Ella to Arugam Bayby shared taxi
About 3h 2min by road (132 km)
AlsoGoing is where travellers already crossing Sri Lanka post a trip, or find one to join. Free, always.
2 trips open right now across Sri Lanka
The platform
How it works
Three taps from here to a seatHow AlsoGoing works
Find someone going your way
Search a route and see who has already booked a car, van or tuk-tuk with room to spare.
Agree in the chat
Message them, settle where and when to meet. Nobody commits before they have spoken.
Split what it costs
The same journey, divided between you. Nobody pays for empty seats.
The route
Why this route
Arugam Bay is one of Sri Lanka's best-known surf towns, on the east coast. Getting there from Ella means leaving the hills for the coast on a route with no train and comparatively little public transport, which is exactly why travellers look for someone to share the road with.
Your options
Getting there
There's no railway to Arugam Bay at all. The line doesn't reach that far east, so without a car it's a long combination of buses and tuk-tuks. By road it's a few hours.
By taxi it's about 3h 2min (132 km). A taxi is paid for the car, not the seat, so shared between four travellers each pays a quarter. How sharing a taxi works
There's no fixed fare on AlsoGoing. What you share, if anything, is agreed between you in chat before you travel.
On the day
Where to meet
In Ella
Ella has no bus station. The railway station and the two main bus stops are all on the main road through town (the A23), the stops at its junction with the Passara road, so any of them is an easy place to name.
In Arugam Bay
Buses stop at Pottuvil, about 3 km north of Arugam Bay, so decide whether you are meeting there or in Arugam Bay itself, a short tuk-tuk ride away.
Before you go
Common questions
Can I share a taxi from Ella to Arugam Bay?
Yes. Travellers post the trips they are taking, often in a taxi they have booked with seats left, and you ask for a seat. You agree the split between you and settle it in person. Nothing is paid through AlsoGoing.
Is there a bus from Ella to Arugam Bay?
There's no railway to Arugam Bay at all, so without a car it means a long combination of buses and tuk-tuks.
How long does it take to drive from Ella to Arugam Bay?
About 3h 2min by road (132 km).
Other routes
The other way
Arugam Bay → Ella
Heading back from Arugam Bay? The same road, the other way.
Colombo ⇄ Kandy
Colombo is where almost every visitor arrives, by air or by sea.
Kandy ⇄ Ella
From Kandy the road climbs into tea country.
Ella ⇄ Mirissa
Mirissa is one of the south coast's main beach towns, known for whale watching and its curve of sand.
Colombo Airport ⇄ Kandy
Almost every visitor lands at Colombo Airport (CMB), at Katunayake north of the city, and many skip Colombo and head straight inland.
Colombo Airport ⇄ Sigiriya
Sigiriya's rock fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is at the heart of what's called the Cultural Triangle, with Dambulla's cave temples and the ancient cities of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura within reach.
Going somewhere soon?
Post the trip and let people find you, or answer someone already on the road.