Getting About
A Private Driver in Sri Lanka, Arranged From Here
Sri Lanka is a country where hiring a driver makes more sense than hiring a car, and almost everyone works that out on day two. We put guests with drivers we have used ourselves, for an airport run or for a fortnight around the island.
A private driver takes you between towns, waits while you visit and plans the day around traffic and heat. We arrange drivers for airport transfers, single legs and whole routes, at the driver's own rate, with nothing added on top.
How It Works
We Do Not Run a Fleet
This matters, so it goes at the top rather than in the small print. We are seven cottages and a small team. We do not own vehicles, we do not employ drivers and we are not a tour company pretending to be a guesthouse.
What we have is a short list of independent drivers we have used for years, whose vehicles we have sat in and whose driving we would put our own family in. When you ask us for a driver, we ring one of them, and you deal with them directly from there.
The reason to go through us rather than a booking site is simple. We are still here after you leave, so if something goes wrong on the road you have somebody local to call who knows the driver by name.
The Usual Runs
Transfers We Arrange Most Often
Point to point, with a driver who takes you door to door and does not disappear halfway. Times are for a car in daylight, including the stops a sensible driver makes.
Longer routes are simply several of these joined up, with the driver staying with you for the whole trip. The full distance table is on the location page.
| Route | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Colombo airport to Sigiriya | 3.5 to 4.5 hours | The commonest one. Meet at arrivals, straight up, no city traffic |
| Colombo city to Sigiriya | 4 to 5 hours | Add an hour if you leave during the morning rush |
| Kandy to Sigiriya | 2.5 to 3 hours | Usually with the Dambulla caves or a spice garden on the way |
| Sigiriya to Trincomalee | 2 to 2.5 hours | The east coast beaches, an easy half day |
| Sigiriya to Ella | About 5 hours | A long day. Worth breaking it rather than doing it in one go |
| Polonnaruwa, there and back | Full day | Driver waits while you cycle the ruins |
| Anuradhapura, there and back | Full day | Longer than it looks. An early start is the difference |
Airport pickups run at any hour, including the small ones. Give us the flight number rather than the landing time, so the driver can track the delay rather than sit in the car park.
Money
What It Costs, and How We Quote
There is no price list on this page because we are not selling you the car. Driver rates move with fuel, with the season and with the size of vehicle you need, and a figure typed here in September would be wrong by Christmas.
When you ask, you get the driver's rate, what it covers and what it does not, in a message you can keep. Nothing is added for making the call.
Multi-day hire is normally quoted per day, with the driver's own food and lodging either included or arranged separately. Ask which, because the two versions of the same quote can look very different and only one of them is the real number.
No Detours
The Shopping Detour, and Why Ours Do Not Do It
If you have read anything about hiring a driver in Sri Lanka you will have read about the gem shop. Many drivers earn a commission for delivering tourists to particular spice gardens, batik workshops and jewellery showrooms, and an afternoon of your holiday quietly disappears into them.
The drivers we recommend do not do this to our guests, because they want the next booking from us more than they want the commission. If it happens anyway, tell us. We would rather hear it than have it happen to the people who come after you.
If you only need the short local runs, you do not need any of this. A tuk-tuk handles the rock, the village and the shops, and we will call one for you.
How It Works
What Happens on the Day
Step one
You Send the Route
Dates, where from, where to, how many of you and how much luggage. Flight number if there is one. That is everything we need to ask for a quote.
Step two
We Come Back With a Name
A driver, a vehicle, a rate and what it includes. If we cannot cover your route we will say so rather than send you somebody we do not know.
Step three
You Deal Direct
You get the driver's number and they get yours. Payment is between you and them, in cash or however you agree, and we take nothing out of it.
Step four
We Stay Reachable
If the car does not turn up, or turns up wrong, message us. We are a few minutes off the main road and we know who to ring.
Send the Route
Tell Us Where You Need to Be
One message with the dates and the route is enough. Quotes come back within 6 hours. If your route runs nowhere near us we will still tell you what it should cost, so you have a number to hold somebody else to.
Driver Questions
Questions About Drivers and Transfers
Is It Worth Hiring a Driver in Sri Lanka?
For most visitors, yes. Road conditions, unfamiliar rules and long distances make self drive harder work than it looks, and a driver for the day often costs less than a hire car once you add fuel and parking. If you are staying in one place and doing short local runs, a tuk tuk is cheaper and more fun.
Can You Arrange an Airport Transfer to Sigiriya?
Yes, and it is the most common thing we are asked for. Bandaranaike airport to the cottages is three and a half to four and a half hours. Send us the flight number and the driver tracks the flight, so a delay is their problem rather than yours.
Do the Drivers Speak English?
The ones we recommend do, well enough to plan a day and explain what you are looking at. If you need a specific language, say so when you ask and we will tell you whether we can cover it.
Is the Driver Also a Guide?
They are two different jobs and two different licences. A good driver will tell you plenty about what you are passing, but a licensed site guide at Sigiriya or Polonnaruwa is a separate hire and worth it. We can arrange either.
What Size Vehicle Will I Get?
That depends on how many of you there are and how much luggage. Two people with two cases fit a car. Four with four cases need a van, and it is worth paying for one rather than spending five hours with a suitcase on your knees. Tell us the numbers and we will match the vehicle.
Do You Charge a Booking Fee?
No. You pay the driver their rate and we take nothing. We arrange this because guests who get to us in one piece and on time have a better stay, not because it earns us anything.