A short one day visit to Colombo, the Sri Lankan Capital, can be done almost for free! Here's how...
Back in June 2018, I purchased a Sri Lankan Airlines air ticket to Dhaka with a long overnight layover from Kuala Lumpur (direct flight to Dhaka from KL was for the same price).
Sri Lanka offers Free Transit ETA for a stay up to 2 days. You can also obtain it at the airport but I recommend anyone planning something like this to get ETA beforehand through the official website, as the airlines Check-In staffs may be a bit reluctant on issuing boarding passes to Bangladeshi Passport Holders.
FREE Transit ETA: Just visit the Official Sri Lanka ETA Website and provide necessary information such as your passport details, details of your accommodation (any hotel address will do), details of your flight (Flight No. & time-date of arrival/departure). That’s it! You will receive your FREE Transit ETA in your email with minutes.
Air Tickets to Look Out For: Sri Lankan Airlines is known for its route-based pricing among all who deals with ticketing or simply travel frequently. For example, Bangalore to Colombo is a high demand route for Sri Lankan Airline. So, it is very likely a ticket for
Bangalore to Colombo will cost you more than Bangalore to Dhaka (via Colombo) by Sri Lankan Airlines. Here are some of the routes which I found best suited to enjoy a FREE Transit. Most times such tickets will cost similar or lower than a more direct route as well.
- New Delhi (DEL) - Dhaka (DAC) via Colombo (CMB) - Bangalore (BLR) - Dhaka (DAC) via Colombo (CMB) - Chennai (MAA) - Dhaka (DAC) via Colombo (CMB) - Kuala Lumpur (KUL) - Dhaka (DAC) via Colombo (CMB)
I am sure there will be few more such as Singapore and Vice Versa for all the above routes.
What can you do in 24 hours in Colombo?
You can choose between a few options. First, book a resort somewhere near the airport in Negombo area. Negombo features beautiful beaches as well. Most of these resorts provide airport pick & drop service for FREE! The prices are very reasonable too. Alternatively, you can choose to stay at a home-stay or hotel as well. These are dirt cheap but features good facilities.
Second, you can choose to travel to Colombo and explore the city. Although few hours is not good enough to explore a capital, if it is your first time in Sri Lanka, you might as well choose to do it and visit the most important sites.
Third, if you simply want to relax and not worry about exploring the city or going to the beach, stay at Katunayake! This is very close to the airport. You can find some really good resorts or hotels in this area for almost nothing! I mean just $10 for a really good resort. Most of these hotels & resorts too offer free airport transport.
The last option is what I chose to do, during this short! Here are a few photos of the resort I stayed in for less than $15! You can look & find the accommodation of your choice from Booking.com
Cheers & Happy Travels :)
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