Destination OS · River forts, rickshaw lanes
Dhakaঢাকা
Dhaka is a one-cluster-per-outing city: pick the morning, do Old Dhaka or Lalbagh before the traffic builds, go back to the hotel at midday, and leave for the airport with a very wide margin.
- Local time
- --:--
- Weather
- forecast below
- Currency
- BDT
- Best months
- Jan · Feb · Nov · Dec
- Airport
- DAC
Cash need
4/5
Heat risk
4/5
Stroller
1/5
Friction
82/100
Rules in force · 7
- South Asia ↗Trekking regions, border districts and several Indian states need separate permits on top of the visa; check the permit before you book transport into them.
- South Asia ↗Remove shoes (and in many Jain and Hindu temples, leather) before entering; cover shoulders and legs; ask before photographing people or rituals.
- Bangladesh ↗Apply for a visa only on the official government e-visa portal or at an embassy; lookalike sites charge extra, and the rules differ by nationality.
- Bangladesh ↗Dress modestly in cities and near mosques: cover shoulders and knees, and women carry a scarf for mosques and shrines.
- Bangladesh ↗Carry Bangladeshi taka in small notes; rickshaws, markets and small shops are cash-only, and foreign cards are not accepted everywhere.
- Bangladesh ↗Political rallies, strikes (hartal) and blockades can close roads and cut mobile internet with little notice: check the news and your hotel before any transfer day and stay away from demonstrations.
- Dhaka Division ↗Fridays are the weekend and the quietest day for traffic: Old Dhaka's monuments are calmer, though many shops and museums shorten their hours.
At a glance
- Clusters
- 4
- Places
- 2
- Day plans
- 1
- Places to eat
- 1
- Sleep areas
- 2
- Gateways
- DAC
Right now
Checking the weather…
Working out what is open near you…
Decide
Who it suits, the trade-offs and when to go
Overview
The city in one paragraph, who it fits, and how many days it takes.
Dhaka is one of the densest cities on earth. Its sights are a few kilometres apart, but a short ride can take an hour or more, pavements are missing or blocked, and the air is poor in winter. The trips that go wrong stack three clusters into a day, drag suitcases through Old Dhaka, or leave for the airport with less than a half-day margin. Four clusters cover a first visit, and Friday mornings, when roads are quietest, suit Old Dhaka and the forts best.
Fits
- Culture-first short trips
- Travellers with a local guide or host
- Early risers
Does not fit
- Strollers and wheelchairs (pavements, rickshaws)
- Travellers who dislike crowds, heat and noise
- Tight connections and day-of-flight sightseeing
- 2 days
- Old Dhaka morning + Lalbagh, Gulshan evening
- 3 days
- Three or four clusters, one per outing, mornings first
- 5 days
- Four clusters + Sonargaon day-trip + one slow day
- Don't confuse
- Old Dhaka is the historic river district in the south; Gulshan and Banani are the modern northern districts, 10–15 km away.
Hover, tap or tab to an area to see what it is like. Pins are sleep areas; arrows at the edge point to the airport.
Off the map: Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (DAC) (30–75 min by the usual route).
Where’s what, as a list:
- Old Dhaka: Morning cluster: Ahsan Manzil palace museum and the Buriganga riverside lanes; the roads here are the most congested in the city, so go early and go with a local guide.
- Lalbagh Fort: Morning cluster: the Mughal-era fort with lawns, a mosque and a tomb; calmer than the streets around it; 90 minutes.
- Shahbag and Ramna: Late-morning cluster: the National Museum, Dhaka University's old buildings and Ramna Park; shade under trees, but the junctions around it are busy.
- Gulshan and Banani: Evening cluster and the place to sleep: cafés, restaurants and embassies; traffic-heavy, but the most car-friendly doors in the city.
- Sleep area Dhanmondi: suits Families, solo on a budget, price band $.
- Sleep area Gulshan: suits Families, older travellers, price band $$$.
- Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (DAC), 30–75 min by the usual route.
Decide
The honest trade-off: what you will enjoy, what will wear you down.
You will like
- Mughal-era and colonial-era monuments
- Rickshaw rides and river life
- Biryani and sweets
You will hate
- Traffic and noise
- Heat, humidity and winter smog
- Crowds
When
Best months: Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec. Month-by-month verdicts below, with the live forecast first.
Dhaka: next 7 days
Loading forecast…
Forecast: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), model data for this point.
Air quality
Loading…
Model estimate (CAMS via Open-Meteo), not a street-level station; readings near busy roads run higher.
Cool, dry, the best weather; winter smog can be heavy.
Cool and dry; Feb 21 (Language Martyrs Day) crowds at the Shaheed Minar.
Heat builds; Mar 26 national holiday.
Hot and humid; Pohela Boishakh (Apr 14) crowds and road closures.
Hottest; pre-monsoon storms.
Monsoon; waterlogged streets.
Heavy rain; flooding.
Rain and flooding; dengue season begins.
Rain; dengue risk is high.
Rain tapering; Durga Puja closures; dengue still present.
Dry and comfortable.
Cool; Dec 16 Victory Day; smog builds.
Arrive & move
Getting in, getting around, and your bags
Arrive
Each gateway has its own airport-to-bed page with timings and the last safe connection.
Move
The default way around, when a pass pays off, and when the last trains go.
- Default
- Walk inside a cluster; ride-hailing car or CNG auto-rickshaw between clusters (agree the fare or use the app price); rickshaw for the last kilometre.
- Passes
- No pass. Short rides are cheap; agree the fare before you ride or use a ride-hailing app.
- Last trains
- The metro line in the north does not reach the old city; ride-hailing runs late but is thin in heavy rain and during protests.
- Other modes
- Other modes (Rome2Rio) ↗
Luggage
Where big bags are a problem, and how to get rid of them for the day.
Rule
- Lockers
- Few public lockers; hotels hold bags after check-out.
- Forwarding
- No forwarding culture: keep the big bag at the Dhaka hotel for any trip away.
- Dead zone
- Late flights: ask the hotel to hold bags and give a shower room; many do for a fee. Leave for the airport very early.
See & do
Walking clusters, day plans and the places worth the time
Clusters
Plan by cluster: each is a walkable area with a rescue point and a bag rule.
Morning cluster: Ahsan Manzil palace museum and the Buriganga riverside lanes; the roads here are the most congested in the city, so go early and go with a local guide.
rescue 100% · max p90 5.3′ · half
Morning cluster: the Mughal-era fort with lawns, a mosque and a tomb; calmer than the streets around it; 90 minutes.
rescue 100% · max p90 5.3′ · 90m
Late-morning cluster: the National Museum, Dhaka University's old buildings and Ramna Park; shade under trees, but the junctions around it are busy.
rescue 100% · max p90 5.5′ · half
Evening cluster and the place to sleep: cafés, restaurants and embassies; traffic-heavy, but the most car-friendly doors in the city.
rescue 100% · max p90 5.3′ · half
Days
Ready-made day plans, timed against opening hours and walking distances.
Places
Each place gets a verdict and the time to be there, not a star rating.
Eat & sleep
Where to eat and which area to sleep in
Eat
A short list of places worth crossing the city for, each with how to get a seat.
Vegetarian-friendly score
1.0 / 5 · Hard work
- Country diet noteOur country guide rates vegetarian eating as mixed.0.75 / 2
- Places to eat in this guideToo few places with a known answer (1) to judge.0 / 1.5
- Budget eating lines0 vegetarian lines in "Eat by budget".0 / 0.6
- Meat-free national dishes6 meat-free dishes in the country food list.0.4 / 0.4
- Dedicated vegetarian kitchens0 mentions of vegetarian restaurants, Buddhist or fasting kitchens.0 / 0.5
Country note: Dal, bhorta and vegetable curries exist, but fish is in much of the food and 'vegetarian' may include fish.
Vegetarian places near me →Make a diet card →
How we score
- Country diet note (up to 2): easy 2, workable 1, mixed 0.75, hard 0; no note 0.5.
- City places to eat (up to 1.5): 1.5 × (vegetarian-friendly + half of partly friendly) ÷ places with a known answer; needs 3 or more known places.
- Budget eating lines marked vegetarian (up to 0.6): 0.2 each.
- Meat-free national dishes (up to 0.4): 0.1 each.
- Dedicated vegetarian kitchens mentioned — Buddhist chay, shōjin ryōri, Jain, fasting food, vegan cafés (up to 0.5): 0.1 each.
- Total rounded to the nearest half point, 0 to 5. Built from our own pages only, not from reviews.
Sleep
Pick the area first: it decides your walk home at night and your first morning.
Practical
Money, essentials, safety and the pocket card
Money
What a day costs at three comfort levels, and how to pay.
- Budget
- BDT 2,500–5,000 excl. bed / day
- Mid
- BDT 5,000–12,000 excl. bed / day
- High
- BDT 12,000+ excl. bed / day
- IC card
- No transit card needed for this plan: ride-hailing cars, CNG auto-rickshaws and rickshaws, and walking inside a cluster.
- Cash rule
- Keep BDT 3,000 in small notes; use ATMs inside banks, hotels or malls in daylight.
Survive
Safety basics, the lines not to cross, and practical habits that save the day.
Safety
- Traffic: cross with local pedestrians, slowly and steadily; vehicles rarely give way.
- Air quality is poor in winter: a mask rated for fine particles helps on long walks.
- Mosquito-borne dengue is present in the monsoon and after: use repellent and cover up at dusk.
- Political rallies, strikes and road blockades can start with little notice: stay away from demonstrations and follow your hotel's advice.
- Emergency: 999 for police, fire and ambulance.
Red lines
- Mosques and shrines: cover shoulders and knees, remove shoes, and women cover their hair where signs require it.
- Do not photograph women, police, government buildings or demonstrations without asking.
- Buriganga river: go with a local guide; boats are crowded and the water is polluted.
Practical
- Toilets: hotels, malls and larger restaurants; carry tissues.
- Tap water is not for drinking; use bottled or filtered water.
Deep dive
History, reading, photos and every source
Sources
- officialBangladesh National Portal
- officialCivil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh
- secondaryWikivoyage — Dhaka