Do you have a guidebook yet? If not, I'd recommend the Lonely Planet.

There are quite a number of recent trip reports here. Go to the top of the page and choose Sri Lanka from the drop-down menu.

I am not young or solo anymore, but having spent a month in SL I am not sure it would be my first choice if I was! The "hostel culture" hasn't really found its way to SL yet and accommodation is relatively expensive when compared with many other countries. www.hostelworld.com is a good starting point for cheaper accommodation.

Travelling independently takes much longer than you would think for the distances involved. Train travel is fun but routes are limited. Bus services can take you just about anywhere but not in comfort and the state of the buses and the expertise of the drivers leaves a lot to be desired. For that reason alone most visitors will hire a car and driver. We did half and half and much preferred the driver option (despite having travelled all over the world, mostly on public transport).

Accommodation near the NPs does get booked way in advance and you really need to book ASAP .

As Kathie says, if you have not already done so, invest in a good guide book as there is a surprising amount to see packed into such a small country.

I visited in 2011, you can click on my screen name for my trip report