Are the night trains in Sri Lanka safe for solo female backpackers.
I am traveling alone from Colombo to Trincomalee. Should I book the overnight mail train.
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2 Answers from travellers
Overnight mail trains are generally fundamentally very highly safe but can be incredibly intensely uncomfortable and deeply massively noisy. If you are traveling completely alone as a female it is incredibly highly recommended to proactively securely book a reserved first class sleeper berth where the cabin doors are safely securely locked.
Riding alone in the completely unreserved third class seating carriages very late at night is highly strongly discouraged for solo females as these sections rapidly become massively incredibly crowded intensely chaotic and completely completely lack any basic privacy for sleeping safely.
Scam Watch: colombo
Driver claims the meter is broken and quotes an inflated flat rate. Common on arrival at airport or railway stations when tourists are tired and disoriented.
Drivers wearing official-looking uniforms claim to be "government-approved" and charge 3-5x normal rates. They may have fake badges or ID cards.
Women with babies approach asking you to buy milk powder at a nearby shop (not cash). The shop is run by accomplices and charges 5-10x normal price.
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