Why visit Bangladesh?

Because almost no one does, and it repays those who make the effort. Bangladesh is the world's largest river delta, home to the Sundarbans mangroves and their tigers, the quiet tea hills of Sylhet, and Dhaka, one of Asia's most intense capitals. It offers a kind of travel that has largely vanished elsewhere in the region — authentic, unpolished and genuinely off the tourist trail.

Is Bangladesh a good destination for luxury travel?

It is improving, but expectations should be set honestly. Bangladesh has very few international-standard boutique or luxury properties; the strongest are in the tea country of Sylhet and in Dhaka. The appeal is the country itself rather than a deep field of hotels, so the approach is to pick one or two genuinely good bases and travel out from them.

When is the best time to visit Bangladesh?

The cooler, drier months from November to March are by far the most comfortable, with mild days well suited to the tea hills, the rivers and the Sundarbans. April and May are hot; the monsoon from June to October brings heavy rain and flooding across the delta, though it also leaves the landscape at its greenest.

How do you get around Bangladesh?

Slowly, and often by water. Domestic flights link Dhaka with Sylhet and a few other cities, but much of the country is best seen by river — ferries and country boats remain central to daily life — supplemented by car and train. Roads are busy and journeys long, so distances take more time than the map suggests; hiring a car and driver is the usual solution.

Where should you stay in Bangladesh?

For a first trip, the tea country of Sylhet makes the most worthwhile base — green, restful and home to the country's standout resort, DuSai, near Srimangal. Dhaka is the natural start and end point for its history and energy, and a Sundarbans boat trip is best arranged as a self-contained excursion. Most itineraries combine the capital with one rural region.

Boutique Hotels in Bangladesh - Heritage & River Delta

Sylhet and the tea country

The north-east is the green, gentle face of Bangladesh: the division of Sylhet, where the land rises into low hills carpeted with tea. The gardens here, planted under the British in the nineteenth century, are among the largest in the region, and the area around Srimangal — the country's tea capital — is the place to walk the plantations, taste the famous seven-layer tea, and explore the rainforest of Lawachara National Park, with its trails and gibbons. It is the most restful corner of the country, and the easiest to enjoy at leisure.

Where to stay: DuSai Resort & Spa, near Srimangal in the Moulvi Bazar district, is the standout place to stay in this part of the country — a Balinese-style villa resort built into the tea-and-forest hills, with rooms, villas and private-pool villas, a valley pool complex and a spa, and a working tea plantation alongside. It works as a retreat in its own right, with the wider tea country on the doorstep.

Beyond the tea hills

For most visitors, Sylhet is one part of a longer trip. Dhaka, the capital, is the usual point of arrival and a destination in itself — Old Dhaka's Mughal forts and mosques, the river ghats, and a street life as dense and vivid as any in Asia. South and west lie the Sundarbans, the vast tidal mangrove forest shared with India, reached by boat safari and home to tigers, crocodiles and a wealth of birdlife. River travel ties it all together: the country's great waterways remain among the best ways to see rural Bengal, slow and close to the land.

The country is best visited in the cooler, drier season from November to March, when the heat and the monsoon rains have passed; the tea hills and the rivers are at their most comfortable then, and the going easiest underfoot.