Getting here
Three routes north
By air, by road, or by rail — Jaffna is closer than most travellers expect. We arrange the transfers and meet every guest in person.
Arriving in the North
A quiet, hosted journey
Bandaranaike International (CMB) is the gateway to Sri Lanka. From there, the villa is around an hour by domestic flight to Jaffna or roughly six hours by road. Tell us when you land and we will plan the cleanest onward route.
Begin a reservationHow to arrive
Pick the rhythm that suits the trip
By air · ~75 min
Colombo to Jaffna
Daily domestic flights from Bandaranaike (CMB) and Ratmalana into Jaffna’s Palaly strip with Cinnamon Air and FitsAir. We meet the plane and the villa is twenty minutes from the runway.
By road · ~6 hrs
The A9 north
From Colombo, the A9 runs the length of the island and is the route every Jaffna family knows. Best done with a vetted driver — we arrange the car, the breaks, and a cultural-triangle stop if you’d like to break the journey into two days.
By rail · 6½–8 hrs
Yal Devi or Uttara Devi
The Yal Devi (day) and Uttara Devi (overnight) leave Colombo Fort and pull into Jaffna for breakfast. Window seats reveal lagoons, paddy and the long causeway across the Elephant Pass — the most quietly cinematic way to come north.
Flight duration to Sri Lanka
Direct routes into Colombo
Indicative non-stop durations into Bandaranaike International (CMB).
- Bangkok, Thailand3 hrs 45 min
- Singapore4 hrs 15 min
- Dubai, UAE4 hrs 35 min
- London, United Kingdom10 hrs 45 min
From CMB, allow ~75 minutes onward by domestic flight to Jaffna, or ~6 hours by road on the A9.
A personal arrival
Abi meets every guest
Every Abiholiday booking includes a hosted transfer with a driver Abi has known for years — at the airport gate, the Jaffna platform, or wherever your car drops you. We confirm the live drop-off the day before arrival.
Travelling with surfboards, instruments, or anything that shouldn’t share a tuk-tuk? Tell us in advance and we’ll arrange a separate vehicle so you arrive unencumbered.
Once you arrive
Local journeys, lightly arranged
Tuk-tuks for short hops, day-cars for the islands, lagoon boats at first light — local transport in Jaffna is best handled through the villa, where we know the drivers and the timings.
Visits further afield — Wilpattu, the cultural triangle, a return south to Galle — are quietly arranged on request, in the order that suits the week.
Contact us
Begin a quiet conversation
Tell us your arrival date and which route appeals — we’ll advise quietly, suggest the cleanest transfer, and meet you at the gate.
Begin a conversation