Colombo Travel Forum

hi

guys i have a 12 hrs layover (11pm to 11am the next day) and a 24 hrs layover (2pm to 2pm the next day) in Sri lanka.

have absolutely no idea what so ever of what to do... just know that i want to see the city, do a bit of shopping and take lots of snaps...

am 23 years old, so can stay awake/alert for extended durations...

any ideas what to do??


p.s. I read in the Sri lankan airport website they have a "Bond Baggage" scheme, where you can give them your luggage and take it back when you are departing... any ideas of its cost??

Can someone tell me if the old part of this hotel is ok?
What is the new section called..the one over the pool?
Thanks

Hi Guys

We are visitng Colombo from 14th of June till 16th of June. We will be 4 Adults and 2 kids. I request all my friends to give us suggestions how to explore Colombo to the fullest and what are the best places to visit.

cheers

can anyone please give me some information about night life in colombo ...also if there are any raves or all night beach parties/music dance festivals,international dj's performin .

hello,


i want to know how the hotel ranmuthu is? is the hotel good or bad? your experience? how is hotel in regard of security ? can staff can speak english?

hello,
i want to know to how will be the whether in 1st week of june. will it rain heavley in 1st week of june june

hey
can any one suggest good hotel in range of 15-20 dollar per person we are 2 people and i also want to know about public transport in colombo mostly from airport to colombo town and are they safe and does they work 24hrs?

hey
can any one suggest good hotel in range of 15-20 dollar per person we are 2 people and i also want to know about public transport in colombo mostly from airport to colombo town and are they safe and does they work 24hrs?

hello,
i will be travelling colombo in june for 3-4 days for exam purpose. i want to know whether it is safe to travel to considering? since there is war going between goverment and local group?
do you recommend me to travel to colombo?
may i also know which place is mostly affected by war situation in srilanka? is it happening in colombo?
thanks

Discount airline connecting Sri Lanka with Himalayan India, or Nepal?

I am looking for a discount airline (flying Colombo to any Indian Himalayan city (i.e. Srinigar, or Dehradun, or even Amritsar), as long as it's nearby the tallest mountains. Also, a Colombo-Kathmandu flight would be nice as well. I am looking for a discount airline, or to go this route for under 100-200euro, max.

Thanks

Will be in Colombo Jan 2 for a day. Need to buy belly dance costumes, specifically, coins belt. Any suggestion is much appreciated!

Indian tourist visa in Colombo, Sri Lanka (cheaper)?

I know India needs visas for both Norwegian and Canadian nationals, and I've heard they hand out wonderfully long six-month visas. Of course, purchasing a visa in either Canada or Norway would prove expensive, maybe more than 50 euro. My question is, since I am going to Sri lanka first (and spending 10 or so days), should I apply for an Indian visa in Colombo the first day, have a look around, wait for the visa to clear, and stamped in the passport, then catch a cheap flight to Kerala, South India, just over the water? How much would an Indian visa (tourist status) cost in Colombo? Are there are special requirements needed, for example I heard applying for an Indian visa in Sub-saharan Africa requires an additional Yellow Fever vaccanination certificate, regardless of your nationality. Does India require similar paperwork from Westerners arriving via Sri Lanka as well? Thanks

I might move to Colombo for a few months for work. I have an offer from a company which has its offices on Leyden bastian road, Colombo 1.

What kind of area is it? Will I be able to get a good apartment or single room with internet round this place and the approx prices as well?

Thnx

Ali

Hi i am planning to visit Comombo in the month of May for 3 days. i request anyone of members of this forum to help me with any female tourist guide.

I notice that the weather in Colombo is heavy rain, and has been for quite some time now. Is this likely to continue?

The reason I ask is that my fiance and I will be having our wedding in Sri Lanka (Beruwela to be exact) on the 26th March and would obviously prefer sunny weather. But looking at the forecast, are we likely to be soaked on our special day?

Is this current weather normal and should we just expect heavy rain for the week that we're there?

Regards

Jason

hi everyone,first forum i've ever joined,so hope i'm doing it right!Arriving Colombo at 10.25,onward to Bangkok at 07.30 next morning.Is it possible,practical, worth trying, to get to city,or better to get Hotel near airport for the day/night?If so,any idea of costs.Also what is a day room,and how do you get one?Hope someone can help

Heard that Colombo airport has completed renovation and fully functional with new and better facilities. Are there any Day rooms where we can have some sleep fro about 3-4 hrs and a shower and then go to city centre before we take an evenIg flight from Colombo?

If no Day rooms, what are your sugegstions or alternatives so that we can have have a room for some sleep and a shower?

Hi, I will be travelling to Bangkok on the 7th April but will have a 7 hour layover on the way and a 15 hour layover on the way back, the 27th. We will arrive at Colombo Airport at 21:40 and need to back on the flight at 13:15 the next day. I have no idea what are the legalities of leavin the airport and what we could do? I heard the elephant sanctury is amazing, is 15 hours enough to visit there? Any help would be great! Thank you in advance! Emma

Hi there,

Just wondering if anyone can help us. We are coming to Sri Lanka in June 2008 and are looking for a Hindu priest to conduct a ceremony in Hindi, English, Gujarati or Sanskrit.

We will be staying in Bentota, but are willing to travel. If anyone can help us, we be grateful.

Many thanks,
JS

This is always a difficult subject when travelling.
We are due in Colombo in February and leave Colombo on a four day/three night tour before spending two weeks on the beach at Bentoto.
The tour is by car, and there will be two of us. How much should I tip the driver if , as expected, the driver/guide is good at his job.

Hi,

I was wondering if someone could give me any advice on how long it would take to get to Sigiriya from Colombo please ?? Could I do a day trip to Sigiriya and fit everything in comfortably or would I really need to stay overnight there ??

Also, in terms of getting there, what would people recommend as the best way of doing it ... hire a taxi driver personally or go via an organised tour ?? Do organised tours actually just do trips to Sigiriya or do they want to include Kandy/Pinnewala/etc too (which I don't want as I saw them last time I was in Sri Lanka) ??

Thanks in advance for any help !!

Cheers,
Darren

I have an 11 hour layover in Colombo and would like to go into town. How much would the fare be for a taxi from the airport to town? If I hired a driver for the day, what would the cost be?

Hi,

I will hopefully be arriving at CMB airport at around 0500-0530 in the morning on the 27th Dec. I have read some of the other posts and they seem to suggest that getting an airport taxi to your hotel is the easiest and cheapest option ... just a couple of questions :-

1) - How much would you expect a taxi to be to the Galadari hotel ??
2) - Do the taxis run 24 hours ... i.e. will I have a problem getting one at around 0530 ??

Thanks in advance,
Darren

Are there taxis available after midnight from the airport to town and back before 0600? Are there other forms of transportation besides taxis?

Hello,
I have an 11 hour layover in Colombo and would like to know where I can go and what I can do in that time? Do they have lockers in Colombo to store my luggage while I am in town?

I presume there are ATMs at Colombo airport. Can anyone confirm they are after immigration (if flying inbound), before or both!?

Thanks

I stayed in this hotel 9 years ago and adored it.
I see from the posts that it has been renovated...are there any old standard and superior rooms left? I recall a huge bedroom with an antiquated bathroom, reminiscent of an 1950's English country house. There were huge terrasses overlooking the Indian Ocean with breakers crashing in...
I want to go back , but I fear what I will find...Has anyone up to date information on this hotel, please? THANK YOU.

Hi! Is it safe to travel to colombo alone? Is there any interest tours / tour companies that you could recomment? Is it possible to make a day our to kandy or overnight stay would be preferable? visa requiremnet to sri lanka?
thanks!

Hi guys. My friend MarikARC, has been living in Chennai and working hard. She'll be visiting Colombo soon, to take care of some business and also let her hair down and relax. Are there any good options for partying, and having a good time?

I don't know Sri Lanka at all, but I thought I should ask and see what you guys think? Come on, what are the spots to party?

Thanks in advance!!!

Giampiero

Hello!
I'm in Colombo from 8 am to 7 am (23 hours....).
...What can one do in Sri Lanka for such a short time?
Is there any other reasonable option, may be more peaceful, other than Colombo?

Because I probably have to be back at the airport at 4 in the morning, does anybody know what kind of accommodation one can find near the airport? I've heard there are rooms at the airport itself which can be rented (by the hour?). Is that correct? Do they still exist? I couldn't find out.

Any suggestion will be very welcome.