Bangladesh itineraries: 1 week, 2 weeks and 3 weeks

Pick the length first, then the route. Every option below starts and ends in Dhaka because that is where international flights land and where domestic connections are easiest.

Nights are a starting point, not a rule. If a leg involves a long road transfer, add a night rather than pushing on.

This is the route most first-timers should take. Three nights in Dhaka covers Old Dhaka — Lalbagh Fort, Ahsan Manzil, the Star Mosque and the Sadarghat river port — without rushing. Go early on a Friday morning when traffic is lightest and hire a rickshaw by the hour.

Then move south to Khulna, the base for Sundarbans boat trips and for Bagerhat's Sixty Dome Mosque. Fly to Jashore or take a train rather than the road. The boat itself is two nights; book through a licensed operator, and confirm the permit and departure point before you pay.

Fly back to Dhaka for the last night so a delay cannot cost you your international flight.

Two weeks lets you add the north and the coast. Start in Dhaka, then go to Bogura for Paharpur and Mahasthangarh in one long day, and on to Rajshahi for the Puthia temple complex and mango country.

From Rajshahi, work south to Khulna and the Sundarbans, then east by train to Srimangal for the tea gardens and Lawachara forest. Finish with Chattogram and Cox's Bazar before flying back to Dhaka.

This route mixes trains and domestic flights. Book the long legs early; seats on popular services sell out in the dry season.

Three weeks is the same 14-day spine with Sylhet added and more slack. Sylhet gives you shrines, Ratargul swamp forest and the border hills, and it is a short flight or overnight train from Dhaka.

Use the extra days for weather, strikes or a route change rather than adding more stops. The Hill Tracts are the one place to treat differently: they need a permit and an organised operator, so arrange that before you leave home, not on arrival.

Distances in Bangladesh rarely match the map. A 200 km road leg can take most of a day, so treat every journey as twice as long as it looks and prefer flights or trains for anything over four hours.

Domestic flights and trains are the reliable options; avoid night buses. Keep cash for smaller towns, since card acceptance outside Dhaka is limited, and check the money page for tipping norms.

Read your own government's travel advice before booking, and sort the e-visa route early. Travel in the dry season for the routes above; the monsoon changes what is reachable.