🇮🇹 Italy or 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
And what the world thinks
Dead even. The next vote breaks the tie.
Which one, honestly
Italy leads on cities and getting around. Sri Lanka leads on the sea, value for money and nature.
A normal day costs about $170 in Italy and $70 in Sri Lanka.
Side by side
- 🇮🇹 Italy🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
- Apr to May, Sep to OctBest monthsDec to Mar
- $170A normal day$70
- 2h 35m to RomeNonstop from London11h to Colombo
- GoodBeaches and seaExceptional
- ExceptionalCities and cultureNot the draw
- ExceptionalFoodExceptional
- Very goodNature and hikingExceptional
- GoodValue for moneyExceptional
- Very goodEasy to get aroundGood
- Fast trains, genuinely excellent, book in advanceGetting aroundA car with driver is the norm, and the hill country train is worth a slow day
- The middle of August, when the cities empty and half the good places shutWhen to avoidThe southwest in May and June, and the east from October to December
Pick by what you want
🇮🇹 Choose Italy if
you want three cities in ten days, you care about food and museums, and you would rather take a train than a ferry.
🇱🇰 Choose Sri Lanka if
you want beaches, tea mountains, safari and ruins inside one small island, on a very small budget.
Full Italy 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.