Quick answer
On poya days in Sri Lanka, which fall on each full moon, twelve or thirteen times a year, alcohol is not sold in shops, bars or restaurants, and most hotels do not serve it in public areas. Some hotels allow drinks from the minibar or in the room. Check the lunar calendar before you travel, avoid scheduling your main celebration dinner on a poya, and buy a bottle the day before if you want a private toast. Vesak in May brings two dry days in a row.
Key takeaways
- Poya days fall on every full moon, twelve or thirteen times a year, and are public holidays.
- The sale of alcohol is prohibited on poya days in shops, bars and restaurants.
- Hotel practice varies: some serve nothing, others permit minibar or in-room drinks.
- Vesak Poya in May normally involves two consecutive days without alcohol sales.
- Imported wine and champagne are heavily taxed and cost several times their price abroad.
What a poya day is
A poya day marks the full moon in the Buddhist calendar. Each has a name and commemorates an event: Vesak in May for the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passing, Poson in June for the arrival of Buddhism on the island, Esala in July or August for the first sermon. All are public holidays.
Devout Buddhists spend the day at the temple, observing extra precepts, making offerings and listening to sermons. Government offices, banks and many shops close. Tourist sites, national parks and hotels operate as usual, and temples are busier and more beautiful than on any other day.
- →Twelve or thirteen a year, one each lunar month.
- →Dates shift every year with the moon.
- →Sites and parks stay open; banks and offices close.
What the alcohol rule covers
The alcohol rule on poya days is broad. Licensed shops are shut. Bars, pubs and restaurants may not serve beer, wine or spirits. Supermarkets rope off their shelves. Butchers are closed too, though restaurants still serve meat and fish bought earlier.
Hotels sit in a grey area that each interprets in its own way. Many serve no alcohol anywhere. Some will bring drinks to the room or leave the minibar stocked. A few serve discreetly in teacups. Do not press staff to bend the rule, since the licence is theirs to lose.
- →Not available: shops, bars, restaurants, most hotel bars.
- →Sometimes available: minibar, room service at certain hotels.
- →Always fine: a bottle you bought the day before, in your room.
Planning the honeymoon around it
Planning around a poya takes two minutes. Look up the full-moon dates for your month and compare them with the itinerary. If the poya falls on the night you had in mind for a private beach dinner or a last evening in Galle Fort, move the dinner by a day.
If it cannot be moved, prepare. Buy wine or arrack at a licensed shop the previous afternoon and ask the hotel whether you may drink it on your terrace. Alternatively, embrace the pause. Fresh lime soda, king coconut and ginger beer are excellent.
- →Check the full-moon date for your month.
- →Move any celebration dinner off the poya.
- →Buy a bottle the day before if you want a private toast.
The cost of a celebratory bottle
Celebratory drinks deserve a word on any day. Sri Lanka taxes imported alcohol heavily. A bottle of champagne in a hotel can cost well over US$100, and ordinary wine several times what you would pay at home. Duty-free allowances on arrival are limited, so check them before buying at the airport.
Local options are good and affordable. Lion lager is the national beer. Arrack, distilled from coconut flower sap, makes fine cocktails with ginger beer or lime. Many honeymooners find an arrack sour at sunset more memorable than indifferent sparkling wine.
A poya evening worth having
A poya evening can be a highlight in its own right. After dark, families gather at temples to light oil lamps and offer flowers, and the air smells of incense and jasmine. Visitors who dress modestly, in white if possible, are welcome to walk through quietly.
Lankan Stays & Trails checks every honeymoon itinerary against the lunar calendar and flags the poya nights, suggesting a temple visit on that evening and a celebration dinner on another.
Frequently asked questions
Can tourists drink alcohol on poya days in Sri Lanka?
Tourists cannot buy alcohol on poya days in shops, bars or restaurants. Some hotels allow guests to drink from the minibar or in their rooms, and others serve nothing. You may drink a bottle you bought beforehand in the privacy of your room.
How many poya days are there in a year?
There are twelve or thirteen poya days each year, one at every full moon. Each is a public holiday. The dates change annually with the lunar calendar, so check a current list for the year and month of your honeymoon.
Is everything closed on poya days?
No. Banks, government offices, liquor shops and many ordinary shops close. Hotels, restaurants, tourist sites, national parks and transport continue to operate, though buses and trains can be crowded with pilgrims. Popular temples and sites such as Sigiriya are busier than usual.
Can we bring champagne into Sri Lanka?
Visitors may bring a limited quantity of alcohol into Sri Lanka duty-free. The allowance is modest and has changed over time, so check the current customs rules before travelling. Declaring anything above the limit avoids trouble on arrival.
Why is wine so expensive in Sri Lanka?
Wine is expensive in Sri Lanka because imported alcohol attracts high duties and taxes, and hotels add their own margin. Prices of three or four times the retail cost abroad are normal. Local beer, arrack and cocktails made with them are much better value.
Which poya day is the most special to see?
Vesak in May is the most spectacular, with lanterns and illuminated displays across the country for several days. Poson in June at Mihintale and the Esala full moon in Kandy are also remarkable. Any poya evening at a village temple is quietly beautiful.