Why Hire a Driver in Sri Lanka

When I first decided to visit Sri Lanka, I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to hire a driver. On one hand, it seemed like it might be more expensive than just getting transportation to/from each destination - however, the convenience didn’t seem all bad!

I actually consulted a few folks on Instagram who I saw recently visited Sri Lanka and ended up getting two driver recos. After reaching out to about 5 different companies for quotes, I decided to go with one of the company recos from a girl on Instagram. It wasn’t the cheapest quote I got, but I felt very comfortable with Chami (of Your Driver Sri Lanka), who I had been dealing with.

He arranged for my driver, Nilantha, to pick me up from the airport and he was with me every step of the way from there! Since I was solo, he even did all the hikes with me! So sweet :)

Nilantha was charming and smart - he seemed to know someone everywhere we went. Or if he didn’t know someone, he quickly made a friend. It was entertaining to watch.

Being the inquisitive person I am, having a driver guide gave me someone to ask all my questions to! He didn’t always know the answer, but he shared what he knew and it definitely helped pass the time on the long car rides.

Throughout our journey around the country, he made suggestions on places to stop. But it was always my choice and he never made me stop anywhere I didn’t want to stop. I know in some southeast Asian countries, drivers can take you to their friends shops to try to make a sale which is super annoying - but there was none of that on my trip.

He also always pet me know ahead of arriving at different tourist sites, if a guide was worth hiring. Every time we arrived at a site, there were guides who wanted you to hire them....but often times they were not actually qualified and trained for this. He always made sure I knew which ones were worth the cost and which were not. Which I (and my wallet) appreciate!

I didn’t find Sri Lanka that cheap because the tourist prices are thru the roof. For example, Sigiriya entrance was $30 for foreigners and 50 rupees for locals (less than 30 cents in USD). Hiking Horton Plains was $35 for one person. 1 zipline ride in Ella cost $20. But Nilantha was great at showing me the more affordable restaurants and getting better deals from vendors.

When I told him I wanted to experience the Sri Lankan train, he took me to the station to help me get a ticket, put me on the train, and then drove to the Ella station to wait for me haha! Kinda felt like I was a school child being dropped off for the bus and then dad was there to pick me up on the other end haha.

A driver for 10 days cost me $475 + $130 USD for the safaris. I did some research and traveling between cities looked to be around $40-50 USD per segment. There is an app you can use if you do decide to hire individual drivers.

If you’re planning to travel slowly, spending many nights in one place, then you may want to just hire different drivers to take you from each city to the next (your hotel/hostel can help arrange this). However, if you’re planning to move at a quick pace, covering much of the country on a tight timeline (like I did), then I absolutely think a driver is the way to go.

Well I hope this was helpful in deciding whether or not you should hire a driver! Reach out with any questions!

Xoxo