Landing late afternoon and trying to reach Ella. Is it worth doing the famous train, or should I just hire a private car straight from the airport? Worried about the timing with the train schedule.
2 answers
Don't try to catch the hill-country train the same day you land — it leaves Colombo Fort in the morning and you'll have missed it. Take a private car or the expressway bus to Kandy or Ella for night one, then do the Kandy/Ella train the next morning when you're rested. The train is the experience; the airport transfer is just logistics.
We run transfers on this exact route — airport to Ella is about 6 to 7 hours by car. Plenty of guests break it overnight in Kandy and pick up the scenic train from there. Happy to help either way.