Galle to Kandy taxi: private transfer at a fixed price

From Galle the car joins the Southern Expressway (E01) and runs north up the coast to Kottawa on the edge of Colombo, then takes the Outer Circular Expressway round the east of the city to Kadawatha. That avoids central Colombo traffic entirely and brings you to the Kandy road, the A1. From there the route passes through Nittambuwa, Warakapola and Kegalle, then climbs the Kadugannawa pass to Kandy at around 500 m. Count about four hours thirty minutes without stops for roughly 205 km; with a lunch break, closer to five and a half. The expressway half is quick and predictable. The A1 half is where the time goes, because it is a busy single-carriageway road through one town after another.

The A1 is the oldest trunk road in the country and one of the busiest: buses, lorries, tuk-tuks and a steady line of roadside stalls, including the cashew sellers at Cadjugama, which make a good stop. Overtaking is constant and progress is steady rather than fast. Pinnawala, with its elephant orphanage, is a short detour north of the main road near Kegalle and easy to add if you want it. The Kadugannawa pass is the last real climb, a run of bends with views back over the lowlands and Bible Rock on the skyline. The slowest part is often the very end: the approach through Peradeniya and the one-way system around the lake are congested at rush hour, on Poya days and during the Esala Perahera in July or August. Hotels on the hills around Kandy often have steep, narrow access roads, so give us the name when you book.

Four and a half hours is long enough for comfort to count, and the A1 involves more stop-start driving than bends. Two travellers with suitcases will be happiest in the comfort sedan, which is quieter on the expressway and softer over the rough patches of the Kandy road; the economy sedan suits up to three passengers with lighter luggage. Families and groups with a full load of bags should take the 6-seat van or, from seven passengers, the 8-seat van: the luggage goes in the back, the middle row has room, and nobody arrives with a case on their lap. The price is per vehicle, so choose the size that fits the bags, not the one that just about fits the people.

The train is the obvious alternative, and it can be done: the coast line from Galle to Colombo Fort, then a change onto a Kandy train. In practice it takes most of the day, depends on two timetables lining up, and means carrying your luggage across a crowded Fort station between platforms. Reserved seats on the Kandy line often sell out in season. With a backpack and a day to spare, it is an experience; with suitcases, it is hard work. Buses are cheaper still but crowded, with little room for large bags, and a self-drive car means taking on the A1, which is not a gentle introduction. A private cab is the direct option, at a fixed price that includes fuel, expressway tolls, parking and the driver.

Leave Galle around 08:00. The expressway is clear at that hour, you reach the A1 before the lunchtime traffic, and you arrive in Kandy in the early afternoon, ahead of the evening rush around the lake. If you can, avoid arriving in Kandy between about 16:30 and 18:30 on weekdays. Weather rarely stops anything on this route, though the south-west monsoon from May to September brings heavy showers on the coast and around Kegalle, and the inter-monsoon rains of October and November can slow the A1. During the Esala Perahera, roads in central Kandy close for the processions in the evening, so plan to arrive early. A 10% supplement applies from 15 December to 15 January, and booking more than 14 days ahead takes 5% off.