colomboeighter

I would just get the extension....

In the same area as the above, I found 'Yala Heights' very good:...

@12 Good advice about hiring drivers for short periods of time....

It's hard to answer this question as it all depends on how confident a person and driver you are....

Good advice, but have you ever heard of paragraphs? ; - )

@4...

Looks as if you'll be spending 3 days in Colombo. Unless you have a particular reason to go there, I'd forget Colombo to give yourself more...

I doubt you could do Negombo to Haputale in 4 hours. I think you plan is possible, but allow for 5/6 hours. I'd also forget Pinnawela and...

Fitting in what you've already planned, I'd forget Yala and go for a national park around Sigiriya. Talk to the drivers in Habarana as to...

I'd say expect an average speed of 30 - 40 km/h on Sri Lankan roads, but, as skatersatyr says, it's very hard to predict how long journeys...

The Dambatenne tea estate is a good place to go (there's a section on it in Lp and a misty slideshow here:...

2 - Yes, you can just turn up at Yala. There are tons of jeeps around the nearby town of Tissa for hire or you can easily arrange one...

xojar's right. Most places add 'service charge' (whatever that actually means) and tax on the quoted amount. This is pretty standard in...

$1 Australian is about 133 sri Lankan rupees....

You might find some answers here: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2178159 Have a good trip!