see the places.
Waiting eagerly for your replies.
Can you guys help me and tell me the approximate driving times between these places:
Negombo to Hatton and then to Udawalawe .Also could you suggest a good place to spend a night between Udawalawe to Colombo Intl airport.
Thanks in advance.
Hi everyone,
I want to plan a holiday in Sri lanka.
Can anyone help me out with my following queries.
1. Which is the best season to visit Sri Lanka. I do not like to travel in peak season.
2. What budget should I keep in mind if holdiays of around 11 days.
3. Which are the places of interest
4. Is it safe to travel alone and a group of just 2 or 3 ladies.
5. Generally how are the hotels in terms of cost.
Thanks for your help.
Regards
Madhuri
I am thingking of going to Sri Lanka for a holiday. But I want to know if that place is really different from India. If it is more or less the same as India, it may not be very interesting.
Prabhakar
I wanted to know if it is safe to travel Sri lanka these days. I was planning to go there next moth but some friends said it is not safe?
pls let me know .
Currency
