Private driver in Sri Lanka, for your whole trip
From $80€70CHF 70AED 300Rs 25,500₹7,700¥540₽6,800 (Rs 25,500) a day, per car · 250 km a day included
Your price, right now
Most drivers in Sri Lanka stop at 100 or 150 km a day and bill you for the rest. We include 250 km, the fuel, the tolls, the parking, and the driver’s own room and meals. You see the price here and book it now.
- 250 km a day, not 100
- The driver’s room and meals, on us
- Price fixed before you pay
- Free cancellation up to 24 h
Included
- The car, air-conditioned, and bottled water
- A licensed, English-speaking driver
- 250 km a day, counted across the whole trip
- Fuel, expressway tolls and parking
- The driver’s meals and his room, every night
- All taxes
- Meet & greet with a name board on day one
- A child seat, if you ask for one
Not included
- Your own hotels
- Entrance tickets to sites, parks and safaris
- Your meals
- Kilometres beyond the allowance, at $0.37 each
- Tips, entirely at your discretion
Why $80 is cheaper than $67
The daily rate you are quoted elsewhere is rarely the sum you end up paying. Two things sit outside it almost everywhere: the kilometres past the daily cap, and the driver’s own bed and dinner.
| Why $80 is cheaper than $67 | The usual arrangement | Here |
|---|---|---|
| Daily rate, sedan | $67 | $80 |
| Kilometres included | 100 to 150 | 250 |
| Driver’s room and meals | about $12 a night, on you | included |
| 100 km over the cap | about $37 | included |
| Real cost of a 250 km day | about $116 | $80 |
| Price before you commit | a quote, in 30 to 60 minutes | on this page |
| Booking | by email or WhatsApp | online, card, now |
Market figures taken on 9 September 2026 from the rates published by 493 registered drivers on srilankacaranddriverhire.com, and from the same site’s figure for a driver’s room and board. All figures in this table are in US dollars.
How it works
- 1
Pick your days and your car
The price is on the screen. There is nothing to request and nobody to wait for.
- 2
Pay half by card
You get your booking reference straight away, then your driver’s name and number on WhatsApp.
- 3
He meets you where you land
And the car is yours until the last day. You settle the other half with him at the end, cash or card.
- Fixed price, confirmed before you pay
- Free cancellation up to 24h before pickup
- Meet & greet with a name board
- Booked direct, no agency commission
What people usually do with it
Four shapes of trip that fit comfortably inside the allowance. They are starting points, not packages — you decide the route as you go, and you can change it the night before.
5 days
The short loop
Airport, Sigiriya, Kandy, Ella. The three things nobody skips, without a rushed morning.
$400€350CHF 330AED 1,470Rs 127,500₹38,200¥2,670₽33,600 (Rs 127,500)1,250 km included
Book these 5 days7 days
The classic
The same, plus a Yala safari and two nights on the south coast at Mirissa or Tangalle.
$560€490CHF 465AED 2,050Rs 178,500₹53,400¥3,740₽47,000 (Rs 178,500)1,750 km included
Book these 7 days10 days
The whole island
Add Nuwara Eliya and the tea roads, Galle fort, and time to stop where you feel like it.
$800€700CHF 660AED 2,930Rs 255,000₹76,300¥5,340₽67,100 (Rs 255,000)2,500 km included
Book these 10 days14 days
Coast to coast
Everything above, plus the north or the east — Jaffna, Trincomalee, Arugam Bay in season.
$1,115€980CHF 925AED 4,090Rs 357,000₹106,700¥7,480₽93,900 (Rs 357,000)3,500 km included
Book these 14 days
One car, one price a day
Choose by how many of you there are and how much luggage you have, not by guesswork.
Economy sedan
3 people · 3 bags
Toyota Axio, Honda Fit Shuttle or similar. The standard Sri Lankan airport car: air-conditioned, three passengers and three suitcases.
$80€70CHF 70AED 300Rs 25,500₹7,700¥540₽6,800 (Rs 25,500) a day
Choose this car
Comfort sedan
4 people · 4 bags
Toyota Premio or Allion. Four passengers and four suitcases, noticeably quieter and better sprung than the economy sedan, the difference shows on the hill-country roads.
$95€80CHF 75AED 340Rs 29,000₹8,700¥610₽7,700 (Rs 29,000) a day
Choose this car
Comfort van
6 people · 6 bags
Six passengers with real luggage space behind the last row, the point at which a family stops arguing about who holds the backpack.
$115€100CHF 95AED 420Rs 36,500₹11,000¥770₽9,600 (Rs 36,500) a day
Choose this car8-seat van
8 people · 8 bags
Eight passengers and eight suitcases in one vehicle: the whole group travels together, with one driver and one price.
$140€120CHF 115AED 510Rs 43,800₹13,100¥920₽11,600 (Rs 43,800) a day
Choose this car
Why 250 km a day changes the trip
A hundred kilometres a day sounds like plenty until you look at a map of Sri Lanka. Colombo airport to Sigiriya is 170. Kandy to Ella is 140 on the hill roads, and it takes most of a day. A safari at Yala adds 60 before you have gone anywhere.
With a cap at 100 or 150 you spend the trip doing arithmetic, and the driver spends it saying no. At 250, counted across the whole stay rather than day by day, a long transfer day simply borrows from a day spent at the beach. Nobody counts anything, which is the point.
A driver, not a guide
He speaks English, he knows the roads, he knows which of the two entrances to Sigiriya has the shorter queue at eight in the morning. He is not a licensed guide lecturer and will not narrate the frescoes to you — those are a separate profession here, with its own examination, and hiring one costs roughly double.
What you get is someone who drives well on roads that punish people who do not, waits without complaining, and turns up at the time he said.
Why not just rent a car
You can, and a few people should. But a foreign licence is not enough to drive in Sri Lanka: you need a local permit, obtained on arrival, and the insurance excess on a rental is high. Add fuel, parking and the permit and the gap narrows to very little.
What remains is the driving itself — left-hand traffic, unlit lorries, and hill roads where a three-hour stretch on the map is four. Most people who have done both do not go back.
FAQ
How many kilometres do I actually get?
250 for each day you book, added together across the whole trip. Seven days is 1,750 km, and it does not matter whether you use 400 on Tuesday and 50 on Wednesday.
What if we go over?
$0.37 a kilometre, which is the going rate here, and you are told the number before you book rather than at the end. In practice a normal island loop does not come close.
Where does the driver sleep and eat?
Somewhere he arranges himself, and we pay for it. You do not need to book him a room, feed him, or think about it at all.
What is the minimum?
Two days. For a single day, a point-to-point transfer is cheaper and we sell those too.
Do I pay everything now?
Half now by card to confirm the driver, half to him on the last day, cash or card. The total never changes in between.
Can I change the plan halfway?
Yes. Tell him the night before and he will work it out. The price is for the car and the days, not for a fixed route.
Can I cancel?
Free up to 24 hours before pickup, and you get the deposit back in full.
Does the price change with the number of passengers?
No. It is per car. Three people pay what one person pays — which is why splitting it makes this the cheapest way to see the island.
Is there a surcharge for an early start?
No. Flights land at four in the morning here and that is not your fault. Any pickup hour, same price.
Two minutes, and the car is booked
No account, no waiting for a quote, no deposit until you have seen the total.
From $80€70CHF 70AED 300Rs 25,500₹7,700¥540₽6,800 (Rs 25,500) a day