Chennai to Colombo runs about 40 times a day, with the first departure around 06:11 and the last around 20:45. One passenger pays between £49.65 and £53.19, every fee included, depending on the operator and the way you travel. Services cover 706 km and are run by 5 operators across 1 mode.
What one seat costs
The spread between the cheapest and dearest typical fare on this corridor, across 5 operators and 1 way of making the journey. The operator sets the price on the day.
Typical fares · Priced for 20 October 2026
£49.65 to £53.19
- 137%Moves across the booking window
137%When it runs, leaving Chennai
Typical first and last departure on this corridor.
- 06:11First departure
- 20:45Last departure
- 40Services per day
- 100%Run direct
06:11
20:45
40
100%Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about £100.71Mon5
- about £85.04Tue6
- about £92.62Wed7
- about £94.65Thu8
- about £87.06Fri9
- about £88.07Sat10
- about £84.03Sun11
- about £60.78Mon12
- about £58.75Tue13
- about £61.79Wed14
- about £76.44Thu15
- about £71.90Fri16
- about £71.90Sat17
- about £69.37Sun18
- about £50.67Mon19
- about £49.65Tue20
- about £53.19Wed21
- about £64.32Thu22
- about £60.27Fri23
- about £61.28Sat24
- about £58.25Sun25
Based on what this route has cost recently. The live fare is confirmed when you book.
The flight gets you into Colombo. These two partners take it from there, and the bed is theirs to book.
A room in Colombo for the night the flight gets in
Sort by distance from Fort Railway Station and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Colombo on AgodaOr compare on Booking.com
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When to book Chennai to Colombo
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- £50.6790 days
- £62.8060 days
- £44.1045 days
- £42.5830 days
- £58.2521 days
- £69.3714 days
- £84.037 days
- £92.623 days
- £100.711 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 30 days ahead, at £42.58.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 137 percent. The dearest point is £100.71, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 30 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 30 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Chennai to Colombo and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
706 km
686 km as the crow flies, 3% further by the route services take. The bearing runs south.
Who lives at each end
4,681,087 → 648,034
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
The route
What the journey looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 706 km against 686 km in a straight line, a detour of 3 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
The fare from CMB into Colombo is set by whoever drives it.
A car waiting when you land in Colombo
Settled in advance, so the ride into Colombo costs what it said it would rather than what the rank says.
Book a transfer from CMB with Daytrip
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and the fare is the same as going direct.
Who runs this route
The flight gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Left luggage near Fort Railway Station
Most of the points near Fort Railway Station open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check Colombo on StasherOr try Bounce
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Questions about Chennai to Colombo
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Chennai to Colombo?
Chennai to Colombo covers 706 km. Each operator's own departure and arrival times for the date you pick are in the search at the top of this page, beside the total price.
How much does it cost to travel from Chennai to Colombo?
The cheapest fare from Chennai to Colombo is £49.65, as of 4 October 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is £82.77. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Chennai to Colombo?
The cheapest way from Chennai to Colombo is by flight, at £49.65 for one passenger on 20 October 2026. The comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs side by side.
When should I book Chennai to Colombo?
Fares from Chennai to Colombo bottom out around 30 days before departure, at £42.58. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 137 percent, measured on 4 October 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Chennai to Colombo?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from Chennai to Colombo, at £58.75. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 4 October 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Chennai to Colombo?
February is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Chennai to Colombo, at £43.08 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Chennai to Colombo?
5 operators sell services from Chennai to Colombo across 1 mode: Air India Limited, Astair, IndiGo Airlines, Spicejet, SriLankan Airlines. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Chennai to Colombo?
Every service we sell from Chennai to Colombo is direct. No connection is needed, so there is no missed connection risk to plan around on this corridor.
Which station or terminal do services from Chennai to Colombo use?
Services from Chennai to Colombo by flight leave from Chennai International Airport MAA and arrive at Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport CMB. Allow about 3h 10m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Chennai to Colombo?
0 of the 5 operators we sell from Chennai to Colombo allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs £4.28. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Observed service A carrier record names this operator on this pair, carried through unchanged.
Prices come from the supplier wherever we hold a live quote. Elsewhere we show an indicative price built from the real distance, the real operator and a fare curve over lead time, day of the week and season. Those are labelled Estimated fare and cannot be booked.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Chennai to Colombo on 4 October 2026: 706 km of route against 686 km in a straight line, 40 services a day, 5 operators a cheapest fare of £49.65, and 4h 28m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
The flight is the simple part. What you do once you are in Colombo is somebody else's catalogue.
Day trips out of Colombo and across Sri Lanka
Day trips that leave Colombo in the morning and cover a good part of Sri Lanka by evening.
See Colombo on KlookOr browse GetYourGuide
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The two ends, compared
Chennai reaches 254 places in 36 countries on services we hold, over distances from 24 to 15,074 km. Colombo reaches 97 places in 37 countries, from 26 to 13,612 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Chennai
- 254Places you can leave for
- 36Countries
- 41Operators
36
41Arriving in Colombo
Leaving Colombo
- 97Places you can leave for
- 37Countries
- 33Operators