Not really we went on an organised trip with "Exodus", a couple of weeks wandering round the highlights of the island with an exceptional guide. We normally use "Explore", but in this case, the Exodus trip included Yala, whereas the Explore one had more beach time, and even more temples.
Both are excellent companied to travel with, who have a good range of itineraries, so I'd suggest having a look at their respective web sites even if you're not planning on using them. That way you will see quite a few places listed worth visiting.
p.s. re the photos, there's quite a lot, many of which I wouldn't chose to feature on a photographic web site, they're really just there a a memento of the holiday.
The opening shots of the leopard at Yala for instance are the best I could manage under the circumstances. Our driver got word that it was out posing so we drove off there at high speed; bear in mind he's been chewing betel leaves all afternoon.
We only had a few seconds and I ended up taking the three photos lying on my back on the middle front seat of a series 1 landrover shooting through my legs with feet braced on the cab roof. It must have looked a little ungainly at the time. Thanks the Lord for Olympus' stabilisation 50-200mm + 2x converter, at low shutter speed in a rocking vehicle.
It was at dusk, on the way out of the park, so all the guides were converging on the spot and someone parked right in front of us just as I'd rattled off a few shots. We then had to race out of the park before the 6pm deadline. If a driver is out late, they lose permission to enter the following day, and thus lose a day's income.
New Holland to three pocket guides to Birds Mammals & Snakes which might be worth investigating.
http://www.nhbs.com/browse/search?title-type-facet[]=&term=photographic+guide+sri+lanka
Our driver couldn't read english, but knew the page number of every bird in the book.
We did catch a fleeting glimpse of a particular bird, to which he became all excited, I think genuinely so.
"Very rare bird, very rare bird, very very rare bird" He grabbed my copy of the book and agitatedly pointed to the relevant page. "Very rare bird, used to have two her, crocodile ate one last year, very rare bird"
We set off again driving like a bat out of hell, so I never did find which particular species all the excitement was about.
Do enjoy the holiday, it's a beautiful island, with a very sociable populace.
