Hello,
My huband, 1 year old son and myself (who will be 5 months pregnant) are planning a trip to sri lanka in February. We have been quoted $360 USD (cash to be paid to driver at airport) for a private mini cab for our family for all our transfers: Airport to Colombo, colombo to Galle, Galle to tea trails, tea trails to Colombo, Colombo to Airport. Does anyone know if this is a good deal??
advice on private car costs in sri lanka?Hi there,
Estimates for distance without having the table at hand:
* Airport-Colombo-Galle 170 km
* Galle-Hatton (for CTT), using either Matara-Haputale-Eliya route or Panadura-Avissawella-Hatton route: 200 km
* Hatton-Airport: 140 km
Totals 510 km.
The going rate is around Rs 40/km --%26gt; Rs 20,400 for this and at 110/dollar that is 185 dollar. So my bet is that there is at least a nontrivial factor of OVERpricing in this quote. If someone with a distance table at hand (Hans?) comes to adjustments fine, but cannot easily expect this to bridge the 100% gap between the 185 dollar I calculate and the 360 they charge.
Note however that the price is for a normal sedan with 3 passengers and driver, a minivan could be slightly more expensive (--%26gt; fuel consumption) but again not 100%...
All the best,
%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]
advice on private car costs in sri lanka?wow that was so quick!!!
Thank you!
It is for an actual mini van. Company we booked through said it is a mini van, lots of pillows, mini fridge, refreshmants, ac, driver who speaks english (not that we mind, a little would help).. I was just worried about how hard it would be to find a cab considering we will need a car seat for my son and of course the fact we have no idea of going rate etc.
what do you think or any advice?
Renee
How long is your driver going to be with you? If he is with you throughout, you will also be paying for his time when he is not driving you from place to place. Assuming you are having more than one night at one or more place, I do not think the amount you are being quoted is unreasonable.
Sue
Absolutely correct, Sue! %26#39;Idle days%26#39; DO cost money too for the operator, in e.g. car hire, so this too has to be taken into account. I solely calculated the mileage. Also a minivan with fridge sounds relatively luxury to me and could have a Hummer-like fuel consumption, making a higher price than Rs 40/km quite relevant ;-)
All the best,
%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]
yes he is our driver for the whole 11 days, but only for the transfers between each destination.
Hmmm... maybe Sue is right and this is not the optimal price model. Usually an idle day costs as much as 60-100 km free rides - so maybe also better use him for the local outings? Just a suggestion...
All the best,
%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]
Hi
USD 360 for 11 days is extremely cheap.
If the driver (and van) is returning home between each transfer, about the double (185 x 2) of the price quoted by Erik is an acceptable rate.
Hans
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