Mrs. EssexNYC and I will be stopping in Sri Lanka for a week in August as part of a larger trip. We did a stopover for 12 hours last year between the Maldives and Dubai and were intrigued enough to go back for a longer visit. Our tastes skew luxury but we like traveling outside of package tours and love local experiences. My current plan is: arrive CMB late evening, overnight at Wallawwa (stayed there last time), fly Cinnamon to Sigiriya, spend three days in the Cultural Triangle (Kalundewa Retreat), then road to Koslanda or Ella for a night (with a day in Kandy on the way), then road to the ocean for two nights, then fly back to CMB to connect to our international flight.
Questions: 1) anything I am overlooking (trying to avoid crowds/traffic of Colombo and potential August rains of SW coast); 2) for ocean stay - any advice on Chena Huts (heard Yala park is overcrowded) vs. Amanwella (heard so-so); and 3) any recommendations on a guide that we can hire for 3-7 days (solid knowledge, English-speaking, in tune to needs)? Thank you all!