• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Want to see the best of Colombo? We got you covered. But as you can expect from a Withlocals experience, the real excitement is its hidden gems. Join your favorite local and get a feeling of the city's real vibe on a tour that has it all, so you can say: I experienced the real Colombo!

Destination

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

3 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

العربية, English, Sinhala, Français, Deutsch, Español, Italiano, Português, 日本語, Hindi, Tamil, Korean, Русский

Included

• Private Guide
• Local Snack or Drink
• Tuk Tuk ride
• Entrance to Gangaramaya Temple
• All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 6 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at Independence Monument, near the information plaquette - Colombo to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. City Highlights

   See from Gangaramaya Temple, Light House Tower, Red Mosque, and other landmarks and must-sees of the city. Your local host will take you to the main spots in town so you can get the perfect overview of what makes Colombo so unique

4. Hidden Gems

   Along the way, your local host will show you treasures hidden in plain sight that only the locals know about. Get to know the city through a different perspective, the local way, and discover places and stories that not many tourists experience

5. Magical Storytelling

   Behind every landmark and every stop, there’s a story, and your local host is ready to tell it all. Get ready to listen to incredible stories, one-of-a-kind insights, and fun facts only a knowledgeable local would know!

6. Special Treat

   Follow your host to one of their favorite eateries for a snack or a drink beloved by the locals. Take a break and catch up with your new local friend and get the answers to all your travel questions

7. Make it yours

   Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

   Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

   Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

Benedict🇿🇦 South Africa

(About local Dulshan)

7 August 2025

Dulshan met us at our hotel and thereafter treated us to an educational, great variety and hidden gems tour. We were transported in his very comfortable vehicle with air conditioning. My husband is a historian and he found Dulshan to be a fountain of knowledge. We were taken to places that tourists would never know about and got to experience the daily life of a Sri Lankan person living and working in Colombo. Dulshan ensured that we tasted many interesting fruits and foods of Sri Lanka. He also took us to the artist street where he helped us negotiate a good price for a painting. At the end of our tour he took us to a second hand bookstore where we had fun selecting books. Dulchan is a great guide and I highly recommend him for a days tour in Colombo.Most enjoyable day in Colombo

Oliver🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Dulshan)

26 July 2025

Tolle Erfahrung mit Dulshan, er gibt sich viel Mühe und hat uns wirklich schöne Ecken der Stadt gezeigt. Im Verhältnis recht teuer aber ein toller Ausflug.Toller City Trip, top guide

Dr. Andreas🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Deegoda)

18 February 2025

We had a great individualized tour, as fast as we like with stops where we liked. We saw all we wanted to see. Deegoda was very active and knowledgeable and also willing to adjust spontaneously- thanks a lotGreat individualized tour

Tim🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Deegoda)

2 January 2025

1

We had a fantastic time with Deegoda in Colombo. He picked us up from our hotel in his tuk-tuk and was super friendly and enthusiastic about showing us around Colombo. He tailored the tour to the areas we had asked about. He knew so many people as we went around, so it was great to feel immersed in the hustle and bustle of a big city and see the real side of Colombo. We would 100% recommend booking time with Deegoda.Great Day with Deegoda

Nicole 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Muditha)

7 December 2024

Muditha is a fantastic guide! Very knowledgable and passionate about Colombo. We did the ‘hidden gems’ walking tour with him and he showed us all the main areas of Colombo while sharing insightful information about the culture and the history of the city. A highly recommended tour guide!Excellent guide in Colombo!

Tracey🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Muditha)

1 March 2024

Muditha was such a great Guy, with great English and knew so much about the History of Colombo. It was the perfect introduction to the Country on our first day. He went over and above to meet our needs. Wealth of Knowledge

Diva🇵🇹 Portugal

(About local Muditha)

22 August 2022

If you don't have much time to visit, friendly Muditha will show you around and you can get to know the essential of Colombo. Totally recommend.Best way to get to know Colombo

Elizabeth 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Muditha)

22 March 2022

We went out with Muditha on our first day in Sri Lanka and it was the best way to be introduced to the city and country. Muditha took us to several local spots, explaining interesting cultural and historical points along the way in a way that was really interesting and engaging. He offered great advice for our stay, and we even got to try a king coconut together! We loved it and really recommend it as a way to see the city. The perfect introduction to Colombo!

Nathan🇧🇭 Bahrain

(About local Muditha)

10 December 2021

Muditha is a fantastic guide. He is so knowledgeable and personable. We really enjoyed our personal tour, I highly recommend the experience!Must do in Colombo!

Gesa

(About local Muditha)

13 March 2020

Elly🇸🇬 Singapore

(About local Muditha)

13 March 2020

We enjoyed our time with Muditha. He was nice, friendly, helpful, informative, and apparently he is well known to be super gentleman :) We had a great time and he speaks really good English, hence communication was fantastic. It was an eye opener for me and my family walking around in Colombo with Muditha and we will definitely be back soon! Thanks Muditha!We had a great time with Muditha!

Jouke🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Priyantha)

20 February 2020

Priyantha heeft ons heel goed rondgeleid. Hij weet veel over zijn stad en hij is heel vriendelijk.Prima gids

Jens🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Priyantha)

9 February 2020

Priyantha was a perfect guide for us. He picked us up an drove us with his car all around Colombo with many, many interessting information about the City and Buddishm. He is friendly and very polite. But the best was at the end. We asked him not to bring us back to the staring point, but drop us off at a restaurant. We did not asked him, but he was waiting in front of the restaurant for us to pick us up again and brougth us back to the final destination. That is 1a+ - thanks. Perfect Guide

John🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Tuan Ishan)

26 January 2020

We booked Tuan on line, not sure what to expect. He picked us up at the Cruise Ship, min extra payment, as we had no transport to his regular meeting spot. He took us by TukTuk and we went into a restaurant for Appa, a traditional Sri Lankan breakfast dish, and tea. We went to 2 temples and a market. Only disappointment was that he didn’t go into the temple with us and give some extra info. (Not a major deal.) We then went to the Red Mosque via a local bus - great experience. All in all 4 TukTuk rides. Highly recommended. Great, personable guide

Andre🇪🇸 Spain

(About local Khasim)

7 January 2020

Very interesting visits and discussions with KhasimJust perfect

Anja🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Krishani)

5 January 2020

We had a great time with Krishani. She showed us Colombo and gave us a lot of insight about the background of this city. She is a very pleasant person and speaks execellent English. We really enjoyed her tour. Friendly, knowledgeable host

Sandra

(About local Tuan Ishan)

3 January 2020

We had a nice day with a perfectly nice guy who showed us around and we had a lot of fun.

Thomas

(About local Priyantha)

2 January 2020

Thank you for showing us your city.Very good

Heidrun

(About local Khasim)

5 December 2019

Die Fahrt war mehr mit dem PKW als mit einem Tuk Tuk.Die Verkostung der landestypischem Krabbenbrot und anderen Dingen fand gar nicht statt...dafür gab es Ananas und eine Kokosnuss.Nicht ganz wie versprochen...

Maximiliane

(About local Khasim)

25 November 2019

Kasim is very nice and the tour was marvelous.

Friedemann

(About local Priyantha)

19 November 2019

Wir wollten mit dieser Stadtrundfahrt einen allgemeinen Überblick über Colombo haben und dabei die besonders schönen Dinge dieser Stadt sehen und natürlich auch die Ursprünglichkeit in den Strassen der Altstadt erleben. Wir waren nicht unbedingt an jeder Kirche oder an jedem Tempel vordringlich interessiert. Diese Wünsche und Vorstellungen erfüllte uns unser Guide Priyantha ausnahmslos mit allen notwendigen Erklärungen und ging dabei auf alle unsere Fragen sachlich und kompetent ein. Die Tour dauerte etwa 3 Stunden kreuz und quer durch Colombo und hat uns in jeder Hinsicht sehr positiv überrascht. So schön hätten wir uns die Hauptstadt Sri Lankas nicht vorgestellt ( Green and Clean ). Und dieses überaus positive Gesamtesultat verdanken wir auch vordringlich unserem Guide Priyantha. Vielen dank nochmals an Ihn und dem gesamten Team von " Withlocals ". Dieser Ausflug ist in jeder Hinsicht nur zu empfehlen.Eine Tour genau nach unseren Vorstellungen !

Claudia

(About local Priyantha)

11 November 2019

Die Stadtour war sehr interessant, wir haben sehr viel gesehen. Unser Führer war besonders freundlich und hat uns alles in sehr gut verständlichem englisch erklärt. Er war auch für den Tempelbesuch gut vorbereitet (Bedeckung für Knie und Schultern hatte er mit). Sonderwünsche was wir ansehen wollten wurden ebenfalls erfüllt. Fragen was man sonst noch am Abend machen konnte hatte er auch gut beantwortet. Die 3-4 h der Tour sind wie im Flug vergangen. Alles in allem können wir Priyantha ohne Meckern weiter empfehlen :)wundervolle Stadttour durch Colombo

Michelle🇳🇿 New Zealand

(About local Muditha)

4 November 2019

We only had one night in Colombo so booked our tour to give us a good introduction and that’s exactly what we got. The weather was absolutely atrocious, torrential rain making it impossible to get out of the car but yet we managed to see the sights and learn so much in the process. If we hadn’t booked the tour I have no idea what we would have done, the weather prohibited everything. Thanks Muditha for your help, it was a great way to start out trip Great way to start our trip to Sri Lanka

BRETT🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Krishani)

22 April 2019

Krishani was an amazing host. She had prepared a fresh fruit platter when we arrived and that was great. We enjoyed the mangroves lagoon boat tour, and lunch. both were a bit long , and would have liked to see more of Colombo city itself. Overall we had a great day, and our hosts were very informated. I would recommend Krishani highly.Colombo Day Tour

Louise🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Priyantha)

14 April 2019

Our morning with Pryiantha was more than we hoped for. He had a good understanding of Sri Lankan history and politics and chose places to visit which he thought would be special interest to us such as the Ministry of Crab restaurant established by two of Sri Lanka’s cricket legends to raise funds for the poor.Excellent

Bernard 🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Priyantha)

12 April 2019

The True Essence of Colombo: Highlights & Hidden Gems

Terry

(About local Khasim)

1 March 2019

A very enjoyable tour of Colombo with A very pleasant and knowledgeable host (Guide). Would recommend this tour as a great introduction to Sri Lanka.The True Essence of Colombo Highlights & Hidden Gems

Clive🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Muditha)

11 January 2019

Muditha gave us a great 2 hour tour of Colombo. His English is really excellent having studied in the US. Through his work, he has interesting insights into the city and its opportunities and challenges which he explained very well. Highly recommended C&LColombo tour

Chetna🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Priyantha)

17 December 2018

We had a great tour with Priyantha. He showed us more than the itinerary and we talked about life, politics, investment and tourism during our time with him. He was lovely and I would highly recommend him! Thanks again PriyanthaMore than just a guide!

Swati

(About local Khasim)

14 December 2018

Excellent tour ! I got a great inside view of colombo. Highlights & Hidden Gems

Oivind🇳🇴 Norway

(About local Krishani)

17 November 2018

We where four people visited from Norway. We had a very good guided tour through Colombo together with Krishani and her husband. I can highly recommend her. Very good tour + Very well known guide.

Alice🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Krishani)

6 November 2018

The experience Krishani took me on was exactly what I was after. She is a perfect guide who is very friendly and knows everything about Sri Lanka. So feel free to bobard her with questions 😂 I really enjoyed zipping around from place to place in a tuk tuk and also having time to strole around as well. I can't forget about the local food either😋 Fabulous experience, thank you Krishani 😊Colombo in a day

Claire

(About local Khasim)

3 November 2018

We really enjoyed all aspects of this tour. The contrast of temples , markets and historic land marks brought colombo to lite for us. khasim was very knowledgeable and great company. Thank you.The true essence of Colombo

Richard🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Priyantha)

24 October 2018

Priyantha was a great tour guide and showed us a great side of Colombo. Touching on the history and modern importance of many of the locations we had a detailed look round the history and development of the city and Sri Lanka.Great tour with a personal touch

Jill

(About local Khasim)

26 September 2018

Meet on time. Lovely guy! Very informative about the city, knowledgeable. Tried some local food that was lovely, recommend definitely!True Essence of Colombo

Katherine🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

(About local Krishani)

17 July 2018

It was my second day in Colombo and I wanted to see some of the sites but was on my own and was a bit daunted by the idea of travelling round a foreign city as young women alone. Krishani was amazing and took me to see all the best places from food to temples. It made me a lot more comfortable in the city itself as well and would definitely recommend Krishani to someone. She is super friendly and goes above and beyond to make sure you enjoy your tour and that you get home safe. Best way to see Colombo quickly

Georgie🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Muditha)

15 July 2018

We had a Colombo tour, what was amazing. Muditha is a great host and showed us loads around the city, he knew the answers to all our questions and gave us alot of insite that made our Colombo visit much more interesting/ less confusing. Thanks! Excellent host

Noemi🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Krishani)

12 June 2018

We were picked up from the airport and had a really good city tour. It was interesting, we saw different places in the city and Krishani really made us feel welcomed in Sri Lanka. We would always book another tour with her!!Very nice tour with lovely guide

Caroline🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Muditha)

16 April 2018

Muditha was excellent with communication and is very flexible in meeting your requirements. He arrived on time and showed us around Colombo as per our itinerary. He is very informative and we learnt many interesting facts. The only criticism we have is that we were expecting the whole tour to be a Tuk Tuk tour as per the details of the booking. He arrived in a small white car. We asked about Tuk Tuk and we did a couple of journeys by Tuk Tuk with 3 of us squeezed in the back! Muditha Colombo tour

Caroline🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Muditha)

16 April 2018

Muditha colombotour

WILLIAM🇺🇸 United States

(About local Krishani)

9 April 2018

My wife and I travel frequently and have had tours all over the world. Krishani was our all time favorite. She was full of energy, passionate about Colombo, knowledgeable, flexible and fun. She also gives hiking tours and we want to come back with our whole family and spend more time with her. I can’t recommend her highly enough! Bill & GwennTour of Colombo, Sri Lanka

Angie🇺🇸 United States

(About local Anoj )

4 September 2025

Book him! You won’t regret it! The process was simple, he communicated quickly, and planned an EXTRAORDINARY day for us! So incredibly friendly and felt like he became a part of our family for the day! Everything was smooth, patient, and so much more than we expected! Seriously, he was awesome! This was an incredible day. We did Dambulla Cave Temple, an authentic Sri Lakan village experience with lunch, and then climbed Sigiriya! Very full day but absolutely worth it! The Best of Sri Lanka

Antonio

(About local Deegoda)

3 September 2025

During our short stay in Colombo, we had the pleasure of being guided by Deegoda, who was truly friendly, cheerful, and always helpful. Although we had limited time, Deegoda managed to show us the main highlights of the city, providing clear and engaging explanations. We would have loved to explore more, but thanks to his professionalism, the experience was still positive. Short but Sweet Tour of Colombo

Marco

(About local Deegoda)

31 August 2025

We are from Italy and our first experience in Sri Lanka has been the street food tour with Deegoda as a guide. We enjoyed every minute of it and Deegoda has been a wonderful guide, very talkative and kind in explaining different sides of the country's culture and answering to all our questions. On top of that, apart from the food, he also brought us on a sightseeing tour of the main attractions of the city.Our first dive in beautiful Sri Lanka

78vr7sgzpz

(About local Dulshan)

18 August 2025

Dulshan was a fantastic host - super personable, and a real local who shared his love of food, and secret out-of-the-way spots, which made for an incredible street food experience. Fantastic food experience!

Chris🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Dulshan)

11 August 2025

Best food tour I’ve been on. Made special due to visiting places away from the normal tourist routes and because of Dulshan’s company. He’s engaging, courteous, knowledgable and fun to be with. Plenty of food tour options to choose from, but this one will be hard to beat! Great off the beaten track food tour

eknezu

(About local Anoj )

4 August 2025

We spent 10 days in Sri Lanka with Anoj and the driver Hamu. From the very first moment when we met in the airport everything went great. We visited together many wondeful places, Anoj always respected our wishes and was able to arrange the programme according to th situation. He was always smiling and easy going. With Hamu they were always punctual, helpful and funny. We are ver greatful to him to pass such a beautiful holidays. Thank you!Wonderful Sri Lanka

Sue🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Deegoda)

1 August 2025

We had such an awesome experience with Deegoda the communication was fantastic from the start with lots of helpful information and confirmation he was on the way to pick us up. Deegoda arrived right on time picking us up from our hotel in his tuk tuk. Deegoda is full of energy with a great smile and sense of humour, immediately making us feel welcome, he also has a wealth of knowledge about the local food and culture. All the foods we tasted were delicious and Deegoda went out of his way to find particular foods he wanted us to experience. What really stood out to us the most was his interaction with the local people, there was so much laughter and smiles and genuine connection, it is a tour we will remember for a long time. Please do not hesitate to book this tour with Deegoda he is an awesome person and guide Fantastic street food tour

Stefan

(About local Anoj )

19 July 2025

We had a fantastic day with our guide, Anoj. We went from Ahungalla to Udawalawe for a safari. Along the way, we stopped in Galle to see the fort and have lunch. Everything was perfectly organized! Anoj told us a lot, has a pleasant presence, is calm, and polite. We will definitely book our next trip with Anoj again.Perfect!

Omar🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

(About local Deegoda)

16 July 2025

We had an excellent food tour with a very friendly, knowledgeable guide, Deegoda. He made us try food which we would not have known to try otherwise and we enjoyed trying some fruits while getting a tour through the fruit and vegetable market. Would highly recommend booking him, and I would without hesitation book him again on a future trip to Colombo!Excellent food tour with Deegoda