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How To Get To Mirissa
You will most likely arrive at the airport really late at night or some real ungodly early hour in the morning. The modern main International Airport has just been rebuilt and is about 20 miles North of Colombo City and within a short taxi ride to the beach resort town of Negombo.
Upon leaving the Customs and Immigration area you will be greeted by the sound of screaming Bank clerks all hanging out of their small offices and wanting to change your money. The rates are all about the same for Cash and Traveller Checks. Make sure you get some small notes as some people will not be able to give you change for the big notes. Keep your currency exchange certificate as you will require it if you want to chance your money back when you leave.
The Arrivals area had a Tourist Information booth which is never staffed. If you are desperate for information about anything you are better off asking a local who is also arriving. As in the rest of Asia, asking the same question to multiple people will always get you a different answer. Avoid asking questions where the answer would be a " Yes or No ".
You will usually find the Tourist Information guy asleep on the floor behind the life size cardboard Sri Lankan Airlines flight attendant. Make a few noises and he might wake up. They have no maps and in fact they have nothing to give you at all , the booth just serves as a place to sleep I think. In fact , when you eventually depart Colombo you will find the same problem , staff asleep everywhere
A smart thing to do at this stage is remove the airline baggage tags from you airline luggage because you do not want to look like you just arrived when you get into the city. Well that's unless you like to pay 200% more for everything.
It is common for people to book accommodation in advance inNegombo and then on arrival take a Taxi there. In the middle of the night it is hard to find an honest Taxi driver who will be willing to take you there for less than an arm and a leg and whatever other body part he can get. Some of the hotels will pick you up by prior arrangement. There is an Airport hotel close by.
If you are budget conscious, jet lagged and just want to hit the beach with the minimum of hassle then the following is an easier way to get to Mirissa.
Due to the current security situation, bus timetables will change as there are fewer arriving passengers.
Running on a 24 hours basis or starting at around 5 am ( all depends on business I guess ) there are private buses from the Airport into the center of Colombo. The bus number is # 187 and the time of writing it cost 60 RS to go to Pettah Bus Station / Fort Railway Station. As you come out of the arrivals area make a left and at the end of the building should be something resembling a bus. Be careful NOT to leave the Airport Arrivals Terminal before this time because you will not be allowed back in and you will be eaten alive by ravenous Taxi drivers. Sit back on one of the extremely comfortable plastic chairs and apply lots of Mozzie repellant. The bugs in the Airport are just as hungry for Foreigners as the Taxi drivers waiting outside.
If you want to go directly to Mirissa from the Airport and not pass Colombo and not collect your 200 Rupees then try the following. Again I must stress that timetables change and routes are cancelled depending on the security situation in Colombo. No passengers means no bus.
There is a small town / junction about 2 KM up the road from the Airport. This is where the Airport Bus will drop you off when you are leaving and this is where the " Matara Airport Express Bus " leaves and arrives from. At the time of writing this bus left this place at 5.00 AM and on the return trip it leaves from the Matara Bus Station at 1.45 PM. Trip time is a little over 4 hours but it saves you the hassle of going thru Colombo and changing buses.
Price in August 2007 was 200RS to or from Matara to the Airport.
Contact telephone for the company is : 060-241-8430 and 077-307-8256 , not sure if anyone can speak English though so have a local call for you and find out if the bus is still running before you make the trip to the junction.
According to the Taxi drivers, Colombo does not exist or Godzilla has just run amok there . These guys are known for their tall tales and will do anything to persuade you to stay at their brothers Guest House up the road or even try and drive you directly to Mirissa taking a short cut via every village on the island .
Taxi drivers in Colombo are NO different than Taxi drivers at any International city in the world . BEWARE, there is no such thing as a good deal and understand that 99.999 % of what they tell you is untrue. However in saying this , find someone reliable looking who can tell you if the # 187 Bus from inside the Airport or the Matara Airport Express from 2km away are running or not .
This private / public bus # 187 will take you into Colombo and to Fort / Pattaya bus terminal in the center of the city where you then have 2 transportation choices to Mirissa. The journey from the Airport will take just under an hour depending on how many speed signs the bus driver ignores. They sometimes charge you for your baggage and they definitely will not have change for a large bank note.
Before getting off the bus ask the driver where the "Bus halt to Matara " is and where the " Fort Train Station " is.
Welcome to crazy Colombo. You will not hear the sweet sounds of the ocean just yet, just horns blaring, people shouting, the smell of diesel and signs with strange squiggly writing. With a little bit of patience you should be either on a bus or train shortly and then in a few hours you will be exposing your pale body to the sun.
You now have 2 options on how to get to Mirissa.
Firstly, the Fort Train Station is just up the road from the Bus Station. Departure times vary but there are some trains leaving early morning. The advantages to the train are that you have a lot more room than on a minibus and that you can at least move about. It is much slower, if fact dramatically slower than taking the bus it is far safer.
You will find that first class is always full so you will be stuck in second classes with the masses. You should be early enough arriving at the Station to at least get a seat and space for your luggage. It is cheaper to travel by train because you will only have to buy one ticket.
Buy the ticket to Matara and get off the train at Welligama which is the closest Station to Mirissa, from there it is a 15 minute ride by Tuk-Tuk to the Beach or take the train Matara which is the last stop and then travel back by bus for 30 minutes to Mirissa.
In Matara. the bus tends to be extremely crowded and the Station is about a 15 minute walk from the Train Station.
Second option is the Bus. If you are feeling lucky and you just want to get out of the clothes you have been in for 36 hours and hit the beach as soon as possible then this is the option for you.
At the top end of the Bus Station are the buses to Matara. You will have a few choices with what type of bus you can get, The BIG buses are slow and cheap and will stop every few hundred feet to let people on and off. The small mini-buses with the Japanese writing on them are air-conditioned and extremely fast. Both have limited space for luggage and the mini buses will charge you for a second seat if you want your luggage beside you. The larger buses are never full until 3 people are sharing the seat with the driver and the hot humid air inside the bus gets pretty rank as the day heats up.
If you end up taking the Intercity A/C Minibuses then sit in the aisle seat and put the bags beside the window, firstly because it gets hot there and secondly because it is safer. It is not unknown for these buses to crash. The drivers on this Southern road are maniacs but you will never forget the experience.
The price for the bus is posted in the window, if you are not sure ask before you board and again the ticket should show the correct price. Watch and see what the others are paying. Even though you will be getting off in Mirissa you will have to pay the fare to Matara. As of August 2007 the price was 220 RS to Mirissa from Colombo.
Do not get a bus to Galle as you will have to change there and that in itself is a nightmare.. The buses leave Colombo every 15 minutes or when full. If you are being offered a shitty seat, ie the back seat or the middle fold down seat, just wait for the next bus behind to pull up.
The trip is slightly under 4 hours, you might be able to grab some sleep as you are curled up in the fetal position listening to the horns blowing and the Ticket guy hanging out the door screaming " Marraaaaa Marraaaa " or something like that.
Tell the driver and Ticket guy you want to get off in Mirissa otherwise you will find yourself in Matara. Ask to get of by Ocean Moon Guest House / Udupila Junction as the majority of the places to stay are in this part of the beach.
Mirissa appears quickly after the town of Welligama ( also the closest Train Station ). Its 10 minutes away if the Driver is doing 85 mph. You do not see the beach until you are passing it. So keep your eyes open and if either the Driver or the Ticket guy are asleep, prod them with a stick and make sure they know where you want to get off.
The trip in general down the coast by both Train and Bus gives you a chance to preview the beautiful beaches and tempting blue / green ocean which, in an a few hours or so you should be swimming in.
Lets talk about bottoms / butts / asses now.
Sri Lankans are small people and are not in possession of large Western sized asses, neither are they as tall as the average European. The majority of the buses here are bought second hand from Korea and Japan and those countries as well are not noted for big assed tall people.
Point I am trying to make is, if you are 400Lbs / 200 kg, very tall or have kids, then take the train as it is a lot more comfortable. There is no word in the Singalese language for legroom.
Departing Information
The new gleaming airport has just been finished but they have managed to keep the same old antique X-Ray machines at the security checkpoint when you first enter the Airport building . Note that they are big enough to drive a golf cart through and the have the words Film Safe painted on them with whiteout . Keep your film well away from them and if you are planning to have a family in the future , cover your genitals as you pass them .
We recently traveled from Matara to the Junction 2 KM up the road and walked to the Airport . The walk is ok, takes about 10 minutes but it is a little un-nerving to see all the guys behind the sandbags with large machine guns . They are friendly enough but you are best to move through this area as quick as possible. As we walked to the main building someone whistled at us , it was dark but eventually we could make out some young soldier sitting in his foxhole with a RPG ( Rocket Propelled Grenade ) pointed directly at us . Needless to say we moved along a lot quicker after that..
The new departure lounge now has its own CARGILLS where you can stock up on last minute goodies like Sri Lankan Tea , Sri Lankan Jam , Sri Lankan Chocolate , Biscuits and the usual other things you will find in one of there shops .
Amazing to report that the prices are EXACTLY the same as they are outside the Airport. Some one really screwed up here and they will eventually cop on and double the price like any other Airport.
Lots of New Coffee Shops , expensive snack restaurants and tacky souvineer shops selling the same crap you had no interest in buying when you were anywhere else in Sri Lanka . Difference is that the prices are double so buy before you fly.
The seats are new but the bad news is that they are in sets of 3 with fixed armrests so its impossible to lie down along them . The floor is a better and more comfortable option if you need to sleep . It is spotless and clean because there are ladies with large mop dusters just pushing them around all night. These ladies work like Drones and walk back and forward and back and forward and back and forward . If you cant find any sheep to count , then just watch them for 10 minutes.
After Check-In and Immigration you enter the main part of the New Airport . Nothing exciting about this place but there are a few interesting shops that are quite good value. The clothes shop ODEL has an outlet in here and the large selection of T-Shirts are all about $ 6.00 and make great last minute gifts. There are of course the usual selection of shops selling TEA and shops selling electrical appliances. If you still have your wake up the bus driver stick with you and want to buy a lottery ticket to win a BMW , then give the lady in the booth a poke with it and wake her up.
The DUTY FREE carries the same stuff you would find in any Airport in the world . 200 Marlborogh were just over $ 12.00 . They also have a large selection of Cadburys Chocolate from Australia . In Sri Lanka, stay away from any Cadburys with a bar code starting with the numbers 95 as its Indian made and tastes like ass.
We managed to haggle some sort of a discount off out goodie purchase because we had a large rat run over our feet . Again the stick comes in handy as a rat beating device.