I had been on a 5-day trip to Sri Lanka in September.
Me and two of my friends flew Sri Lankan Airways from Mumbai to Colombo.
Day 1 : Got down at the airport . Got some currency exchanged at the airport itself and took a taxi to Colombo railway station to take a train to Galle. Took a rickshaw from Galle to Unawatana beach. We spent a lazy evening at the beach , which was mostly empty due to it being off-season.
Day 2: Went from Unawatana Beach to Hikkaduwa (the best beach in Sri Lanka) by way of auto-rickshaws changing rickshaws at Galle. It was a nice evening and had a lot better options to spend the evenings compared to Unawatana and we have heard that it is the most happening beach in the tourist season - with the most happening parties. We hopped from one cafe to another. It drizzled in the evening which made the weather a lot better.
Day 3: Traveled back to Colombo - by taking a train from Hikkaduwa. Spent the day there - went to a couple of malls to chill out. Took the night train to Hatton (for Adam's peak). It was the most irrelevant day of the trip by far.
Day 4: Reached Hatton station at 2 am and took a shared cab to the base camp of the peak. Started the trek to Adam's peak at 4am. Trekked for 3 hours and due to lack of fitness of the three poor souls, we decided to return when we were about 2 kms from the peak (not that we would have seen anything from the top as it was a very foggy day). Return to Hatton station by 2pm and took the train back to Colombo.
Day 5: Had the entire day to spend the day in Colombo. So what do we decide, do some Shopping, visit the most famous sea coast in Colombo - Marine Drive and as huge cricket fans, the Premadasa stadium
We used trains as the primary mode of transport. Buses are also an option.
We had visited during the non-peak season and hence were able to make hotel bookings after reaching the location. Would recommend bookings to be made in advance if visiting during the tourist season.
A more detailed description of my trip can be read at
http://wanderer-abhijit.blogspot.in/...d-friends.html
If anyone has any further queries, would be glad to help.