Taxi from Colombo to Kalutara

42.3 kilometres separate the middle of Colombo from Kalutara, and the drive takes about 92 minutes when the expressway is doing its job. On a map that is a short hop. In practice it is the stretch that decides how the rest of a south-coast trip feels, because it is the part where a car leaves the capital's stop-start rhythm behind and settles into the steady pace that carries on to Bentota, Hikkaduwa and Galle.

Most visitors treat Kalutara as something to be driven through. That is understandable, since the road passes close enough to see its best-known landmark from the window without stopping. It is also a little unfair to the town, which has two or three things that reward an hour, and which makes a sensible first or last night for anybody who would rather not spend the first afternoon of a holiday in a car.

The journey at a glance

The distance is 42.3 kilometres by road, and the time on this site's price list is 92 minutes. Treat the minutes as the good-day figure. The first part of the drive, out of the city, is the variable one: leaving Colombo on a weekday between late afternoon and the early evening can add a good deal to it, while a Sunday morning can take a little off. Once the car is on the expressway the road is predictable, and the rest of the time budget is mostly the exit and the last few kilometres into town.

If you are catching a flight or meeting somebody at a fixed hour, plan the leaving time around the city end of the trip, not the Kalutara end. Everything interesting about the timing happens in the first third of the drive.

Expressway or the old coast road

There are two ways to do this run, and a driver given no instructions will pick the faster one. The Southern Expressway runs inland and well above the coastal strip, with few places to leave it and no junctions with the village roads. It is quick and quiet and shows you very little of the country.

The old Galle Road runs through Moratuwa, Panadura and Wadduwa and keeps the sea close for much of the way. It is slower, busier and more interesting, and it is the road to ask for only if you actually want to see the coast towns, or if your pickup or drop-off sits on the seafront rather than near an expressway exit. For most people booking a transfer the answer is the expressway, with the old road kept for a different day.

The Kalu Ganga crossing

The reason a driver tells you "we are nearly there" is the bridge. The Kalu Ganga, the river that gives the town its name, reaches the sea here, and the road crosses it on a high span right beside the town. From the carriageway the white dome of the Kalutara Bodhiya comes into view over the water, and for most drivers it is the marker that the city traffic is behind you.

The river mouth also explains the shape of the town. Kalutara sits on both banks, and the beach hotels are on the seaward side, a short way from the expressway rather than on it. Allow a few minutes at each end of the run for the last stretch on ordinary roads; the trip is not door to door on a motorway.

What is worth stopping for

The Kalutara Bodhiya is the obvious one, and the easiest stop on this whole road because it sits right by the main road. The dome is hollow and can be entered, which is not something you find at every Buddhist site, and the grounds are calm and short enough for a half hour. Dress modestly, remove shoes and head coverings at the shrine, and expect donations to be asked for in the ordinary way rather than at a fixed ticket price. Opening arrangements change, so ask the driver or the hotel on the day.

The other thing the town is known for is fruit. Kalutara is a mangosteen district, and when the fruit is in season the roadside stalls make a much better stop than anything with a car park. The town is also known for basketry and reed work, which is sold by the road and is easy to carry. None of this is a reason to rearrange a day, but a driver who knows where to pull in is worth having at this point.

If you have a spare hour in the afternoon, the beach here is wide and quiet by south-coast standards, and noticeably less developed than the strip further down. It suits a short swim and a cold drink more than a full beach day.

Where this fits in a longer trip

Kalutara is rarely the end of the line. Bentota is a further twenty kilometres south, and Beruwala sits between the two; many travellers book the three as one stretch and spend their nights at whichever feels right. If the plan is Galle or beyond, Kalutara works well as a stop to break the journey rather than a destination, and a driver can be told in advance to pause at the Bodhiya on the way through.

If you are arriving from the airport, note that this page is for journeys that start in Colombo itself; the airport run reaches Kalutara by the outer ring road and the same expressway and takes longer, and has its own page on this site.

Before you book this one

Say clearly whether the hotel is on the beach side or near the expressway exit. It changes the last ten minutes of the drive more than it changes the distance. Give a landmark as well as a hotel name; the lanes off the main road are narrow and a name alone does not always carry a driver the last stretch.

Luggage is not an issue on this route. Even a full set of cases for a family fits easily in a saloon or a van, and the booking form lets you pick the vehicle that suits the group. The fare for each vehicle class is in the table at the top of this page; that table is the only place this page quotes a price.

If you only want to see the town, the whole thing works as a half-day: leave Colombo mid-morning, spend an hour at the Bodhiya and the river, eat lunch nearby and be back in the city before the afternoon traffic builds. A driver can wait; say how long you want the driver to wait when you book.

On the way

It depends which road you take. On the Southern Expressway there is nothing to stop at between the city and the river: the road is raised, fenced and fast, and the only landmark that matters is the Kalu Ganga bridge with the white dome beyond it. On the old Galle Road you pass through Moratuwa and Panadura, then Wadduwa, the first proper beach town out of the city and the only place on this line that is in our own route data. Each is a place you drive through, not one you plan around, but any can be a stop if you ask the driver to pull in for a drink or a look at the sea.

Traffic: when the road is slow and when it is not

The expressway is the dependable part. The slow part is the city end, and it is slow in a pattern. Weekday mornings around the school run and the early part of the working day are heavy on the roads leading to the expressway entrance. The late afternoon and early evening are worse, and a Friday evening can be the worst of the week. Mid-morning, early afternoon and the late evening are the easy hours. Weekends are lighter in the morning and can fill up in the late afternoon as people return to the city. This is the general pattern on this road, not a measurement taken from live data, so treat it as a guide when you choose the leaving time.

Choosing the hour

If you can pick any time, mid-morning is the comfortable one: the school run is over, the offices are busy rather than leaving, and the expressway is clear. Leaving after about three on a weekday, going the way everybody else is going, is the choice that takes the longest, and a driver may suggest an earlier start for that reason. For a day trip, an early start also gives you the Bodhiya and the river in the cooler part of the day.

The view from the car

The expressway shows less than the old road, but it is not featureless. Palm and coconut groves, small paddy fields and patches of rubber and mixed garden run alongside it, with low houses behind them, and the road rises to cross the river with a wide view over the water. On the coast road, the sea comes in and out of sight between shops and houses, and the fishing villages, roadside fruit stalls and small shrines show you everyday life on the south-west coast. If you want to look rather than arrive, ask for the coast road; if you want to arrive, take the expressway and keep the looking for the river crossing.

Who takes this trip, and why

The people who book Colombo to Kalutara fall into a few groups, and the right plan differs for each. Business travellers use it as a day return, usually for a meeting or a site visit, and want the car to wait. Families staying in the capital use it as a half-day escape to a beach that is not crowded. Couples beginning a longer coastal trip use it as the first leg south, and tend to break the journey for the Bodhiya before checking in. The same 92 minutes serve all three, but only the second and third benefit from a relaxed leaving time.

Which car for this trip

Two people with ordinary luggage fit comfortably in a saloon. A family of four with the cases for a week is better in a van, because the boot of a saloon fills quickly and nobody wants a suitcase on a lap for an hour. If you are carrying anything long, such as golf clubs or a surfboard, say so when you book so that the right vehicle is sent. The fare table above shows each class side by side.

If the plan changes on the day

Journeys out of Colombo are the ones most affected by changes of plan, since the city end is where delays begin. If you are running late, call the number on your booking confirmation rather than trying to find the driver by eye; the driver would rather know early than wait with no news. If you decide to add a stop, the Bodhiya and the fruit stalls are easy to add, and a longer stop such as a lunch is simply a matter of agreeing the waiting time with the driver at the start.

A sensible way to spend a day

A day return works well on this route if you set it up properly. Leave the city at nine, arrive by ten, spend an hour at the Bodhiya and the river, and lunch in town. Take a swim or a walk on the beach in the early afternoon and start back by half past three so that you are on the expressway before the evening build-up. That gives you time on the ground without the drive taking over the day, and it is the plan a local driver would suggest first.

What to put in the bag

The sea here is for paddling and a short swim, and the beach is not a place with a lot of shade, so a hat and sun cream are worth having. Modest clothing that covers shoulders and knees is needed for the temple, and it is easier to carry than to buy. A bottle of water in the car is a good idea; the vehicles are air-conditioned, but the walk from the road to the dome is in the sun.

TaxiList is a marketplace: your booking is with the independent driver or fleet assigned to it, and they are the ones who make the trip.