Arrival, departure and seaplane

Bandaranike international airport

The international airport is situated in Negombo, right outside Colombo.
Arrival:

Upon arrival you will be amazed by all the washingmachines and refrigerators that are in the taxfree area.

Once out of customs you will find an ATM. "Cash is King" in Sri Lanka so it is a good idea to get some rupees at the airport.

You will also find the mobil network providers Dialog and Mobitel, where you can by a phonecard with data and callingtime. If you have an extra phone at home it is a good idea to bring it for the extra phonecard.
Departure:

It is a good idea to plan for 3 hours at the airport before departure as there are 3 security checks and often a long ling at the passport control. Try to checkin online ahead of time, as many airline companies have shorter lines for online checkin (you will still need to go to a counter as there are no machines).

Once you get throught the passport controls there are several souvenir shops upstairs, especially lots of teashops.

There is a really nice massage place on the second floor that I highly recommend before a long flight.
Seaplane and the Kandy airport (see picture above)

Cinnamon air flies seaplanes to large parts of the island and in Kandy "the airport" is right on the Mahaweli river. It is a beautiful way to see the country.