top of page
Search

Sri Lanka by Motorcycle <>

  • Writer: S D
    S D
  • May 19
  • 6 min read

Updated: May 27

Mar-Apr 2025 |


Sharing details on my solo ride around the southern half of Sri Lanka in March and April 2025. Not the "Ultimate Guide!!!", but some useful info.


Duration & Distances

  • 20 days / 13 stops / 40 hrs / 1300 km

  • Details of rides and stops are at the bottom of the page in the Maps and Trip Reports sections



Why Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka is, hands down, one of the best tourist destinations in the world. I'd visited the south west coast 2x before, but done minimal moto riding. I was keen to return, so many places to see including Sigiriya, Trincomalee, Argugam Bay, and more.


Planning & Route

  • Research & Route: I didn't spend much time doing either of these prior to arriving. It came down to 2 options: go north-east first to Sigiriya and then onwards down the east coast, or go south to the beach and work it out from there. One determining factor was the weather: this time of year, the monsoon season switches to dry in the north-east and rain in the south-west. So I went north-east.

  • Solo or tour? I like to travel in a fairly unorganized, independent manner, so there was no question for me - solo. I had no issues riding solo in Sri Lanka.

  • Rental: I booked with Bike Rent Sri Lanka (SLBR) in Negombo. It was a simple process to organise a rental, largely done via their website (more details below)

  • License:

    • I carried the usual: passport, motorcycle DL & IDP (both Singapore) and bike registration.

    • Sri Lanka requires you to get a local driving permit. It can be arranged by SLBR, for $40. But when I collected the bike I was told the govt office was closed that day (or something like that), so I couldn't get the license - and therefore didn't need it, IDP would now be fine. Honestly, this local license thing seems a bit dubious to me (not that it mattered, I didn't get stopped by the police).


Bike & Gear

  • Bike: Options were limited with SLBR; they didn't have any enduro bikes available, I chose between a cruiser-style bike or scooter, both 150cc. I went with an Aprilla 150 scooter, thinking it would be similar to a Yamaha Nmax. But unfortunately, this was not a great decision, as the Aprillia has an upright posture and becomes butt-breaking pretty fast. SLBR's were all fairly old; the Aprilla had no suspension at all. (Per management, Sri Lanka went bankrupt in recent years, and bike imports stopped).

  • Riding gear:

  • Luggage:

  • Straps: Rokstraps, highly recommended, a step up from bungee cords (they have an interesting origin story, look it up).

  • Camera: I take a lot of photos and am shooting more video. My current rig is a GoPro 12, iPhone 15, and Insta360 X4 (just acquired before this trip). I use the GoPro on a clip mount that I attach to my backpack shoulder strap. It's set to voice activation, and I keep the beep sound turned on, that way I know the camera is taking a photo or video while I am riding. I use the iPhone for major photo opportunities that require a stop, and keep it in my tank bag for easy access.


Cost

  • Sri Lanka is good value, at parity with Indo, Thailand, Philippines, though a bit more expensive than Vietnam. Food, drink, gas, and other essentials are all cheap, but accommodation seemed a bit overpriced. I averaged $55/day - not living large, but not cutting corners.

  • The bike was $10/day and the deposit $100. I wasn't required to leave my passport

Insurance

  • Motorcycle: Per SLRB, the rental fee included "full-insurance", though I didn't explore further exactly what that meant ( and, luckily, I never had a reason to).

  • Travel/Medical: I use World Nomads travel insurance, which covers motorcycle riding and other action-oriented activities, and can be purchased when you are already travelling. Since I hit 60 earlier this year, their policy has become excruciatingly expensive, so I am looking at new options in the future.


Roads & Driving

  • Roads: It was paved roads almost entirely on this trip (including some "still kind of paved" roads such as the one up to Lipton's Seat). Overall, the road quality is decent in Sri Lanka.

  • Driving: No issues here. Road safety and driving were better than expected, very civilized. I didn't experience any type of incident that could be classified as ignorant or unsafe. Outside major cities, the roads are fairly relaxed. As Sri Lanka is a motorcycle-centric society, people give proper leeway to bikes.

  • Buses: the only major consideration are buses, and they are everywhere. These look like school buses, but lack any of the warning lights found on school buses. They stop in the lane, without pulling over. I nearly rear-ended a stopped bus, not realising it was completely stopped.


Weather

  • I experienced almost no rain, only on my last couple of days on the south-west coast, as I expected.

  • As mentioned above, Sri Lanka has different monsoon seasons on its east and west coasts.


People, Communication & Safety

  • People in Sri Lanka are amongst the most pleasant and friendly I have ever met.

  • English is spoken fluently everywhere, I had no communication challenges.

  • Overall, it is very safe. As with anywhere, it's always a good idea to manage your stuff (ex: in a Pacsafe portable safe), and don't put yourself in any compromising situation(s).

  • Honestly, it's hard to correlate past wars and terrorism in Sri Lanka to the laid-back manner of day-to-day life there today. Let's hope it stays that way (when I first visited in 1999, Trincomalee was off-limits to tourists). Side note: it's hard to fathom how some of the most idyllic places, with gentle and friendly people - Uganda, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, to name a few - have taken incredibly dark turns in the past).


Mobile & Wifi

  • I bought a 30-day SIM for $9 at the airport. Service was decent, though I couldn't stream with it.

  • I didn't use wi-fi much.


Accommodation

  • Accommodation is decent and cheap (though more than in Thailand or Vietnam).

  • I used Agoda for almost all of my bookings.


F&B

  • Local cuisine is excellent, especially the fresh seafood.

  • For me, the highlight was breakfast, where I overindulged in roti prata and curry every day.

  • You can get western food in major tourist centers, ranging from very good to just ok.

  • Chain convenience stores like 7-11 and Circle K are non-existent, but endless local shops sell the same wares.

  • Alcohol is fully available at bottle shops, and is surprisingly cheap (ex: you can get a bottle of ok import red wine for $10).

  • I wasn't pitched any form of narcotic (unlike in past visits).


Sights

  • Sri Lanka is a natural paradise, with a broad range of sights, ranging from incredible beaches, mountains, tea plantations, and parks.

  • Wildlife viewing is world-class, on par with Africa; without even entering a national park. I saw wild elephants, crocodiles, boar, deer, langur and macaque monkeys, mongoose, and an incredible array of birds.


Activities

Amongst many things to do in Sri Lanka here are some I did or considered:

  • Diving: I dived in Trincomalee and highly recommend it

  • Hike: Sigiriya is one of the world's greatest sights and a challenging hike; it's not to be missed; there was also hiking in Ella, Nuwara Eliya, and elsewhere (but I didn't partake).

  • Surf: Sri Lanka is a top surf destination, and one of the best places to learn

  • History: The place is loaded with ancient Sinhalese and Tamil sites, as well as Dutch, English, and Portuguese colonial-era sites.


Trip reports

Sharing detailed descriptions of my rides from/to and stays at the latter.

Hirikitiya > Unawatuna / Colombo / Negombo


Maps

  • The map below is the route I followed.

  • Click on the "window" top left or ride-to-from details.


Map

Click the "window" top left to see more details.



Questions?

Drop me a line at terraxplor1@gmail.com, happy to help.







Comments

bottom of page