Solo female travelling in Bangladesh

From a male perspective only on this question:

1) Western travelers (men or women) are generally given a lot of assistance to travel through Bangladesh.

2) I personally found night travel through the city (walking the streets and laneways) were safer than most parts of India.

3) Getting a visa that quickly may be an issue. There is another post here of someone who managed to get a visa on arrival (Australian) and there were no issues with getting that done.

4) There is so much to see and do in Bangladesh. Briefly, the places to see would be:
- Dhaka city
- Cox's Bazaar (excellent and remote beach location)
- Rangamatti lake & forest area.

5) Biman air is not always reliable. I like GMC but they too have been having problems with cancelling bookings.

Best to ask Mahmud or Clown777 for local (and up to date) advice.

Cheers
Zoltan

Hi Zoltan,

Thank you.

As I am working I am unable to visit the embassy in person in London but this morning have spoken to Hussain at a UK based company called Instant visas who can sort visas 40GBP for the visa itself plus 30GBP for their services. If I do go down this route I will feed back on here. I have been advised by these people I need 3 photos, completed forms, letter of employment, and (possibly) hotel reservation. Embassy is open 29th, 30th, 31st Dec, then 4th Jan onwards.
http://www.instantvisas.com/visas-detail.asp?id=22&gclid=CJqihdfu554CFUQA4wodx0iCIA
I would NEVER normally employ an agency to get me a visa but this cost is minor when you consider 2 days off from work and 2 travelcards into London.

Best flights seem to be Jet Airways via Delhi. Ethiad are cheaper, but much longer journey time.

Mahmud, Clown777 - can you help any further? Or anyone else?

Thanks

Natalie

Hi Natalie,
I travelled with my husband not alone but having been I wouldn’t hesitate travelling alone there. If you have travelled India you will be well used to the staring, it is curiosity only and I personally didn’t find it uncomfortable in the way it can be in India (sorry don’t mean to offend anyone!). The Bangladeshi’s are an absolute delight, hospitable, warm, kind, considerate, generous and courteous and with a lovely sense of humour, They will absolutely delight in showing you their country/culture/village/home/workplace etc etc. They are so proud of their country and will go out of their way to help you make the most of your trip, making sure you get the right bus/ferry/you are paying a fair price for the rickshaw ride etc, etc. Do a search for single female travelers on this forum and you will find quite a bit has been discussed previously.
If you haven’t already gone down the ‘agency’ route, we made a postal application for a tourist visa to the HC in London and received the visas back in 10 days. If you do it straight after the Xmas break you should be fine. We didn’t send an itinerary with our application just gave our destination as Dhaka and gave the Ramna Hotel (where we planned to stay for the first night) as our contact address in Bangladesh. They didn’t question it or ask for a booking confirmation. We didn’t need reference letters/proof of employment, just download the form from their website and send Special Delivery with a SD env for the return of your passport.
We also only had 2 weeks and visited Dhaka, took the Rocket to Khulna, then on to Barisal, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and St Martin’s. Easily doable in 2 weeks, we didn’t use internal flights just boat/bus and it was a nice little taster of the country.
Go, you will love it!
x

Dress properly and follow the advice of the TTers especially zoltan, you'll be fine.

Bon voyage.

Hi thanks very much everyone.

I was totally convinced about BD then read the female solo travel bit in the Bradt guide and thought "mmmmmm not sure if I could do it or not". Sri Lanka would be easier but I have seen so much of India, and need a bit of a mini adventure....

• What are costs like compared to India?
• Can I use an ATM at Dhaka international airport?
• What currency is best to take - USD? Seems like TCs are a waste of time??
• Arriving at 16.30, what are my options to get into Dhaka? Are there prebooked taxis?
• Where would you recommend staying in Dhaka itself? As I am on a 2 week holiday I am no longer on my 2 dollar a day budget (!) but at the same time want somewhere good value and safe.

Thanks

Natalie

Pleasure is mine, though the credit goes to zoltan & SUSANandJEFF.

Bon voyage.

Hi, thanks for your interest to travel Bangladesh. I am sure tht you will enjoy the trip.

1. Since last couple of years, I me more than 100 female solo travelers of the world. But no one, i repeat no one, faced any kind of difficulties in this country. So, dont worry about security issue.

2. As far as I know, London embassy asks for a Reservation letter. If so, write to Hotel Pacific for a reservation confirmation. Later, you can cancel the reservation.

3. I will recommend you the followings :

• Dhaka City & surroundings.
• Rocket Steamer Trip.
• Srimongol.
• St. Martins Island.
• Rajshahi & Bogra

If u need any more specific info, feel free to ask me.

Mahmud

• What are costs like compared to India? : The cost is around two third of India. say a decent hotel room tariff starts from USD 2-3/Night
• Can I use an ATM at Dhaka international airport? : Yes.
• What currency is best to take - USD? Seems like TCs are a waste of time?? : USD
• Arriving at 16.30, what are my options to get into Dhaka? Are there prebooked taxis? - No need. You will find a Taxi counter just outside immigration. Take a Taxi from that counetr
• Where would you recommend staying in Dhaka itself? As I am on a 2 week holiday I am no longer on my 2 dollar a day budget (!) but at the same time want somewhere good value and safe. - You can stay at Hotel ramna (USD 6-7) located at Central Dhaka 9Gulistan)

Hi Natalie,

I just got back from B'desh and I am a female traveller - I did part of the trip with an agency and part alone. I felt totally safe and as the others already said - Bangladeshis are so incredibly helpful and hospitable. Another female traveller I met on the way had already been in the country for 7 weeks and was invited to stay with locals at their homes. Just dress appropriately and respectfully - salwar kameez would be a great idea! Just go - you will love it! The country is beautiful and the people are amazing - a true adventure!

Have fun!