Skip to content

Wadduwa · Sri Lanka

OdysseyTravels Sri Lanka
A tuk-tuk parked on a quiet street in front of the white Galle Fort lighthouse

Galle & Colombo Weekender

Three days on the west and south coast for stopover passengers, long-layover travellers and anyone with a spare weekend at either end of a work trip.

Duration
3 days, 2 nights
From
$310 pp
Group
Private — your group only
Best months
Any time — the west coast is drivable year-round

Sri Lankan Airlines routes a lot of people through Colombo with sixteen to forty-eight hours on the ground. Most of them spend it in an airport hotel.

This is the version of the country you can see in that window without rushing. Colombo is genuinely interesting for an afternoon, Galle Fort is an hour and a half away on the expressway, and our own stretch of coast at Wadduwa is twenty minutes from the airport road.

If your layover is shorter than this, tell us how long it actually is and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth leaving the airport.

What you'll do

  • Pettah market and the Old Dutch Hospital on the same afternoon
  • Galle Fort in the evening, which is the only time to see it
  • Dawn at the Kalutara coast, twenty minutes from our own front door
  • Airport transfers timed around your actual flight, not a fixed schedule

Day by day

  1. 01

    Colombo

    Pettah market in the morning while it is still cool, Gangaramaya temple, then the Old Dutch Hospital courtyard in the afternoon. Galle Face Green at sunset for kottu and the kite sellers.

  2. 02

    South to Galle

    Down the coast road, past Kalutara and Bentota, stopping at the beaches that look worth it. Into Galle Fort by mid-afternoon, which gives you the ramparts at golden hour and dinner inside the walls.

  3. 03

    Coast and out

    Morning swim somewhere on the Wadduwa stretch, lunch, and back to the airport with time to spare. If your flight is late we will keep going until it isn't.

What's included

  • Private vehicle and driver-guide for three days
  • Two nights accommodation with breakfast
  • Airport pickup and drop-off timed to your flights

Not included

  • Site and museum entries
  • Meals other than breakfast
  • Tips

Other routes

Terraced tea plantation on a misty hillside in the Sri Lankan highlands12 days

Sri Lanka End to End

The full circuit in twelve days — ancient cities, the mountain railway, a proper safari and the south coast — without the 5am departures that usually come with it.

from$1480pp

See the route
Aerial view of Sigiriya rock fortress, its summit ruins surrounded by dense green forest5 days

The Cultural Triangle

Sigiriya at dawn, the ruined cities of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura, and the cave temples at Dambulla — the oldest part of the island, driven at a sane pace.

from$640pp

See the route
A blue Sri Lankan railway carriage passing close to hillside houses in the tea country4 days

Hill Country by Train

Kandy to Ella on the blue observation train, tea estates at 1,900 metres, and the walk out to Nine Arch Bridge — with the vehicle meeting you at every station.

from$520pp

See the route

Start here

Tell us when you're coming.
We'll draft the route.

Send us your dates and roughly what you want out of the trip. You'll get a day-by-day itinerary back, usually the same day — no deposit, no obligation.

Message us on WhatsAppCall 074 239 7079

Replies 7am–9pm Sri Lanka time

Chat with us