🇨🇷 Costa Rica or 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
And what the world thinks
Dead even. The next vote breaks the tie.
Which one, honestly
Sri Lanka leads on value for money, food and the sea.
A normal day costs about $130 in Costa Rica and $70 in Sri Lanka.
Side by side
- 🇨🇷 Costa Rica🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
- Dec to MarBest monthsDec to Mar
- $130A normal day$70
- 2h 55m from Mexico CityClosest hub3h 40m from Singapore
- Very goodBeaches and seaExceptional
- Not the drawCities and cultureNot the draw
- GoodFoodExceptional
- ExceptionalNature and hikingExceptional
- Not the drawValue for moneyExceptional
- GoodEasy to get aroundGood
- A hire car with clearance, the distances are short but the roads are slowGetting aroundA car with driver is the norm, and the hill country train is worth a slow day
- September and October on the Caribbean side, the wettest weeks of the yearWhen to avoidThe southwest in May and June, and the east from October to December
Pick by what you want
🇨🇷 Choose Costa Rica if
you want wildlife above everything else, cloud forest and two oceans in one small country, and you accept it costs more than its neighbours.
🇱🇰 Choose Sri Lanka if
you want beaches, tea mountains, safari and ruins inside one small island, on a very small budget.
Full Costa Rica 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.