Travel Times

To further tweak my travel plans for our sri lanka holiday I鈥檇 like to get a few approx travel times between places. So can anyone tell me the rough times to get between the following places:

From Mt Lavinia to Pinnewala elephant orphanage (we鈥檇 like to get there by 9.00am for the morning feeding and bathing)

From Pinnewala elephant orphanage to Dambulla (cave temples)

From Kandy to Nuwara Eliya

From Nuwara Eliya to Negombo (think this is about 6 hrs, anywhere to stop off on the way to break the journey up?)

Thanks!

Travel Times

Hi,

Mt Lavinia to Pinnawela is about 90 km. As you will pass through Colombo city you should reckon with minimum 3 hours drive, maybe close to 3陆 hours.

Pinnawala to Dambulla is about 80 km, so it will be a 2陆-3 hours drive.

Kandy to Nuwara Eliya is 77 km. The renovated road is good but winding and uphill, so driving only will take about 2陆 hours, but you will most likely stop and watch the vistas and waterfalls and visit a tea factory.

Nuwara Eliya to Negombo depends on which route you choose. Via Kandy it%26#39;s about 170 km and via Hatton it%26#39;s slightly longer. Both will take 5-6 hours. You have travelled most of the Kandy route previously, so maybe going via Hatton is an idea. You can stop off at Kitulgala for white water rafting or visiting the site where the River Kwai movie was shot.

Hans

Travel Times

Thanks very much Hans.

Didn鈥檛 realise that Pinnawala was quite so far away, that鈥檚 gonna mess my plans up bit!

This might help you Beerowl...

srilanka.travel/lang/鈥istancefinder.php

You a Forest fan by any chance like me??

Sad times...

Edit:

srilanka.travel/lang/鈥istancefinder.php

That%26#39;s better!!!

Hi,

Just a thought but have you considered it the other way round? I have done Mount Lavinia to Nuwara Elia via white water rafting. Also at the other end Negombo is closer to the elephants, and also to the airport if you fly home afterwards.

Nigem

Thanks for link Faceman, quite a useful site. The only problem is it doesn鈥檛 give actual times just distances. When it says Horton plains to Colombo, 100 miles you think that should take about 1 陆 hours but no, 6/7 hours! Is there a rule of thumb for estimating time between places?

I鈥檓 not a forest fan I鈥檓 afraid, originally from Sheffield so I鈥檓 a Wednesday fan (hence the 鈥極wl鈥?in my name!)

Nigem, it may be a good idea to do it in reverse. At least that will get rid of the longest journey of the holiday right at the beginning.

Yes. Assume something between 30 and 40 km/h for long distances in Lanka including all Ax %26#39;highways%26#39;, and add a 1-hour surcharge at least for routes passing Colombo during daytime. Hans uses 30 km/h and we use 40 km/h, the difference might be our expectations of our drivers ;-)

All the best,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

Hi,

%26gt;%26gt; Is there a rule of thumb for estimating time between places? %26lt;%26lt;

It mostly depends on the route you take (road standard) and time of day you travel.

The rule of thumb I use is 20-25 miles/hour (30-40 km/hour) for travel during the day. During evening and night it could be 30-50% faster. If you are crossing Colombo city during rush hours you can easily add 1 hour to the travelling time.

Driving on hilly roads slow down quite a lot. Even on the newly renovated road from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya it takes 2陆-3 hours to cover the 77 km distance.

Hans

Thanks Erik and thanks again Hans. I鈥檝e got a fairly decent estimation now of how long all my journeys will be.

Cheers!