Hello Fodorites!

I and my best mate (both female) are heading to Sri Lanka. We have seven full days. We arrive to Colombo late on the 27th of January and depart from Colombo mid-day on the 4th of January. Background: We will be coming from Shanghai. We are both adventurous and well traveled and have lived in Asia for several years; for our Lunar New Year break last year, we went to Burma, a second trip for me and first for my friend.

I have read through the many excellent trip reports but wanted to get a bit more feedback. Given the following information on us, what would you recommend for our 7-day trip?

-We are not on a tight budget
-We felt that 1.5 days in Bagan was enough
-We didn't hike Mt. Popa in Burma because of all the poop and the wild monkeys
-My friend loves the beach but I prefer the shade, though I love all watersports and will happily participate
-We love to eat
-We don't want to spent *too* much time in transit from one place to another, however I understand that all drives are long

Many thanks for any and all input!

I should add that I spent 4 days in Bagan on each trip but that I wish I had used that time elsewhere. Thanks for your input!

We loved the cultural triangle area and found the Dambulla Cave Temples, Polonnaruawa and Sigiriya all well worth the time. All of these sites are very different from each other. Take a look at our photos: http://www.marlandc.com/sri-lanka-2007.html I get it that you are not a connoisseur of temples, and to the less than fascinated the temples at Bagan or Angkor may look all same-same. I believe your experience in the Cultural Triangle would be different, but take a look at the photos and see what you think. If it is in your budget, stay at the Kandalama. It's a wonderful place and very close to the Cave Temples and to Sigiriya.

We were not charmed by Kandy. You may well want one night there just to break up the journey.

We loved tea country and used that as our relaxation time. We didn't visit beaches, so I can't comment on which one to choose.

No need to spend any time in Colombo, you might want to spend a night at Negombo, a beach town near the airport.

As you know, you don't have a lot of time, and the drives between places are necessarily long. You will have to severely limit your stops to keep from spending way too much time on the road.

Do work with an agent to book hotels and hire a driver.

Hi Kathie - beautiful photos. Thank you for the Negombo recommendation; we land rather late and this would be a nice play to stay and enjoy the next morning.

I have to disagree with Kathie over the Cultural Triangle. I loved Bagan, but I found the temple sites in Sri Lanka disappointing - too ruinous, and when not ruined, the stupas were very plain. I make an exception for Sigiriya. (I also make a personal exception for the Bodhi tree, but you would need an interest in Buddhism for that.) I would suggest the hill country instead.