Safety in Sri Lanka

Hi,

I have booked a holiday at The Fortress in Galle for the beginning of Marbch but I have just been doing some further investigation into the area and noticed the British foreign advise not to visit Sri Lanka because of the terrorist activity.

Can anyone here give me a realistic view of how dangerous it is in Sri Lanka right now?

Thanks

Safety in Sri Lanka

Hi there....

Firstly the UK government via the FCO website has NEVER advised against all travel to Sri Lanka because of terrorism, only time it did briefly advise against travel was just after the Tsunami in December 2004/January 2005.

However !the FCO does advise against travel to certain parts of Sri Lanka, but this does not include Galle are at all, you should take heed of places to avoid on that website as it will invalidate your travel insurance if you choose to ignore that advice, this is same for any country visited by the way.

I was there for 6 weeks or so back in November %26amp; December last year, ok, there is increased security these days, but i never felt in anyway threatened or insecure at all, and will be heading of down there again at end of March for another 6 weeks or so too.

Hope this helps....

Regards

Dave

Safety in Sri Lanka

Hi again....

Just to add....

UK travel companies/airlines will NOT by law sell holidays to countries or places that the FCO advises against, so rest assured you will be ok.

Rrgards

Dave

Thanks Dave,

That has put my mind at ease. But the UK, Australian and US foreign affairs all suggest to carefully consider any visits to Sri Lanka because of political motivated violence. Which does not sound very appealing to me. But I know the reports they issue always sound worse than they really are.

Regards

Nathan

Hi Nathan....

Sri Lanka is really no different these days to most places that we as tourists visit, common sense is advised everywhere these days, even here in London, and to be honest i feel safer in Sri Lanka than i do in London !

Regards

Dave

Hi

I totally agree with Dave.

There are checkpoints (esp. in Colombo), but having stayed in Sri Lanka for the last 2 months and a bit (going home tonight), I have only been checked once while travelling around.

The political violence in Sri Lanka has never been directed towards tourists, and the present fighting is restricted to a 45 sq km at the far northeast.

I have visited Sri Lanka 37 times over the last 16 years and never felt unsafe. Ticket for my next trip (18th March) is already booked.

Have a nice (and safe) holiday in Sri Lanka.

Hans

what web site ???

Returned last friday from Sri Lanka.I felt safe all the time,we travelled for 9 days,Colombo,Bentota,Galle,Tea country,Kandy and Dambulla.Some checkpoints along the road,but they did not stop foreigners.

Obviously you can not travel up to the northern parts but the souoth is perfectly ok.

Regards

Raiza Tenerife

Hi,

Myself and my fiancee were considering our honeymoon in sri lanka, i have my heart set on it, of course friends and family as they would are suggesting that maybe its not such a good idea right now, as sri lanka is so small and you dont know what is going to happen. When you start reading news from the past 10 years , it makes you nervous, but as some of the other posts say, its as safe as any place these days from the news. I dont want to feel nervous on my honeymoom, but no other place right now convinces me for honeymoon, so i too understand your dilemma, its a place i want to go in my heart. we havnt booked anythign yet but need to soon....so sorry if ive scared you, but i think im looking for some encouragement and reasurance about it. When you dont understand the war , its hard to know....but i guess if you were there and you were fine, then its not a worry....oooh help.

Hi,

As mostly discussed here, Sri Lanka is not a place to be ignored due to the security reasons. Even now lots of tourists are visiting the island. You should avoid north and east other than that all the tourist excursions are safe to visit. Undoubtedly this small island is a place to visited to make your honeymoon unforgettable. Depending on your preference lots of things to be done.

Nishantha

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