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Whether you choose to travel around Sri Lanka or just base yourself in one place there are many things to do and explore. We recommend you get a guide book to browse (eg Lonely Planet) and of course your local hosts will have a good list of the attractions in the immediate area.
If you are staying in the south west a visit to the Galle Fort is a must including a sunset stroll around the ramparts and mixing with the locals.
There are plenty of places to eat in Galle and Hikkaduwa from the local curry restaurants to the high quality offering of some of the boutique guest houses and hotels. As well as the ubiquitous rice and curry there is great seafood and a trip to the fish market is a great experience.
Many people neglect the inland areas and there are many lakes and river that wind their way into the hills - boats can be arranged. Also it is easy to rent a bicycle and that is a fantastic way to see the countryside, pedalling between the paddy fields and through the villages.
Sri Lanka is dotted with Buddhist temples and it is well worth stopping by - many welcome visitors, particularly if you leave a small donation.
Along the West Coast are number of turtle hatcheries that you can visit but even better get a mask and snorkel and see them in their natural state. Unfortunately many of the coral reefs suffered from climate change in the late 90's but they are slowly rebuilding and anywhere you swim you'll see a myriad of topical fish.
For a bit of pampering Sri Lanka is a centre of ancient Ayurveda system of medicine a complex regime of diet and philosophy - There are specialist centres for this, but you can also arrange just to have one of the wonderful massages that are central to the Ayurvedic system.
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