The Amazing Lanka — Self-Launched

Land at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB). Skip the private transfer and take the airport shuttle bus or #187 city bus to Colombo Fort/bus stand (~£1), or a metered taxi/tuk-tuk from the official stand (~£13–18). Settle into a hostel in Colombo Fort or Colombo 03, then walk the Galle Face Green promenade at sunset and eat street food (kottu roti ~£2). Buy a Dialog or Mobitel tourist SIM at the airport (~£4–6 for 30 days data) and set up the PickMe app for cheap tuk-tuk hails.

🚌Airport shuttle bus or #187 bus to Colombo (~£1) or official taxi rank (~£15)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, Colombo Fort / Colombo 03

• →Galle Face Green sunset walk
• →Street food crawl: kottu roti, hoppers
• →Buy tourist SIM + PickMe app setup

Local bus or train from Colombo Fort to Dambulla (~3.5–4.5 hrs, £1.50–3), then a short bus or tuk-tuk on to Sigiriya village (£1–2). Drop bags and visit the Dambulla Cave Temple (Golden Temple) in the afternoon — entry ~£6, shoulders and knees covered. Climb to the cave shrines for sunset light. Base yourself in Sigiriya for the next three nights; guesthouses here are cheap and walkable to the rock.

🚌Colombo Fort → Dambulla bus (~£2), Dambulla → Sigiriya bus/tuk-tuk (~£1.50)

🛏Guesthouse in Sigiriya village

• →Dambulla Cave Temple (entry ~£6)
• →Sigiriya village wander

Hire a bicycle or scooter in Sigiriya and head to Polonnaruwa — or take the local bus (~1 hr, £1). The ancient city is best explored by bike (~£2/day hire, site ticket ~£8). In the late afternoon join a shared jeep for Minneriya or Kaudulla National Park (whichever the elephants are currently visiting — ask your guesthouse), roughly £20–30 per person when shared in a 6-seat jeep. Park entry ~£7 plus jeep share. Back in Sigiriya for dinner at a village rice-and-curry spot (~£3).

🚌Local bus Sigiriya–Polonnaruwa (~£1), shared safari jeep (~£20–30 pp)

🛏Guesthouse in Sigiriya village

• →Cycling the Polonnaruwa ruins (entry ~£8)
• →Minneriya/Kaudulla elephant gathering jeep safari

Full day trip to Anuradhapura, the island's first ancient capital, by local bus (~1.5 hrs each way, £1). Hire a bicycle at the site (~£2) to cover the dagobas, Bodhi tree and Abhayagiri monastery — ticket ~£15 (South Asian Cultural Triangle combo tickets can save money if bought in one go). Alternatively tag along with other travellers from your guesthouse by shared tuk-tuk (~£15 pp round trip). Evening back in Sigiriya: cheap dinner and early night ahead of the rock climb.

🚌Local bus Sigiriya–Anuradhapura return (~£2)

🛏Guesthouse in Sigiriya village

• →Sacred Bo tree & Ruwanwelisaya dagoba
• →Abhayagiri & Jetavanaramaya monastery ruins

Climb Sigiriya Rock Fortress at opening time (7am, entry ~£22) to beat the heat and the crowds — allow 2 hours. Shower, check out, then bus to Dambulla and change for Kandy (~3 hrs total, £2–3). If you're a spice fan, stop at a Matale spice garden en route by tuk-tuk from Dambulla (£5, free tour with small tips expected). Arrive Kandy, check into a guesthouse near the lake, and catch the evening puja ceremony at the Temple of the Tooth (entry ~£5).

🚌Sigiriya → Dambulla bus, Dambulla → Kandy bus (~£3 total)

🛏Guesthouse near Kandy Lake

• →Sigiriya Rock Fortress climb (entry ~£22)
• →Matale spice garden (optional, ~£5 tuk-tuk)
• →Temple of the Tooth evening puja (~£5)

Book a shared tuk-tuk or local bus to Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage (~1.5 hrs, £1.50 each way; entry ~£15) — go for the 10am bathing session. Note that Pinnawala is increasingly criticised by animal-welfare groups; the Elephant Freedom Project or the Udawalawe Transit Home later on this trip are kinder alternatives if that matters to you. Afternoon at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya (~£4, bus £0.50), then wander the Kandy lake loop and the central market. Dinner at a cheap Kandy rice-and-curry hall (~£3).

🚌Local bus or shared tuk-tuk to Pinnawala and Peradeniya

🛏Guesthouse near Kandy Lake

• →Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage (entry ~£15)
• →Royal Botanical Gardens Peradeniya (~£4)
• →Kandy market & lake walk

This is the day to book the famous Kandy–Ella scenic train. Book early (Sri Lanka Railways website or at Kandy station 30 days out) — a second-class reserved seat is ~£2–3, unreserved ~£1. Get off at Nanu Oya (the stop for Nuwara Eliya) after ~4 hrs of tea terraces and waterfalls. Bus or shared tuk-tuk into Nuwara Eliya (15 min, £1). Visit a working tea factory (Pedro Tea Estate or Damro Labookellie, ~£2–4 including tasting) and walk through the plantations. Nuwara Eliya is chilly at 1,900m — pack a fleece.

🚌Kandy → Nanu Oya train (~£3 second class), Nanu Oya → Nuwara Eliya bus (~£1)

🛏Budget guesthouse in Nuwara Eliya

• →Kandy–Nanu Oya hill country train
• →Pedro Tea Estate factory tour & tasting (~£3)
• →Nuwara Eliya town walk

Do-it-yourself Horton Plains trip: shared tuk-tuk or van from your guesthouse leaves ~5:30am (~£8–12 pp shared, or ~£25 for a private tuk-tuk if you're solo). Park entry ~£15 plus jeep fee. The 9km loop to World's End and Baker's Falls takes 3–4 hrs — go early before the mist rolls in. Back in town by early afternoon for a proper Sri Lankan high tea at the Grand Hotel or a cheaper café version (~£5–8), then a lazy afternoon by the lake or at Victoria Park.

🚌Shared tuk-tuk/van to Horton Plains return (~£10)

🛏Budget guesthouse in Nuwara Eliya

• →Horton Plains loop hike & World's End (~£15 entry)
• →High tea at the Grand Hotel (~£6)

Bus back to Nanu Oya or Ella, then take a bus towards Udawalawe (~4–5 hrs with a change at Wellawaya or Bandarawela, ~£3). Stop at the Elephant Transit Home in Udawalawe National Park for the 3pm or 6pm feeding of orphaned calves (entry ~£3) — a genuinely ethical alternative to Pinnawala. Continue by bus to Tissamaharama (~1.5 hrs, £1), the budget base for Yala. Book tomorrow's Yala safari jeep through your guesthouse (~£25–35 pp shared) before bed.

🚌Bus Nuwara Eliya → Udawalawe → Tissamaharama (~£4 total)

🛏Guesthouse in Tissamaharama

• →Elephant Transit Home feeding session (~£3)
• →Book shared Yala jeep safari

Leave at 5am for a 5–6 hr shared jeep safari in Yala National Park — the best odds in Sri Lanka for leopard, plus sloth bear, elephant and crocs. Budget ~£30 pp for the jeep share, driver and park entry combined (book via guesthouse, 6 pax jeep). Alternatively, block/zone 5 at Bundala is cheaper and better for birds. Afternoon: nap, then cycle or tuk-tuk to Tissa Wewa lake and the Kirinda temple on the coast for sunset. Dinner from a local hopper stall (~£2).

🚌Shared safari jeep (5am pickup) ~£30 pp incl. park fees

🛏Guesthouse in Tissamaharama

• →Yala National Park leopard safari
• →Tissa Wewa lake & Kirinda temple sunset

Hop the bus from Tissamaharama to Matara (~2 hrs, £1.50), then the coastal bus or train on to Galle (45 min, £0.50). Check into a budget guesthouse inside or just outside the Fort walls — mid-range rooms inside the Fort start around £25–35, cheaper options are a 10-minute walk out. Spend the late afternoon walking the Dutch Fort ramparts, the lighthouse and the old Dutch Reformed Church (all free to wander). Sunset from the Flag Rock bastion with an ice cream (~£1.50).

🚌Bus Tissamaharama → Matara → Galle (~£2)

🛏Budget guesthouse in/around Galle Fort

• →Galle Fort ramparts & lighthouse walk (free)
• →Flag Rock sunset

A free day in Galle. Morning wandering the Fort's boutique lanes, the Maritime Museum (~£2) and the old spice warehouses. Lunch at a cheap fort café or the Galle market. Afternoon: local bus or tuk-tuk 15 min to Unawatuna or Jungle Beach for a swim (~£1.50, sunbed ~£3). Evening drinks on the fort walls or a cheap rice and curry at a family-run spot outside the walls (~£4). If you want a splurge, the seafood at the Fort's Ministry of Crab is the operator's version — expect ~£30–40 pp instead of included in the tour.

🚌Local bus/tuk-tuk to Unawatuna (~£1.50 each way)

🛏Budget guesthouse in/around Galle Fort

• →Maritime Museum (~£2)
• →Unawatuna / Jungle Beach swim
• →Optional Ministry of Crab dinner (~£35)

Take the slow coastal train (Galle → Colombo, ~2.5 hrs, second class ~£1.50) — sit on the left for the ocean views. Get off at Ambalangoda or Kosgoda and tuk-tuk to the Kosgoda Sea Turtle Conservation Project (~£2 entry, ~£3 tuk-tuk) where volunteers release hatchlings; avoid the unlicensed 'turtle hatcheries' that over-handle animals. Continue by bus to Colombo (~£1.50). Evening: a do-it-yourself Colombo city walk — Gangaramaya Temple (£2), the Pettah markets, and sunset at Galle Face Green with street food (~£3).

🚌Galle → Ambalangoda/Kosgoda train (~£1.50), bus to Colombo (~£1.50)

🛏Hostel/budget guesthouse in Colombo

• →Kosgoda turtle conservation project (~£2)
• →Gangaramaya Temple & Pettah market walk
• →Galle Face Green street food

Last Sri Lankan breakfast (egg hoppers, ~£1.50), then public bus #187 or the airport shuttle back to Bandaranaike International (~£1, allow 60–90 min in traffic) for your flight home. If you have a late flight, leave bags at the hostel and do a final wander around the Fort district or pick up tea and spices at the Odel or Laksala shops before heading out — remember the airport is 32km north of the city.

🚌Colombo → CMB airport bus (~£1) or taxi (~£15)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Final Sri Lankan breakfast
• →Tea & spice souvenir shopping