You need to allow yourself at least two weeks to do this whistle stop tour! Arrive into Colombo and take a bus north east to Kandy a 100km so not too far. Take time out to see the Temple of the Tooth, explore around the lake, visit the botanical gardens, the elephant orphanage etc.

Then another bus to Nuwara Eliya, some 80km away, up in the hill station region of Sri Lanka. Great hikes here, visit tea plantations etc. Then by bus again to Dambulla, Visit the cave temple of Dambulla there are 5 caves containing 150 images of the Buddha you are going to be Budda'd out by the time you finish this!! Fantastic views from the top of the temple.

Take a bus to nearby Sigiriya (19km north-east of Dambulla about half an hour) where there is an amazing fortress built into and on top of a mountain. It is quite steep and if you have problems with heights, you may not be able to go all the way up the Beetle couldn't. It started as a fortress, then turned into a monastery sort of retreat. There are fabulous frescos of dancing women inside the cave half way up.

From here, go back to Dambulla and continue north by bus to Polonnaruwa. This takes about three hours. Visit the ruins of the ancient civilisation and see the enormous seated Buddha. After Polonnaruwa, take a bus up to Anuradhapura, (about four hours), the site of another ancient city, and there is a sacred Bo tree.

You've done enough cultural stuff! So take the bus all the way back down to Colombo – about five hours. Don't hang around in Colombo – it's not a nice place, but if you have funds and want to go to the Maldives, try the big hotels and see if they have any special deals – they can be quite good value. From Colombo, take the train to Galle (around three hours) and a taxi to Unawatuna and relax on the beach before returning to Colombo by train.

If you are interested in surfing, stop off at Hikkaduwa, a real hippy and surf place on the south west coast.