Sri Lanka

NickyLou

Has anyone been to Sri Lanka before; been looking around for rates for currency which I thought was Sri Lankan Rupee - found it on a few sites, but just had an answer from the post office to my email query, in which they state that 'The Sri Lankan Rupee is only available to nationals of Sri Lanka' Does anyone know if this is the case and, if so, what currecy I should take?

bclark

That sounds a bit strange. I went to Sri Lanka back in 2006 and I took the Rupee which I had got from the Post Office. I don't know what else they expect you to spend.

Incapuppy

Take Sterling and exchange it when you arrive. There are facilities at Colombo airport.

jcorbygas

Yes - agree with incapuppy. We changed our money at the airport.
Hope you have a good holiday. We toured Sri Lanka last year and it is a very interesting country to visit.

deegee999

Same as incapuppy, wee took cash & USD travellers cheques, exchanged at airport & hotels.

krad

I'd recommend taking traveller's cheques. They're just as usable as cash and much more safer.

skr80

...or use the cashpoints when you are out there...

gj6as

Cash points in Sri lanka are few and far between. but you can always get money in the hotel - theyll give you cash and then just add it to you hotel bill which you pay at the end of your stay.

Most places would rather use US dollars as they are worth more, i took half my money in rupees and half in dollars which worked well. Just make sure you have lot of small change in rupees for tips and small shops etc.

You can easily order rupees form the post office.

hope this helps

jeffy22

I took american dollars for airport stuff and then changed my money in my hotel.
your not allowed to leave the country with any of their money either

davidlizard

Do not rely on cashpoints being available - they are few and far between, especially ouside of the cities, and where they do exist they are often empty.

Recommend taking a stack of US $1 notes as they are extremely handy for tipping.

We used travellers cheques but also paid for a fair amount of stuff in dollars and the credit card.