Colombo to Kandy Saturday - is the road a 6 hour car park or is there still a train we can sneak on
Need to be in Kandy for 5th Kumbal tomorrow night. Google says 3 hours. Friend in Colombo says Perahera traffic plus the rain on the Kegalle side made yesterday 5.5. And I keep reading the train is dead after Ditwah. Is ANY Colombo-Kandy train running this weekend or is it 100 percent road.
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4 Answers from travellers
There is no useful Colombo-Kandy passenger train this week. People still quote old Intercity times. Ignore them. Road is the way. Leave Colombo by 10am Saturday if you want hotel check-in and a shower before 6:28pm start. After 2pm on a Perahera Saturday the last 20 km can crawl. Use Gopallawa / Old Peradeniya, not the lake.
We did it Thursday in 3 hours 40 in light rain. Friday after lunch a couple we met sat 2 hours between Kadugannawa and Peradeniya. It is lottery plus festival. Snack, toilet stop in Kegalle, do not schedule a 4pm Sigiriya on the same day.
If you are coming from the airport, do not pop into Colombo first. CMB-Kandy on a Perahera Saturday afternoon is how people miss the parade.
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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