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On the Global plan, but not on the Asia plan. Sri Lanka is also sold as its own plan; add one of those to the same eSIM for this leg. The Maldives is on neither. Details in does a region plan cover every country in it?
In Sri Lanka your plan connects to Dialog on 4G LTE, which handles maps, messaging, video calls, and streaming; 5G is not part of this plan. Your phone joins the network automatically once the plan is switched on. If it hasn't connected a minute after landing, work through the no-signal checklist.
In Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, and Ella, yes, on 4G. On the train between them, it comes and goes with the tunnels and the valleys. Book the seats weeks ahead and download the route.
Yes, over the plan's data, with the phone number you already have, for cars and tuk-tuks. A Sri Lanka plan is data only; calls home go over WhatsApp or another app, and your home number keeps working on your home SIM.
A fixed plan costs less overall; an unlimited plan (a daily high-speed allowance, then slower) works out to a lower daily rate the longer you stay. The price depends on how much data you want and how many days you're staying; every current option and price is in the plan selector at the top of this page.
In the app: open My plans, choose your Sri Lanka plan, and tap Top up. The extra data lands on the same eSIM within a few seconds, with nothing new to add or scan. Full steps are in topping up data without reinstalling the eSIM.
Weeks ahead. The plan's days don't start until you turn it on and connect, so a plan bought a month before departure is still complete when you land. Plans need to be activated within 90 days of purchase. See what plan validity means and when it starts.
Expect gaps. Coverage is strong in Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Jaffna, and the beach towns and holds along the main roads and the rail lines. In the tea estates' back roads, on Adam's Peak, in Yala and Udawalawe, and on the whale boats, expect gaps on any network.
Sri Lanka eSIM for Colombo, the hill-country train, and the beaches
Set it up before you fly. It's live the moment you land, nothing to check, nothing to remember.
Already with us? Get the app on the App Store or Google Play.
Sri Lanka is a tuk-tuk booked in an app, a train through the tea country whose tickets sell out a month ahead, and a coast that changes with the monsoon, and the arrivals hall at Bandaranaike is the place to have a phone that already works. The best eSIM for Sri Lanka is a Sri Lanka plan, added at home, on Wi-Fi, so the PickMe to the hotel is booked and the ETA is on the phone before the immigration queue moves.
Below: how a Sri Lanka plan works, how to set it up before you fly, why the Asia plan doesn't cover the island, and what to expect in Colombo, the hill country, the cultural triangle, and on the beaches.
Asian trips tend to be multi-stop, and most travel eSIMs want a fresh profile at every airport. KnowRoaming doesn't. You add the KnowRoaming eSIM, called KR.One, to your phone once, then add a plan per trip: one country for a single-city break, the Asia plan when the route runs through several, and next year's trip on the same eSIM. Nothing to scan again, nothing to delete when you get home.
The plan's days start when you turn it on and connect in Sri Lanka, not at checkout. Buy it weeks ahead, add it at home, and a delayed flight costs you nothing. The full rule is in what plan validity means and when it starts.
Choose a fixed plan for a set amount of data at the lowest overall price, or an unlimited plan when you'd rather not count. Unlimited plans give you a daily high-speed allowance, then a slower speed until the allowance resets the next day. If a fixed plan runs low, top up in the app and the extra data lands on the same eSIM. Hotspot works on every plan, fixed or unlimited; a laptop or a travel partner's phone shares the same eSIM data.
See it in two minutes: Meet KR.One, iPhone setup with KR.One, or Samsung setup with KR.One.
Do this at home on Wi-Fi. It takes about a minute.
Before you leave
- Get the KnowRoaming app (available on iOS and Android) and choose your Sri Lanka plan.
- Tap Add. First time on this phone? The app adds KR.One and your Sri Lanka plan together. Already have KR.One? Only the plan is added, with nothing to scan.
- Leave data roaming off on the KnowRoaming line until you land, and turn it off on your home line too so it doesn't run up charges in the background. Steps are in turning off roaming on your home line.
When you land
- Turn the plan on in the app, then turn data roaming on for the KnowRoaming line. That setting lives in your phone, so the app can't flip it for you.
- Give the phone a minute to find the network. If nothing happens, turn airplane mode on for 30 seconds and off again.
Prefer a QR code? The checkout page and your confirmation email both carry one; scan it from your phone's settings. Every tap is in how to add your plan, start to finish, or watch the iPhone QR walkthrough or the Samsung QR walkthrough. Still no signal after landing? Work through the no-signal checklist.
Bandaranaike International is about 45 minutes to an hour from Colombo, and PickMe and Uber both run from the terminal with the number you already have, for cars and tuk-tuks; most passports buy an ETA online before the flight. The rupee is the currency, cards work in the hotels and the bigger restaurants, and cash covers the tuk-tuks, the markets, and the villages.
Colombo's Galle Face, the Pettah market, and the Gangaramaya temple are a day; the trains from Fort station reach the rest of the island, with tickets in the railway's booking system and the hill-country seats sold out weeks ahead.
Sri Lanka is not on the Asia plan, which covers India and the rest of the region around it; a traveler on the Asia plan loses data at Bandaranaike. Sri Lanka is on the Global plan and is sold as its own plan; either one works here, added to the same eSIM as the plan covering the rest of the route. Read crossing into a border country your plan doesn't include for how plans on one eSIM work together.
Kandy's Temple of the Tooth, the train through the tea country to Nuwara Eliya and Ella, the Nine Arch Bridge, and Little Adam's Peak are the island's middle; Adam's Peak's pre-dawn climb runs from December to May. Dialog's 4G covers Kandy, Ella, and the towns; the train's tunnels, the tea estates' back roads, and the peak's steps drop out on every network.
Kandy's Esala Perahera in July or August, the procession of elephants and dancers that fills the city for ten nights, is the calendar's high point; hotels book out months ahead, and the railway adds trains that sell out the same day.
Sigiriya's rock fortress, Dambulla's caves, and Anuradhapura's ruins are the cultural triangle, with timed entry and a climb before the heat; the south coast's Galle fort, Mirissa's whales, and Unawatuna's beach are the winter season, and Arugam Bay's surf and Trincomalee's beaches the summer, as the monsoon swaps coasts. Jaffna in the far north is a different island, by the overnight train. The coasts have 4G; the national parks at Yala and Udawalawe are offline beyond the gates.
The Maldives, an hour's flight, is also sold as its own plan and on neither the Asia nor the Global plan; India, across the strait, is on the Asia plan and the Global plan. A Sri Lanka and Maldives trip runs on two plans on the same eSIM; a Sri Lanka and India trip on the Global plan or a Sri Lanka plan plus the Asia plan. Read do I need a new plan for every country? for the detail.
Your plan connects to Dialog, the network that absorbed Hutchison Sri Lanka, on 4G LTE. There is no 5G on this plan. Coverage is strong in Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Jaffna, and the beach towns and holds along the main roads and the rail lines. Your phone picks the network automatically once the plan is on; there is nothing to choose by hand.
In the tea estates' back roads, on Adam's Peak, in Yala and Udawalawe, and on the whale boats, expect gaps on any network. Save what you need in town.
Most current iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and Google Pixel phones support eSIM. Check yours before you add a plan; it takes a few seconds. On iPhone, go to Settings, General, About and look for an EID or Available SIM. On Android, go to Settings, Network & Internet, SIMs and look for an option to add an eSIM. On Samsung, dial *#06# and look for an EID.
Your phone also needs to be carrier-unlocked. If you're not sure, the same check shows you where to look.
Keep your home number too
Adding a Sri Lanka plan doesn't touch your regular SIM. Calls and texts on your usual number keep working exactly as before. The new plan handles data while you're there, and most phones run both at once without you doing anything else. Bank codes and two-factor texts still arrive on your home number, as long as that line stays switched on.
One plan. No roaming surprises. Live the moment you land.
For Asia the alternatives are a home-carrier roaming pass that resets at every border, an airport SIM counter at each arrival, or hotel Wi-Fi that stops at the lobby. A Sri Lanka plan added at home beats all three: one price agreed before you fly, live the second you land, and one plan across every stop on the route.
Real travelers rate KnowRoaming 4.5 out of 5 on Reviews.io. More than a decade in travel connectivity, more than 200 destinations, and support that doesn't clock off: WhatsApp and live chat, any time, any day.
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Trusted by frequent travelers.
Worked very well and easy to use
Israel
Very efficient!
Marc
Works like a bomb. The new app layout needs to be easier to navigate. Especially when trying to topup in a hurry.
Renier