If you are thinking of going to Sri Lanka the best option is to book a driver so you could enjoy the comfort and to see the most of the country. It is not easy to get around. Roads are very busy, in bad conditions, and to be honest driving in Sri Lanka is a night mare. They don’t care about red lights, signs, traffic rules are there but nobody cares about them. I felt very safe with my driver George who I booked for 6 days. He was very polite, charming, friendly and welcoming. Talkative if I wanted him to be or quite when I needed some time just for myself.
I called him before I arrived to Sri Lanka and asked him to organize some accommodation for me as well which he has done and I was highly satisfied with everything he done for me. He knew a lot of off road places of my interest and was helping me with organizing my hiking trips as well.

I can highly recommend George as a driver for your trip in Sri Lanka. You could contact him on his mobile phone [--] but try to do it in advance because he is quite popular and might not be available for the time you would like him to spend with you.

Colombo – Dirty city full of armed forces with high security and lots of shopping possibilities. The best place to book for accommodation is in Dehiwala called The Horbill Home Hostel. Accommodation is not far from central Colombo 1minute from the beach and it is one of the nicest places I have stayed in for amazing price of £6:00 a night.

Unawatuna and south coast – amazing place with great beaches. All area between Hikkaduwa and Matara is full of tourists staying in their hotels enjoying swimming pools close to the ocean. Great evening walks on the sandy beaches, traditional fishing is taking place there as well plus much more.

Yala National Park – Amazing place full of animals but full of tourists as well. If you consider to visit safari please consider dry season because it is not much point to go there in wet season. Animals will be hiding in bushes and that is not why you went there :)

Ella – Briliant views from village, perfect base for walks and tea plantations.

Horton’s Plains and The world’s end – Silent, strange, breathtaking drop. Consider early morning start to get the most of the view. You will find amazing waterfalls there too.

Nuwara Eliya – Best place to stay for trip to Horton’s plains and to buy cheap designer hiking clothes.

Kandy – Cultural town with nice temple. Worth to spend a day or two. But don’t try to look for a night life here cause there isn’t any.

Enjoy your trip in this beautiful country with lots of traditions and wonderful nature.
I have spent 17 days there and it was one of my best holidays.

My boyfriend Sam and I just got back from a three-week trip to Sri Lanka and agree with everything the article says about Sri Lanka and then some. Our trip can be described in one word: adventure. We stayed in the capital city of Colombo and made a few trips to other parts of the island. We went to the New Year's celebration at the Galle Face hotel and never have I seen any group of people party harder in 85 degree weather until breakfast was served at 6am beachside. The hotel is reminicent of the colonial days of Sri Lanka with white washed walls and a British flavor. We took a day trip from Colombo to Pinawala to see the elephant orphange which holds over 100 elephants. Arrive at 9am and you can watch the trainers feed the baby elephants and herd them all to the river to bathe. It was a surreal experience to watch the elephants interact with humans and each other. We went down the road to take our own elephant ride - sitting 9 feet tall on top of the elephant as if it were a horse with only a small rope to hold on to. Our first real adventure was a safari in Yala national park, a 5 hour twisty ocean view ride to the southern most tip of the country. We hired a driver complete with a 1980s land rover (minus power steering) to high tail it through the park in search of animals. We had great sightings of wild elephants, sambas (large deer), monkeys, peacocks, mating cobras, and yes, even a leopard. Our hotel, Yala Village, resembled a cross of African Safari meets Yosemite. We were warned of wild elephants walking to and from our cabin type room, which didn't seem real until we saw one the next morning on our way to breakfast. Most hotels come with the option full board (meals included) - an excellent excuse to gorge on the spicy food always including chicken curry, greenbean curry, beetroot curry, egg hoppers, string hoppers, kottu, dahl (lentils), coconut cake, etc. Our next adenture took us east to Kandalama where we stayed at a five star resort, the Heritance Kandalama. We came across tourists from Russia, Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain, and Austrailia but few from the US since it seems word hasn't gotten out just yet. We hiked the rock of Sigiriya which was home to the ancient kings in 200AD. Our final adventure outrivaled the atmosphere of Hawaii as we stayed three nights at the Taj Exotica in Bentota. The five star hotel sits oceanfront with magnificent views of the beach and a gorgeous pool. Again, we opted for full board and an ocean front room for two people at $220 per night total. I could have stayed at the beach for two weeks dining on Sri Lankan cuisine and soaking in the perfect weather. It is exactly half way around the world, but if you're looking for an adenture....this is it. We had a great time and I would highly recommend a trip to the beautiful island of Sri Lanka.

I travelled to Sri Lanka on a quest to visit my Grandfathers grave. I was very nervous when i discovered i was the only person booked on the tour. Jaleel my driver and guide put me at ease and made my trip a memorable one. Apart from visiting the grave which was very emotional i had many other wonderful experiences. The elephant orphanage in Pinnawella was incredible where i watched 65 elephants bathing in the river.SIGIRYA WAS MY FAVOURITE PLACE BECAUSE IT WAS SURROUNDED BY BEAUTIFUL SCENERY AND AMAZING WILDLIFE.
I would recommend jaleel as the perfect guide.
jaleel@yahoo.com http://www.amazingtourslk.co.cc/

Before you go - the things you really need to know about Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka was absolutely fantastic for us (family of 4 with children of 10 and 12) – holiday of a lifetime. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone, but these are the Top Ten things I would have liked to have been aware of before I went:
1. Tipping is a way of life in SriLanka – many rely on tourists to be able to survive. It might get annoying at times - a tip is expected for guides and drivers, porters, maids, temple shoe minders, lavatory attendants etc, as well as anyone you want to take a photo of. Have plenty of 100 and 50 rupee notes at all times - they are the ones you need most for tipping……the going rate (!) is 20 rupees for a trip to the loo.
2. Beware the many "beach boys" and similar who will want you to take a trip on their boat / get a tip for a photo of them with a fish / arrange a taxi or a trip.
3. Stray dogs are everywhere on the sides of the roads across the country and hang around the beach etc.
4. Roads are variable - some actually quite good, but others pretty poor. Up in the hills all are winding. Average travel speed is only 30-40 kmh in most places, so it takes a lot longer to get anywhere than you expect.
5. Only one of the hotels supplied shower gel / shampoo so bring your own.
6. Tuk tuks are everywhere and good for short taxi rides. Agree a price before you go (100 - 300 rupees for up to a 10 minute ride).
7. Flip flops make temple visits very easy as you have to take your shoes off.
8. Umbrellas are useful for both sun (on the coast) and rain (up in the hills).
9. Cakes are an unexpected treat – really good sponge cake, banana cake, seed cake etc. In hotels, but also good bakeries on the street - get a bun for 10p!
10. Get a good guide – ours was Bubsy, who was excellent. We found out far more than we ever would have on our own……impromptu trips to wood carving shops or spice gardens were a small price to pay!
Top Twelve things we did-in no particular order (and one to avoid):
1. Climb Sigiryia rock. Frescoes two thirds of the way up are worth seeing. We didn't get to the top as there was a swarm of wasps, but don't feel we missed much.
2. Polonnaruwa - loads of remains of the city from 1000 ish yeas ago - impressive scale and construction.
3. Jeep Safari at Minneriya National Park – lots of birds, monkeys, peacocks, jackals and a few elephants.
4. Elephant ride – loads available (your guide will know) and definitely worth doing.
5. Rock temple at Dambulla – lots of buddhas + decorated caves.
6. Kandy - good shopping + lake + temple. You need to visit the temple of the sacred tooth relic when the tooth casket is on show - you only get a glimpse but it is worth seeing. Also saw a Kandyan dance display - highlight was the walking on hot coals. Excellent restaurant for hoppers next to the Kandyan dancing/temple.
7. Pinnawala elephant orphanage. Best bit was when they walked the elephants down to the river to be washed - maybe 60 or so elephants in the river was a fantastic sight.
8. Tea plantation + factory up in the hills. Tea plantations spread for miles and miles up the hillsides and interesting to see how they turn leaves into tea – still very labour intensive.
9. Train trip (we went from Nanu Oya to Hatton). Not terribly comfortable (a little standing room only) in 2nd or 3rd class, but you get to see real Sri Lankan life including the snack seller squeezing their way up and down the train.
10. Waterfalls - 4 or 5 really impressive ones between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya and Ella.
11. Ella - great view of the plains below through a gap in the mountains.
12. Galle - interesting to walk on the walls and good to have a wander but not really that much else to do. Some nice gift shops (Barefoot and Dutch Gallery are the best).
Finally, I wouldn't go to Negombo apart from the proximity to the airport – a strip of hotels / restaurants / gift shops that doesn’t impress.