TransporT
(^) Car & Mo
Tor
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YCL
e
travellers never purchase an
IDP and have no problems.
Hiring a Car & Driver
A car and a driver guarantee
maximum flexibility in your
travels and while the driver
deals with the chaotic roads,
you can look out the window
and – try to – relax.
You can find taxi drivers
who will happily become your
chauffeur for a day or more
in all the main tourist cen-
tres. Guesthouses and hotels
can connect you with a
driver, which may be the best
method. Travel agencies also
offer various car and driver
schemes, although these can
cost considerably more.
COSTS
Various formulas exist for
setting costs, such as rates
per kilometre plus a lunch
and dinner allowance and
separate fuel payments. The
simplest way is to agree on a
flat fee with no extras. Expect
to pay Rs 7000 to 9000 per
day (US$60 is a good aver-
age), excluding fuel, or more
for a newer air-con vehicle.
Other considerations:
̈ (^) Most drivers will expect a
tip of about 10%.
̈ (^) Meet the driver first as you
may sense bad chemistry.
̈ (^) Consider hiring a driver for
only two or three days at first
to see if you fit.
̈ You are the boss. It’s great
to get recommendations
from a driver but don’t be
bullied. Drivers are known
to dissuade travellers from
visiting temples and other
sights where there are no
commissions.
̈ (^) Unless you speak
absolutely no English or
Sinhala, a guide in addition to
the driver is unnecessary.
Drivers make a fair part of
their income from commis-
sions. Most hotels and guest-
houses pay drivers a flat fee
or a percentage, although
others refuse to. This can
lead to disputes between you
and the driver over where
you’re staying the night, as
the driver will wish to steer
you literally to where the
money is. Some hotels have
appalling accommodation
for drivers; the smarter ho-
tels and guesthouses know
that keeping drivers happy
is good for their business,
and provide decent food and
lodgings.
Recommended drivers
include the following (there
are many more; the Lonely
Planet Thorn Tree forum is a
good source of driver recom-
mendations):
Milroy Fernando (%077 727
2780; milroy@ancientlanka.
com)
Dimuthu Priyadarshana
(%077 630 2070; dimuthu81@
hotmail.com)
Nilam Sahabdeen (%081-
238 4981; http://srilankatour.
wordpress.com/)
Self-Drive Hire
Colombo-based company
Shineway Rent A Car
(%258 3133; http://www.rentalcar
srilanka.com; Colombo) offers
self-drive car hire. You’ll find
other local firms as well
as very small operations
in tourist towns. You can
usually get a car for about
US$30 per day with 100km
of included kilometres. But
it is still uncommon to see
visitors driving themselves in
Sri Lanka.
Road Conditions
You may see a number of
accidents; driving requires
constant attention to the
road. Country roads are often
narrow and potholed, with
constant pedestrian, bicycle
and animal traffic to navi-
gate. Note, however, that Sri
Lanka’s massive road-build-
ing program is improving
roads across the nation.
Punctures are a part of life
here, so every village has a
repair expert.
It’s dangerously accept-
able for a bus, car or truck
to overtake in the face of
oncoming smaller road us-
ers. Three-wheelers, cyclists,
or smaller cars and vans
simply have to move over or
risk getting hit. To announce
they are overtaking, or want
to overtake, drivers sound a
shrill melody on their horns.
If you’re walking or cycling
along any kind of main road,
be very alert.
Road Rules
̈ (^) Speed limit 56km/h in
towns, 72km/h in rural
areas and 100km on the new
expressways.
SRI LANKA’S NEW HIGHWAYS
Various new expressways are opening over the next few years. Most will be toll roads,
with relatively cheap tolls. Besides new expressways in and around Colombo (see p for
more information), other new routes include:
Colombo–Kandy Expressway Approved in 2012, this road is expected to reduce travel
time to close to an hour. There is no set opening date.
Southern Expressway The first new expressway completed. It is 161km long and runs
from Colombo’s southern suburb of Kottawa, near Maharagama, to Matara via an exit
near Galle. Until linking roads are complete, it can take as long to get from Fort to the
expressway entrance as it does from there to Galle – or even longer. Plans call for the
road to eventually reach Hambantota.