What To Pack For Sri Lanka: A Backpacker’s Guide On What To Take {2025}
- Kate Colliety
- Sep 12
- 8 min read
Packing can sometimes feel like the be all and end all, but in reality if you have the essentials you’re good to go and you can normally find anything else you need on the road. That said, we like to be prepared (and if you're reading this, we bet you do too).
We spent 2 months driving a tuk tuk around Sri Lanka, through tropical heat, lush mountains, remote beaches, and dense jungle. After living out of our trusty Osprey backpacks for eight weeks, we've put together the ultimate backpacker’s packing list for Sri Lanka. Here’s what to bring… and what to leave behind.
This guide covers everything we actually used, from lightweight clothing and travel gear to items we wish we hadn’t packed. Whether you're backpacking around Sri Lanka for two weeks or two months, this list is for you.
Read our Sri Lanka Preparation blog next!
Discover The Top Things To Do In Sri Lanka!
While driving around the country for 2-months, we created a Google Pinned Map with all the places we visited and were recommended in Sri Lanka. Grab your Pinned Map today and start planning your Sri Lankan adventure! Don’t miss out...click here to view for free!
The Important Stuff: Backpacking Sri Lanka Essentials
Travel Insurance For Sri Lanka
We use SafetyWing, which is a travel insurance company specifically designed for nomads. Whether it’s crashed scooters, broken ankles or lost luggage, something is always at risk of going wrong, in fact our friends crashed their tuk tuk, so don’t skimp on this!
Spare Debit, Credit Cards & Cash
One of our best packing decisions was a waterproof important document holder, it lived at the bottom of our bag, equipped with an Apple AirTag and all our key items:
Passports
International driving permits
Spare debit and credit cards
Cash in USD
Our UK SIM cards
We also kept photocopies of passports in our main backpacks and stored digital copies offline on our phones.
Climate & Activity Overview
Being a tropical climate there are a few main things you’ll battle on your trip: the heat, rain and high humidity. We’ve prepared a full Sri Lanka Packing List that should help you with everything you need to bring for hiking in the Knuckles Mountain Range, surfing in Weligama and heading off for safari in Wilpattu.
17 Essentials To Pack For Sri Lanka
This is the number one item for a reason, it is an absolute lifesaver on all our trips.
A reusable filtered bottle is absolutely necessary when travelling through Asia
Cheap when compared to the cost of food poisoning due to bad water (even from the official water dispensers)
For backpacking, a microfibre towel is a great choice. Not only are they quick drying but also sand proof, lightweight and pack away very small.
Sand-proof
Lightweight and small
Fast drying
Includes a small zip pocket for valuables at the beach
Perfect to locate lost luggage or keep valuables safe.
Small and lightweight
Put one in every piece of luggage (including your Important Document Holder)
Huge peace of mind when you lose your bags as you can immediately check the app
The Osprey 55L Farpoint For Men and Fairview For Women are by far the best backpacks to take on your travels in our opinion.
Chest opening for easy access
Detachable day pack
Lightweight and well built
You're visiting the tropics, make sure to come prepared! On travel days when moving accommodation you never know what the weather is going to be like. Full disclosure here we didn’t have these and were constantly wrapping our bags in bin sacks!
Waterproof even in heavy downpours
Keeps all your belongings dry on travel days
Volume range 50-75L
Bonus get one for your day pack too!
Don’t do what we did… turn up with non-tropical mosquito spray! This is the spray we used in the jungle and it worked!
Use a strong spray that smells nice so you’ll apply it everyday
Better safe than sorry
We also use Mosquito Wipes as well as the Spray
In order to minimise your impact on the reefs, we recommend choosing a reef safe sunscreen. Places such as Pigeon Island are recovering reefs, therefore we need to do everything we can to protect them.
Environmentally friendly
Water resistant
50 SPF
Having your bags padlocked is unfortunately needed on travel days and when leaving your apartments, you’re always better off safe than sorry.
Protection from petty thefts
TSA Approved meaning airport security can access it if needed
We took our Leatherman tool to fix anything that inevitably broke and needed fixing while travelling. It was also super useful to have the day-to-day handy tools in one place such as scissors and a bottle opener. Just make sure you put this in your checked in bag!
Screwdriver
Scissors
Pliers
Can opener
And so much more!
In order to keep our passport and any important visa papers safe we kept everything in a Waterproof Document Holder which also worked great for spare cards and cash.
Waterproof
Space for multiple passports, international drivers licenses etc.
Room for spare cards, cash and an Apple Air Tag!
If you know you’ll be travelling in the rainy season, make sure to come prepared! Many people opt for full body ponchos which look ridiculous but keep you and your backpacks dry. We chose to bring lightweight rain jackets that came in handy when we were hiking in the Knuckles Mountain Range.
Waterproof to keep dry
Sustainable - Made from recycled fabric
Lightweight for hiking and trekking plus making it perfect for backpacking
For the more adventurous underwater activities such as Snorkelling In Trincomalee or Surfing in Arugam Bay you’ll want a GoPro.
Great camera for underwater adventures
4K resolution
Up to 10 meters waterproof
Sri Lanka is home to some of the best surfing in Asia. Learn in Weligama, hit the reef in Arugam Bay or join a surf camp for the community.
Stay protected agaisnt the sun
For non-UK friends (Sri Lanka uses the same type G plug as the UK) or if you’re travelling further afield, a universal travel adaptor is a game-changer! We wish we bought one years ago, many of the budget hotels and hostels only provide one plug so to be able to charge multiple devices at a time is great.
2 usb charging ports & one main charging port
3 different pin types, supporting 150+ countries
Sri Lanka uses Type G plug sockets which is the same as the UK
We used our Travel Power Banks every single travel day without fail and having the backup power was necessary during island power cuts.
Can hold up to 4 full chargers
Used in the jungle where we had no access to power
Great for travel days when you need to use Google Maps
If you plan to surf everyday, or join a surf camp like The Surfer, a leave-in conditioner can be a lifesaver for your hair.
Keeps your hair healthy
Avoids sun and sea water damage
We both use packing cubes for our clothes when backpacking as it helps with organisation which is essential when you have limited space.
Keep organised in a small space
Prevent overpacking
Find items in your bag easily
One of the best things we brought with us to Sri Lanka was Kate’s bum bag which held all of our passports, visa docs, wallets and boarding passes in a zipped compartment on travel days. With an Apple Air Tag inside, this gave us peace of mind that our valuables were safe.
Great passport storage for travel days
Easy access to all of your essentials
Great when paired with an Apple AirTag
Everything You Need To Pack For Sri Lanka
Important Documents
Passport
Debit Card
Driver’s License
International Driver’s Permit
Cash
Visa (if needed)
Photocopies of important documents
Toiletries
Shampoo bar, Body Wash
Toothbrush & Toothpaste, Floss & TiPis
Deodorant & maybe a small tester perfume
Moisturiser and any skin care products
Nail clippers, small pair of scissors & Tweezers
Menstrual Cup, Tampons (These can be hard to get hold of so its great to bring a backup)
Hairbrush & Hair ties
Mascara, makeup remover & reusable cottons pads (If wanted)
Razor & shaving foam
Eye mask & Earplugs – A must if you plan to stay in hostels or want to sleep on the flight
Technology
Phone
Charging Cables
Laptop (if needed)
Clothes
Kate Took | Mike Took: |
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Miscellaneous
Pen and Paper
Toilet Roll
Phone Apps To Download For Sri Lanka
Google Translate: This really comes in handy when interacting with the locals, you can speak or type into it and translate it to any language instantly, we downloaded the languages of the countries we knew we were visiting. Another super handy feature is the ability to take a photo of a sign and translate it, life saver!
Currency Converter: really simple and quick, this is an offline app that allows you to type in the foreign currency amount and convert it even without Wi-Fi
Revolut: As soon as you tap a transaction, it will pop up on the Revolut app. So handy for tracking expenses and double checking you haven’t been ripped off
Booking.com, Agoda, HostelWorld, Airbnb: These are the apps we use to book places to stay in. Make sure to check them all even if you’ve found the place you’d like to stay as multiple times we’ve found cheaper prices on one app than another for the exact same room.
Things We Regretted Packing For Sri Lanka
Now, there were only a couple of things we regretted packing for Sri Lanka. The first was our snorkel, we didn't use it enough here to warrant the space, however in the Philippines we used it all the time. Therefore if you’re just heading to Sri Lanka don’t pack a snorkel.
The other thing we don’t recommend packing, (unless you’re a content creator) is a drone. The drone laws in Sri Lanka are complicated and we did once get in trouble for flying, which can result in confiscation of the drone. Luckily, this didn’t happen but if you don’t need it leave it behind!
Summary
We hope this Sri Lanka packing list will be helpful for your trip, what we found more difficult than thinking of what to bring was deciding on what not to bring! We recommend not overpacking your luggage and staying as lightweight as possible, especially if you plan to use the buses and trains as these get super crowded.
We hope you have the best trip to Sri Lanka, there’s so much to see and we can’t wait to hear all about it!
Top Tips For Travelling Sri Lanka
Rent a Tuk Tuk as Transport - This made our trip! Not only did we have complete freedom and flexibility it allowed us to have authentic relationships with locals. Use our code "KandM" for 5% off Tuktuk Rental
Stay in Homestays - Staying in local homestays meant we experienced authentic food and the local way of life. Everyone was extremely friendly and happy to help.
Don’t Forget the North - Many tourists stick to the south coast but if you have time explore places such as Anuradhapura, Trincomalee and Arugam bay!
Embrace The Chaos and get stuck in, the locals are friendly and love to help and share information about their home!
Travel Tools To Help You Plan
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Thank you for reading and enjoy your Sri Lankan adventure. Reach out to us over on Instagram @KateandMikesTravels. We always love to hear from people who read our blogs!
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