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Blogs from Tikalanka are designed to enhance your knowledge of Sri Lanka and Maldives and keep you up to date with recent developments. We intend to post regular features on travel, news, lifestyle and accommodation as well as guest articles from current and past customers, which will give you first-hand experience of Tikalanka, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
Posted by John on 20th October 2021
Fully vaccinated travellers are now EXEMPTED from obtaining the mandatory COVID-19 Local Insurance cover in Sri Lanka. However, fully vaccinated travellers should ensure that they have a comprehensive travel insurance policy that will cover health and other expenses related to COVID-19 should there be a need as the Government of Sri Lanka will not bear any costs resulting from COVID-19 infections.
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Posted by John on 4th October 2021
The good news keeps on getting better! Sri Lanka’s newly-released health protocol for fully vaccinated travellers makes it even easier to visit the country. No on-arrival PCR test or any other test necessary, no quarantine, no restriction on where you stay (except ‘bio-bubble’ hotels), which places you visit or how you get around. This now feels like the pre-pandemic experience of enjoying freely the wonders of Sri Lanka – its scenery, wildlife, beaches, food, culture, history and, most of all, its ever-smiling people!
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Posted by John on 30th September 2021
Yesterday, Sri Lanka relaxed health protocols for foreign visitors even further by doing away with the on-arrival PCR test. Now, if a traveller visiting Sri Lanka is fully vaccinated with two doses of any COVID-19 vaccine, 14 days prior to departure from their home country, they will be permitted to enter Sri Lanka without the necessity of a PCR test on arrival. However, it is necessary to have a confirmed negative PCR test no more than 72 hours before boarding the flight from their home country.
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Posted by John on 29th September 2021
Great news! As of yesterday, the FCDO no longer advises against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka or Maldives. This comes hot on the heels of the news that fully vaccinated travellers will only have to take a COVID-19 test within 2 days of returning from Sri Lanka or Maldives, and the relaxing of travel restrictions in Sri Lanka for fully vaccinated visitors, which allows them to travel freely around the island. This paves the way for tourism to start in earnest again.
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Posted by John on 24th September 2021
On 22 September, both Sri Lanka and Maldives were taken off the UK's travel Red list and downgraded to the Amber list, which is a move in the right direction. Better still, from 04 October, fully vaccinated travellers from England will only have to take a Day 2 COVID-19 test and complete a passenger locator form 48 hours prior to arrival in England when travelling from Sri Lanka or Maldives. You must prove that you have been fully vaccinated with a document from a national or state-level public health body.
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Posted by John on 25th June 2021
Our latest news round-up includes the passing of one of Sri Lanka’s greatest artists, the environmental disaster that has affected the island in the past month, and a change to the UK government’s country travel listing. Hopefully there will be some positive news again soon…
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Posted by John on 17th May 2021
From 12 May 2021, Sri Lanka has reverted to a 14-day stay in ‘Safe & Secure’ Certified Level 1 hotels for your initial period in the country as well as enforcing the previous, additional requirements of entry. As of 13 May 2021, on-arrival tourist visas in Maldives for those arriving from South Asian countries will be temporarily halted. This includes transit passengers from all other countries. This is academic since both Sri Lanka (Amber list) and Maldives (Red list) are “should not travel to” countries designated by the UK government.
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Posted by John on 10th May 2021
Last Friday, a bomb attack in Malé, the capital of Maldives, left the former president Mohamed Nasheed in a critical condition following an assassination attempt. Nasheed was the country’s first democratically elected president and is the current parliamentary speaker. We wish him a full and speedy recovery. There is no reason for a foreign tourist to visit Malé since the international airport is located on its own independent island and all transfers to resorts are arranged directly from the airport.
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Posted by John on 8th May 2021
Yesterday, the UK government confirmed international leisure travel can gradually resume from 17 May 2021 and released the initial ‘traffic light’ travel list, which will be reviewed every three weeks. Both Sri Lanka and Maldives are on the Amber list, which means you should not travel to either country for leisure purposes, with Maldives on the more restrictive Red list from 12 May 2021. We hope that both countries’ COVID-19 situations will improve in the near future to allow leisure travel at the earliest opportunity.
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Posted by John on 16th April 2021
In November 2020, the Global Travel Taskforce produced 14 recommendations for the safe return of international travel in the UK. Last week, the taskforce reported a second time with further recommendations, including implementation of a ‘traffic light’ country system to which different restrictions are applied depending on risk. There is also a recommendation to remove measures limiting outbound travel by 17 May 2021 “at the earliest”. However, as always, nothing is confirmed as yet.
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