Roadtripping Sri Lanka: The 10 Best Adventures + Gems Easily Accessible by Car

As you may know from our other travels, we love road-tripping! Since we often travel for only 2-3 weeks, renting a car gives us the freedom to see everything we want without being tied to public transport (which often only runs midday, causing us to lose the best part of a vacation day!).

We rented our car from Ameri Rent-A-Car, a local shop based in Columbo, and were very happy with our choice. The owner Sajad was kind, responding quickly to emails/calls and giving us great advice the day we it picked up. Their cars all come with comprehensive insurance and are in great condition, which is not a given. They also offer airport drop-off/pick-up for a small fee. We highly recommend this as driving through the Columbo city streets is quite stressful and you could instead save time and effort by heading to your first destination on the main road.

On that note: we were involved in a minor accident the same day we picked up the car (!!!) in Columbo, and the insurance company showed up within 30 minutes to collect the information before letting us continue on our trip without any major hassles.

Road-tripping Sri Lanka was the most adventurous trip we’ve taken to date. Below we shared the best elements and less-touristed stops we made along the way.

1. Roadside Coconut Stops

Sri Lanka is home to the King Coconut, a coconut species indigenous only to this little island paradise. King coconuts are deliciously sweet and filled to the brim! Alongside all the of main roads are street vendors selling them. We stopped several times a day in smaller towns and villages to get the best deals (in the tourist towns they charge much more!). Tip: Bring reusable straws and keep them in the glove box as locals don’t use them!

2. Local restaurants

Sri Lankan curries are some of the best food we’ve ever had. Really. The food is very vegan friendly as almost all curries are fruits/’veggies’ with a coconut milk base. The food is good everywhere, but having a car let us get off the tourist strips to try smaller, less pricy and Westernized joints. These local joints, which are often run out of homes, don’t have menus- expect an assortment of curries which change daily.

honorable mentions:

Mangala Lodge, Kurunegala

Athula Restaurant, Dambulla

AIO Homestay, Dambulla

Vasuki Guest House, Pasikuda

Sri Kishna, Batticaloa (Vegetarian Indian Buffet, all vegan the day we went)

Dhana's Curry Pot, Mirissa

Sailor’s Bay Restaurant, near Hikkaduwa

Tip- if you like spicy, tell them! Otherwise curry will be mild as locals think this is what tourists like.

3. Food Town Snack (and Ayurvedic balm) stops

Ok ok, this isn’t a reason to go to Sri Lanka, but we ended up having a very soft spot for the local Food Town grocery stores. We loaded up on our favorite snack Tasty Murukuu (fried chips made from lentils and chickpeas, spiced with curry leaves) for long rides and discovered the local Ayurvedic Balm, which is a menthol-y pain relieving product which does double-duty as insect repellant due to the high Citronella content. Plus, they take credit card, which is a luxury in SL. (don’t try using your American Express though, they say they accept it but it rarely works).

4. Athugala Rock Temple, Kurunegala

Ending up here was a happy accident. After our drive from Negombo to Dambulla was derailed by the accident in Columbo, we decided to stop our drive early and stayed in Kurunegala for the night. The next morning before we headed out, we checked out the famous ‘Elephant Rock’ (called this because its shape resembles an elephant) which overlooks the city. The top of the rock has a giant white Marble Samadhi Buddha (the largest marble one in existence) and the temple. A beautiful lake below it that has a small scenic walk along its shore where the rock and Buddha can also seen clearly from a distance.

You could take the relatively simple walk up the stairs or drive to the top of the rock. Although we checked it out at sunrise, based on location, this would be a gorgeous place to stop for a sunset to take in the Temple, Buddha and panoramic views of the city after spending the day in Negombo (or coming from the airport).

5. Jathika Namal Uyana (Pink Quartz Mountain), Dambulla

This is the largest pink quartz mountain in Asia. Just taking the opportunity to bathe in the energetic vibes of the place is worth it. While it is a tourist destination and you do have to pay a tourist entry (500 rupees pp), there were literally NO tourists there (not one!) aside from us the afternoon we went. It’s a bit out of the way, so perhaps that is why. It is a simple hike first through the forest, then a small mountainous climb. The top has a giant Buddha and gorgeous views of the surrounding nature. Plus, you can pick out a piece of quartz to bring home with you and cherish forever. The locals also pointed elephants out to us around sunset as the park closed.

6. Kalkudah Beach, Pasikudah

Pasikudah is a sleepy resort town which is home to one of the most beautiful, still beaches in Sri Lanka located on the Eastern Coast. One beach over is Kalkudah beach, the local fisherman haunt that is almost empty except for the many cows that hang out there at sunrise and sunset. There are only two hotels that we know of on this beach, and we had the whole white sanded, swimmable beauty to ourselves.

7. Surfing Pottuvil Point near Arugam Bay

While Arugam Bay is home to Main Point, where advanced sufers line up by the dozen, and Baby Point, where the wannabe beginners get lessons, the surf points can be rather crowded and intimidating. There are many surf spots that are much quieter just a short drive away. The two most popular include Pottuvil Point, which was great for begginer/ intermediate surfers and Elephant Point (which we didn’t personally check out). It was also a gorgeous spot to hang out for sunset.

8. Exploring Diyaluma Falls near Ella

Diyaluma Falls is the second largest waterfall in Sri Lanka and is a majestic, untouched beauty. It is almost an hour drive away from the tourist town of Ella, so it doesn’t get visited as much as other destinations. The drive by itself makes the trip worth it, as it is filled with breathtaking views of the lush mountainous region.

It is an easy hike to the top with various places to stop and take in the view and the waterfall along the way. If you’re uneasy about hiking through unmarked paths, you can hire a local to lead the way at the base.

Keep in mind that in rainy season, it will rain after 2pm. Go in the morning and leave before then the avoid slippy dirt paths and even more slippery rocks.

9. The Pink Sand Beaches of Hambantota

On our drive from Ella to Hikkaduwa we decided to stop at a beach for sunset. Hambantota beach happened to be the one nearby. Wow, it did not disappoint. The beach is a golden hue weaved with ripples of purple-pink sand close to the waterline. The specular sunset turned the water a perfect turquoise and the sand a hot pink. Complete heaven and the best sunset of our trip.

10. Beach Hopping Along the Southern coast

Mirissa, Unawatuna, Galle Hikkaduwa, and even Bentota are all along the same coast within two hours of each other. Having a car allowed us to explore all of the beaches (and stop at some random gorgeous beaches we drove by!) within a few days and hang out in whatever town we pleased at night. We chose to stay in Hikkaduwa as it had the most happening in early October.