Transport Facilities

  

Sri Lanka has a well-connected national network of roads consisting about 116,113 kms. Almost all the roads are metalled and/or carpeted and they cover all the cities and places of tourist interest. Therefore, any part of the island can be reached within a few hours. Driving in Sri Lanka is on the left.

A variety of bus services are readily available in Sri Lanka: normal, intercity, semi-luxury and luxury buses in which you can travel to any part of Sri Lanka.

Luxury buses operate from the Central Bus Stand in Colombo to selected destinations such as Galle, Kandy, Badulla, Nuwara Eliya, Jaffna, Trincomalee etc. The highway buses to Galle start from Maharagama junction. These buses are air-conditioned with comfortable seats and provide entertainment to the passengers. They could also accommodate a fair amount of luggage.

Air-conditioned intercity buses travel from one city to another with limited stops to make the journey fast and comfortable to the passenger. In these buses only a limited space is available for luggage. Intercity bus service is available in almost all the major cities of Sri Lanka.

Operated by both public and private sector, Normal buses that are non A/C with fewer facilities stopping at every halt to pick and drop passengers, have an island-wide coverage. Most of the Sri Lankan people use these buses for daily travelling from one city to another. They are operated from morning to late night.

Sri Lanka’s rail network is operated by Sri Lanka Railways, linking Colombo with almost all the popular tourist destinations and the other populous cities across the island. A number of train services are available: Inter-City Trains with unreserved 3rd Class, reserved 2nd Class and Observation Saloon seats, offer express service between main cities such as Colombo-Kandy, Colombo-Batticaloa; Fast Passenger Trains with unreserved 2nd and 3rd Class seats, reserved 2nd and 3rd Class seats, reserved 1st Class Observation Saloon, and reserved 1st Class Sleeping Berths, offer semi-express service between Colombo and other major outstations. Reserved 1st Class Air-conditioned service is offered only on some routes. A Deluxe Coach with TV, wi-fi, catering etc. is also available for groups of 20 — 35.

There are a number of airlines currently operating domestic flights within Sri Lanka offering scheduled flights, scenery flights as well as charter flights. In Sri Lanka are about 10 domestic airports covering the