Sri Lanka is an incredible destination to visit, with so much to offer including mountains, ancient cities, tea plantations, and some of the best coastline in Asia. But is Sri Lanka good for digital nomads? If you’re planning to work while you travel here, finding reliable internet for remote work takes a bit more thought than Bali or Thailand. Wifi across the country isn’t as consistently reliable, largely because Sri Lanka is susceptible to power cuts. That said, we’ve come across a few areas where remote work is definitely possible.
Kandy
One of Sri Lanka’s main cities, Kandy is a solid option if you want more infrastructure around you. It’s a good base if you’re after city energy alongside easy access to the Botanical Gardens, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, and the scenic train route up to Ella.
Ella
Up in the mountains and stunning. There are a handful of cafes here that work well for coworking, plus hotels that suit remote work too, just check recent reviews for wifi reliability before you book.
Weligama: Our Top Pick
If you’re after the best base for working remotely in Sri Lanka, this is it. Hangtime Hostel has a restaurant and a designated coworking area, and we’ve found the wifi here to be good the majority of the time. Other solid spots include Plan B and Nomad, both popular with the local nomad crowd. If you need somewhere quiet for calls, Independent is a coworking space built exactly for that. Outpost is also worth knowing about if you want coliving and socialising alongside your coworking, a great way to meet other nomads while you’re there.
Basing yourself in Weligama also puts you close to other south coast spots worth exploring in your downtime: Hiriketiya, Mirissa, Midigama, and Ahangama.
Getting Around
Bike rental is the easiest way to get around once you’re here, but it’s worth knowing what to expect. The bikes you’ll find are generally a fair bit older than what you’d hire in Bali, don’t expect to find an NMax. Sri Lanka is still very much in development mode in a lot of ways, and we’d say that’s more of a positive than a negative overall, but it does show up in things like rental bikes and infrastructure, which can feel a bit more rustic than what you’re used to elsewhere in Asia.
The same safety basics apply here as anywhere else. Always wear a helmet, even for short rides. Drive slowly and cautiously, especially on unfamiliar roads. Watch out for loose gravel or sand, it can make your wheels slip. And expect other drivers to do unpredictable things, not everyone follows the rules.
Rather than relying on a local licence, we’d recommend having an international driving licence sorted before you arrive. The Indonesian driving licence that covers you in Thailand doesn’t apply here, so it’s worth getting this in place in advance.
Staying Connected
Because of the power cuts, having backup data on your phone matters more here than almost anywhere else we’ve worked from. We’d recommend grabbing an eSIM through Airalo before you arrive, our code CHARLO5137 gets you money off your first SIM. Physical SIM cards are also widely available and easy to set up locally if you’d rather sort one once you land. Either way, make sure you’ve always got data on your phone so you can hotspot the moment the wifi drops.
Costs and Food
Price-wise, Sri Lanka sits closer to Koh Phangan than Bali, affordable, but a little more expensive than Bali for what you get. It’s still 100% worth it for everything the country offers.
Food is amazing here. If you stick to local food, it’s far more affordable than Western options, the same rule of thumb applies pretty much everywhere in this part of the world.
Worth Visiting, Not Working From
Sri Lanka has so much beyond these spots. Negombo is a relaxing first stop near the airport, Sigiriya is home to the incredible ancient rock fortress, and Udawalawe is one of the best places in the country for a safari. These are some of our favourite places to explore in Sri Lanka, we just wouldn’t plan to get a full work day done from any of them.
Ready to Build a Life You Can Work From Anywhere?
If you’re dreaming of working remotely, we’re here to help you make it a reality. Sri Lanka is a good example of why it helps to have the right setup in place first, a few extra hurdles like patchy wifi don’t have to hold you back once you know how to plan around them.
Have no idea where to start? Take our free quiz to see what kind of online business you should build. And if you’re ready to go all in and turn this into your reality, check out our programme, The Diary of a Digital Nomad: How to Build a Freelance Business and Work from Anywhere. It walks you through everything from finding your business idea to landing clients to actually making the move, so you can build a business that works wherever you are, Sri Lanka included.
