Ceylon Now
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For travellers from the UK

Your Sri Lanka trip. One driver from the airport.

Land at Colombo after the overnight flight, meet the same English-speaking driver-guide, and keep them for a day or a fortnight. The price is agreed in writing before you fly — fuel, tolls, parking and the driver’s meals and room are in.

See typical UK itineraries ↓

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We reply through the UK evening (Sri Lanka is 4.5 hours ahead of GMT, 5.5 in British Summer Time).

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Let's plan your ride

Where would you like to go?

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  • Fixed price before you fly
  • Flight tracked, we wait
  • Free cancel up to 48 hours
  • Child seats on request
  • No UK call centre — a real person in Colombo

Sri Lanka is a driving country

The places worth seeing sit 3–5 hours apart. Buses are cheap and slow. Trains are beautiful when they run, and the Colombo–Kandy line is still not a through service. A private driver is how most UK independent travellers actually move — not a coach tour.

Illustration: a family getting into a van, a child seat fitted in the back row, the driver holding a suitcase

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  • Overnight flight, morning landing

    Most UK routes arrive at CMB between 5am and 2pm. Your driver tracks the flight, waits in arrivals, and takes you to Negombo or Colombo for the first night. You do not negotiate a taxi at 6am with two suitcases.

  • One person for the whole trip

    Same driver, same vehicle, same WhatsApp thread from day one to the airport drop. No re-booking a car every morning.

  • The price does not move

    Quote is for the vehicle, driver-guide, fuel, expressway tolls, parking, and the driver’s meals and room. Hotels and entrance tickets are extra unless a day tour says otherwise.

What it costs

Guide prices in pounds

Final quote depends on dates, vehicle and kilometres. These are the published starting points so you can budget before you message. We confirm the pound figure on WhatsApp at the day’s rate.

  • CMB arrivals

    Airport to Negombo or Colombo

    from £13 per car

    Economy car, fuel and tolls in. Larger vehicle on request. We wait if the flight is late — you are not charged for a delay.

  • 150 km included

    Private car or van for the day

    Car from £61 · Van from £73

    Extra distance priced before you set off. Child seat free if you ask when you book.

  • The usual UK trip

    Driver-guide for 7–14 days

    typically about £65 per day for a van, about £51 for a car, all-in

    That is vehicle, driver, fuel, tolls, parking, driver’s meals and room. Hotels and park tickets are separate. A deposit confirms your driver: 30% for multi-day trips, 50% for travel between 10 Dec and 5 Jan or 5 and 20 April. The balance is due 14 days before you travel.

Airline crew — 10% off with ID.

Illustration: passengers in the back seat of a car looking out at tea-country hills through the window

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How a fortnight from the UK usually runs

You do not need a 20-stop coach itinerary. These are the two shapes we quote most often for British school-holiday and winter-sun trips. We rebuild either around your dates.

Itinerary A — 10 days

Cultural Triangle + hills

  1. Day 1Evening or morning landing at CMB. Negombo or Colombo, sleep.
  2. Day 2Drive to Sigiriya. Climb late afternoon or save it for sunrise — or do it as a day tour.
  3. Day 3Polonnaruwa by bicycle or Dambulla caves. Night near Sigiriya or Dambulla.
  4. Day 4Spice garden stop, Kandy, Temple of the Tooth.
  5. Day 5Drive into the hills. Tea factory. Nuwara Eliya.
  6. Day 6Horton Plains at dawn, or drive to Ella.
  7. Day 7Ella: Little Adam’s Peak or Nine Arch. Optional train Nanu Oya → Ella (we carry the bags by road).
  8. Day 8South to the coast — Galle, Mirissa or Weligama.
  9. Day 9Beach day or Galle Fort. Night on the south-west coast.
  10. Day 10Drive back to CMB for the overnight UK flight.
Quote this shape on WhatsApp

Itinerary B — 14 days

The same, with room to breathe

Adds a wildlife morning (Minneriya in season, or Yala / Bundala in the south), a second beach night, and a spare day so nobody is in the car for seven hours after a temple. Better for families and anyone over 60.

Quote this shape on WhatsApp
Illustration: a couple watching the Nine Arch Bridge from the hillside near Ella

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Day trips if you only have one spare day

From Colombo or Negombo

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  • Sigiriya & Dambulla

    from £90 pp (6 guests) · £125 pp (2 guests)

    Tickets, breakfast and lunch in. Pickup 5:00am.

  • Kandy & the Temple of the Tooth

    Price on request

    The sacred tooth relic, Peradeniya’s botanical gardens and an evening cultural show.

  • Galle Fort & the south coast

    Price on request

    Dutch ramparts, stilt fishermen and a beach stop — an easy expressway run south.

Exact pound price confirmed when you book.

How booking works

Three steps

  1. 1

    Send dates, names and what you want to see. WhatsApp is fastest.

  2. 2

    We send a fixed quote — vehicle, days, inclusions, the pound figure.

  3. 3

    We confirm in writing. A deposit holds your driver, and the balance is due 14 days before you travel.

Free cancellation with a full refund more than 48 hours before pickup. A 50% refund between 24 and 48 hours before. No refund under 24 hours or for a no-show. If your flight is delayed or cancelled, you are not charged.

Straight answers

  • We do not add shopping stops you did not ask for.
  • We do not switch drivers mid-trip unless you ask or the vehicle needs it.
  • We do not put you in a vehicle that does not fit the luggage.
  • We do not pretend the Colombo–Kandy train is running as a through service.
  • We do not hold a UK office. The company and the cars are in Sri Lanka. That is why the driver is actually there when you land.

FAQ

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Send the dates. We will send a price.

A useful first message is: dates, number of adults and children, first night (Negombo or Colombo), and whether you want a driver for the whole trip or only airport + a couple of days.

Get a quote on WhatsAppEmail info@ceylonnow.com with subject “UK trip quote”

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