Asia and Oceania

• Travel Summary
• Safety and security
• Local laws and customs
• Entry requirements

• Health
• Natural disasters
• General
 

General

Insurance

We recommend that you obtain comprehensive medical insurance before travelling.  You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for all the activities you want to undertake.  See Travel Insurance for more details.

If things do go wrong when you are overseas then this is How We Can Help.

Consular Registration

Register with our LOCATE service to tell us when and where you are travelling abroad or where you live abroad so our consular and crisis staff can provide better assistance to you in an emergency. More information about registering with LOCATE can be found here.

ID

You must be able to show some form of official identification if requested by the security or police authorities.  

Sea bathing

There are dangerous undercurrents and strong riptides in many coastal areas of Sri Lanka. A number of cases of drowning of foreign nationals have occurred in recent months.  You should follow local advice, e.g. from your hotel, before bathing in the sea.

Money

You cannot change Scottish or Northern Irish bank notes in Sri Lanka.  Most major banks will change US dollar travellers’ cheques as well as allow Visa and Mastercard cash withdrawals.  There are (ATMs) in major cities but some do not accept international cards.  (See also information above about credit card fraud.)