How to get from Negombo to Colombo

There are 3 ways to travel the 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Negombo to Colombo. You can choose between the bus, taxi and train. The journey takes 20 minutes - 5 hours and the quickest way is by taxi. If you're on a budget, the cheapest option is by train with tickets starting at 200 LKR ($0.70).

From our last check, only unreserved 2nd and 3rd class trains are available for the Negombo to Colombo route. This means you cannot book them beforehand and can only buy tickets at the train station on the day of your trip.

Tickets cost 200 LKR ($0.70) for a 2nd class seat and 100 LKR ($0.30) for the 3rd class.

Don’t worry, you shouldn’t have a problem finding a good seat on these trains as long as you time your trip outside of peak hours when most locals are travelling to and from work.

The train departs from Negombo Railway Station and arrives at Colombo Fort. Travel time is about 1 hour 30 minutes and you can see all train schedules on the Sri Lanka Railway website.

The bus is a cheap option when travelling from Negombo to Colombo. We recommend taking air-conditioned buses as they are faster and much more comfortable than ordinary buses—a seat costs 3,780 LKR ($12.50).

Travel time is between 50 minutes - 5 hours, depending on traffic.

If you really want to travel like a local, a seat on an ordinary bus costs 56 LKR ($0.20)*. However, these buses make a lot of stops to pick up and drop off passengers, so the journey can take more than 2 hours.

Buses depart from Negombo Bus Depot and Negombo Hospital Bus Stop in the city centre. They arrive at Colombo Central Bus Stand and PPT Bus Stop, also in the city centre. There are departures every 20 minutes.

*UPDATE: The last time we checked (October 2024), we could not confirm the fare for ordinary buses from Negombo to Colombo.

Bus options from Negombo to Colombo

You can book a taxi from Colombo to Negombo starting from 4,500 LKR ($14.90) with Uber. Note that this rate can be cheaper or higher depending on availability.

If you want to find the cheapest possible rates, you can also check other taxi apps PickMe and TaxiGo, although their availability is not guaranteed outside Colombo.

In case you are unable to book with any of the above options, BookAway provides a good alternative, with private transfers available for 5,400 LKR ($18).

Taxi options from Negombo to Colombo