Hi all, we are going to Sri Lanka at the end of December/beginning January for just over two weeks. We haven't booked yet. We are wondering if anyone has any advice, flight tips, sights, things we shouldn't miss and travel planning advice? Thanks!

We went last November for 3 weeks and had an amazing trip. Flights are long, is suggest flying out of Europe.
Stay in Colombo for a couple days- we stayed at Galle Face (beautiful old Dutch hotel with lots of character) check out the Dutch hospital (a bunch of restaurants and shops in the city) walking district from Galle Face.
Mount Lavinia is close to Colombo and has another beautiful old British hotel called Mount Lavinia and right on the beach next to the hotel has the best seafood place fresh catches and super romantic.
The interior has a cool city called Kandy where you are right in the jungle (if you want to do some hiking) you can also check out the elephants in Pinawala, that isn't too far from Kandy.
Go to the south of the island for amazing beaches and surfing.
I would suggest using taxis for covering distances by road. Hotels help set it up and you can negotiate better prices!
DM me if you have more questions. Have an amazing trip!

Srilanka is a great choice, beautiful island!! If you are into see'ing animals in the wild, you can try a Yala safari, if not there are plenty of wild elephants and monkey's to view as you drive by away from colombo(keep in monkey kingdom was filmed in srilanka) if the surfing or snorkelling is your preference the south beaches as per above post Kate Sledzinski, would be my recommendation as well. If you are into history see'ing the ruins Anurathapura has amazing temples with stories that any tour guide outside these ruins will be happy to accompany you and talk to you about it for a small tip(5.00) If you prefer to visit a tea plantation and like the mountain scenery and also want a break from the heat, you might want to head up to nuwara eliya, If you want to try a hike/religous trek there is adam's peak. Have an amazing trip as well, and let me know if you have any questions

I spent three weeks over Christmas several years ago in Sri Lanka. Loved it. Don't know about flights as I was flying from Jakarta, but I would say the train rides I took between cities were a big part of the fun. Do not do the train if you aren't a keen backpacker though; I sat on my backpack on the floor for 8 hours! We could not for the life of us figure out how to buy first class tickets and that car was pretty much empty! But the Sri Lankans all scream when you go through tunnels; it is one of the coolest things I've experienced. Met lots of other backpackers and nice Sri Lankans who fed us curried mango. We stayed in Unawatuna for a week on the beach with day trip to Galle. Heavenly Ayurvedic head massages with neem oil. If you take the road between Galle and Colombo you see all the grave markers from the tsunami as well as the giant carved buddha by Hikkaduwa given by Japan in memory of the tsunami victims. You can also stop at one of the turtle hatcheries. Also went to Kandy and Ella. I really liked Ella. Do not miss the garlic curry if you are there!