[CR-V]

I have a 12hr stopover at colombo for my flight to Delhi. I am thinking hire a self drive car from or around the airport. Head out for about 4-5hrs out (4-5hrs coming back + 1-2hours at the place). Travelling with a friend so party of 2.

Landing around 3am and catch my next flight in afternoon around 3pm.

So any ideas guys? Anything from where can I hire a car to places to drive to or anything else that can be done in that time frame. I am quite adventurous so I am up for trying out anything.

[Wheeliej]

Originally Posted by CR-V

I have a 12hr stopover at colombo for my flight to Delhi. I am thinking hire a self drive car from or around the airport. Head out for about 4-5hrs out (4-5hrs coming back + 1-2hours at the place). Travelling with a friend so party of 2. Landing around 3am and catch my next flight in afternoon around 3pm. So any ideas guys? Anything from where can I hire a car to places to drive to or anything else that can be done in that time frame. I am quite adventurous so I am up for trying out anything.

hi,
I think they still have visa on arrival for tourists, but please check online.

Your best options will be negombo or Colombo.

Hire a metered cab from one of the car companies in the arrival hall. It will be quite economical and the driver will know the routes.

Negombo is around 5 - 8 km from the airport. Is a beach destination. There are some good resorts there, try browns resort, but be aware that they have differential pricing for foreigners as compared to locals. Food will be good.

Colombo is around 1 hours drive from the airport. Taxi will charge around 3000-3500 lkr. You will have to reach the airport at least 60 minutes in advance. More recently they have added quite a few security searches and that takes time. I think checkin may not be required / won't take a long time, but overall you may not even get time for lunch at Colombo. You can check online for good places to checkin. There are good serviced apartments too. Or you can drive directly to mount Lavinia hotel, is on the expensive side though. Nice relaxing beachside place just on the outskirts of Colombo. They have good restaurants. Or In Colombo you can go to galle face. There are a few hotels there, though on the high end. Not sure if I can add - mods please delete if unsuitable on the forum - Colombo also has a few 24 hour casinos, if that interests you, and a buffet and drinks are always available. I think those are free.

[aantoh]

Planning a December end trip to Colombo. Any suggestions for a killer NYE party?

[rajshenoy]

Waking up a silent thread,

Looking for a family trip(with kids) to Srilanka in october (Thinking between Srilanka, Dubai or Maldives). I wanted to know what is the cost of visa for Srilanka(if possible for others too)

If its Srilanka (around 4-5 nights) I am thinking of 2 nights in Kandy(something similar) and 2 nights in Bentota(or similar) to get the beach and hills experience. Suggestions are welcome.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Nagesh Bhatt

Hi NPV, i too am looking for an option of "Self Driving" in Sri Lanka...
The recent Self Driving experience doesn't seem to be a pleasant one for few of the guys & that's the message that emerges out of the discussions.

Replying to your post here on this thread to avoid going off topic on @Stryker's Travelogue thread. This thread has a few recommendations (though from a few years ago) for self drive cars, one of them is Mal Key (check their website, they offer Self-drive and Chauffered cars). There are other operators too, see earlier posts on this Sri Lanka travel queries thread.