ナヌオヤ（ヌワラエリヤ）からエラへの列車のチケット

Very disappointing experience booking our Nanu Oya to Ella train journey through Viator. My partner and I booked together, and before the journey the tour operator explicitly messaged us confirming that we had seats 9 and 10 together in First Class-B Reserved. They even told us to ignore the seat numbers printed on our official e-tickets because they had made adjustments to our seating. When we boarded the train, we discovered that this was not true. We weren’t just seated apart — we had been allocated seats in completely separate carriages. This was particularly frustrating because the scenic train journey to Ella was something we had specifically wanted to experience together. Had we known we would be separated, we would not have booked the journey on these terms. I contacted Viator afterwards and provided the evidence showing exactly what the operator had promised us. Viator’s response was simply that they would not issue a refund because the local operator had not approved one. I find this extremely poor customer service. The service we received clearly did not match what we were told in writing, yet Viator appears unwilling to take responsibility because their own tour operator declined the refund. I would think twice before booking through Viator again. If something goes wrong, even when you have written evidence that the service provided was not what was promised, you may find yourself out of pocket anyway.

Very bad experience - they sell train tickets very expensive without any clear explanations to pick up the tickets at the train station . Don't buy

Major advice about booking train tickets in Sri Lanka: especially if you want a reserved seat and air conditiining, try to buy your tickets at thevrailwaycstatiin itself. Several online services will scam you on price or sell you some bookung of questionable value. In particular, watch out for Sri Lanka Railway.com. Their site looks totally official, but they got a naive traveler (me) to pay $44 apiece for two tickets from Colombo to Galle. When we were in board, the cinductor looked at our tickets and told us we had been scammed. Sure enough, when I bought return tickets at the Galle railway station, they cost 1100 rupees, or slightly less than $4, apiece. Also beware of an agency called Bookaway. Their site is user friendly, and their prices are more modest...but they never sent us the tickets, and when we showed our Bookaway confirmation number, the railway agent said, "This ticket is illegal." We had to buy new tickets at the station.

Almost everything was bad, first of all the price, a crazy amount; if you come as I did in the summer (end of July) it is not impossible to get the ticket at the ticket office for 300% less, given that two tickets cost me 50 euros and at the station you could buy them for 3 euros; second, the tickets arrive very late, the day before at midnight, and on top of that I bought two tickets together but they assigned me two separate seats; third, and worst of all, the reserved cars have closed doors, you have to go to the conductor and hope they open them for you; for more than half the trip we were behind closed doors, only managing to get two opened, so even with fewer people, having only two doors open makes taking photos a struggle. I advise against booking the ticket if you are going in the low season and to save money by buying it directly at the station; furthermore, since the seats are assigned, if you are on the wrong side, you will spend the whole trip looking at rocks or the windows of the people on the right side.

Very disappointed. Booked the train on line 1st class and we thought the train was the scenic train that stopped along the way. There was no stopping, only to drop off and pick up. We boarded at Ambewella. As a 70 year old and most likely my last overseas holiday I was really upset as I was on the understanding that it was the scenic train. I paid $98 AUS. It was something that I always wanted to do! It would have been much cheaper for us to have a private car transfer to Ella. Please be aware people and do your research before booking this train through Viator!

One of the best apps for booking train tickets! We booked our train tickets through this app and received confirmed seats without any hassle. The booking process was smooth, quick, and reliable. Highly recommended for anyone planning a train journey!

Total scam - the actual value of the ticket is $9 (it was printed on the ticket) - I paid $36 on here!!!!!! I get you need a mark up for the booking fee and what not, but 300%? That’s an actual joke.

Our tour operator booked this train as it gets booked up quickly . Do take water & snack with you although they come round selling tea coffee , fruit ,nuts (cash only ) I agreed left side has better views but you can go stand near doors to outside .Hold on as it gets bumpy be careful if you lean out to take photo !! A nice trip with Mountain View’s does get busy .

Nice train trip, the booking via Viator was easy and I received the Eticket well in advance! Everything went smoothly on the Dday.

The tickets arrived the next day via mall. Everything is agreed. Very good and fast communication.