Senior travel: Colombo
An easier pace for an older traveller: how many stops fit in a day, which places are step-free, and what the guide says about getting around, medicines and stairs.
Was this useful?
Pace for a day
About 3 stops a day. 5 h out − 45 min rest, divided by an average visit of 42 min (from this city’s guide) + 30 min to move.
Places, easiest access first
- Old Colombo Lighthouse (clock tower)Step-free: ok · about 15 minStreet-level viewpoint; a pavement stop, not a building to enter.
- Dutch Hospital Shopping PrecinctStep-free: ok · about 60 minMostly level courtyard on the ground floor; a few upper-floor units are reached by stairs.
- Seema MalakaStep-free: partial (check before you go) · about 25 minReached by a level pontoon walkway; no stairs, but the walkway can be narrow when a tour group passes.
- Wolvendaal ChurchStep-free: partial (check before you go) · about 30 minA few steps at the entrance; the grounds and interior floor are flat.
- Galle Face GreenThe guide has no step-free answer for this one · about 60 min
- Gangaramaya TempleThe guide has no step-free answer for this one · about 60 min
Getting around in Colombo
Colombo is hard going on wheels. Pavements are narrow, broken or absent outside malls and larger hotels, and step-free access is mainly found in newer buildings. Plan door-to-door car or tuk-tuk rides and pick a hotel with a lift.
- Pavements:
- Narrow, broken or blocked by parked vehicles and stalls across the centre; the Galle Face promenade is the smooth exception.
- Getting around:
- App cars are the step-free option; tuk-tuks are not wheelchair-accessible.
- Hotels:
- Larger chain hotels in Fort and along the seafront have lifts and accessible rooms; smaller guesthouses often do not — ask for photos of the entrance.
- Toilets:
- Accessible toilets in malls and large hotels; rare elsewhere.
- Crossings:
- Few signalled crossings; cross beside a local where possible.
Medicines and health on the ground
The Sri Lanka guide lists no medicine paperwork. Check the official customs page for your medicines.
- Heat:
- Year-round: shade and AC every 60–90 minutes, water regularly, no midday walks. Heat exhaustion is the most common visitor complaint.
- Dengue:
- Mosquito-borne; a real year-round risk in Colombo, worse after monsoon rains leave standing water. Repellent by day and at dusk; see a doctor promptly for a sudden high fever.
- Food and water:
- Bottled or filtered water only. Busy eating houses with fast turnover are generally safer than quiet ones.
- Flooding:
- Low-lying streets can flood for an hour or two in heavy monsoon rain (May–Sep, Oct–Nov); wait it out rather than wading through.
More: how much medicine to pack, medicine times across time zones.
Ask your insurer
Age limits and prices differ by policy and the guides do not hold them, so put these to the insurer before you buy.
- What is the oldest age the policy covers, at purchase and on the last day of the trip?
- Does the price or the cover change after a certain age?
- Are existing conditions covered, and what must be declared?
- Does the cover include medical evacuation and trip interruption?
Not medical advice. This page does not know anyone’s health. Ask a doctor before the trip, and carry a list of medicines and conditions.