South Coast & Yala, Eight Days Driving Yourself
Eight days and about 610 kilometres along the south coast and out to Yala, in a tuk tuk you drive yourself. The gentlest of the four routes, and the one to start with.
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The route
A tuk tuk does about 35 kilometres an hour on the flat and rather less uphill, which is the whole reason this works. Sri Lanka is small enough that a top speed of a brisk cycling pace stops being a limitation and starts being the point, and the south coast is where that is easiest to enjoy.
The route leaves Colombo airport and runs south, down the west coast and then east along the south, which is the flattest and best surfaced driving on the island. About 610 kilometres over eight days works out at well under a hundred a day, so there is time to stop at a beach because it looked good from the road rather than because an itinerary said to. Yala, at the far end, is the reason most people come this way.
Tuk Tuk Ceylon Tour rate this the easiest of their four routes, and it is the one to take first. There are no mountain passes, which matters: on the hill country climbs the operator warns the roads are steep, narrow and often wet, with buses coming the other way. None of that applies here.
The tuk tuk is collected at the airport and can be left wherever the route ends, and the operator comes and gets it. Accommodation is not part of it, which is deliberate. Renters decide each morning where they are going and book their own beds as they travel, and the freedom to change the plan over breakfast is what people take this trip for. The price is for the vehicle rather than the person, so two travelling together pay the same as four.
Photography and film: the operator
South Coast & Yala, Eight Days Driving Yourself
Bentota
90 km from Colombo Airport (CMB), about 2 h 45 at tuk tuk speed. The operator's own base, and a gentle first or last stop, a long flat beach on a calm river mouth. Things to do: Madu River boat safari through the mangroves; Sea turtle hatchery; Jet ski, banana boat and water sports on the river mouth; Sri Lankan cooking class; Beach days on a long, flat, swimmable stretch.
Galle
60 km from Bentota, about 1 h 45 at tuk tuk speed. A walled Dutch colonial port, best walked in the hour before sunset. Things to do: Walk the fort ramparts at sunset; Lighthouse and Flag Rock; Maritime Museum and the old Dutch streets; Stilt fishermen along the coast at Koggala; Unawatuna and Jungle Beach a short drive west.
Mirissa
45 km from Galle, about 1 h 30 at tuk tuk speed. A small crescent bay that most people end up staying at longer than planned. Things to do: Blue whale watching, roughly November to April; Surf lessons and board hire for beginners; Coconut Tree Hill and Parrot Rock at sunrise; Secret Beach, a short walk round the headland; Long slow beach days and seafood on the sand.
Yala
115 km from Mirissa, about 3 h 30 at tuk tuk speed. The best chance of a leopard anywhere in Sri Lanka. Go at dawn. Things to do: Dawn jeep safari, leopard, elephant, sloth bear, crocodile; Birdlife around the park lagoons; Sithulpawwa rock temple inside the park boundary; Kirinda beach and temple on the coast nearby.
Back to Colombo Airport
300 km from Yala, about 8 h 45 at tuk tuk speed. The operator collects the tuk tuk wherever the trip finishes.
What's included
- Tuk tuk hire for the full rental period
- Unlimited kilometres
- Insurance on the tuk tuk, with the extent of cover confirmed by the operator at booking
- Full mechanical check before handover
- Driving lesson at handover
- The Sri Lankan local driving permit, arranged before arrival
- Spare tyre and toolkit
- Cooler and Bluetooth speaker
- Phone and WhatsApp support throughout the trip
- Free collection at Colombo airport, Negombo or Bentota, and collection of the vehicle wherever the route ends
Not included
- Accommodation, which renters book themselves as they travel
- All meals
- Fuel
- Flights
- Travel insurance for the traveller, which is not the same as the insurance on the tuk tuk
- A refundable USD 100 security deposit per tuk tuk, held at booking
- Personal spending
Ready to drive it?
8 days, from £103pp