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View all Colombo toursNegombo Day Trip from Colombo: Dutch Fort, Canals and a Seafood Lunch
A guided day out of Colombo to Negombo — the 17th-century Dutch fort ruins, the old canal, the baroque churches and the beach fish market, finished with seafood by the ocean.
Highlights
- Explore 17th-century Dutch fort ruins with a knowledgeable local guide
- Follow the Dutch canal, built to move cinnamon down to the port
- See the baroque Catholic churches left by Portuguese rule
- Walk the beach fish market where the outrigger catch is sorted and dried
- Seafood lunch beside the Indian Ocean
Negombo Day Trip from Colombo: Dutch Fort, Canals and a Seafood Lunch: Key Facts
| Price | From $79.55 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 10 hours |
| Group size | Up to 6 people |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Full description
Negombo is only about forty kilometres north of Colombo, and most travellers see it for one night either side of a flight. This trip treats it as a destination instead, and gives it a full day.
The town's shape comes from its colonial history. The Portuguese arrived first and left a deeply Catholic fishing population — which is why the churches here are baroque, the boats carry saints' names and the roadside shrines outnumber the temples. The Dutch took over in the 1640s for the cinnamon trade and built the fort, of which the gate and sections of wall survive, along with the canal system that runs north from Colombo and was used to move cinnamon and spices down to the port.
You walk the fort remains with a guide who can explain what stood where, then follow the canal, which is still lined with fishing craft and crossed by low bridges. The Dutch-era waterway is a working part of the town rather than a preserved monument, and it is the better for it.
The fish market on the beach is the other half of the day. Catch comes in on the outrigger boats, is sorted on the sand, and much of it is laid out to dry in the sun — the smell arrives before you do. It is loud, wet and entirely unstaged.
Lunch is seafood, eaten beside the Indian Ocean: crab, prawns, cuttlefish or the day's catch, cooked simply or in a Sri Lankan curry with coconut and pepper. The drive each way is about an hour, so the day runs to around ten hours in total, with plenty of that time actually spent in Negombo rather than on the road.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Depart Colombo
Hotel pickup and the hour's drive north to Negombo.
Dutch fort and canal
Guided walk through the fort remains and along the colonial-era waterway.
Churches and town
The baroque Catholic churches and the streets of the old fishing quarter.
Fish market and beach
The outrigger fleet, the sorting tables and the drying racks on the sand.
Seafood lunch and return
Eat by the ocean before the drive back to Colombo.
Detailed Itinerary
[{"time": "08:00", "title": "Colombo pickup", "description": "Meet your guide at your hotel and head north."}, {"time": "09:00", "title": "Negombo Dutch fort", "description": "The surviving gate and walls, with the story of the 1640s cinnamon takeover."}, {"time": "10:00", "title": "Dutch canal walk", "description": "Follow the waterway past moored craft and low bridges."}, {"time": "11:00", "title": "Churches and old town", "description": "St Mary's and the smaller parish churches of the fishing quarter."}, {"time": "12:30", "title": "Fish market and beach", "description": "Watch the catch come in, be sorted and laid out to dry."}, {"time": "13:30", "title": "Seafood lunch", "description": "Crab, prawns or the day's catch beside the ocean."}, {"time": "15:30", "title": "Free time on the beach", "description": "A stretch of open time before heading south."}, {"time": "17:00", "title": "Return to Colombo", "description": "Drive back with a drop-off at your hotel."}]
Includes
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking guide; hotel pickup and drop-off in Colombo; guided walks at the fort, canal and fish market; fuel, tolls and parking; bottled water.
Excludes
- Seafood lunch and drinks; church or site donations; optional lagoon boat ride; gratuities.
Important information
Meeting point
Hotel pickup in Colombo; drop-off at the same address in the evening.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts
About this activity
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Traveler Reviews
Disastrous, terrible, nothing to do, an activity that lasted 3 hours including the trip. The fort doesn't exist!!!! I strongly advise against it!!!!