May 2021
April 2021 has heralded 2 Columbus weddings, for Johan and his beautiful bride Hiruni and Chemila and his beautiful bride Ronella. During the course of 2020, proud parents Ruwanthika, Lasith, Shashika and Angelica were blessed with 4 gorgeous bouncing babies.
Nadine’s first-hand account of her memorable visit to Jaffna. As far back as I remember, the north has always been off limits..
March 2021
Start with an exhilarating tour of the enchanted island of Sri Lanka and sample our 2000 year old Buddhist culture, our tea gardens and waterfalls, our leopard and sloth bear in the wild, and indulge in our superb cuisine and wellness Ayurveda and spas and experience our warm and hospitable people! Hop on an aircraft from Colombo to Male and in just 1 hour and 10 minutes you are in your Robinson Crusoe paradise!
February 2021
Sri Lanka opened its doors to the world on 21st Jan 2021 under a special travel protocol. The first 4 weeks saw 4500 tourists visit our paradise island.
Several prestigious airlines including Sri Lankan Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, Singapore Airlines, Oman Airways, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, as well as charter flight loads of tourists, now operate into our international airports, enhancing good
January 2021
After a period of ten months, Sri Lankan borders finally reopened for international tourism on the 21st January 2021! And we cannot wait to welcome you back to our shores with our traditional Sri Lankan warmth and smile! You will find below a link to the most recent and updated set of Health Guidelines as laid out by the Sri Lankan authorities earlier this week. These may be liable to change from time to time dependent on the country COVID19 situation.
December 2020
Hilton announced the opening of DoubleTree by Hilton Weerawila, a new three-story, 78-room modern resort in Weerawila, Sri Lanka. Located amongst lush bird sanctuaries and in the midst of three of Asia’s most visited wildlife parks, the resort is set apart by an exquisite ballroom, nature-inspired meeting spaces, stunning restaurants and bars, which makes DoubleTree by Hilton Weerawila Rajawarna Resort a natural choice for business and leisure travelers alike…
November 2020
The world’s largest travel platform has picked a leading Sri Lankan hotel to reward in its latest ‘world’s top 25 boutique luxury hotels’ awards. Uga Chena Huts has won in the latest international commendation as one of the ‘Best of the Best Hotels’ around the world by securing a commendable third place among world’s Top 25 Boutique Luxury Hotels, bringing travel fame to the island nation. Uga Chena Huts, that already has a track record..
August 2020
The world as we know it has changed, especially for us in the world of travel and leisure. Despite border closures and travel restrictions, the emergence of contactless technology offers everyone, regardless of their industry, a ray of hope for a positive and hopefully lasting change, in the way we go about our daily lives and business in the future. We at Columbus Tours are focusing our efforts on developing new experiences, that are private, off beat, interesting and sustainable for when travel into…
July 2020
With an emphasis on luxury, the W15 Hanthana bungalow oozes sophistication and grandeur with a magical backdrop for your next escape into the hills. Five exquisitely appointed rooms in the main house, each featuring its own large, enclosed private garden make a perfect setting for sunbathing or an intimate dinner while the Stables offer another set of rooms, all four tastefully furnished with locally sourced furniture in bespoke designs. The views from the top floors of The Stables are unparalleled…
June 2020
With Sri Lanka gearing up to reopen her doors once more and welcome travelers from all over the world from the 1st August 2020, we understand that many of you have questions about the local guidelines and safety measures in place to safeguard travelers. To give you an easy reference, we’ve compiled a list which you can access…
Local travel guidelines require tourists to stay in Sri Lanka for a minimum of five nights..
May 2020
As the world recovers from Covid-19 and countries begin to emerge from lock-downs, we’re all dreaming of travel, but concerned about how to stay safe and enjoy travel in a more responsible manner. Sri Lanka has a host of experiences that are away from crowded tourist trails, leave next to zero carbon footprint and are as magical and unforgettable as the island’s key iconic sites. All this will soon be accessible as our international gateway, the Colombo International Airport…
April 2020
This month, Sri Lanka is beginning to see its island wide curfew being eased, district by district for the first time in nearly two months. Never in our island’s history, have we seen our lives and our economy grind to such a halt, and it’s forcing organisations big and small, and people all over the world to re-evaluate how we will live and work in the future. How will we in the travel industry reinvent ourselves for a healthier, happier and more sustainable future in travel?
February 2020
The entire Columbus Tours team spent a productive Saturday morning cleaning up a section of one of Colombo’s most frequented beaches, with the help of the local coast guard and environmental police. This is just one of a series of beach cleanups we have scheduled for the year, where our team will actively assist local environmental bodies with coastal cleanups.
January 2020
We’re starting the year with a focus of doing more to protect our coasts, along with promoting more off beat beaches to explore in the coming months. Sri Lanka’s coastline is fringed with an amazing number of stunning beaches, but if you’re looking for something beyond the south, this guide is for…
August 2019
With effect from 1 August 2019, Sri Lanka grants free visa on arrival to citizens of 48 countries and is STILL ranked top country for travel in 2019 by Lonely Planet. “Unmissable experiences” include wildlife, such as the 300-strong elephant gathering at Minneriya national park (happening this September *see story below), thousand-year old Buddhist monuments, zip lining in Ella, cooking lessons with local culinary experts, cycling tours, hiking and train travel through…
July 2019
The south-east and north east coast of our island are alive with the buzz of surfers and beach lovers and can be combined with a host of other incredible year round wildlife and cultural destinations. It’s little wonder that Sri Lanka is considered the best destination outside of Africa for wildlife, with destinations like Minneriya National Park, the forests of Pollonnaruwa in the Cultural Triangle teeming with primates, and swimming elephants at Gal Oya Lake..
June 2019
Long before sustainability became a hot topic, Columbus Tours has, in our own grassroots level, kept the concept of “being green” close to our heart. It’s a concept that has filtered down to all of us in one way or another – and how we ensure it doesn’t become just another shallow Instagram trend is by getting each of our staff involved! Today, three of our very own senior Chauffeur guides Ananda Gamage Chanaka and Priyal have seen the successful planting of 710 trees amidst 154 families across Sri Lanka since 2012…
May 2019
This month, as we celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death of the Lord Buddha through Vesak in Sri Lanka, our thoughts are with those who have lost so much in the recent Easter Sunday attacks. Our clients and staff have all been safe, and we are overwhelmed by the concern and support expressed from our partners and friends around the world. Rest assured we’ll continue to monitor all traveler movements and the situation carefully, and have partnered with Tourism Alliance in creating and enabling an online…