5 Days in Colombo: First-Timer Plan
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Colombo itself is a 1-2 day city, so five days is honestly one day in the city plus three day trips plus a slower closing day, not five full days of city sightseeing. This is the spine that covers the classic trio: Galle, Kandy, and the south coast at Bentota.
Day 1: Fort, Pettah, Galle Face Green
Morning
Colombo Fort, the restored Old Dutch Hospital, then Pettah: Sea Street’s gold traders and the 1908-09 Jami-Ul-Alfar (Red) Mosque.
Afternoon
Gangaramaya Temple and the Seema Malaka pavilions (~$1 entry). Lunch at Upali’s by Nawaloka, roughly $6-10/person.
Evening
Sunset street food at Galle Face Green, dinner at Paradise Road The Gallery Cafe, roughly $15-25/person.
One concrete tip: apply for your ETA at eta.gov.lk before you fly; it’s free for 40 nationalities and takes 24-48 hours.
Day 2: Galle day trip
Morning
Coastal train or Southern Expressway to Galle, 1.5-2 hours each way, walking the UNESCO Dutch Fort’s ramparts.
Afternoon
Old town boutiques and colonial streets inside the Fort walls; lunch runs roughly $8-15/person.
Evening
Return to Colombo for a low-key dinner.
One concrete tip: an early train out beats the day-tripper crowds building through late morning.
Day 3: Kandy day trip
Morning
Early train to Kandy, roughly 2.5-3 hours each way, to see the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (entry around LKR 1,500).
Afternoon
Kandy Lake and the town center before the return trip; keep it light given the length of the day.
Evening
Back in Colombo for a quiet dinner.
One concrete tip: this is the longest day of the trip. If you’d rather not do two big travel days back to back, swap the order of Day 2 and Day 3.
Day 4: Bentota day trip
Morning
About 1.5 hours south to Bentota for beach time on calmer water than Colombo’s own coast.
Afternoon
A river safari on the Bentota River if you want more than sand; lunch at a beachside spot, roughly $10-20/person.
Evening
Return to Colombo for dinner, or extend into an overnight at Bentota if you’d rather slow down (this plan assumes a return same day).
One concrete tip: pack a swimsuit under your clothes. Bentota doesn’t have great changing facilities at the day-trip beaches.
Day 5: Food, Mount Lavinia, and departure
Morning
A slower pass through Pettah Market for food rather than sightseeing, and a search for lamprais at Green Cabin (order ahead), a specifically Dutch-Burgher dish.
Afternoon
Head south to Mount Lavinia, about 10km out, for a final swim at the closest genuine beach.
Evening
Departure, or a last dinner in Kollupitiya if your flight is the next morning. Check the poya calendar if alcohol is part of your plans; it’s banned nationwide roughly 12-13 times a year.
One concrete tip: verify the current LKR/USD rate before your last cash withdrawal; the rupee moved from around 310/USD in January 2026 to roughly 335/USD by August, so old numbers are unreliable.
Getting around and where to stay
There’s no Grab in Sri Lanka; use PickMe or Uber and insist on the meter. Kollupitiya or Fort work well as a base for the whole trip.
Read more: for a shorter version, see the 4-day itinerary ; for a longer one that adds Negombo, see the 6-day itinerary .