🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates or 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
And what the world thinks
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates leads by 5 votes.
Which one, honestly
United Arab Emirates leads on cities and getting around. Sri Lanka leads on nature, value for money and the sea.
A normal day costs about $180 in United Arab Emirates and $70 in Sri Lanka.
Side by side
- 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
- Nov to MarBest monthsDec to Mar
- $180A normal day$70
- 7h to DubaiNonstop from London11h to Colombo
- GoodBeaches and seaExceptional
- Very goodCities and cultureNot the draw
- Very goodFoodExceptional
- Not the drawNature and hikingExceptional
- Not the drawValue for moneyExceptional
- Very goodEasy to get aroundGood
- Metro in Dubai, taxis everywhere else, a car for the mountainsGetting aroundA car with driver is the norm, and the hill country train is worth a slow day
- June to September, when outdoors stops being an optionWhen to avoidThe southwest in May and June, and the east from October to December
Pick by what you want
🇦🇪 Choose United Arab Emirates if
you want guaranteed winter sun, very short flights from Europe and Asia, and a city that works like clockwork.
🇱🇰 Choose Sri Lanka if
you want beaches, tea mountains, safari and ruins inside one small island, on a very small budget.
Full United Arab Emirates guide →Full Sri Lanka guide →
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.