Travelling within Sri Lanka has never been easy for foreigners, due to the existing local war between Tamil rebels and the Sri Lankan government. This has destroyed the former allure of Sri Lanka's travel and tourism industry badly. At present, the most common mode of transport in Sri Lanka is owned by the Sri Lankan government; yet within city town limits you may able to find some good private services too.


Steps

1. Try to get a proper country map and a road guide from the tourist board, a kiosk or some bookshops.
2. Learn the local bus and taxi fares for short and long destinations.
3. Do not get into a taxi at first sight. Ask a few others first, in order to compare the fare. You can negotiate and always agree on a fare before you start off.
4. Try to avoid talking too much to taxi drivers.
5. Ask for directions. If you get lost somewhere you can always ask for help from people working around the area that you are in, most of them are very friendly. But do not ask them to accompany you.

Tips

• Have local currency changed before setting out. Try to access some local currency at the airport in order to avoid excessive tipping, etc.
• Try to learn a few local terms, for example, "how much?"(keeyada), "from?" (methana/ methanin), and "to?" "Where is the bathroom please" is useful too.
• Avoid war zones. Unless you are a journalist, and even then you should be wary.

Warnings

• Do not take risk traveling to northern province.
• The eastern province is now totally under government control. So its a whole new world to explore.