Originally Posted by mpkz

Well, it depends on what you consider a waste of time. I spent 10 days there and left a lot unseen. However, I don't consider that trip a waste of time, I saw quite a bit. In 2 days you could at best see one or two sights (such as Sigiriya and Kandy for example, or one of the national parks, or Colombo) and you'd have to do it with an organized tour. Independent travel for 48 hours, you're pretty much stuck with staying in Colombo or Negombo or doing a very quick trip to Galle or Kandy. They're nice things to see but it's nowhere near enough to get any sort of feel for the country. Whether you consider that a waste of time is up to you.