Colombo Airport (CMB) → Bentota transfer

From Katunayake the driver heads south past Colombo, usually on the expressways that bypass the city centre. For the last part there are two options: leaving the Southern Expressway at an interchange inland and cutting across to the coast, or following the coastal Galle Road through the towns south of Colombo.

The driver chooses depending on the time of day and traffic. The expressways are toll roads, so check whether your offer includes the tolls. Near the end you cross the Bentota River, which marks the start of the resort area.

Bentota sits where the Bentota River meets the sea. Some resorts lie on the strip of sand between the river and the ocean, others along the beach further south towards Induruwa, and more again to the north around Aluthgama and Beruwala.

Because the hotels are spread out over several kilometres of coast, give the exact hotel name when booking.

Bentota suits families and couples, with calm water sports and mangrove boat trips on the river and the gardens of Lunuganga and Brief Garden inland.

For an international flight, plan to leave your hotel about 5.5 hours before departure. That covers the upper drive time of about 134 minutes, roughly three hours for check-in and security, and a small margin for traffic around Colombo.

Evening departures can meet heavier traffic on the approach to the capital, so do not cut this shorter. Many flights leave CMB late at night or early in the morning, which often means a pickup after dinner.