Visiting St Martin, The Amazing Coral Island in Bangladesh

Lying back on a beach chair, staring at the night sky studded with the radiant moon or millions of twinkling stars want to experience crisp sonic sounds of sea waves then st. martin’s island is the right place to calm down your soul.

The St. Martin’s Island also known as Narikel Jinjira (an island of coconut) and Parachinar Deep (an island of cinnamon) is one of the most visited tourist spots in Bangladesh. The only coral island in Bangladesh is about 8 km in length and rarely more than 1km wide. It is about 10 km (6mi) south-west of the southern tip of the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf peninsula. Beaches fringed with coconut palms, panoramic beauty of the island and pristine marine life attract the tourists. Magnificent landscapes, crystal clear sea water, coral colony, and the roar of the Bay of Bengal are the main attraction of the visitors.

Tourists come here to soak up sun rays and roaming in lonesome seclusion on the sea beach enclosed by corals and crystal clear water of the sea. Far from the noisy environment of the city life, the tranquility of this island will help you to pacify your soul. To enjoy sensing and sighting the beauties of darkness with no electric lights around the blurry vision encourage many tourists to stay here overnight. If you stay here overnight and enjoy one moonlit night here, you will want to stay on this island forever. Various types of seafood here will satisfy your appetite.  

See

Sunrise and Sunsetst. martin’s island

You will experience the magnificent sight of both sunrise and sunset here. Seeing the sun rises from the sea and set in the sea from this beautiful island will make a memorable experience in your whole life.

Sea Turtle Conservation Program Site

You can see this conservation program site on the west side of the island run by research and conservation organization Marinelife Alliance. In the turtles breeding season the organization make netted/bamboo surroundings on the upper side of the beach where eggs are buried to hatch safely.  The organization run the activity such as: monitoring turtles nesting along the coastline, protecting nesting beaches and protecting nesting females from predatory animals, such as dogs.

Night Sky

If you look at the sky on a moonless night you will see millions of stars and on a moonlit night the whole island look completely amazing. 

Rock Beach

The southern point of the island is a bit rocky. This million year’s old rock has been formed from Coral. st. martin’s island, Rock beach is very popular among tourists and this can be visited on foot.  You will see here wildlife including lizard, migratory birds, and unique sweet water turtle’s habitat.

Do:

Scuba Diving: Oceanic Scuba Diving Center, the only diving center in the country is run by a friendly group of ex-navy divers. You can have a nice boat ride to visit at the southeast of the island (off Chera Dwip) to experience diving into the sea and see marine life.

Walking: You can walk on Chera Dwip. This island can be accessed on foot. Be careful of sharp rocks during wading through the water. Keeping sandals sun screens and water are ideal to walk here.

How to Go st. martin’s island:

Going to st. martin’s islands a two-step process. To get in there, at first you have to reach Teknaf, the southernmost tip of Bangladesh. From Dhaka, you can easily go there by bus. A/C and non-A/C bus service are available. It takes 10-11 hours to reach in Teknaf from Dhaka. If you want to go by plane then firstly you have to reach in Cox’s Bazar from Dhaka. From Cox’s Bazar you can go to Teknaf by bus or rent cars. From Teknaf water transport is the only way to reach St. Martin’s Island. Some oceanic traffic utility ships leave the island at 10.00 every morning. It takes 2.00-2.30 hours to reach St. Martin’s Island. These ships back from the island at 3.30pm. When the ship goes along the Naf river, tourists can enjoy the amazing views of Teknaf’s hills on one side and Myanmar on the other side.

Where to stay:

There are a good number of resorts here to stay with clandestine isolation, with good washroom facilities and a specialized shef. But these resorts are a bit expensive. If your budget is low then you will find some modest guest houses along the main road.

Food:

Here you will get parathas, omelets and vegetable curry for breakfast. All of the hotels here mainly offer Bangladeshi food.  Chicken, lobster, and crab may be available occasionally but the price is very high. Some hotels offer Indian and Chinese food besides Bangladeshi dishes. Major hotels offer tourist quality foods.

Here you will dine with a view of the endless sea in front of you. If you want to buy fresh fish yourself then the early morning is the best time. Buy the fish you like from the market and give it to your hotel chef and tell him to prepare it the way you like. There are some places on the island which are famous for an evening barbeque. There are some cheap restaurants along the main road. Here anyone can complete the breakfast, lunch and dinner with different types of seafood. Here the foods are relatively cheap and of good quality.

st. martin’s islandDrinks:

Green coconut is available here as there are plenty of coconut trees on the st. martin’s island. Hard drinks are available in the major hotels.

Shopping:

Many small shops along the main road sell different types of things such as t-shirts, hats, dry fish, Shoes, cosmetics, sunglasses, and other things. Here you can buy dry fish because it is cheaper and fresher here than Cox’s Bazar.

Some useful information:

The best time to visit the st. martin’s island is November to March. As the number of tourists is increasing day by day and the fragile eco-system on the island is not well equipped to handle it, be careful about some certain things during your visiting time. Don’t litter the island. Avoid eating fish at every meal because overfishing can be a major problem for this island’s eco-system. Keep a reasonable distance from the sea turtles and their eggs. Don’t disturb these animals during their breeding season. It’s not a good idea to bathe in public places in bathing suits.