Cinnamon Air seaplane worth it vs a chauffeur for a 12 day luxury trip
Planning a 12 day luxury Sri Lanka trip We could fly Cinnamon Air seaplane between Colombo Sigiriya and the south coast to save half days of driving Around 200 USD per person per leg Is it reliable Are cancellations common Is the view actually worth the money over a chauffeur
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3 Answers from travellers
Honest breakdown for a luxury planner. Cinnamon Air (and Helitours for helicopter options) operates domestic scheduled and charter seaplane routes between Colombo (from a downtown lake or from the international airport), Sigiriya (Kandalama Reservoir), Dickwella/Koggala on the south coast, Trincomalee, and Batticaloa. Standard fare around 180-250 USD per person one-way for a scheduled leg, more for private charter. RELIABILITY: reasonable but weather-dependent - flights are cancelled or delayed for thunderstorms, strong crosswind on the water landing, or low visibility. May-Sept monsoon on the south coast raises cancellation rates; Nov-Apr much more reliable. Always have a Plan B (chauffeur booked flexibly) for the day. VALUE: saves 4-6 hours of driving each leg, the views over the tea country and coastline are genuinely spectacular from ~2000 ft, and for time-poor luxury travelers absolutely worth it on 1-2 legs. For a 12-day trip, using seaplane for the Colombo-Sigiriya and Koggala-Colombo legs is a common sweet spot - the cross-country legs.
Doing two legs by seaplane with the bags following by car. Chauffeur on standby for cancellations. Perfect solution.
Baggage limit is real - typically 15kg per person including hand luggage on the small Cessna Caravans. If you have big suitcases, arrange for the chauffeur to shuttle the bags by road while you fly with just an overnight bag. Most agencies routinely arrange this "bags follow" service.
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