Advice on taxis and accommodation for travel in Sri Lanka [closed]

My partner and I are going travelling in Sri Lanka in November for two weeks and I'm trying to plan a trip. I have a few specific questions about travel but would appreciate any tips or suggestions or any good experiences you've had.

We'd like to have each of the following:

• Hiking in the jungle
• See some wildlife, e.g. leopards and flamingos
• visit a tea estate
• Stay on the beach and swim in the sea and eat the food.

So, at the moment I'm thinking of this:

• arrive and go to Negombo for a couple of nights to acclimatise
• get a taxi to Kandy and spend a couple of days exploring the city. Maybe take a guided jungle tour
• go south to Ella and from here explore the various natural formations, e.g. Ella Gap, World's End.
• Go south to Yala and take a safari
• Go to the coast and stay at one of the more isolated and quiet beach resorts.
• Back to the airport, probably by taxi

We're thinking of doing all this by taxi or small coaches. I've tried to plan this so there are few long trips by car.

Some questions:

• is taxi a reliable way to travel?
• is it easy to get drivers at this time of year and between these places?
• considering we only have two weeks, any obvious omissions?
• any hotel recommendations?

All suggestions, tips welcome!