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Touts at Kandy bus station redirecting tourists to expensive private vans

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O
Oliver B.•8040 rep•2

We walked into the Kandy bus station looking for the Dambulla bus. A guy wearing a lanyard told us the buses were cancelled today and led us to a private van. Scam.

27
kandysigiriyabudget-traveltransportationsafety

4 Answers from travellers

✓Accepted Answer

100% a scam. The main public buses between major hubs like Kandy and Dambulla NEVER randomly cancel entirely. These guys wear fake lanyards to look official. They lie about bus schedules so they can herd tourists into their overpriced, cramped private minivans. Ignore them, walk directly to the parked buses, and ask the actual conductor in the khaki uniform.

16
K
Kamal S.•5150 rep•1

We fell for this in Colombo. We paid 3000 LKR each for a van that waited 2 hours to fill up before leaving.

42
S
Sophia M.•3570 rep•2

Thought so. We walked away and found the red bus sitting right there.

35
O
Oliver B.•8040 rep•2

The public bus to Dambulla leaves from the Good Shed stand almost every 30 minutes. You do not need a van.

12
A
Amali T.•6170 rep•1

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