After ordering a heap of Lonely Planet guides and reading endless blogs and internet posts, I am finally getting to grips with planning my trip!



I will be starting in September and my first stop will be a month travelling around Sri Lanka. I chose to start in Sri Lanka as I originally wanted to start in India, but feared it might be a bit overwhelming for a first-time backpacker, and I've heard great things about backpacking in Sri Lanka and also its many UNESCO heritage sites and stunning scenery.

As this is my first stop, I am planning quite meticulously, incorporating some couch surfing and utilising the great booking.com to book some hotels and guest houses along the way. I have never couchsurfed before, but have found some great guys with whom I will be couchsurfing in both Colombo on my arrival and in Kandy. I imagine as my confidence and experience grows, I'll become more lax in needing to book places in advance and will just let the road take me where I want to go, but for my first stop, planning is definitely helping to ease me in to my adventure!

My route in Sri Lanka is as follows:

Colombo - Anuradhapura - Dambulla/Sigiriya/Polonnaruwa - Kandy - Ella - Uda Walawe National Park - Tangalle - Mirissa (incl day trip to Galle) - Colombo

The only places I haven't yet figured out accommodation for are Anuradhapura and Ella - does anybody have any tips for these?

Have you been to Sri Lanka and have some tips/ must sees for me? I'd love to hear!

My next stop will be... India!
Amy x