Known for
- 1
The longest beach in the country.
From Laboni point past Kolatoli, Himchari and Inani the sand runs unbroken for about 120 km down to Teknaf, with the marine drive beside it the whole way. Most visitors stay in town and do day runs south; the further you go, the emptier it gets.
- 2
Islands.
Saint Martin's, the coral island nine kilometres off the tip of Teknaf; Maheshkhali with the Adinath temple on its hill; Sonadia's empty beach and birds; Kutubdia's lighthouse and windmills. Each is a boat ride and a day of its own.
- 3
Hills behind the sand.
Himchari's falls and viewpoint, the Rakhine Buddhist monasteries of Ramu, and the Dulahazara safari park under the Chakaria forest: the district is not only the shore.
Best season
GoodFairNov–Feb
- Rakhine water festival (Sangrai) Mid-April, the Rakhine new year, in Ramu and the Rakhine quarters
- Adinath Shiva Chaturdashi fair February or March, Maheshkhali
November to February is the season: dry, cool evenings, calm sea, every hotel full on holidays. Saint Martin's is open to visitors only from 1 November to 15 March (2026–27), by ship from Cox's Bazar town; outside it the island is closed.
March to May is hot but quiet and cheaper. The monsoon (June to September) brings big surf, red flags and landslides on the hill roads; the beach is still walked in the rain, but the islands are off.
Cyclone warnings in May and October to November close the beach at once.
Getting there
Bus
Dhaka
10–12 h, ৳1,000–2,500
Overnight; Green Line, Hanif, Shyamoli and others from Sayedabad and Gabtoli
Train
Dhaka
8–9 h
Cox's Bazar Express, overnight; book ahead, the station is 7 km from the beach
Air
Dhaka
1 h
Several flights a day; the airport is next to the beach
Getting around
In the district
Reserve CNG or car along the marine drive; in season, ships to Saint Martin's leave only from Nuniarchhara jetty in Cox's Bazar town
Direct buses from Dhaka take 10 to 12 hours overnight (AC and non-AC). The railway reached Cox's Bazar in 2023: the Cox's Bazar Express from Dhaka runs overnight, about 8 to 9 hours, and a day train from Chattogram takes about 3 hours. Flights from Dhaka take an hour and land 5 km from the beach. Inside the district the marine drive is the road: reserve a CNG or a car for the day, or take the Teknaf bus along it.
Local food
Beach-grilled rupchanda and koralMust try
Pick the fish, pay by weight
Loitta shutkiMust try
Dried on the beaches, cooked hot with garlic
Rakhine mohinga
Fish noodle soup in the Rakhine quarters
Sea fish is the point: rupchanda, koral, lobster and crab fried or barbecued on Laboni beach and at the Kolatoli stalls, loitta shutki in the Burmese market lanes. Rakhine food in Ramu and in town's Rakhine quarter (mohinga and sour curries), and the Burmese market's achar, dried fruit and sweets for the bus home.
Places to see
Hindu templeRubelctgbd39 · CC BY-SA 4.0Adinath Temple, Maheshkhali
The Shiva temple on Mainak hill on Maheshkhali island, a short boat ride from town: a long stair up, the Bay and the mangroves below, and a big fair at Shiva Chaturdashi.
IslandNo machine-readable author provided. Shmunmun assumed (based on copyright claims). · Public domainChhera Dwip
The scatter of tiny islets off the southern tip of Saint Martin's, the last land of Bangladesh: coral rock, keya and a thin strip of sand. Tourist visits are restricted to protect it.
BeachRaquib · CC BY-SA 4.0Cox's Bazar Sea Beach
The country's beach: about 120 km of unbroken sand from the town south to Teknaf, the longest natural sea beach in the world, with the town's hotels lined up behind Laboni and Kolatoli points.
Wildlife and national parkHaneen Bég · CC BY-SA 4.0Dulahazara Safari Park
The country's first safari park, opened in 2001 in the Chakaria forest 45 km north of town: tigers, lions, elephants, deer and bears in large enclosures, and the forest's own wildlife around them.
WaterfallSiraj Akram Kayes · CC BY-SA 4.0Himchari
Twelve kilometres south of town on the marine drive: a small waterfall off the hill, a long stair to a viewpoint over the beach and the Bay, and the national park's forest behind.
BeachMuntasir du · Public domainInani Beach
About 27 km south of town: the beach with the coral boulders, black rocks scattered along clean sand under green hills, far quieter than the town points.
IslandRocky Masum
This work was made by Masum-al-Hasan Rocky and released under the license(s) stated below. Please feel free to use it for any purpose as long as you credit Masum-al-Hasan Rocky as author and follow the terms of the chosen license. If you use this work outside of the Wikimedia projects, I would very much like to get a note from you. Thanks! · CC BY-SA 4.0Kutubdia Island
The island upazila off the north of the district: a quiet beach, the old lighthouse, the wind-power masts, salt fields and a slow ferry crossing from Magnama ghat.
BeachFerdous · CC BY-SA 3.0Laboni Point
The oldest and busiest point on the beach, right below the town: the beach market, the evening crowd, the tube sellers and the first place most visitors touch the sea.
Viewpoint and sunset spotFahad Faisal · CC BY-SA 4.0Cox's Bazar–Teknaf Marine Drive
An 80 km road from Kolatoli to Teknaf with the sea on one side and the hills on the other the whole way: the longest marine drive in the world and the district's best day out.
Nuniarchhara BIWTA Jetty (ships to Saint Martin's)
The river jetty in the north of Cox's Bazar town, near the airport, from which every approved tourist ship to Saint Martin's leaves in season.
Buddhist vihara and pagodaRockyMasum · CC BY-SA 3.0Rangkut Banasram Monastery, Ramu
Ramu is the Rakhine Buddhist town 15 km east of Cox's Bazar, and Rangkut Banasram on its hill is the oldest of its monasteries, a pilgrimage site said to go back two thousand years.
BeachMuntasir du · Public domainSaint Martin's Jetty and the East Side
Where the ships tie up on the island's eastern shore, beside the village: your arrival and departure point.
BeachMd. Rabiul Islam · CC BY 3.0North Beach, Saint Martin's
The northern shore near the village and the jetty: the easiest beach to reach, with fishing boats, coral flats at low tide and the hills of Myanmar on the skyline.
BeachTanjeem Farhan · CC BY-SA 4.0West Beach, Saint Martin's
The island's long western shore, facing the open Bay: sand broken by coral rock, palms and keya behind, and the sunset straight ahead.
IslandNiaz morshed Shovon · Public domainSaint Martin's Island
The country's only coral island and its southernmost inhabited land, 9 km off the tip of Teknaf: clear water, coconut palms and keya thickets, open to visitors only from November to mid-March, by ship from Cox's Bazar town.
Monument and memorialFahad Faisal · CC BY-SA 3.0Samudra Bilas, Humayun Ahmed's house
The seaside house the writer Humayun Ahmed built on the island's west beach; now a private guest house run by his family, seen by most visitors from the beach outside.
IslandZislam1968 · CC BY-SA 4.0Sonadia Island
A low island of about 9 km² north-west of town, off Maheshkhali: empty beach, dunes, mangroves, fishing camps and winter shorebirds, with no hotels at all.
Times, fares and opening hours change. Check before you go.
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