Kandy to Hikkaduwa taxi: private transfer at a fixed price

From Kandy the driver takes the A1 west through Peradeniya, down the Kadugannawa pass and on through Mawanella, Kegalle and Warakapola. Near Colombo the car joins the expressway network and follows the Outer Circular Expressway round the east of the city to the Southern Expressway, unless traffic that day makes a Central Expressway section the better line. The motorway runs south inland of the coast, and you leave it at an interchange inland of Hikkaduwa for the last short drive through rubber and cinnamon country down to the sea. If you prefer, the driver can instead come off a little earlier and finish along the old Galle Road through Ambalangoda, known for its carved masks, and past the tsunami memorial at Peraliya. Allow about 4 hours 15 minutes for the 195 km without stops.

The first two hours set the pace. The Kadugannawa descent is a short run of bends with the railway on the same hillside, and below it the A1 is a crowded two-lane road where buses stop anywhere and lorries slow the climbs. Once you reach the expressway everything changes: a 100 km/h limit, no tuk-tuks, and service areas for a break. At the Hikkaduwa end, the A2 coast road is narrow and busy with buses, and hotels stretch for several kilometres along it, from the north end near the harbour through the main beach to Narigama, Thiranagama and towards Dodanduwa. Those names matter, because a hotel “in Hikkaduwa” can be ten minutes from the centre; give us the property name and the driver will go straight there. Parking on the coast road is tight, so he will stop briefly on the shoulder and help unload.

For a four-hour trip on a mix of busy trunk road and smooth expressway, the economy sedan suits up to three people with three bags. Couples with large cases, or anyone carrying a bag of tea and souvenirs from the hills, will find the comfort sedan more relaxed, with room for four bags. Families take the Comfort van (6 seats), and groups of seven or eight the 8-seat van. If you plan to surf and are bringing your own board, or need space for dive gear, mention it when you book so we send a vehicle with room for it. Anyone prone to carsickness should know that all the bends are in the first half hour; after that the road is flat to the coast. Child seats are free on request.

Hikkaduwa has a station on the coastal railway, so the train is a real option: Kandy to Colombo Fort, around three hours, then a coast line train south that runs beside the sea for long stretches. It is cheap and scenic, but it takes most of the day, the connection at Fort is not timed, and there is little room for big luggage in second or third class. Buses mean a change in Colombo and the same struggle with bags. For a backpacker with a free day the train is part of the experience. With suitcases or children, the taxi saves several hours and takes you from one door to the next.

Leave Kandy by about 07:30, before the school traffic thickens on the A1, and you reach Hikkaduwa in the early afternoon with time for a swim before sunset. Arriving later means meeting the evening build-up on the roads around Colombo and on the coast road. The west coast season runs from about November to April, when the sea is calm, the coral garden is clear for snorkelling and the turtles feed close to the shore. From May to September the south-west monsoon brings rough sea and showers, and many beach businesses slow down. Leave the morning free during the Esala Perahera in July or August, when central Kandy closes in the evening. Night trips between 22:00 and 05:00 add 15%, and booking more than 14 days ahead takes 5% off.