Avoiding touts and scams at Pettah bus stand in Colombo
8 Answers from travellers
Do not talk to the touts yelling outside. Walk into the Bastian Mawatha Private Bus Station. Walk all the way to the back. The Highway Express (EX01) buses have English signs in the windows. Ask the driver sitting inside the bus, not the guys outside. Better yet, take an Uber to Makumbura Multimodal Center outside the city to avoid Pettah entirely.
Thanks, heading straight to Makumbura to save the headache.
Makumbura is the best advice ever. It is clean, air-conditioned, and has zero scammers.
Classic scam. The public buses never all break down at once. Just ignore them.
A guy told us the bus was broken and tried to put us in a van.
Keep your bags physically touching you in Pettah, pickpockets operate there heavily during rush hours.
Do we need to buy tickets in advance for the luxury buses
No, you just get on and pay the conductor once you have a seat.
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