Sri Lanka in 8 days

Best time to go:May to September is the dry season on the East Coast so therefore the best time to go to visit this area. I must say that we went inAugust and it was extremely hot, so the beginning of June or end of September could be more pleasant.

General advice:we stayed at "Maalu Maalu Resort & Spa" a boutique hotel at Pasikuda in the east coast side of the island. The hotel's beach and swimming pool were just fantastic. I must say that during this trip we ate mainly at the hotel as there are no many restaurants in the area, however the seafood and fish at the hotel were wonderful.

Do not even think about driving here as it is just insane! It’s very similar to India, I would say. Our approach was to hire a driver to take us between places. It takes around 6 hours driving from Colombo to Pasikuda, that is why maybe an intermediate stop on the way It is not such a bad idea.

Day 1:Pasikuda

Relaxing at the beach, or at least that is what my family did while I was trying to get to Colombo as I missed my connection flight… not a very pleasant experience.

Day 2: Polonnaruwa and Gal Vihara

Through the hotel we managed to find a private driver that was going to take us to all the places that we wanted to visit during the following week. Polonnaruwa is just 1 hour and 20 minutes from the hotel and was the thriving commercial and religious centre of Sri Lanka 800 years ago. It consists of a lot of temples and religious buildings. The main ones that you shouldn’t miss are: the Royal Palace, the Audience Hall, the Swimming Pool and the Sacred Quadrangle. Just 10 minutes driving away from Polonnaruwa, you can find Gal Vihara. Gal Vihara is a group of four beautiful Buddha's in perfect condition, cut from one long slab of granite. I would really recommend this visit, it was fantastic and the place beautiful.

Day 3: Pasikuda

In the morning we went by bike to Pasikuda when the nearby fishing village is just starting to wake up while the fishermen return with their catch of the day.

We spent the rest of the day doing water sports at the beach.

Day 4: Sigiriya

Sigiriya is one of the most valuable historical monuments of Sri Lanka that you can find 2 hours and half driving from the hotel.

This palace is located 370 metres above sea level so you'll have to climb a series of vertiginous staircases attached to sheer walls to reach the top. A bit scary to climb the stairs that are attached to the wall in my opinion and a definitely "not to do" if you have vertigo, however the views from the top and the experience overall is spectacular!

On the way back from Sigiriya, we stopped at "Lanka Silks Shop" and bought many nice scarfs and other beautiful silks quite cheap!

Day 5: Minneriya National Park

Just 2 hours driving away from the hotel you can find the Minneriya National Park, a hot spot for safari lovers because of its abundance of elephants. This experience was so incredible that even when few years later we went to Kenya and saw the elephants, we were like "bahhhh nothing compared to Sri Lanka". This is a must do in Sri Lanka. We had a fantastic time and we were shocked with the amount of elephants!

Day 6: Batticaloa

Just 35 min away from the hotel you can visit Batticaloa, a major city on this side of the island. At Batticaloa you can visit the 2 main attractions:

• The Old Dutch Fort, is an impressive structure originally built by the Portuguese in 1628, but later captured by the Dutch.

• Batticaloa Bazaar, is a lively local market that offers everything from spices and fresh vegetables to intriguing handicrafts where you can find some souvenirs to take home.

It will not take you more than 3 hours so you can combine this activity with a half day relaxing at the beach hotel.

Day 7: Pasikuda

We spent our last day enjoying the hotel's water sport activities and chilling at the hotel.

Do you have more days? It might worth to explore other parts if the island like Dambulla, Matale and Kandy.