€4,206.89. That's what we spent between the two of us: flights, 11 days in Sri Lanka, the jump to India for the Golden Triangle and the flight home. We knew logging every expense in Splitwise for the whole trip would be a bit of a chore at the time, but now that we have the complete spreadsheet in front of us, with every tuk-tuk and every entrance ticket noted down, we understand why it was worth doing.
We also think it's a good habit that helps us plan future trips. Besides reading lots of blogs and guides, here's ours in case it helps you. [Sri Lanka Travel Guide]
We didn't go low cost, but we didn't splurge either. We slept well, ate whatever we felt like, and booked a safari and a private tour of India without thinking twice. So if you're planning something similar, this is exactly where our money went, day by day and euro by euro.
From Valencia to Colombo: What It Cost to Get There
Before setting foot in Sri Lanka we had already spent €1,488.04 on flights and luggage alone. The international ticket with Etihad, with a stopover in Abu Dhabi, cost us €1,114.74 for the two of us, booked almost four months in advance. On top of that came the extra baggage we had to add (€227.24, and watch out for this one because we hadn't planned for it) and the domestic Madrid-Valencia flight for the trip home (€63.06).
Etihad's baggage policy is exactly what forced that extra expense: between the two of us we only had a baggage allowance that was much smaller than we expected, so at the airport we had to buy a small suitcase to check everything we were carrying. If you fly with this airline, check the baggage rules carefully before packing at home; we bought this literally one day before. Also, this expense was mostly because we brought our laptops to work, just in case the war in the Middle East escalated.
On top of that there are the preparations: €509.71 for IATI travel insurance, an e-SIM so we'd have data from the very first minute, the entry visas (Sri Lanka and India charge for them separately, and they don't cost the same), and the transition day in Madrid before our flight, with its taxi, its food, and even a last-minute gift for Pedro's aunt. None of this is optional if you're doing this same route, so factor it into your budget from the start.
The trip often starts before you reach your first destination.
Sri Lanka: 11 Days for €974.39
Eleven days gave us just enough time for Sigiriya, Dambulla, Kandy, the train to Ella, the safari in Yala, the beach in Midigama and Weligama, and a wrap-up in Galle. All of that, not counting flights or insurance, cost us €974.39 between the two of us. About €44 per person per day, which we felt was more than reasonable for what we did.
The safari in Yala was the biggest expense in the country: €147 for a full day with a private jeep, park entrance and lunch included (considering everything it offered, it doesn't seem expensive to us). Hotels cost us between €35 and €40 a night in Sigiriya and Kandy, and a bit more in Ella and Weligama, where we paid extra for views or for being steps from the beach. The Kandy-Ella train (which now departs from Ambewella, we explain more in detail in our post with the full route for the 11 days) cost just €10 for the two of us. And if you're looking for where to stay at each stop, you'll find the six hotels we stayed at, with prices and honest reviews, in this other post.
What surprised us most was how cheap it was to eat and get around. A short tuk-tuk ride is €3-8, a plate of curry at a local spot costs around €3-5 per person, and the Dambulla-Kandy bus cost us €2.70 for the two of us. If you're careful with your budget, that's where you'll really notice the savings. €44 per person per day. We were off to a good start.
Local transport is quite an adventure, but if you're not in a hurry it can save you a considerable amount.
India: The Golden Triangle in 7 Days for €1,234.75
After Sri Lanka we flew to Delhi for seven days of the Golden Triangle: Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Jaipur. This part of the trip cost us €1,234.75 between the two of us, and the reason is simple: we booked an organized tour with a car and guide for €810, something we hadn't needed in Sri Lanka but that we decided was worth it in India. We tell you about our trip in this post.
With only seven days ahead, getting between such distant cities on our own would have eaten up time we didn't have. The tour included an air-conditioned car, a guide and several entrance tickets, and it saved us hours of haggling and trains that in India aren't always on time.
The rest went on entrance tickets (the Taj Mahal, the Agra Fort, Baby Taj, Fatehpur Sikri, the palaces of Jaipur), food, a few souvenirs and the tips at the end of the trip, which in India add up to more than you'd expect: €41 in tips alone for guides and drivers. Per person per day, India came to about €88, double Sri Lanka, mostly because of the tour. €810 for the tour alone. No regrets, because with limited time and how much fun we had, we still think it was the best decision.
Where Our Money Went, by Category
If we look at it by type of expense instead of by country, the picture is this: €1,880.93 on flights and preparations (flights, insurance, e-SIM, visas), €1,163.42 on activities and entrance tickets (this includes the India tour, the Yala safari and all the temple and monument tickets), €468.47 on accommodation, €316.44 on food, €258.73 on local transport (taxis, tuk-tuks, trains and buses within each country) and about €119 on miscellaneous items, including souvenirs and tips.
Activities and flights eat up more than half of the budget between the two of us. Accommodation and food, which in other trips tend to be the biggest costs, stayed fairly under control here thanks to how affordable Sri Lanka is overall.
We could add about €100 more between the two of us for personal spending, like gifts for friends or family, which we didn't count as trip costs because that really depends on each person.
Is It Worth Combining Sri Lanka and India on One Trip?
For us, yes, without a doubt. Flying from Colombo to Delhi with SriLankan Airlines was easy, and taking advantage of already being so close to explore the Golden Triangle cost us less than if we had done the two trips separately from Spain. The international ticket already included the leg to India, so the extra cost of adding India was only what we spent there: about €1,235 more, and seven more days.
We had been wanting to visit India for a long time, so that's how we planned it. One country to disconnect, rest and enjoy, like Sri Lanka, and another that is much more chaotic but surprising, like India.
That said, if we had to choose just one of the two for someone with a tighter budget, Sri Lanka wins by a mile on value for money. We loved India, but the organized tour takes a big chunk of the budget that in Sri Lanka we simply didn't need to spend. We've also read that traveling India independently can be very cheap, but we can't confirm that yet.
💡 Tips from Pedro & Karyna
💰 Budget and Currency Exchange Use Revolut to withdraw cash from ATMs, both in Sri Lanka and India. Exchanging money at the airport isn't worth it, and carrying some cash always helps for tuk-tuks and small markets.
🎟️ The Expense That Shoots Up Without Warning The Yala safari (€147) and the India tour (€810) are by far the two biggest costs of the trip. If you need to cut your budget somewhere, look here first, not at food or hotels.
🛂 Visas Separately Sri Lanka and India both require visas, separately, and they don't cost the same (€89.64 for Sri Lanka, €44.58 for India, both for the two of us). Apply in advance; they're not expensive, but it's an easy step to forget. The Sri Lanka one (ETA) is obtained on the official website eta.gov.lk, and the India one (e-Visa) at indianvisaonline.gov.in. Be wary of any other website that asks you for more money to "handle it" for you; these are the official procedures and you can do them yourself in ten minutes.
🧳 The Extra Baggage We Didn't Calculate €227.24 just for extra baggage on the Etihad flights, including a small suitcase we had to buy at the airport because the included allowance wasn't enough for the two of us. Check your airline's baggage policy in advance, especially if you fly with Etihad, and include this expense from the start of your budget: we overlooked it.
📅 When We Went We traveled in March and April 2026, with fewer tourists than usual because of the situation in the Middle East during those weeks, which meant shorter lines but also somewhat higher fuel prices.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to travel to Sri Lanka? For us, excluding flights and insurance, Sri Lanka cost €974.39 for the two of us over 11 days, about €44 per person per day. Including flights, insurance, e-SIM and visa, a complete trip to Sri Lanka alone would be around €2,900-3,000 for two people.
How much does it cost to travel to Sri Lanka and India together? The complete trip, both countries and 19 days in total, cost us €4,206.89 for the two of us, €2,103 per person. Adding India to the Sri Lanka trip cost us about €1,235 more and seven more days.
Is Sri Lanka cheap to travel? Yes, very much so. Local food, transport by tuk-tuk or bus, and small hotels are very affordable. What pushes the budget up are one-off activities, like the safari in Yala or the entrance to Sigiriya Rock.
Is it worth taking an organized tour in India or better to travel independently? With only a few days, an organized tour is worth it. We paid €810 for the car, the guide and several entrance tickets for the two of us during the 7 days of the Golden Triangle, and it saved us hours of travel that we didn't have to spare.
How much money should you bring to Sri Lanka and India? We spent an average of about €110 per person per day across the whole trip, flights included. On the ground alone, excluding flights and insurance, the average drops to €44 per day per person in Sri Lanka and €88 in India.
Have you done this same combination of Sri Lanka and India, or are you thinking about the trip? Tell us in the comments whether these figures match what you had budgeted. 👇
How much does it cost to travel to Sri Lanka and India: a real 19-day budget and €4,207 for the two of us, with a breakdown of flights, hotels, safari, tour and food.