Second Honeymoon in Maldives: Negombo, Colombo

• Introduction
• Low Cost Portion - 2 flights and an overnight at KUL LCCT
• First time in Colombo
• First time on Emirates First Class – Colombo to Dubai
• Layover in Dubai with Le Meridien Hotel Review
• Emirates Dubai First Class Lounge
• Dubai to Male in Emirates First Class
• Visiting paradise again – Eriyadu Resorts, Maldives
• Leaving paradise - Finifenmaa Lounge and Dubai to Male in Emirates First Class
• 2nd Dubai Layover - Review of Novotel Dubai Deira City
• Emirates First Class - Dubai to Colombo
• Negombo, Colombo
• Getting home on Malaysia Airlines (Colombo - Kuala Lumpur - Penang).
• Conclusion

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It was sad to leave the Emirates flight as it would be the last premium sector of this trip. We arrived in Colombo around 1.30pm giving us another 10 hours before our flight home to Malaysia later that night.  Having already visited Colombo in the earlierpart of the trip, we decided to visit Negombo this time round. Negombo is a coastal town 30 minutes from the airport.  Negombo is actually closer to the airport than Colombo is.

After getting done through immigration, luggage and customs formalities, we proceeded to rent a car with a driver from one of the tour desks after the exiting the arrival hall. We paid about $75 USD for the use of a car and driver for 6 hours which seem pretty reasonable to us. 

Buddhist Temple in Negombo

Church in Negombo

Overall, we were let down by Negombo. There was not much to see or do. We visited a temple and church. We wanted to visit the fish market but it was closed on a Sunday. The beach itself was not that interesting after coming from Maldives where the water was blue and clear.  To kill time, we decided to get another massage at Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilions but left disappointed having had a better time at Spa Ceylon in Colombo. The massage place was not even air-conditioned!

Negombo Beach

Fishermen village in Negombo

However, we did have a surprisingly pretty good dinner at the Jetwing Beach hotel restaurant. The food was of high quality and the best part was the price. For a somewhat fine dining experience, we paid about ~$30 USD for both of us. We can’t even get prices like that for fine dining in Penang.

Our recommendation for those with long layovers in Colombo is just to skip the beach and tourist attractions but instead, head to one of the nicer hotels like for drinks and food.