What you need to know when going to Sri Lanka on New Years? We provide prices in 2020 for vacations and tourist reviews, as well as give advice on what to see and do.
Some people prefer to celebrate the New Year at home with Olivier and champagne, others take a little vacation and go to rest. Both are right in their own way: the main holiday of the year is the time when you can get a little distracted from the insipid everyday life and fill your life with bright colors. So why not celebrate the New Year in Sri Lanka by swimming in the warm waters of the equatorial Indian Ocean?
Where to find cheap tickets? It is most convenient to do this using the search engines Aviasales and Skyscanner. To find the best price, check both and see tickets for different dates. Read also the instructions on how to search for cheap flights correctly.
How New Year is celebrated on the island
Sri Lankans celebrate their New Year in the spring, but they are happy to celebrate all the holidays that came to them from other countries. So, together with Catholics they celebrate Christmas on December 25, this tradition was brought to them by the Portuguese colonialists, and the European New Year in Sri Lanka is held in a tropical style - on the ocean shore, with fireworks and beach parties. Some hotels organize a New Year's banquet, others are limited to treats and entertainment for children, without night dances and alcoholic libations.
Find out how to organize a vacation with children in Sri Lanka.
In Unawatuna, tourists just walk along the beach line to stop at any place they like and join the fun. In honor of the holiday, the owners of the bars cook lobsters and king prawns on an open fire, clap firecrackers and firecrackers. Music on the beach does not stop all night, and in some bars until the next evening.
In the midst of the New Year holidays, the island will host the Durutu Poya festival, where you can see absolutely stunning processions of elephants. Following him, the Sri Lankans celebrate Tai Pongal, a harvest festival that lasts for two whole days. Tourists should be aware that on these days all government agencies and banks will be closed.
Weather in Sri Lanka for the New Year
Sri Lanka is located close enough to the equator, so the climate here is subequatorial, subject to the influence of monsoons. In the New Year and the following days, the weather in Sri Lanka is good: during the day +28 ... + 30 ° С, at night +22 ... + 24 ° С, water in the ocean + 28 ° С. It is cool only in mountainous areas: from + 11 ° С to + 19 ° С.
It is better not to visit the northeastern regions of the island during this period - heavy rainfall falls most of the time. But on south and southwest precipitation is much less, and they fall mainly in the second half of the day. So, in Galle, Hikkaduwa, Bentota there are up to 10 rainy days, in Anuradhapura - 13, and in the alpine resort of Nuwara Eliya - all 15. Such climate differences are due to the presence of a mountain range on the island, which delays the winds carrying precipitation to the island from the side Bay of Bengal.
Before the trip, we recommend that you read our material on the weather in Sri Lanka and the climate in different parts of the island.
Prices for holidays in Sri Lanka in the New Year - 2020
Winter holidays are the high season on the island, in the last decade of December, prices for housing, food and services increase daily, so if you are planning a vacation in Sri Lanka for the new 2020, it is better to book accommodation in advance. So, at the end of December in Unawatuna a double room on the first line costs 30-50 dollars, in Mirissa - from 40 and more. On the second line, you can find accommodation cheaper, but not less than $ 20 per room. We recommend looking for a hotel on Rumguru. We also have a selection of the best hotels in Sri Lanka - there you can find a hotel with good reviews and high ratings.
New Year's Eve banquet in a 4 * hotel with a program costs about $ 100 per person. You can dine together in a regular cafe for 6-15 dollars. Rice, fruits and vegetables are cheap. Alcohol is of very decent quality, sold in special kiosks and costs from $ 1 to $ 10 per bottle.
If you want to diversify your New Year's holiday in Sri Lanka, take a guided tour. True, they are not very cheap - from 10 to 40 dollars per person. Anuradhapura, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya - 15-25 dollars, elephant nursery - 20 dollars, botanical garden - 10 dollars, Coral Island - 20-40 dollars, depending on the departure station. Massages and other Ayurvedic procedures in inexpensive centers cost from 10 to 15 dollars per session, in centers at hotels they are 1.5-2 times more expensive.
Prices for tours to Sri Lanka for the new year 2020
Prices for vouchers are current at the time of publication of the article and are subject to change. We are considering flights from Moscow.
The cost of vouchers to Sri Lanka for the New Year 2020 is not very expensive for such a distant and exotic destination: the cheapest tours cost from 110 thousand rubles for two (with a departure on December 30 from Moscow for 7 nights and accommodation in a 3-4 * hotel ). If you fly out earlier (December 28-29), then the price for tours increases (from 130 thousand rubles), if later (after January 2, 2020) it goes down.
Prefer all inclusive tours? Such vouchers cost from 150 thousand rubles for two (departure on December 30). We recommend looking for tours on the Travelata and Level.Travel services - for reliability, check in both search engines. Read also how to buy a tour cheaply - there we talk about 7 rules for online search for tickets for all tour operators.
Entertainment and excursions
There is always something to do on the beaches of Sri Lanka: you can lie in the sun or swim in the ocean, drive on a catamaran or scooter, go diving or surfing. In cloudy weather, play, feed palm squirrels, go to SPA procedures. Surfers rest in Negombo and Kalutara, divers have chosen Hikkaduwa, although there are dive centers in many resorts. Before traveling, we advise you to read the information about the best resorts and beaches in Sri Lanka and choose the one that suits you best.
After the bright meeting of the new 2020, it is worthwhile to devote time to the sights of Sri Lanka - many interesting things await for lovers of antiquities and exotic nature. You can go to the ancient capital of Anuradhapura and the Dambulla temple complex, see the remains of the royal palace at Polonnaruwa and Galle fort, visit the Royal Botanic Garden and Nuwara Eliya tea plantations, climb Mount Sigiriya and admire the elephants at the Pinnawela nursery.
Reviews about holidays in Sri Lanka in the New Year
In the New Year of vacationers in Sri Lanka - clouds. According to tourists, it is especially crowded on the beaches in Unawatuna and Hikkaduwa. The beach strip is narrow, the people are dark, noisy and fun! By the way, it is better not to rent cottages and rooms in guesthouses on the first line for those who are light asleep: it will definitely not be up to sleep. Better to look for secluded hotels within a five minute walk from the beach. All of them are located in the shade of the trees, it is quiet and calm, right there palm squirrels scurry through the trees and beg for food.
The second feature is the guides. Any Lankan who knows a few phrases in a foreign language already considers himself suitable for the job. Therefore, you should be prepared for very lengthy stories with a monstrous accent.
The island has an excellent excursion program - there are several dozen nature reserves and national parks in Sri Lanka, so rest for the New Year 2020 will definitely not work out boring and monotonous. What you might not like are the tiring trips. The mountainous terrain, the roads are such that you cannot go quickly, so it is difficult to travel by bus here, or you need to carefully think over the travel routes in order to make the transfers as comfortable as possible.
Buddhist temples are visited without shoes, so you should definitely stock up on socks or shoe covers.
Some tourists note that of all the poor Asian countries, Sri Lanka is the cleanest and most well-groomed. According to reviews, most Sri Lankans do not treat a tourist like a walking wallet, and they are glad to any visitor, regardless of his status (although there are some unpleasant exceptions). Finally, Sri Lanka has excellent shopping - in addition to world-famous Ceylon tea, inexpensive and high-quality clothes are produced here, and for a small amount you can update your wardrobe.
You can read even more tourist opinions in our separate article on tourist reviews about Sri Lanka.
