In Sri Lanka the ride to your flight is the airport drop, and it is the first word of our name. The driver collects you at the hotel door at the hour you choose, loads the bags and sets you down at the departure entrance of Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) at Katunayake. The fare is worked out the same way as for a pickup, from Google’s driving distance.
Airport drop fares and when to leave
| From | km | DriveGoogle’s time | Leavebefore take-off | City car2 seats | Economy car3 seats | Mini van7 seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negombo | 14 | 35 min | 4 h 15 min | $25.00 | $30.00 | $35.00 |
| Colombo city | 34 | 45 min | 4 h 30 min | $25.00 | $30.00 | $35.00 |
| Bentota | 108 | 1 h 45 min | 5 h 15 min | $59.86 | $67.77 | $81.48 |
| Kandy | 114 | 3 h | 6 h 45 min | $63.52 | $71.73 | $86.36 |
| Dambulla | 130 | 2 h 45 min | 6 h 45 min | $73.12 | $82.13 | $99.16 |
| Hikkaduwa | 142 | 2 h | 5 h 45 min | $80.38 | $90.00 | $108.84 |
| Sigiriya | 147 | 3 h 15 min | 7 h 15 min | $82.90 | $92.73 | $112.20 |
| Unawatuna | 152 | 2 h 15 min | 5 h 45 min | $86.38 | $96.50 | $116.84 |
| Nuwara Eliya | 152 | 4 h 45 min | 9 h | $86.44 | $96.56 | $116.92 |
| Galle Fort | 153 | 2 h 15 min | 6 h | $86.62 | $96.76 | $117.16 |
| Ahangama | 165 | 2 h 15 min | 6 h | $94.00 | $104.75 | $127.00 |
| Weligama | 172 | 2 h 30 min | 6 h 15 min | $97.90 | $108.98 | $132.20 |
| Anuradhapura | 175 | 3 h 45 min | 8 h | $99.88 | $111.12 | $134.84 |
| Mirissa | 177 | 2 h 45 min | 6 h 30 min | $100.96 | $112.29 | $136.28 |
| Tangalle | 211 | 2 h 45 min | 6 h 45 min | $121.60 | $134.65 | $163.80 |
| Trincomalee | 235 | 4 h 45 min | 9 h | $135.76 | $149.99 | $182.68 |
| Yala (Tissa) | 279 | 3 h 45 min | 7 h 45 min | $162.10 | $178.53 | $217.80 |
| Ella | 335 | 5 h | 9 h 15 min | $196.18 | $215.45 | $263.24 |
| Arugam Bay | 417 | 6 h 30 min | 11 h 15 min | $245.26 | $268.62 | $328.68 |
The leave times are a guide. They allow three hours at the airport, which is what most airlines ask for an international flight from Colombo, plus Google’s driving time and a margin for traffic of a quarter of the drive, never less than half an hour. Check what your own airline asks for; at busy times some want you there earlier. The fares of all twelve vehicles, up to a 51-seat coach, are on each town’s page.
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From Negombo and Colombo
The airport stands just south of Negombo, and from a hotel on the beach at Ethukala the drop takes about half an hour on the Colombo-Puttalam road. That short last ride is why so many travellers spend their final night there.
From Colombo the car takes the Katunayake Expressway (E03), which starts at Peliyagoda on the northern edge of the city. Getting to it is the slow part: Fort is a few kilometres away, but from a hotel far down Galle Road in Kollupitiya or Wellawatte the city streets can take longer than the expressway itself, above all on a weekday afternoon. Enter the hotel’s own address in the form and the distance is measured from there.
From the south coast
From Bentota, Hikkaduwa, Galle, Mirissa or Tangalle, Google’s route runs north on the Southern Expressway, goes round the east of Colombo on the Outer Circular Highway and meets the Katunayake Expressway near Kerawalapitiya. It is expressway nearly all the way and never enters the city, which is why Mirissa, at 177 km, is a shorter drive in time than Kandy at 114.
From Kandy, the hills and the east
From Kandy the drop takes about three hours, out of the hills on the A10 by Galagedara and down the Central Expressway towards the coast. Kandy’s streets are slow at rush hours, so an early start is also the quicker one.
From Nuwara Eliya, Ella or Arugam Bay the drive takes between about five and six and a half hours, part of it on mountain roads. For a morning flight that would mean leaving in the middle of the night. Many travellers come down the day before instead, spend the last night in Negombo and take the short drop in the morning. That is two rides, each priced on its own, and the second costs only the starting price.
Night flights
Many flights out of Colombo leave late in the evening or in the small hours. We drive day and night, every day of the week: for a flight at three in the morning from a Negombo hotel, the table above means a pickup at a quarter to eleven the night before.
Booking a drop
In the booking form, enter your hotel as the pickup place and Colombo Airport as the drop-off, with the date and the time you want to be collected. Each vehicle then shows its fare for that exact address. A stop on the way, for a last lunch or an hour of shopping in Colombo, is waiting time: add it when you enter the ride, at $3 an hour. You pay the driver in cash, or by bank transfer through Wise, and you can cancel free of charge up to 24 hours before the pickup.
Flying from Mattala (HRI) in the south or Ratmalana (RML) in Colombo instead? The form prices a drop there in the same way.
Landing rather than leaving?
The rides from the airport have their own pages, one per town, with every vehicle’s fare and the drive described. They are all listed under Colombo Airport taxi prices.
