1 week in Sri Lanka and I need help planning a route

Hello!

My girlfriend and I will be in Sri Lanka for a week in November. We land and fly out of Colombo airport. We were hoping to see Sigiriya, Kandy, and Galle, but we are having trouble find the best route to take and which transportation to take. It would extremely helpful if anyone knew the answers to those questions.

Thank you!

Yes it's a small country but you are pushing it with a week. If you really must do all three, .....Arrive in Sri Lanka and head south to Galle. Day 1. . ...... You have your choice of taxi, bus , or train... but base it on when you get in. If train is available, then go for it...If not, take the bus as they are readily available..They are about every 20 mintutes to Galle. Personally i like the bus going down and then the morning train coming back as it works better with timings IMO, however with the rush that you are in, it might actually work better if you take the bus back up as it leaves much earlier.... ie 6-7am. .....

There is an airport bus from the airport that will drop you directly at the bus station and if the current bus to Galle does not have seats, let it go and take the next one in 1/2 an hour. Its a long way to stand... .... Whatever you take down, take the other back up if that suits your schedule. Day 2 around Galle, Unawatuna, Maybe marissa.... Day3 is a travel day... I persnally like the bus going up the middle via Ella from Matara, but you don't have time for this and this is one of the most packed busses i've ever been on in my life. So back to Colombo by bus and then immediate transfer to Kandy bus . In Kandy end of day 3, so 4 in Kanday , next day to Sigiriya, and then Day 6 or 7 return direct to Colombo depending on flights

Whoo...just exhausted thinking about it. If you are going to miss something, skip the beach and do Kandy/Sigiriya first. A beach is a beach in some ways, but Sigi is special.

Hello,

First off I better mention November is the month with the heaviest rainfall everywhere in Sri Lanka. And as it's only a week here, you do not have time to waste.

I suggest you hire a car & driver. Head straight to Sigiriya from airport. Spend the first night at Sigiriya. Second night in Kandy. Then get dropped to Colombo by afternoon on the third or fourth day ( as you wish ). From Colombo there are plenty of buses & some trains from time to time. But the southern trains are quite packed after 3.30 p.m. owing to the office crowd going home. So better you try expressway buses. They cost a bit more than the normal buses but a seat shall always be ensured & the journey is quicker.

And you can get a train or bus on your way back to airport as well.

Linton Fernando.

Hi, your choice of excursions can be easily arranged in a line. You can leave the air port and head to sigiriya via the dambulla-anuradhapura road through negombo. From sigiriya you can come to kandy passing matale. Then from kandy you can come to galle via colombo. You have several travelling options. Bus or train from public transport and you can reserve a vehicle also for reasonable amount from various vehicle rent companies like casons, budget taxi and blablacarslk. Travelling in public transport can be tiresome also using a private vehicle saves a lot of travelling time of yours. Hope you enjoy the visit. Bonjore.

Hi,
No idea at what time you are landing to Colombo Airport which is about 25 km away from Colombo City Center. If you arrive in early morning your itinerary should be this.
Day 01: Airport to Colombo (About 01 to 01.5 Hrs during Rush Hours) and from Colombo You can either have a Train or Bus to Galle. Buses are running every 30 minutes and check for the train schedule through Sri Lankan Railways website (ie: Colombo Fort - Galle). So, you can arrive Galle in 03 - 04 Hrs. even during a rush time. Then Check in to hotel in either Galle, Hikkaduwa (23 km to Galle) or Mirissa.
Day 02 - You can enjoy the beach and historical places in Galle during the day.
Day 03 - This will be a travelling date. Morning you can hop around Galle. Around 14.00 Hrs. there will be a direct train from Galle to Kandy which will go to Kandy around 21.30 Hrs.
Day 04 - In Kandy, Sacred Temple of Buddha is in the city center and botanical garden also within 07 km. So, you can cover both of them by noon and after lunch you can proceed to Sigiriya via Matale by Bus. Journey time between Kandy & Segiriya will be about 03.5 Hrs.
Day 05 - It is advisable to climb Sigiriya Rock in early morning as by noon it may get too hot. Sigiriya is a wonderful architecture which will take about 04 hrs. to discover. In the evening you can go for wild life safari with the guidance of local tour operator who are available in the area. Dambulla rock temple also available with close proximity.
Day 06 - You can visit Anuradhapura, an ancient capital in Sri Lanka which is about 01.5 Hrs. drive (By Bus) away from Sigiriya. In A'pura, you can visit many temples, archeological sites and irrigation systems where all these places are with in a radius of 8 - 10 km. You can hire Tuk Tuk to take you around or bicycles can be hires from a guest house.
If you have your return flight in early morning next day, it is recommended to leave A'pura by evening of day 06 and stay in place which is close to Airport (Eg: Negambo). There are buses (Number 04 & 87) between A'pura and Colombo (Via Negambo). These buses are frequent (One in every hour and journey will take about 05 Hrs. from A'pura to Negambo). Negambo is just 10 km from Airport.
In all these places, the accommodation will be available for your budget.
It is recommended to have Taxi (The whole itinerary will be about 750 km.) From Airport you can bargain a taxi or pre-arranged. As per local standards a Taxi with AC will cost you around USD 500. This is much higher than public transport in Sri Lanka. But that gives you a great comfort (Here public transport may get very crowd) and flexibility.
The above itinerary will be an extremely tight one and it is recommended to have 04 - 05 additional to make it more happening.

CHEERS!

just hire a experienced driver with car, and enjoy your trip! if you look for public transport than you will loose your time.. here in SL public transports rates are very cheap compare with private but you can avoid unwanted tension and headach..

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