Kandy to Galle taxi: private transfer at a fixed price

The route is the A1 west out of Kandy through Peradeniya and down the Kadugannawa pass, then through Mawanella, Kegalle and Warakapola to the edge of Colombo. There the driver picks up the Outer Circular Expressway, which loops round the capital, and the Southern Expressway, which runs south inland of the coast to the Galle interchange. From the interchange it is a short drive into town and the fort. Expect the A1 to take more than half the time, and the expressway to feel fast after it. Without stops, allow about 4 hours 30 minutes. If you want a few hours in Colombo on the way, with lunch and a visit to Gangaramaya or the Pettah markets, it is possible as a stop, but it adds two to three hours because the car has to come off the ring road into the city.

The first half hour gives you the best views of the day, with the Kadugannawa descent and the Dawson memorial tower at the top of the pass. After that the A1 is a crowded two-lane road through a string of towns, with buses that stop anywhere and long queues behind lorries on the climbs. The expressway section is calm, fenced and limited to 100 km/h, with a service area at Welipenna. At the Galle end, the last stretch into town passes the cricket stadium and the bus station, both busy, and inside the fort the streets are narrow, partly one-way and lined with parked cars. The driver drops you as close to your hotel as the street allows; inside the fort that is usually the front door.

The economy sedan carries three passengers with three bags and is the obvious choice for one or two people travelling light. Couples with large suitcases will be more at ease in the comfort sedan, which takes four bags and has a smoother ride on the A1. For families and groups, the Comfort van (6 seats) or the 8-seat van gives everyone space for a four-and-a-half-hour run. One thing to know about Galle Fort: a sedan moves through its narrow lanes more easily than a van, so if you are two or three people staying inside the walls, a sedan is the practical pick. Child seats are free on request.

By train, the trip is two journeys: Kandy to Colombo Fort, about three hours, then the coastal line to Galle, which follows the sea past Bentota and Hikkaduwa for much of the way. Galle station is right outside the fort, which makes it a better train destination than most beach towns. The catch is time and luggage: the whole trip takes most of a day, connections at Colombo Fort are not coordinated, and the trains are crowded. Buses involve a change near Colombo. For travellers with bags or children, the taxi saves half a day; for a solo traveller with a backpack and no hurry, the train is a fine choice.

Leave Kandy around 07:00 or 08:00 to clear the A1 towns before the traffic peaks; you reach Galle in the early afternoon, with time to check in and walk the ramparts at the end of the day. The south coast is driest and calmest from about November to April; from May to September the south-west monsoon brings showers and rough sea, though Galle Fort itself is good to visit in any season. Hotels inside the fort fill early over Christmas and New Year. Between 15 December and 15 January a 10% high-season rate applies; book more than 14 days ahead to take 5% off.