You land at Bandaranaike at 2am after eleven hours in the air. Someone with your name on a board is standing past the exit doors, the air conditioning is already running, and the price was agreed weeks ago. That is the whole service. We have been doing it for ten years, to every corner of the island.
Most quotes come back inside 15 minutes, and inside 5 during Sri Lankan daytime hours. No deposit to hold a transfer.
The short version
Oura Travel runs private, fixed-price airport transfers from Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA / CMB) to anywhere in Sri Lanka, and back again. A one-way private car costs USD 18 to Negombo, USD 27 to Colombo, USD 55 to Kandy, USD 70 to Galle and USD 98 to Ella. Every fare includes fuel, expressway tolls, parking, air conditioning, a licensed English-speaking driver, a free name board at arrivals and 60 minutes of free waiting. We operate 24 hours a day and there is no night surcharge.
These are the real numbers, not a starting-from teaser that grows once you enquire. Prices are per vehicle for a private saloon car carrying up to three people with luggage. Larger groups, see the fleet below.
| Destination | Distance | Drive time | Car (1–3) | Van (4–7) | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NegomboWaikkal, Katunayake, Kochchikade | 12 km | 20 min | $18 | $26 | Book |
| Colombo CityFort, Colombo 1–7, Mount Lavinia | 35 km | 45 min | $27 | $38 | Book |
| Kalutara & WadduwaBeruwala, Moragalla | 70 km | 1 h 15 m | $42 | $56 | Book |
| BentotaAluthgama, Induruwa | 88 km | 1 h 30 m | $52 | $68 | Book |
| KandyPeradeniya, Digana, Kadugannawa | 104 km | 3 h | $55 | $72 | Book |
| HikkaduwaAmbalangoda, Dodanduwa | 124 km | 1 h 55 m | $62 | $80 | Book |
| Sigiriya & DambullaHabarana, Kandalama | 168 km | 3 h 45 m | $68 | $88 | Book |
| GalleUnawatuna, Dalawella, Thalpe | 145 km | 2 h 15 m | $70 | $90 | Book |
| Mirissa & WeligamaMidigama, Ahangama, Kabalana | 175 km | 2 h 40 m | $75 | $95 | Book |
| AnuradhapuraMihintale, Wilpattu | 165 km | 3 h 30 m | $78 | $98 | Book |
| Nuwara EliyaHatton, Dickoya, Ramboda | 180 km | 4 h 30 m | $82 | $105 | Book |
| Tangalle & DickwellaHiriketiya, Goyambokka | 200 km | 3 h 10 m | $85 | $108 | Book |
| EllaBandarawela, Haputale, Demodara | 225 km | 5 h 30 m | $98 | $122 | Book |
| Yala & TissamaharamaKataragama, Kirinda | 265 km | 4 h 15 m | $105 | $130 | Book |
| TrincomaleeNilaveli, Uppuveli | 255 km | 5 h | $108 | $135 | Book |
| Arugam BayPottuvil, Panama, Whiskey Point | 320 km | 6 h 30 m | $125 | $155 | Book |
| JaffnaKilinochchi, Point Pedro | 375 km | 7 h | $140 | $172 | Book |
No match for that spelling - message us on WhatsApp and we will quote it in minutes. We drive to every address in the country, not just the ones listed here.
Fares are per vehicle, one way, in US dollars. Pay in USD, EUR, GBP or rupees at the day's rate. Somewhere not on the list? That is normal - the island has more than fifty places worth staying and this table holds seventeen.
Quote my destinationLuggage is where most transfers go wrong. Four adults with four large cases do not fit in a saloon car, whatever the booking form says. Here is exactly what goes in what.
Toyota Axio, Premio or similar
The right answer for couples and solo travellers. Air conditioned, bottled water in the door, and it will get down the narrow lanes to a small guest house that a van cannot enter.
From $18 - Negombo run
Toyota Hiace KDH, Nissan Caravan
Families, friend groups, and anyone with boards. You can stand up inside it, the seats recline for a long drive to Ella, and surfboards up to 7 feet lie flat without touching anyone's head.
From $26 - Negombo run
Toyota Rush, Kia Sportage or similar
Worth the small premium if you are heading up to Nuwara Eliya or out to a Yala camp where the last two kilometres stop being tarmac. Higher seats, better view over the tea slopes.
From $24 - Negombo run
Rosa, Coaster, 14–20 seat
Weddings, yoga retreats, dive groups and extended families arriving on one flight. We usually send two drivers on the longer routes so nobody is at the wheel for seven hours straight.
Quoted per group
Some operators quote low and then add a name board fee, a toll fee and a night fee at the roadside. We would rather show you the whole bill now.
That is the complete list. If a cost is not written on this page, it is not coming - and if a driver ever asks for anything extra, message the office number and we will settle it that day.
BIA arrivals is one long corridor and then a wall of people holding signs. Here is how the next twenty minutes go.
Usually 20–40 minutes depending on how many wide-bodies landed together. Your driver already knows your flight landed - he is watching it.
You will walk past the electronics hall. Ignore the pressure, keep going through the green channel unless you have something to declare.
The public meeting area starts immediately outside. Your driver is holding a board with your name and the Oura Travel logo on it.
The day before you fly we send you the driver's name, photo, phone number and vehicle plate. Ring him. He will walk to you. There is free airport wifi and he answers in English.
The Dialog and Mobitel counters are just before the exit, and the bank ATMs give a better rate than the exchange desks. Your driver will wait - this is what the free hour is for.
No account to create, no card details held, no confirmation email that arrives three days later. A real person reads your message.
Message us your flight number, arrival date and the hotel name. That is genuinely all we need to quote you.
We reply with a single figure and the vehicle it covers. No booking fee, no card surcharge, no deposit to reserve it.
His name, photo, mobile number and the vehicle registration land in your chat the day before you fly.
He is holding your name at arrivals. Pay him at the end of the journey in whatever currency is easiest for you.
Plenty of sites selling Sri Lankan transfers are registered in London or Dubai and sub-contract the driving to whoever answers first. We are based in Weligama and the drivers are ours.
Our office is in Denipitiya, ten minutes from Weligama bay. We know which stretch of the Southern Expressway floods in November and which Ella guest houses a van genuinely cannot reach. That is not something a call centre abroad can tell you.
Not a marketplace of strangers. Our team has been with us for years, they speak good English, they drive the coast road every week and they know when to talk and when you want to sleep.
Find the same vehicle and the same inclusions cheaper with a licensed Sri Lankan operator and we will match it. Send us the quote before you book. It happens rarely, and we would rather keep the customer.
Half our airport runs turn into a day tour or a full round trip. If Pinnawala, a spice garden or the Dambulla caves is roughly on your way, we will price it as one journey rather than charging you twice.
We have been running transfers since 2015 and we have never left a booked passenger standing at BIA. If a vehicle breaks down, a second one is already on its way before you know anything is wrong.
Board bags to 7 feet, dive gear, golf clubs, cricket kit. Tell us the length and the count, and the right vehicle turns up. We are a surf-coast company, so this is a normal Tuesday for us.
BIA to your hotel, your hotel back to BIA, Mattala for the south, and every hotel-to-hotel leg in between. If there is a road, we drive it.
"Our flight got in at 1.40am, two hours late, with a four-year-old asleep on my shoulder. The car seat was already fitted. Nobody mentioned the delay or asked for another rupee. We were in Bentota before sunrise."
"Three of us with three board bags. I asked four companies and Oura was the only one who asked how long the boards were before quoting. Everything went inside the van, nothing on the roof, no drama at 6am."
"Booked a one-way to Ella and ended up keeping the same driver for nine days. Sunil stopped at a tea factory we would never have found and waited two hours at Ravana Falls without once looking at his watch."
Straight answers. If yours is not here, WhatsApp us - you will get a person, not an auto-reply.
USD 55 in a private car, USD 72 in a van. That is fixed and all-inclusive: fuel, expressway tolls, parking, air conditioning and your driver.
The drive is 104 km and takes about three hours - you run up the E03 expressway, then the Kandy road climbs through Kadugannawa. Expect it to be slower on a Poya day or a Perahera week, and we build that in rather than surprising you with it.
Galle is USD 70, Mirissa and Weligama are USD 75 in a private car. Both run down the Southern Expressway, so Galle is 2 hours 15 minutes and Mirissa about 2 hours 40.
Tolls are already inside the fare. Ignore the cheaper quotes that route you on the old coast road - it is beautiful in daylight and adds two hours you do not want after a long flight.
In the public meeting area immediately outside the arrivals exit doors, holding a printed board with your name and our logo. You will clear immigration, collect bags, walk through customs and pass the duty-free hall first.
We send you his name, photo, mobile number and vehicle plate 24 hours before you fly. If you cannot spot the board, ring him - there is free airport wifi and he speaks English.
Nothing changes and nothing extra is charged. We track your flight number, so a delayed landing simply moves the pick-up time. Your driver watches the same arrivals board we do.
You also get 60 minutes of free waiting from the moment the wheels touch down, which covers a normal immigration queue with room to spare. Beyond that it is USD 5 per extra half hour, and only when the delay is on your side rather than the airport's.
Booking ahead is both cheaper and calmer. A pre-booked fare is fixed in writing before you fly. Drivers touting in the arrivals car park quote on the spot, and the number tends to double once they have seen your luggage and your jet lag.
There is also the practical point: at 3am, with no local SIM and no rupees, the last thing you want is a negotiation. Pre-booking costs nothing to hold and can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before.
No, never. Most flights from Europe and the Gulf land between midnight and 6am. That is the normal arrival window in Sri Lanka, not an inconvenience we bill you for.
The fare quoted is the fare paid, whether you land at 2pm or 2am.
Yes, and we are probably better at it than most - we are based on the surf coast. Boards up to 7 feet lie flat inside our high-roof KDH vans. Longboards go on a padded roof rack with proper straps.
Tell us the board bag length, the club count or the number of cases when you book. We would rather send the right vehicle than watch you play luggage Tetris in a car park at dawn.
Cash to the driver at the end of the journey, in USD, EUR, GBP or Sri Lankan rupees - whichever you are carrying. Card or bank transfer in advance if you prefer a paper trail for expenses.
No deposit is needed to hold a single transfer, and there is nothing to pay if you cancel more than 24 hours ahead.
Available and free. We carry infant carriers, toddler seats and boosters.
Tell us your child's age when you book, not on the day - the correct seat is then already fitted and belted when you walk out of arrivals, which matters a great deal at 4am.
About 5 hours 30 minutes for 225 km, and longer in wet season once you start the climb past Beragala.
Almost everyone breaks it. Ravana Falls, a tea factory near Bandarawela, or lunch at Wellawaya are the usual stops and we build them in at no extra cost. Bigger detours like Dambulla or Pinnawala are quoted as a flat supplement before you book - never decided in the car.
Yes. Mattala Rajapaksa (HRI) for the south and east, Ratmalana for domestic flights, and the Colombo cruise terminal.
We also run the in-between legs that most airport specialists ignore - Ella to Mirissa, Kandy to Sigiriya, Yala to the airport for a 6am departure. Same fixed pricing, same drivers.
With a registered operator, yes. Our vehicles carry full passenger insurance, the drivers hold current licences and tourist-transport clearance, and you get the driver's identity in advance so you know exactly who you are meeting.
The genuine risk in Sri Lanka is not the roads - it is unlicensed drivers soliciting inside the terminal. Anyone who approaches you before you have walked outside is not your driver.
One message with your arrival date, flight and hotel is enough to get a fixed price back. No deposit, no account, no forms that time out. Then you can stop thinking about the airport and start thinking about where you are going.
Email contact@ouratravel.com
Office: No 31/6, Kadewatta, Denipitiya, Weligama
Answered 24 hours, every day of the year.
