Dhaka Budget Travel Guide prepares you for your visit to the capital of Bangladesh. I want to share with you useful information for arriving and travelling around Dhaka. The major attractions in and around Dhaka are listed here for your benefit.
Dhaka is the capital as well as biggest city in Bangladesh. This bustling metropolis is home to 13 million people, making it one of the biggest cities in South Asia and one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
The modern city of Dhaka was built by the British over the ancient city of the Mughals which was known as Jahangir Nagar. Under the British it was the second biggest city in Bengal after Calcutta (now Kolkata).
Dhaka is one of the cities where the income disparity between the rich minority and the poor majority is glaringly obvious. With some 400,000 cycle rickshaws, Dhaka is acknowledged as the "Rickshaw Capital of the World". The city experiences a tropical climate. The summers, from April to August, can be stiflingly hot. Visitors from temperate countries will find the weather more comfortable in winter, between October to March, when the temperature is around 20°C.
The main international gateway is the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, served by Thai Airways, GMG Airlines and Dragon Air. Budget travelers can take AirAsia from Kuala Lumpur.
Budget Travel within Dhaka
Dhaka is a very congested city with rickshaws and pedestrians everywhere you look. You can naturally cover certain distances on foot, but to go place to place, getting some form of transportation is more practical.
The cycle rickshaw is the most ubiquitous form of transportation. As a foreigner, you should negotiate carefully before boarding to avoid getting fleeced. Women travelers should also avoid traveling about alone at night.
In addition to the cycle rickshaws, there are also auto-rickshaws which gets you places faster. They are the preferred form of transport for distances not practical for cycle rickshaws. They run by meter, and the flag fall rate is Tk 13.50.
Before booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?
The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!
If you're flying somewhere, use our Flight Checker to compare the rates from different airlines. To use it, enter where you will be flying from, where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search.
Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website.
AsiaExplorers is researched and written by Timothy Tye. Reasonable care is taken to check and verify the accuracy of the content. AsiaExplorers disclaims responsibility for any inconvenience, mishap, injury or death resulting from following the tips and advice provided directly or indirectly by this website. All pages may be printed out for your own personal, non-commercial use. You may use the information on this website on your blog or website so long as you place a dofollow link back to the page in AsiaExplorers where it appears. Photographs not credited to a third party belong to Timothy Tye and may not be reused in any form unless you are first given permission. Write in to inquire if interested. Third party photographs are governed by their respective licenses. To contact Tim, write to the following email address: