Help Center

Everything you need to know about using OneCeylon

Popular: booking, cancel, crowd, allergen, itinerary, reputation, buddy

Getting Started

Creating an Account

Sign up with email or Google. Verify your email to unlock full features and earn 10 reputation points. Most tools work without an account — no forced sign-up.

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Asking Your First Question

Click "Ask a Question", write a clear title, add details, select tags, and optionally pin to a location. Locals and experienced travellers answer within hours.

Ask a Question →

Trying SerendAI

Ask SerendAI about weather, transit, food, scams, or take a photo to identify a sign or dish. No account needed — just open a conversation and ask.

Chat with SerendAI →

Exploring New Tools

Crowd Reports, Travel Buddy Finder, Currency & Budget Tracker, and Food Safety Hub — all new, all free, none require a login to use.

See What's New →

All Topics

How to Ask a Good Question

Best practices for getting quality answers

Write a clear, specific title — e.g. "Best beaches in Galle for swimming with kids?" not "Is Galle good?"

Provide relevant details: travel dates, budget, interests, what you've already tried.

Add 1–5 relevant tags like "colombo", "beaches", "budget-travel" to help the right people find it.

Pin to a location using the autocomplete to attach your question to a specific place in Sri Lanka.

Check for similar questions first — our system will show potential matches as you type.

Answering & Voting

How to provide help and recognize good content

Answer from personal experience. Include specific details, prices, locations, and timings.

Upvote (↑) helpful, accurate content — gives +10 reputation to the author.

Downvote (↓) misleading or unhelpful content — costs -2 reputation to the author.

Accept the best answer to your question by clicking the checkmark (+15 rep to answerer, +2 to you).

Reputation & Badges

How to earn points and unlock privileges

Email verification: +10. Question upvoted: +5. Answer upvoted: +10. Answer accepted: +15. Accept an answer: +2.

Milestones: 50 rep = comment anywhere; 100 = upload images; 500 = vote to close/reopen; 1000 = moderation tools.

Bronze badges: common achievements (First Question, Helpful).

Silver badges: harder to earn (Popular Question, Enthusiast).

Gold badges: rare (Famous Question, Expert).

Moderation & Reporting

Keeping the community safe and helpful

Flag content for: spam, offensive language, scam attempts, guideline violations, or duplicates.

Questions may be closed if they're duplicates, off-topic, unclear, or too broad.

Users with 500+ rep can vote to close or reopen questions.

False flagging or abuse of moderation tools may result in reputation loss or suspension.

Local Services & Bookings

Finding, booking, and cancelling services

Browse services at /services or find experts near you on the map at /services/map.

Submit a booking request — the provider confirms it, then you pay securely.

Cancellation policy: 48h+ = full refund; 24–48h = 50% refund; <24h = open a dispute.

Create a service listing at /services/new (requires approved business documents).

Emergency SOS

Auto-triggered safety alerts when you're in danger

SerendAI monitors your conversation for danger signals. If you type "SOS", "being followed", "losing consciousness", "stabbed", or similar phrases, it immediately triggers a safety countdown.

Critical phrases (e.g. "SOS", "unconscious", "can't move") fire a 10-second auto-countdown. High-severity phrases fire a 30-second countdown — you can hit SEND NOW to skip waiting.

When it fires, an SMS is sent to your saved emergency contact containing: your name, the time, your live GPS location as a Google Maps link, and the nearest Sri Lanka Police station with its direct phone number.

To save an emergency contact: go to your profile settings and add a name and Sri Lankan mobile number. Anonymous users can enter a contact on the spot when an alert triggers — no account needed.

If the SMS fails, the panel shows fallback options: call Police 119, send a pre-filled SMS manually, or call your contact directly.

You can cancel the countdown at any time if you confirm you are safe.

Crowd Reports

Check live crowd levels before you go

Visit /crowd-reports to see real-time crowd levels at 20+ attractions across Sri Lanka.

Real travellers submit reports throughout the day — data refreshes every 2 minutes automatically.

Color-coded ratings range from Empty to Packed, with estimated wait times where reported.

Freshness indicators show how recent each report is — older reports are clearly marked.

No account needed to read crowd reports. Sign in to submit your own.

Travel Buddy Finder

Find fellow travellers heading the same direction

Visit /buddy-finder to browse posts from travellers looking for companions.

No account needed to browse — sign in only when you want to post or connect with someone.

Post your route, travel dates, and travel style: solo, backpacking, luxury, or short-trip.

Filter results by style or destination to find the right match.

Safety first: respond at your own pace, meet in public places, and trust your instincts.

Currency & Budget Tracker

Live LKR rates and offline expense tracking

Open the Currency tab at /currency for live exchange rates — 7 major currencies vs the Sri Lankan Rupee.

Switch to the Budget tab to log every expense on your trip. No WiFi, no account, no cloud sync required.

Set a daily spending limit and see at a glance whether you're on track before dinner.

All budget data is stored locally on your device — nothing leaves your phone.

Food Safety Hub

Allergen info, AI identification, and printable allergy cards

Browse 50+ Sri Lankan dishes with full allergen breakdowns at /food — maldive fish, coconut, gluten, tree nuts, and more.

Use the Vision tab to photograph unfamiliar food — SerendAI identifies the dish and flags your allergens instantly.

Build a personal allergy profile under the Allergy Card tab.

Generate a printable card in Sinhala and Tamil script — hand it to any restaurant, market stall, or host.

The card works without internet once printed or saved to your phone's camera roll.

Itinerary Planning

Building and sharing day-by-day trip plans

Create at /itineraries/new — add stops with pins, notes, travel mode, and estimated duration.

Invite travel companions to co-edit in real time. Collaborators can add stops, reorder days, and leave notes.

Track estimated and actual spend per stop or day with the built-in budget manager.

Download your itinerary for offline use — plans work without an internet connection.

Travel Articles

Writing, reading and reviewing in-depth guides

Browse destination guides, travel stories, and practical tips at /articles.

Write your own article at /articles/write — submissions go through community review before publishing.

Articles are written by real travellers and locals — not AI-generated filler.

Crews & Messaging

Group chats and direct messages

Crews are topic-based group chats for travellers. Join existing crews or create your own at /crews.

Send private direct messages to users from their profile or from a service listing.

Messages at /messages — great for coordinating with a local guide before booking.

More Features

Collections, Scam Watch, TukTuk Prices & Bookmarks

Collections: create themed lists to organise questions and answers at /collections.

Scam Watch: community-reported scams and tourist traps at /scams.

TukTuk Price Guide: fair pricing for tuk-tuk rides across Sri Lanka at /tuktuk-prices.

Bookmarks: save questions, articles, services, and itineraries from your profile page.

Still Need Help?

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