I understand that Marija, but Sri Lanka is not India. The only reason I can imagine the friends saying the south was safer than other parts of the country would be the war.

I stand by what I said in this tread 2 years back.....

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Mohammed on Apr 17, 10 at 3:30pm
Hmmm interesting post and very fair questions indeed.

The position and respect granted to women in Sri Lanka is definitley much much better than most ME countries and Pakistan etc. By and large you will experience good standards of courtesy and respect most places in Sri Lanka however as a father of two young daughters I would hasten to tell you that it is not good for a young girl to be out travelling alone on secluded trains/buses - especially a white skinned european/american etc as you will stand out like a fish out of water and attract too much attention from the wrong quarters. Sadly we do have a share of perverts and most of these are cowards who will run a mile with one strong stare and perhaps a few strong confident words. This is something that the government and authorities are very concerned about and there are several educational campaings ongoing at present to educate the public about not harrassing and pestering tourists etc.

That said, I think Sri Lanka is fine for a reasonably seasoned solo woman traveller, western style dressing is quite acceptable. You must definitely use a private car/driver/guide, stay in reputable establishmnets and ideally work with a reliable local travel agency who will overlook all your arrangements.
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I have been travelling alone to Sri Lanka in last february. my tour was organized by a local travel agency and I had a private driver. By the way I had no problem being a woman alone. I think that in any country something can happen for a solo woman travelling, even in my country which is France !
By the way, I met there in Kandy 3 french women who were travelling alone by buses and trains. They had a really good time without any trouble.

This thread is a bit old, but I still want to share my experience. I am female and I was in Sri Lanka last year and can only confirm what Kirsty21 has written. I was travelling alone and accompanied by guys and either way I got sexual harassment, abused and treated with disrespect, I never felt more bad on a holiday than on this trip. It is a pity, as Sri Lanka has some nice spots to visit. I was also hanging around with crew members from sri lankan airlines and unfortunately they have/had the same attitudes described above, so you really need to be caution.