Saint Martin’s Island Bangladesh: The Complete Travel Guide

Saint Martin’s Island (Sent Martin Dip in Bengali, also called Narikel Jinjira) is Bangladesh’s only coral island: about 8 square kilometres of coconut palms and clear water at low tide, off the southern tip of the Teknaf peninsula and about 8 km from the coast of Myanmar. For the 2026-27 season it’s open to tourists from 1 November 2026 to 15 March 2027, with overnight stays allowed throughout, a cap of about 3,500 visitors a day and a Tk 100 environmental fee. Ships leave from Nuniarchhara jetty in Cox’s Bazar town and take about 5 to 7 hours. This guide covers the rules, the ships and travel pass, what to do on the island, and where to stay.

Bangladesh has exactly one coral island. The locals call it Narikel Jinjira, Coconut Island; the rest of the world calls it Saint Martin’s. It is the most beautiful place in Bangladesh. I say this having stood on the misty ridges of Sajek Valley and walked the old lanes of Old Dhaka. The water here is clear enough to see the coral and fish from the boat, the beaches are lined with coconut palms, and at night the sky is full of stars. Getting there takes effort, and the effort pays off.

Is Saint Martin’s Island Open? Opening Dates and 2026-27 Rules

The environment ministry sets the rules each season. On 25 October 2026 it announced the 2026-27 season, and a revised notice on 27 October allowed overnight stays for the whole season rather than only from December. Some older news reports and guides still carry the earlier restriction. The rules now are:

• Season: 1 November 2026 to 15 March 2027. The island is closed to tourists from mid-March to October.
• Overnight stays: allowed at any point in the season.
• Daily cap: an average maximum of 3,500 tourists a day, up from 2,000 last season.
• Fee: Tk 100 environmental conservation fee per visitor, on top of the ship ticket unless your booking says it’s included.
• Ships: only approved passenger ships, only from the BIWTA jetty at Nuniarchhara in Cox’s Bazar town.
• Travel pass: a QR-coded ticket and travel pass are required to board.

What’s banned on the island: lights, loud noise and barbecue parties on the beach at night; motorbikes, sea bikes and other vehicles on the beach; single-use plastic; entering the casuarina and keya (screwpine) areas or collecting their fruit; and collecting or buying coral, shells or any marine life. Tourist access to Chhera Dwip, the islet at the southern tip, is restricted.

Best Time to Visit Saint Martin’s Island

December and January are the best months: the Bay of Bengal is calm, the weather is clear and comfortably cool, and the water is at its clearest for snorkelling. December is the busiest month, so book ship tickets and rooms weeks ahead. November, February and early March are quieter, and the sea is usually still fine. From mid-March the island is closed, and in the monsoon the Bay of Bengal is dangerous.

The Travel Pass and Ship Tickets

Since the 2024-25 season every tourist has needed a government travel pass. In practice, it comes with your ship ticket: when you book with an approved operator or its authorised sellers, the operator registers you and your ticket carries a QR code that’s scanned at boarding. A ticket without a valid QR code is rejected, so don’t buy from informal agents.

At the start of November 2026, three ships had approval: MV Baro Awlia, MV Karnafuly Express and MV Teknaf (despite its name, it sails from Cox’s Bazar), with others waiting for permission. Fares vary by ship and seat: in early November return tickets started at around Tk 3,600 for ordinary seats, with business seats, beds and cabins costing more, and some fares were disputed by passengers and BIWTA. Check the current price on the operator’s booking site.

How to Get to Saint Martin’s Island

Step 1: Get to Cox’s Bazar

Every trip now starts in Cox’s Bazar. Fly from Dhaka in about an hour, take one of the three direct trains, or ride an overnight bus, then sleep in Cox’s Bazar and board the ship in the morning. My Cox’s Bazar guide has the details.

Step 2: The Ship

Ships leave Nuniarchhara jetty in Cox’s Bazar in the morning and take about 5 to 7 hours to cover the 120 km or so to the island, depending on the ship, the tide and the sea; the first sailing of the season, on 5 November, left at about 7.30am and arrived around 1.20pm. Departure times change with the tide, so confirm yours with the operator the day before. Ships start back in the mid-afternoon and reach Cox’s Bazar in the evening.

When I went in December 2016, ships still sailed from Teknaf, up the Naf River and out across the bay, a crossing of only a couple of hours. That route has been closed since 2024 for security reasons and because of silting in the Naf, so the longer sea crossing from Cox’s Bazar is the only way now.

Why Saint Martin’s Island Repays the Journey

Most travellers to Bangladesh visit Cox’s Bazar for the beach and consider their coastal experience complete. Saint Martin’s is its opposite in almost every way.

Where Cox’s Bazar is 120 km of sand packed with visitors, Saint Martin’s is a few square kilometres of coconut palms and clear water. Where Cox’s Bazar is loud and alive with commerce, Saint Martin’s is quiet, almost startlingly quiet at night, when the only sound is the ocean.

The water is the thing people aren’t prepared for. Bangladesh’s rivers and much of its coast are murky with silt from the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta. Saint Martin’s, further out and further south, has transparent water in shades of green and blue over coral and sand. You can see your feet when you stand waist-deep. It’s not the Maldives, but for Bangladesh it’s extraordinary.

Things to Do on Saint Martin’s Island

Walk the Beach

The island is small enough to explore on foot, and walking is the best way to see it. Start from the jetty area in the north, where most hotels and restaurants are, and walk south. The development thins out, the beach gets wilder, coconut palms lean over the sand and the water shifts from green to blue.

Some stretches at the southern end are cut off at high tide, so check the tide times with your hotel before a long walk. The eastern, sunrise side is less visited and lovely in the early morning, with fishing boats coming in from the night.

Chhera Dwip: The Torn Island

Chhera Dwip, the “torn island”, is the small islet off the southern tip that’s cut off at high tide and joined at low tide. On my December 2016 trip, you could hire a boat from the jetty or walk across at low tide, and it was the highlight of the trip: no buildings, no people, just wild beach, rock and coral, with the open Bay of Bengal pounding the western side.

Today tourist access to Chhera Dwip is restricted to protect its coral and wildlife, so don’t plan your trip around it. Ask locally what’s allowed on the day, and if you can’t go, the southern tip of the main island gives you a similar wild, rocky coast.

Look at the Coral, Gently

The coral around Saint Martin’s is the reason the island exists, and it’s under serious pressure from tourism, pollution and construction. You’ll still see living coral, colourful reef fish, sea urchins and starfish in the shallows at low tide, and local operators near the jetty can arrange snorkelling gear if conditions allow.

Explore the Village

Head inland from the beachfront to see how the island’s residents live: modest houses set back from the beach, small gardens, fishing nets drying in the sun. Most of the centre and south is farmland and village rather than tourist strip. Bicycles were for hire when I visited, and the sandy paths make for slow but enjoyable riding when it’s too hot to walk.

Watch the Sunset

Cox’s Bazar sunsets are famous; I think Saint Martin’s sunsets are better, because the island is quieter and there’s nothing on the horizon but sea. Be on the western beach about 30 minutes before sunset. In the clear air of December and January the sun glows deep orange, then red, as it drops into open water.

Eat Fresh Fish

You can’t leave without eating the day’s catch. Restaurants near the jetty and the hotels display fish on ice; you choose, agree the price, and it comes grilled or fried with rice, dal, chutney and lime. Look for rupchanda (silver pomfret), red snapper, big prawns and, in season, lobster.

When I visited, the evening beach barbecue was the highlight of every day. Barbecue parties, fires and lights on the beach at night are now banned to protect nesting turtles and birds, so enjoy your grilled fish at a restaurant instead.

Look Up at Night

With almost no light pollution, the night sky over Saint Martin’s is spectacular. On clear nights from November to February, give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust and the Milky Way appears. Keep torches pointed down near the waterline: olive ridley, green and hawksbill turtles nest on these beaches between November and March.

Where to Stay on Saint Martin’s Island

Saint Martin’s has no big resorts and shouldn’t: the island has limited fresh water, and power is far less reliable than on the mainland. What it has is a range of guesthouses and eco-resorts, many relying on their own generators and solar panels. You’re not here for room service; you’re here for the ocean.

Book ahead, especially for December and weekends, when every bed can be full. Places that come up again and again include Blue Marine Resort, Hotel Praasad Paradise, Music Eco Resort, Shayari Eco Resort and Hotel Abakash; I haven’t stayed at all of them, so check recent reviews and confirm what’s included before you pay.

• Power is often limited to certain hours, so ask your hotel when it’s on.
• Many rooms have fans rather than air conditioning; the sea breeze is usually enough from November to February.
• Hot water and Wi-Fi are limited; mobile data works reasonably well in the north of the island.

Getting Around the Island

The island is easy to get around on foot. Small three-wheelers and vans meet the ships at the jetty and take you to your hotel for a small fare. Motorbikes and other vehicles aren’t allowed on the beach.

Sample Itinerary: Two Nights on Saint Martin’s

• Day 0: reach Cox’s Bazar and sleep near the Nuniarchhara jetty, with your ticket and travel pass already booked.
• Day 1: board the morning ship; arrive early afternoon, check in, and walk the western beach to sunset. Fish dinner at a restaurant, then stars.
• Day 2: sunrise walk on the eastern side; walk or cycle south through the village to the wild southern tip at low tide; sunset on the western beach again.
• Day 3: a last morning walk, then the afternoon ship back to Cox’s Bazar, arriving in the evening.

What to Pack

• Cash in taka: don’t count on finding a working ATM on the island, so bring enough for rooms, food, transport and extras.
• Sunscreen and a hat: the sun on open water and pale sand is intense.
• Reef shoes or strapped sandals for rocky and coral shallows.
• A refillable water bottle: single-use plastic is banned.
• A power bank and a torch, because power hours are limited.
• A light layer for cool December and January evenings and the ship deck.
• Seasickness tablets for the long crossing, and a dry bag for your phone.
• Any medicines you need: there’s only a basic health post on the island.

Protecting Saint Martin’s

Saint Martin’s is one of Bangladesh’s most fragile places, and the government has tightened the rules because of the damage from overtourism, plastic and unregulated building. The island’s future as a place to visit depends on the reef surviving. Follow the rules, keep off the coral, take your rubbish back with you, use a mineral sunscreen if you can, and keep lights off the beach at night.

Interesting Facts About Saint Martin’s Island

• Local name: Narikel Jinjira, Coconut Island, for the palms that cover it.
• Bangladesh’s only coral island: strictly, it’s an island with coral communities rather than one built entirely of coral, and it holds the country’s only significant reef.
• It shrinks at high tide: about 8 sq km at low tide, closer to 5 sq km at high tide, as the rocky intertidal areas go under.
• Myanmar is close: the coast of Myanmar is about 8 km away. There’s no legal border crossing by sea.
• Sea turtles nest here: olive ridley, green and hawksbill turtles come ashore from November to March, the same months as the tourist season, which is one reason for the night-time rules.
• Most hotels are in the north: the centre and south are mostly farmland and village.

Frequently Asked Questions

Explore More of Bangladesh

• 🏖️ Cox’s Bazar: the long beach and your starting point for the ship
• 🏙️ Places to visit in Dhaka: Mughal forts, rivers and world-class architecture
• 🍃 Sreemangal: tea gardens, rainforest and seven-layer tea
• 🏔️ Sajek Valley: the hill station of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
• 🏛️ The National Monument in Savar: the best half-day trip from Dhaka
• 📸 Old Dhaka: the old heart of the capital
• 🌊 Birishiri: clay hills and blue lakes near the Indian border

A Final Word

Saint Martin’s doesn’t try to be anything it isn’t. No resort pools, no cocktail bars, no beach massage beds. What it has is the clearest water in Bangladesh, a reef that may yet survive if it’s treated with care, and nights so quiet that the stars become something you actually stop and look at. The journey is long, and that’s probably part of why it remains as good as it is. Go. Stay a night or two. Follow the rules.

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