Few days in Sri Lanka

I dont want to sound mean, but how do you expect a bunch of strangers to provide information, without having a clue what you like, what you are looking for, what your interests are etc. ?

Equally important is your budget as this will dictate how and how far you travel.

I suggest you get a guidebook or check out online to see what are the main sights, where they are and then decide what you fancy. Remember travel on public transport in SL is pretty slow.

Whatever you do, I would recommend Negombo for your first night. It is near the airport and has plenty of accommodation.

You won't have enough time for any of the standard sites, unless you hire car and driver and that will cost you. Also, if your camp starts Monday am, you will probably want to be somewhere near on Sunday night,

No driver, then travel down to Colombo for a quick look, then on to Galle. The old town is wonderful and the new town may interest you for a while. If you'd rather beach it then Hikkaduwa is nearby.

If you have a driver you can go to Sigiriya on Saturday, climb it and then head for Kandy via Dambulla. Sunday, Kandy sightsee in the morning, then work out a scenic route to get you to your camp.

As Nathalie says, more info needed.

The reason I was so general in my inquiry is that I am generally open for all suggestions. I would like to go inland on train-rides and hikes, as well as I love the seaside. I like culture, architecture, beaches, hikes ++. So basically I want to hear if what experiences others may have had and what they think would be possible in 2-3 days, and then I'll be able to choose what sounds best for me.

Thank you very much for great tips! Yeah, I am thinking that the limited time makes travelling down to the south the best alternative. I'm leaning towards catching a train to Galle on saturday morning, and to stay there/in Unawatuna until monday morning. Do you have any familiarity with Unawatuna?
Edit: Just looked up Hikkaduwa which also looked fantastic! Probably gonna end up either there or in Unawatuna.

I've cycled all along the coast and it is all pretty standard. Galle stands out as a cultural treasure. In fact my top 2 places in SL are Sigiriya and Galle, none of the other tourist hotspots are anywhere near world class.

I only recommend Hikkaduwa because it is lively. I stayed there 37 years ago, but gave it a miss this time. I prefer something more low key now.

Unawatuna looked a bit ghetto like to me when I had a look as I was passing, although I enjoyed it when I stayed pre tsunami.

I think Hikkaduwa would suit you, but don't miss out on Galle old town.

Thanks for your insight. Decided to stay a week longer, so got some more time on my hands now. Thinking about backpacking in the inlands for that extra week. Sigiriya looks fantastic, so would be great to experience that. Do you have any tips on how to get to there from Ahangama/Galle? I want to do it relatively cheap, so renting a private chauffeur is probably not an option. I guess it might take a little too long to take trains/bus all the way up, so maybe Adam's peak is a better option.

As I said in my first post, I would suggest getting a guidebook and planning your trip yourself.

Happy to answer questions and offer advice, but I think you need to do the research.

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