St. Martin’s Island & Chera Island

St. Martin’s Island: This Island is a very popular tourist spot in Bangladesh. St. Martin’s Island is northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal. This Island is only coral island in Bangladesh.  The uniqueness of this island is the only one place where coral colonies are found, is a natural treasure of Bangladesh that attracts thousands of tourist.

St. Martin’s Island is situated about 9 km south of Teknaf Upazila in Cox’s Bazar. There are lots of coconut (Narical) trees here. That is way the locals call is Narical Jinjira. The combination of the blue water of the Sea with the infinite blue sky, the rows of coconut trees have made this island unique. You will be able to walk around the beach to satisfy your desires.

This Island also known as “Daruchini Dwip” ( Cinnamon Island).  There are said,  many Century ago- An Arabian merchant ship carrying cinnamon in bad weather conditions and crashed into a huge rock under the water. After the crash, the cinnamon on the ship spread around the island.  From then on, the locals used to call this island Cinnamon Island.  The Bangladeshi film “ Daruchini Dwip” (written by Humayun Ahmed & directed by Taukir Ahmed) was shot here. Overnight staying in St. Martins Island is really an exotic feeling where you will feel and listen the sound of Sea. If you are lucky then you can spend the moonlit night at St. Martins Island. Bicycles can be rented from a few places on the Island for TK. 70-80 per hour.

Chera Island: Chera means separate. The Island is separate from the mainland of Bangladesh, that is why this Island is called Chera Island. There is no land of Bangladesh after this Island in the south.

Chera Island is located 5 km south and the in the southernmost part of St. Martin’s Island. Its other name is Siradia. You go to this Island, you will see Sea Waves, rows of coconut trees and various works of art made of coral stones and rocks. About half of the Island is submerged during high tide. At low tide you can walk from St. Martin’s Island to Chera Island.

How to go St. Martin’s Island:

To go to St. Martin’s Island, you must first come to Teknaf from anywhere in Bangladesh. Buses from Dhaka, Chittagong & Cox’s Bazar are available for Teknaf. From Teknaf you can go to St. Martin by Ship/Engine Boat (Trawler)/Speed Boat. If you are planning to travel to Cox’s Bazar, you can travel from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar and then from Teknaf to St. Martin’s Island.

Dhaka to Teknaf: Teknaf buses are available at Fakirapul and Sayedabad (Dhaka). Green Line, Eagle, Modern Line, Shyamoli, S. Alam etc Paribahan are go to Teknaf. AC & non AC buses are available and the rent is TK.900-2000. It takes 11-12 hour to reach. By train from Kamalapur railway station (Dhaka) at 6 pm, you can take off at Teknaf Town between 7-8 am.

Chittagong to Teknaf: S. Alam and Saudia Paribahan buses leave Cinema Palace in Chittagong for Teknaf at 11:30/12:00 p.m.

Cox’s Bazar to Teknaf: From Cox’s Bazar you can go to Teknaf by renting Micro/Jeep/CNG. Buses are also available in this route. Bus fare to Teknaf is TK.150-200 per person and CNG fare to Teknaf is TK.250-300 per person.

Teknaf to St. Martin’s Island: The distance from Teknaf to St. Martin’s Island is 9 km. Here you have to crass the rough Sea.  The sea is a calm in the winter so it is much safer to go the Island at Winter season. From November to March Ships( Green Line Water Buses, LC Kutubdis, Kerry Sindbad etc) sail from Teknaf to St. Martin’s Island. Ticket fare to and from the ship is TK. 550-1500. It takes 2 hours to go from Teknaf to St. Martin’s Island by Ship. The Ships left for Island at 9:00 to 9:30 am and returned at 3:00 to 3:30 pm.

St. Martin to Chera Island: From St. Martin’s Islam you have to travel by Engine Boat/ Speed Boat to Chera Island.

Where do you stay?

There are so many Resorts/Hotels/Cottages in St. Martin’s Island now. They are- Blue Marine Resort, CTV Resort, Kingsuk Eco Resort, Vacation Tourism Ltd., Bags Bari Resort, Diamond Sea Resort, Hotel Sea Inn, Hotel Sea Find, Labiba Luxury Resort, Music Eco Resort, Sea Cottage, Coral Blue Resort, Humayun Ahmed’s Sea Luxury etc. According to your budget you will find both cheap and expensive options to stay in those Resorts/Hotels/Cottages.

Where do you eat?

There are so many local restaurants in St. Martin’s Island.  You can order all the sea food from the various fish arranged on the table outside those restaurants. You can do Bar-B-Q at night, they will make the Bar-B-Q with whatever you say. Everything on this Island is left out, so the cost of food is relatively high.

*Note:

1. There are so many travel agencies from Dhaka. They are- Unicorn Tours & Travels, TripSilo.com, Amazing Tours BD, Noviair Tourist Info, discovery Bangladesh etc. If you do not want to carry any trouble, you can go to St. Martin’s Island with the help of those travel agencies.
2. Throw dirt in certain places.
3. Teletalk SIM works relatively well in this Island.
4. Be careful when going out to Sea.
5. It is better to book the Ship ticket in advance.
6. On the way to St. Martin you will see the most beautiful view from the deck of the Ship.
7. St. Martin is the National Asset of Bangladesh, so don’t do anything that harms nature.

It is our Responsibility to keep our tourist spots clean. Let’s keep the spots neat & clean as we go around. Happy Travelling 🙂