Booking a self-drive car in Sri Lanka from the UK

Flying home from the UK and want your own car waiting for you? You can sort it all out before you leave. It works the same from Canada, Australia, Italy or anywhere else. Here is how it goes, step by step.

Ask for a price

Send us your arrival and departure dates, your flight number if you have it, who is travelling and the currency you want to pay in. Pounds is fine. A person replies within 24 hours with a price in that currency. Nothing is charged until you say yes.

The shortest hire is five days, and the price per day drops on longer hires, which suits most trips home. See how our pricing works.

Confirm and pay

You pay a 15% deposit to confirm, and it holds your car for the whole of your hire. The full amount is due before you collect the car. If your plans change, you can cancel for free more than 48 hours before collection.

Your driving licence

The Department of Motor Traffic (the DMT) gives temporary Sri Lankan driving licences to visitors, and the airport has a DMT counter for it. The fees are on our driving licence page, with the DMT page as the source. The UK government's travel advice describes extra steps for hire cars, including an international driving permit, so read it before you fly, and ask us what to bring. If you already have an international permit, take it.

When you land

Every international flight comes into Bandaranaike International Airport, near Colombo. Our agent meets you there, checks your documents, and either hands you the keys or takes you to where you are staying and leaves the car with you. We track your flight, so if it is late, our agent still handles the handover, even in the early hours. Our airport guide walks through the first hour in more detail.

Drive yourself, or add a driver

We are self-drive, but if amma or thaththa would rather not be in a car with you at the wheel, or you just want a driver for a few days, we can add one. The price depends on how many days you want a driver for. Additional drivers are free: everyone who drives shows us their licence and we keep a copy.

Before you go

Check what to bring and save the emergency numbers in your phone. If you have not driven in Sri Lanka for a while, our driving guide is worth ten minutes. When you are ready, ask for a price.