Airport Layover Colombo City Tour

The communication with Pathum was excellent from the beginning. We contacted Sri Lanka by Car with specific requirements because we had a 12 hour layover between flights, and he was quick at coming back to us with a very reasonable price. I wanted us to be picked up at the airport late morning, taken to the main sights in Colombo, and dropped back off at the airport in the evening. Our driver Parera had good spoken English and explained all the locations really well, accompanying us into places like the Lotus tower (not to be missed and worth the cost to go to the top) to point out all the useful sights. He was very accommodating as there were some things we wanted to do differently, like spend nearly 2 hours at Pettah market which was an awesome experience, and visit somewhere to buy tea. It was also great that we could safely leave our carry on luggage in the car and not have to walk around with our backpacks as Perera explained Sri Lanka is one of the safest places in the world for tourists. Highly recommended tour company.

Got picked up from the airport as a solo female traveller the tour guide was very helpful and reassuring and respectful. We went around the major sites and even squeezed in the beach. Very greatful had traditional food at a reasonable price.

we chose this city tour to spend our 8 hours layover in Colombo, we met our driver/guide at the airport, he guided us inside the city to see all of our point of interest and even more. To avoid problem at the immigration is better to follow the advice from the driver/guide. We strongly recommend this city tour to everyone with about 7 hours layover

It is a great way to see the city while you are in transit. Of course Sri Lanka is a wonderful country and few hours would not do the justice but if you have limited amount of time, then this would the tour to have as you can see highlights in few hours.

I had a long layover in Columbo and decided to book a day tour. I’m very glad I did- Ushan was an excellent host who made me feel very welcome in Sri Lanka and gave me a fabulous tour. I would fully recommend this, and this short layover has convinced me that next time I come to Sri Lanka, I’ll need to spend more time in such a fabulous place!

Our driver and guide, Ushan, was great. We had a bit of an interesting situation and arrived late at night, and he was able to put together a great five hours for us to explore as much of Colombo as possible at that time of night. He was very friendly and personable, and genuinely a joy to talk to. He showed us everything he could, and took us by car to what he couldn’t. He even found us a great restaurant for us to end our evening at, overall I would highly recommend him and this company.

Our Airport Layover Colombo City Tour was fantastic! Pradeep and Raj did a wonderful job helping my husband and I to navigate immigration at the airport in Sri Lanka. Our plane arrived over an hour late. Then, we found out that our outgoing connection was going to be delayed 7 hours. The airport staff was insufferable and the immigration officials denied our entry into Sri Lanka even though our visas were approved days earlier. Pradeep and Raj stayed in contact with us throughout the process to get us through immigration. Pradeep, our tour guide waited patiently for us for over 3 hours! Raj, the tour operator, called to make sure we were safely in the hands of our guide and that we were accommodated on our short stay. It was dark once we exited the airport, but Pradeep made sure we saw everything! He was passionate about his city and very knowkedgeable about the history and culture of Colombo. We visited the Lotus Tower, beautiful Buddhist and Hindu temples, government buildings and monuments. To top off the evening, Pradeep took my husband and I to a very good restsurant for dinner. Because our flight had been delayed overnight, Pradeep recomended a wonderful place for our overnight stay and made sure we had a ride to the airport in the morning. We throughly enjoyed our tour and our stay. Thank you, Pradeep for making our tour memorabe!!

My experience in Colombo was fantastic. I had a very short time due to changes in my travel time as there were complications with cancellations on my outward journey to Australia and I had had to change my flight on my way back to England. Everyone was so flexible in getting it all arranged for my and the changes I needed to make so I want to commend the company for this. On the day, my guide Tharaka was fantastic. He was so knowledgeable about everything and I learned so much about the history of Sri Lanka that I did not know. He took me on a tour of the things which are stated in the advert for the tour but also because of the talks and information we were sharing in the car together he would suggest other places which he felt I would like and then took me to them as well. He took an active interest in my own life to asking questions and learning from me and this meant we talked the whole time during the tour which made it easy and relaxed. We learned lots about each other as well as Colombo which is a beautiful city. I had loads of opportunities for beautiful photographs and I got to try a king coconut thanks to Tharaka which was delicious. I saw temple, beautiful colonial buildings and the beach which was breathtaking. Tharaka also gave me recommendations for the next time I am in Colombo and I will definitely be coming back and using the company and Tharaka for a tour in the future. Thank you for being a highlight to my holiday.

Amazing team and an excellent trip. Excellent team and so professional able to help us with the complete tour

Great 4 hours, got all of the city highlights. Our guide had excellent English & was very knowledgeable. Highly recommend, we only had a day in Colombo & this tour was perfect to get some history & learn about the culture

We had a great time with Shimaz and the "Sri Lanka by Car" tour. It was a wonderful experience and I would recommend them to anyone visiting the country.

With a 16-hour connection at Colombo airport, I wanted to do a day tour around Colombo and Sri Lanka by Car customized an excellent itinerary. Starting with airport pickup at 6 am, we stopped for a local breakfast before going to Negombo to see local fishermen returning from sea to sell their live seafood in local markets. We then drove along the beautiful coastline with nice beaches and ocean views. We continued onto Colombo city to see churches and temples, hopped on local trains at the train station, and went to the Galle Face hotel and sea walk where locals walk along the shore. The tour ended back up at the airport comfortably for an excellent tour. Overall the people were very kind and everywhere felt safe. Thank you very much to Kumar for customizing a perfect tour based on my preferences and his blue car was very clean and easy to get around!

The driver was late costing us a 45 minute delay by the time we found him. The restaurant stop became a fiasco when Mohammad, our guide, told us, after we were ordering, that he had paid almost the equivalent of $200 to book a table so that we needed to pay him in cash at the restaurant rather than using credit cards. This cost us at least 45 minutes more as not everybody had enough clean cash. We also spent 30 minutes driving around after the restaurant and then went back to the restaurant to pick up Mohammed. The delays resulted in a very brief stop at the local market. At the Buddhist temple, the driver kept standing next to whatever we wanted to photograph resulting in pictures of him taking photos of us. The boat trip was great, and the restaurant food very good.

We arrived by cruise ship and were promptly picked up at Gate 1 by Dulshan. Dulshan was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and eager to share his love of Colombo. A perfect combination of driver and tour guide, he showed us all the sites we wanted to see and tailored the day for us. His "private" tour of the Buddhist temple was a highlight as he completely understood and could explain his beliefs. I would highly recommend Sri Lanka by Car and definitely would ask for Dulshan! Thank you!

Colombo is one of the busiest cities we have ever visited. The driving is absolutely bonkers so taking a tour in an open topped double decker bus is probably the safest way to get an overview of this fascinating place, taking in historic buildings, temples and parks. The guide and his team were very informative and refreshments were included throughout the tour. There were a couple of stops, first at a very prominent Buddist temple and later a small shopping arcade for those seeking souvenirs. Seeing the city from the top deck gave one a totally different perspective from being at ground level and was not rushed so it was well worth the charge of about £25. If you only have a day or two in Colombo this is well worth it.

Firstly the communications with the team was great to set up the tour. Kumar then took me around with lots of information about the city. He took his time to show me the place and was accommodating to my requests. Highly recommended and will join them for other tours the next time I am back in Sri Lanka.

<p>Nice tour as i was the only one on it, However seeing a elephant chained in a back garden was rather sad, they need company of other elephants or they go nuts At the local zoo a sign said Foreigners 2.500 rupees, locals 500 i wonder what would be said if we did that to Sri Lankan's in England?? Take it down it's racist! I did not go in The tour guide however was excellent and explained a lot about the city its history and religion and culture a very decent Chap!</p>

Colombo city Tour was an excellent and Chauffeur was excellent and guided well. I was not aware about Colombo but Chauffeur expressed everything in detail and total 4 hrs was in my tour but I got 1 extra hr due to children as children was much exciting to know more so total 5 hrs we took and I was expecting Chauffeur will demand extra charge but NO EXTRA CHARGES DEMANDED and it was very very positive point that showcased hospitality of SiriLankan