🇱🇰 Sri Lanka or 🇯🇵 Japan
Which one, honestly
Sri Lanka leads on the sea and value for money. Japan leads on cities and getting around.
A normal day costs about $70 in Sri Lanka and $165 in Japan.
Side by side
- 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka🇯🇵 Japan
- Jan, Feb, Mar, DecBest monthsMar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov
- $70A normal day$165
- 11h to ColomboNonstop from London14h to Tokyo
- ExceptionalBeaches and seaNot the draw
- Not the drawCities and cultureExceptional
- ExceptionalFoodExceptional
- ExceptionalNature and hikingExceptional
- ExceptionalValue for moneyGood
- GoodEasy to get aroundExceptional
- A car with driver is the norm, and the hill country train is worth a slow dayGetting aroundThe best rail network in the world, buy the pass before you arrive
- The southwest in May and June, and the east from October to DecemberWhen to avoidGolden Week in early May, when the whole country travels at once
Pick by what you want
🇱🇰 Choose Sri Lanka if
you want beaches, tea mountains, safari and ruins inside one small island, on a very small budget.
🇯🇵 Choose Japan if
you want somewhere that feels genuinely different, you like cities and food, and you want everything to work perfectly.
Full Sri Lanka guide →Full Japan guide →
And what the world thinks
Dead even. The next vote breaks the tie.
Compare something else
Written and checked by hand. Nothing here about visas or entry rules: those change often and depend on your passport, so check an official source.