Saint Martin’s island – Bangladesh

Saint Martin’s Island which is also known as St Martin’s Island or simply Sent Martin. This is a unique island in many ways. This is located at the southernmost part of Bangladesh. It also falls into the western bay of Myanmar. This is the most beautiful island in Bangladesh. Finally, this is the only coral island from Bangladesh. Local name of the island is Narkel Jinjira which means the island of coconut. Being a coral island the water surrounded by is having blue color. A lot of tourists visit this island during winter (December to February). The GPS coordinate of this amazing island is (20°37’45.64″N, 92°19’29.00″E).

The map of this beautiful coral island looks like an ‘8’ in English. Middle of the island is so narrow that you could see the sea on both eastern and western sides. Possibly the width of the island is a few hundred meters at that portion. Name of that portion is Golachipa (which is something similar to narrow neck in English). The overall size of Saint Martin’s island is around 8 square kilometer.

Water color of Saint Martin’s Island is blue like in this picture.

Day – 1

We reached Saint Martin’s Island at 1:00pm that day. We missed our ship and that caused the delayed arrival. After a quick lunch we reached the beach to swim in the ocean water. The swimming was around the high tide and we had a lot of waves that time. During the afternoon we enjoyed the sunset in St Martin’s Island (from the western part of the island).

There are several things that can be done on Saint Martin’s island during the night. You could sit at the beach and hear the murmuring sound of the waves. If it is a moonlight night you could enjoy the ocean under the heavenly light. If it is a dark night then you have the option to look at the sky and gaze on the stars. You have the option to do the indoor activities as well (like playing card games with your travel mates). And of course the barbecue party on any night. Most of the hotels are equipped to provide support for the barbecue. You’d probably find a few guys in the fish shop who are willing to help for your barbecue party. Just pick one option which suits you.

We spent our night time playing cards and enjoying the barbecue. We tasted the Rup Chanda, Koral, Flying Fish, and Chicken barbecue in our two nights of staying. A guy named Nur-e-Alam from Sea Crown resort helped us with that. He had arranged all the things for the barbecue (starting from buying the fishes as well). He seemed like a generous guy to me. Next day he invited us to his house and offered us free coconuts.

Day – 2

Next day we started our day by enjoying the sunrise in St Martin’s Island and then breakfast. After that we started walking towards the Chhera Dip. There is an option to go there to use the boat (but you have to count your money for that). We went and returned from there on foot. Even though it was during the winter, it was quite hot there. It was quite uncomfortable to walk such a long way. But I enjoyed every part of the walk as the scenic beauty of the island was really amazing.

Chhera Dip on Saint Martin’s island is a really beautiful one. You’d find plenty of corals around the edges of the island there. That’s why the water is really clear there. You could see plenty of fishes in water if you keep your eyes open. Also the clean and pristine water may lure people to jump for a swim. But be careful, those corals are very sharp. If you want to swim there make sure your feet are covered (i.e. you are wearing something). Otherwise bleeding from your feet is obvious.

We selected a nice place where the water was very calm as it was covered by the rocks from all the sides. It had only a small mouth through the water coming inside (like a harbor). That’s why the place was really safe to swim. We didn’t want to take any risk with our life. We did some swimming and playing there for around 2 hours I guess. It was a nice one.

Hardworking fishermen were trying to row the boat against the tide.

After the water sport we started returning to the hotel on foot again. While we were returning we were collecting the colorful shells of the mussels. They were very beautiful to look at and appeared in different colors and shapes. It was really hard for us to refrain from collecting from the beach. But the water level was rising at the same time.

The Chhera Dip is connected to the main island with a narrow thread like portion which goes under water during the high tide. We were near that area and the water level had already risen much. It was nearly two feet of water level there when we crossed that portion. If we hadn’t crossed that area that time we could have stuck there until the low tide.

Day – 3

The next day, again we enjoyed the sunrise, and then breakfast. After that we had a nap and then checked out of our hotel. At that moment we were homeless, so we were wandering around the beach until 3:00 pm. Then we embarked on the ship and returned to Teknaf. And this is how our three days of St Martin’s island ended up very nicely. During our return we enjoyed our ferry ride because it was accompanied by a lot of seagulls.

Nice walking path that would eventually lead you to the Chhera dwip.

Best time to visit Saint Martin’s Island

Winter is the best time to visit Saint Martin’s Island. That time of the year the ocean remains calm most of the time. Also the weather is not that warm. That’s why it is the safest time to go there. Also the cruising ships keep their operation between Teknaf and St Martin’s Island only that time. So hopefully November to February would be the best time (could be extend till March at max).

Live coral stuck over a stone (or something that made from corals)

There are plenty of things to do in St Martin’s Island such as a barbecue party, sunset and sunrise watching, playing in clear blue water, exploring Chhera Dip, collecting colorful shells, and of course drinking a lot of coconuts. My other articles would give you more detail if you have time to read.

You’d see plenty of small pools like this in Chhera dwip (specially during low tide).

#1 Explore Chhera dwip

Chhera Dip is located at the southern portion of Saint Martin’s island. This small portion of the island is connected to the main island by a narrow thread which is accessible during low tide. Otherwise you have to use a boat. You could go there using a boat or using your feet. We chose the second option. There is no one living on that island. Read more about Chhera Dip.

A group of tourists are enjoying the sunrise in Saint Martin’s Island.

#2 Watch sunrise

Watching the sunrise is always fun and enjoyable if you are an early riser. Otherwise watching sunrise is probably a once in a blue moon idea for you. It would be a remarkable experience for you if you could do that. Read more from Sunrise in St Martin’s Island to know how we did it.

A lovely sunset view from the island of Saint Martin’s, Bangladesh.

#3 Watch sunset

At this point you’ve already done with the sunrise, then why not the sunset? It is much easier to watch the sunset than sunrise as you don’t need to wake up so early. Western portion of the island is best to watch the sunset. Read more from Sunset in St Martin’s Island to know how we did it.

#4 A Barbecue night

Don’t miss the barbecue opportunity in Saint Martin’s Island. You’d find plenty of people around who would offer to do the barbecue for you. You could take help from them. Or you could ask your hotel manager so that he could arrange it for you (or at least give you a hint to find the right guy for that). Although this island is full of plenty of fishes, it is not as cheap as you expect. Don’t forget to do the bargaining while buying fish from the local market.

#5 Drink a lot of coconuts

St Martin’s island is known for its fresh coconuts (as you could guess it from the name Narkel Jinjira [island of coconut]). You’d find plenty of coconut trees around. Local shops collect the coconut from those trees and sell it to the tourists. They are fresh and tasty. Probably the freshest coconut you could experience in Bangladesh. Don’t miss your one.

Scenic beauty around the RIver Naf as seen from the ferry.

#6 River Naf

River Naf is an international river which is shared between Bangladesh and Myanmar. The ferry to Saint Martin’s island goes through this river. During your cruising you’d see this river. Instead of sitting inside the cruise ship, it is better to stay outside and watch the beauty of the river. Read more about River Naf.

A large group of Seagulls were following our ferry (probably for free food).

#7 Seagulls from the ferry

During your ferry ride a lot of seagulls follow the cruise ship. It is because the propeller of the ferry makes a huge splashing in water which probably unsettle the fishes, and the sneaky Seagulls could pick their meal. Or probably the tourists threw food to the Seagulls which eventually made them used to it. Anyway, It is fun to watch the Seagulls from a close proximity and feed them. Read more about Seagulls from the cruise ship.

How to go

It doesn’t matter from where you are coming. First of all you have to come to Teknaf in order to go to St Martin’s Island. There are several bus services available from Dhaka to Teknaf. One of the best services from Dhaka is Shamoli Poribohon. Alternatively you could come to Cox’s bazar from Dhaka and then use local bus services you reach at Teknaf. The quality of Dhaka – Cox’s bazar bus service is a bit better than Dhaka – Teknaf.

From the Teknaf jetty area you can use any ferry (locally ship) of St Martin’s Island. Eagle, LCT Kutubdia, Keyari Sindbad, etc are the few cruise services for the two hour (or less) of sea cruising. You could buy those tickets from Dhaka if you want. Talk to your bus operator, and check which cruise is linked with them. I’d suggest you buy cruise tickets from them as they’d wait for the bus to arrive before leaving the jetty.

If you miss your cruise ship, you can use Trawler 100 taka per person (as of 2012). Or use a speed boat from Shah Porir Dip. Speed boats are costly. If you have a maximum of 8 members in your group then you could hire the boat for 2000 Taka (as of 2012).

Where to stay

Plenty of hotels and guest houses are available in Saint Martin’s island nowadays. If you are with a group of bachelor people, you may not need to book hotels before your arrival. But if you are with your family, make a reservation. As it could be very difficult to find a suitable accommodation during rush hours. Few good hotels from the island are Obokash, Shimana Periye, Prince Heaven, Sand Shore, Blue Marine, etc. I used a six bed cottage from Blue Marine Resort. It was 3000 Taka per night. Contact number of their Dhaka booking office is 0173399001. For online, see if there is anything available on booking.com.

Where to eat

Few hotels on Saint Martin’s Island have food facilities. Those are considerably expensive but you could taste those if you are lazy. If you don’t mind having a walk, then the food from the jetty area is the cheapest from the whole island. I’d prefer to have a walk towards the jetty and have a feast there. You could ask them to fry fresh fish for you for your dinner or lunch.

Few notes

1. If you stay at the eastern side of the island that would help you to see the sun rise. Because in that case you won’t need to walk much in the morning. And for the sunset you can walk to the western side by having a short walk in advance.

2. Do not collect any live coral from Saint Martin’s island as a souvenir. Those look much more beautiful on that island than your house. Also removing the corals would eventually help to lose the island’s beauty. So please keep that in mind.

3. Do not throw rubbish around the island and do not make it dirty. As you do not spit in your house we hope you won’t do that on that island too. In fact, try not to litter anywhere in the world.

4. No matter how good you are at swimming, always take extra precaution. Do not put your life in danger by doing unnecessary adventurous things. Don’t swim far from the beach. And don’t swim during the low tide. Also follow the advice from the local if you are unsure.

Hope you have a nice journey!

Saint Martin’s Island,
Upazila: Teknaf,
District: Cox’s Bazar,
Country: Bangladesh,
GPS coordinate (20°37’45.64″N, 92°19’29.00″E).

Friday, Saturday, Sunday 20/21/22 January 2012