Sri Lanka was nominated by Lonely Planet and CNN as one of the best destinations to visit in 2020. But, the COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected the travel plans of many visitors. Indeed 2020 is a lost year for travelers. As the New Year is going to begin, everybody looks for a fresh start by setting new goals for the year 2021. For travelers, post-COVID travel is a bit challenging, with many factors to consider.
Are you looking for a safe country to travel, while exploring beautiful places you’ve never seen before? Then Sri Lanka is the best choice as your post-COVID travel destination. The lovely nature of the country is beaming with beauty, after relaxing for nearly one year. Take a trip to Magnificent Sri Lanka and it will give you plenty of opportunities to create memories that will last for a lifetime.
Are looking for a place to travel safely while enjoying wonderful landscapes and splendid sceneries? Everything checked. Sri Lanka is a unique place with one of the most breathtaking sights you’ll ever encounter in your life. This beautiful island is packed with many amazing places with deep blue turquoise seas and epic colorful sunsets. You’ll find plenty of incredible photogenic spots to amaze your Instagram followers. Here we have mentioned the reasons why you should visit this gorgeous country as your post-COVID travel destination. Come and experience the magic of Sri Lanka and have the best holiday ever in this paradise.
1. Safe Country
Sri Lanka was affected by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the first wave in March and the second wave in October 2020. But, health authorities successfully controlled coronavirus using several preventive measures to stop its spreading throughout the island. At the moment, the coronavirus epicenter is the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. Most of the other major touristic cities and countryside are practically safe for traveling.
Sri Lankan borders were closed for visitors from March to December and finally, the travel ban will be lifted for 2021. According to the indepthnews, Sri Lanka is among the most successful countries in the world in keeping Coronavirus at a bay. Only 185 deaths recorded in Sri Lanka, while more than 30,000 people recovered and discharged from the hospitals until December 2020. Tourists can explore the beauty of the island and the best tourist destinations, following the health guidelines mentioned on the Sri Lanka tourism website.
2. Best Health Regulations
The Sri Lankan government has implemented operational guidelines with health protocols since July 2020. You can find this lengthy 80-page document here. These effective policies helped to limit the spread of the virus throughout the island. Detailed guidelines have produced for all hotels, restaurants, and transport services resuming operations post-lockdown.
On 10th August 2020, Sri Lanka received the ‘Safe Travels’ stamp from the World Travel & Tourism Council in recognition of the comprehensive health and safety measures the government has proposed to safeguard tourists during their holidays. We believe following these health guidelines is the best way to get protected against the coronavirus making Sri Lanka the best post-COVID travel destination.
These safety regulations will help to keep travelers safe without any fear of infecting Coronavirus. Therefore, Sri Lanka can be mentioned as a pretty secure place for even traveling families with kids. We believe Sri Lanka will become totally COVID-19-free country for everyone in the coming year.
3. Safe Lodging
Sri Lanka is abundant with small family-run Airbnb rentals and guest houses, where you can easily avoid encountering many travelers. Stay at some of the many small boutique hotels and private villas scattered around the island. In the hill country, you may find colonial hotels, villas, or tea estate bungalows, which offer luxurious accommodations. There are high-standard safety options to suit all price ranges and tastes. Post-COVID travel gives more opportunities to enjoy the Sri Lankan countryside, by choosing accommodation in level 1 safe and secured hotels located far from city centers.
These days most of the luxurious hotels and villas have attractive offers, for the people who book their accommodation. These discounts help you to book hotels now and travel later when you think it is safe to visit Sri Lanka.
Since eco-tourism is a booming trend in Sri Lanka, you can find many eco-oriented hotels and lodges. And also you can stay in bungalows or safari camps within most of the island’s national parks. If you are a luxury traveler, you can find many luxury restaurants, comfortable beach resorts, and glamping spots with safe and grand facilities.
4. Off the Beaten Tracks
Although Sri Lanka ranks amongst the top holiday hotspots in the world, still there are many lovely places that exist off the beaten path. Its busy touristic spots and crowded cities can easily be avoided to ensure your safety. Now it is high time to explore these off-the-beaten tracks and hidden gems in Sri Lanka. Escape the famous tourist trails as much as possible, and explore the charming spots where many tourists weren’t interested before. Remember to explore the lovely nature and amazing wildlife in the countryside during your post-COVID travel.
If you are a beach lover, it is pretty easy to find some quiet and peaceful beaches far away from commercialized ones. Despite its popularity as a stunning beach paradise, there are many places on the southern coast that remain untouched by tourism. These secluded beaches give the best opportunity to explore the beauty of the Sri Lankan shoreline away from the crowds. Travelers may fall in love with Sri Lanka by relaxing in palm-fringed golden sandy beaches while watching the sunset light up the sky.
Sri Lanka remains largely a rural destination, with most of the island covered with untouched wilderness preserved for wildlife conversation. As well as, lovely Little England offers plenty of opportunities to see many wonderful and rare sceneries in the country. Lands of tea-laden hillsides, beautiful waterfalls, and misty mountains with fresh hill-country air are the few remarkable sights in the hill country.
You can go for waterfall hunting, where still many of them are well hidden and stay off the beaten path. Camping in Meemure, Idalgashinna, or the Knuckles Mountain range gives the opportunity to get close to the lovely pristine nature in Sri Lanka. You can trek through the hiking trails and meet with unique flora and fauna in these areas.
5. Drive Yourself
Avoiding crowds in public transportation is an important thing to consider during the post-COVID travel period. Renting a tuk-tuk is the best option to dodge the crowds and travel safely in Sri Lanka. Tuk-tuk or three-wheel is a common, cheap way of moving inside the country. You can always drive your own tuk-tuk throughout the island to get a whole new experience. Even there is a Tuk-tuk Sri Lanka challenge, where you can participate in the trishaw riding competition.
It is an easy way to travel even for a long distance enjoying the view of the surroundings and countryside through the open windows. Tuk-tuk ride allows you to enjoy the feel of cool wind while traveling. Renting Tuk-tuk will give you a lot of freedom and chances to have fun!
Since you can drive yourself, you can go anywhere, whenever you want. You don’t need to wait for a taxi or hire a driver. It will give you the chance to go out for dinner or shopping without a hassle. Renting a tuk-tuk will give you the best opportunities to capture beautiful shots of the Sri Lankan countryside.
6. Wellness Tourism
Wellness tourism is a rapidly growing sector in the Sri Lankan travel industry. With the renowned hospitality of Sri Lankans, there isn’t any better place than Sri Lanka to enjoy wellness tourism. There are wellness retreats and yoga retreats which are designed to aid you with a healthy routine to get rid of the stress of modern daily life. The sunshine, beautiful nature, and specially arranged fresh vegan diet, supports the body, mind, and heart for ultimate wellbeing. Moreover, the daily movement and meditation with a loving community in the retreat are so supportive to enhance your health.
7. Friendly People
Sri Lanka has a high reputation as a country with great hospitality. We are world-famous for our friendliness and genuine warm attitude towards foreign travelers. What makes us special among other Asian people? You will experience it while traveling in the country.
Sri Lankans are happy to welcome tourists and they make you feel safe during your journey through the country. Sri Lankans respect a lot to visitors and consider them an invaluable resource of our beautiful country. Most of the people are easy-going, kindhearted, and welcoming, like to help foreigners as much as possible.
Sri Lanka gained popularity as the most generous country by treating and assisting tourists during the coronavirus pandemic. A video produced by Nas Daily Corporation has featured Sri Lanka’s hospitality towards travelers amid the coronavirus lockdown. Nuseir Yassin, the popular international vlogger praised that tourists stranded in Ella were treated as “family” by residents who provided them with food and accommodation. As Sri Lankans, we are proud of these remarks and hope that tourism comes back to life in this beautiful paradise soon.
Sri Lanka, surrounded by glorious sandy beaches, enriched with amazing wildlife and timeless ruins, is the best safe destination for travelers at the moment. This post-COVID travel period gives the prime opportunity to experience the ultimate beauty of the paradise island. Being unoccupied by travelers for nearly one year, Sri Lankan nature has become unspoiled and pristine, making your visit completely worthwhile. The empty Sri Lankan beaches are waiting for their visitors to come back and have some fun in the sun. Come and visit this mesmerizing escape into paradise in 2021!
Text by Magnificent Sri Lanka. Images from Wikimedia commons, Sri Lankan Air, Weforum and Pickuci. All copyrights reserved by original authors.
Although I love your blog, and agree with everything here about how fabulous Sri Lanka was (in every way) as a travel destination… the new rules for tourists make it extremely difficult to move around the country on your own. There is only travel with a tour guide, using approved transportation and approved, pre-paid accommodation. You will not be able to rent a tuktuk, or move around the country in any spontaneous way. We spent 8 weeks there this winter and absolutely loved every minute, but travel to this country, when it opens at all, will be a very different experience.
Thank you very much for the comment. I agree with you 100%. This is a difficult time for everybody. We hope everything will be fine and you can travel without hassle in 2021.