Which SIM card should I get in Sri Lanka - Dialog, Mobitel, or Hutch - and can I get one at the airport?

I handle this question every week for arriving tourists. Here is the complete, honest answer.

Which provider: Dialog is the clear choice for most tourists. It has the widest 4G coverage across the entire country including the hill country (where signal is hardest), the Cultural Triangle, the north, and the east coast. Mobitel is the state operator and has decent coverage but a slightly smaller 4G network. Hutch (now called Hutch) is cheaper but coverage drops significantly once you leave main cities and towns — not suitable for touring the whole country.

Can you buy at the airport? Yes. Dialog, Mobitel, and Hutch all have counters in the arrivals hall at BIA (Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo). Dialog usually has the most prominent counter. The process takes 5-10 minutes: show your passport, they scan it, register the SIM, and activate it before you leave the counter.

Cost: Dialog tourist packages vary but expect around LKR 500-1,000 for a package with 5-10GB of data and sometimes a small call credit. These can be topped up at any Dialog outlet, supermarket, or mobile app. Avoid buying very cheap packages — the LKR 200 options are barely usable.

Registration: mandatory by law since 2021. Your passport is required. The airport staff handle it completely. If you buy a SIM in town, bring your passport. Pre-registered SIMs sold by guesthouse owners or touts are technically illegal and sometimes have issues — buy directly from a branded store.

Coverage tip: in the deep hill country (Ella, Nuwara Eliya, Hatton), even Dialog 4G can be patchy. Download offline maps and your accommodation details before you arrive in these areas.