Travel Colombo: What To Do And See

Although Sri Lanka is an amazing country to visit, their capital city of Colombo is not one of the highlights. Don’t plan to travel Colombo, but since you’ll probably be entering and exiting from the Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport, you’ll have to spend a little time in the city, so you should know what to do and see. I had 1 day in the city, and chose to have a wander around, find a haircut shop, then board the local train down to Mt. Lavinia, Colombo’s best beach.

If you’re planning on spending your entire Sri Lanka trip on the beach, then don’t bother with Mt. Lavinia, but if you’re going to be headed to the Cultural Triangle in the heart of the island (as you should), then this is probably your best bet. I chose not to book accommodation in Mt. Lavinia because it wasn’t in the city center of Colombo, but I regretted this as I liked it way more, and it was cheaper; plus it’s not hard to get back and forth.

Beaches in Colombo are not amazing, but it’s cool to see the locals and how they enjoy it. This was not the type of beach with people sunbathing and swimming, it didn’t get crowded until the sun started going down, but the people seemed really happy and it was quite pleasant. I was traveling by myself at the time and sat at a beach front restaurant relaxing and enjoying Lion Beer and Old Arrack all day and into the night. There were a couple people who came by trying to sell me things, including a snake charmer which was cool, but for the most part people leave you alone.

If you’re traveling in Colombo, trying to figure out what to do and / or see, I recommend you try the beach at Mt. Lavinia. Continue down the page for pictures of Colombo and Mt. Lavinia.

Colombo Pictures

Mt. Lavinia Beach Map