The small coral island is about 10 km south west of Teknaf, the southern tip of Bangladesh is beautiful tropical island beaches fringed with coconut plants and almost unspoilt marine life. If one is looking for serenity St Martin is definitely the place to be. It is quite possible to walk around the entire island in a day. Going for hiking around the island can definitely be an adventure. Most of the island’s 5000-odds inhabitants live mainly from fishing.

There's nothing more strenuous to do here than soak up the sun and drink green coconut water, but it's a clean and peaceful place without even a mosquito to disrupt your serenity.

Getting there

Getting to the island from Dhaka is quite a bit journey. Firstly one has to travel to Cox’s Bazar either from Dhaka or Chittagong. From Cox’s Bazar catch a bus to Teknaf. From Teknaf passenger ferries run daily in the morning and it takes about 3 hours to get to the island. It is difficult to go and come back to the mainland in one day, so plan to stay at least one night in islands only 8-room hotel or in the humble guest room of a retired school teacher.

Patenga beach at Chittagong is one of the most popular beaches of Bangladesh, stretching for miles near at the meeting place of the Bay of Bengal and the river Karnaphuli. Nature lovers come around here to enjoy the scenic sunrise and sunset.

Patenga is about 22 km. from Chittagong. On the way to the beach, one passes Shah Amanat Intl’ Airport. Another ideal picnic spot is the Fouzdarhat sea beach about 16 km. from Chittagong. Patenga sea beach is one of the major attractions of Chittagong for the tourists. Besides the sea beach, you can enjoy boating and river cruise in the river Karnaphuli. You can see the busy seaport activities here.