Tourism is one of Sri Lanka's largest employers, and where you spend has real consequences. A few things worth knowing.
Elephants
Do not ride elephants, anywhere, for any price. Visit the Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home, which rehabilitates orphaned calves and releases them, rather than facilities where animals are chained or bathed for photographs.
Reefs
Wear a rash vest instead of sunscreen when snorkelling, do not stand on coral, and choose Pigeon Island operators who anchor in sand. Hikkaduwa's reef shows what happens when nobody does.
Turtles
Legitimate hatcheries release hatchlings the same night they hatch. If you are being handed a hatchling for a photo, or seeing tanks of month-old turtles, that is a business, not conservation.
Where your money lands
Homestays, village lunches and locally owned guest houses put a far higher share of what you pay into the local economy than international chains. Ask who owns the place you are staying.