The beach resort Hikkaduwa is situated in the south of Sri Lanka and in 117 km from the international airport in Colombo. You can overcome this distance in few ways: booking bus or personal transfer, by bus or by train.
Navigation:
Cab from Colombo to Hikkaduwa
We can call the cab – the most comfortable kind of transport. There is special post for booking cab near the exit of terminal. The price will be about 90$ – 110$. You can look for private cabs and bargain with the drivers. So the price for the trip from Colombo to Hikkaduwa can be lower, about 70$.
There are two highways. One of them is paid highway (the trip on this road costs about 200 rupees and this trip will take you about 2 hours. You can also use free road and it will take you about 3 hours to get to Hikkaduwa.
The bus from Colombo
It will be cheaper to get to Hikkaduwa by bus, but you will have to transfer. At first you should get from the airport to the central bus station – Colombo Fort. You can get there by express bus number 187. The stop is situated in 100 meters from the exit of the aerostation (by the left side). The trip will cost about 50-100 rupees. The price depends on the class of the bus and availability of air conditioner. You need last but one stop. You can ask conductor to tell you when it will be. This trip will take you about one hour.
You need to transfer to another bus that goes to Hikkaduwa, at the bus station. You can also use other buses that go to Galle, Tangalle and Matara (Hikkaduwa is one of the stop to these cities). You can not to worry about the ticket. You can ask the driver about next bus that goes to Hikkaduwa. There are many these buses. There is a bus schedule that go from Colombo.
There is photo in big size here. There is a conductor in every bus, so you can ask him about the stop that you need. The buses from Colombo to Hikkaduwa go every 15 minutes and it will take you about 2 hours to get there. The price will be about 80-300 rupees (it depends on the level of comfort and the bus).
The train from Colomdo to Hikkaduwa
There is another economical way – trip by bus and then by train. You need to get to the last stop Colombo Fort Railway bus express bus number 187. It is the railway station of the town.
There are many trains that go to Hikkaduwa or that go via this city. The trains go differently. The interval is from 20 minutes to 4 hours. The price of the ticket depends on the class of the train and it is about 85 or 160 rupees. There are no first class trains to Hikkaduwa.
It will take you about 2-3 hours to get to Hikkaduwa. The railways station is situated in the centre of Hikkaduwa. You should understand that there are many passengers in the train. There are less people after 5 pm.
We can advise you to buy ticket from the second class and higher, and it doesn’t mean that you will have a seat. If you have ticket, it doesn’t mean that you will have a seat and you will sit the whole trip.
Transfer from Colombo to Hikkaduwa
You can get to the place of your destination quickly and comfortable, using private transfer. The price starts from 70$ and it depends on the type of car (passenger car, minivan or minibus). It’s very comfortable, because the driver will meet you with the tablet with your name (and maybe he will be English-speaking). You can look at the picture with the prices and kind of cars higher.
You can book transfer from Colombo to Hikkaduwa at the special transport company or you can ask for this kind of service in your hotel.
