Ganges Delta Trip for 5 Days

Upon arrival at Dhaka International Airport, your guide and driver shall greet you and transfer you to a hotel for freshen-up. Your guide will offer you a city orientation according to available daylights and your energy. Dinner and a good night at a three/four-star hotel in Dhaka.

Our guide will come to pick you up at 8:00 AM and leave Dhaka for Sonargaon. On the way, we shall take our first stop in Nawapara Jamdani village. This is where the magic fingers are at weaving traditional Jamdani sari, an incredible artwork with a narrow future due to the cheaper production of modern technology. Continue drive to the old capital of Bengal – Sonargaon; Panam Nagar, beautiful Sadarbari, well-maintained Folk-Art Museum are well worth visiting. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant.  Continue to Buiddyer Bazar for a refreshing country boat cruise on the Meghna (One of the major rivers in Bangladesh) River for a couple of hours. This river trip will include an interesting walk to explore the primitive Char village life. Chars are temporary sandy shifting islands formed by river erosion and sedimentation. Bangladesh has thousands of chars from the northern part to the south. This Char can disappear by flooding, high tide, strong river currents, or any other natural disaster. Life in the Char villages is very hard and limited; access to medical care and education is tough and impossible in some areas, highest rates of child marriages. You will return to your hotel by late in the afternoon.    

An expert guide and driver will come to pick you up from your hotel/ residence and drive to Kawran Bazar – the largest wholesale marketplace for vegetables, fruits, fish, meats, and many other products. About an hour's walk through this vibrant and chaotic market is fascinating. Continue drive to Dhaka Art School and the lively campus of the University of Dhaka. Here we start our old Dhaka back street walk through Kazi Alauddin Road, Bongshal cycle street and residential area, Carpenter Street, Pakistan Maat, Koshaituli old Mosque, Noya Bazar, Tanti Bazar and Shakhari Bazar Hindu streets, and ending up in Sadarghat riverfront. This walk is an opportunity to meet many Small and Cottage Industry artists, visit local families at their heritage homes and check out some old Dhaka special street snacks. Your guide will offer you a short boat trip on the Burigonga River by country boat. Explore the recycled shipbuilding industry, where the magic hands built all giant ships without any modern tools and machines. Typical Bangla lunch will be offered at a historically important Hindu restaurant near the river. There are many wonderful ornamented old buildings to explore in this area. One of the two rickshaw painters lives in this area, and you are welcome to visit his home studio and may get some nice souvenirs. Once a huge Rickshaw painting industry probably will soon become a past story because of modern technology. Continue walking through the Burigonga River bank to the Armenian Church and visit the Star Mosque and Nawab Bari Pond. If we are allowed by time and still energetic to explore more. Your guide will take you to various recycling hubs of the old town and then drive back to your hotel/ residence. Your guide will also offer rickshaw rides for experiences and reduce walk loads. Our vehicle will drive us from place to place. You will be arriving home late in the afternoon or early in the evening. You will be transferred to the Sadarghat River terminal again to avail of launch for an overnight journey to Barishal. [you should check out from the hotel in the morning and bring all your belongings in the car before you start the Old Dhaka trip] You will be transferred to the Sadarghat River terminal again to avail of launch for an overnight journey to Barishal. [you should check out from the hotel in the morning and bring all your belongings in the car before you start the Old Dhaka trip] Departure and arrival information:  Usually, all the Launch leaves between 7 PM to 8:30 PM. Experience the beautiful & calm cruise and travel life on board which is very interesting, and you are welcome to walk around and take pictures. In normal situations (of weather and tide), the Launch arrives in Barishal between 3 AM to 6 AM (time may vary due to unavoidable circumstances). Traditional Bangla food for dinner can be ordered at the dining area of the boat, and a preorder is required to get the food on time. Barisal is the last station of this Launch, and there is no panic about missing out on the right disembarking station. Cabins in the Launch: There are various types of cabins in a launch; Single, double, family, and VIP AC / non-AC cabins. Regular single and double cabins are the simplest and cheapest, with few common bathrooms shared by 15-20 cabins. A sensitive person may find difficulties in using a common bathroom being used by a big travel crowd. Even the cabins near the common bathroom would feel the strong bathroom smells. The VIP cabins always offer the best facilities, including a big bed for two Adults, a European bathroom attached, a private balcony and some seating spaces. All VIP cabins are located at an isolated ZONE of the ship. The bed in the VIP cabins varies from queen/king to twins from ship to ship. Of course, this is the most expensive class on the ship. This trip includes VIP cabins for our guests' comfortable journey, good sleep, privacy and hygiene. Our guests always deserve more, no compromise on comfort on the journey, safety and privacy of our guests. A budget traveler should express their opinion regarding the cabin requirements.    

Upon arrival at the Barisal River terminal, your local driver will greet and drive to Banaripara for about an hour (40 km). Here we embark on a country boat to experience an impressive backwater trip and cannel cruise. Exploring life, people and their daily activities, watching along the shore from the boat is charming. We will get off in some interesting village marketplaces and Schools in rural areas. Our route has some weekly floating vegetables, fruits, and timber markets to explore. See how the manual human labor loads and unloads giants' logs by hand. The cruise is for 5/6 hours, but the impression is endless. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant, or you may take a late lunch in Barisal town. In this case, you should bring some fruits and dry food items on the boat for the day, and there will be plenty of bottled drinking water and tea on the boat; we always try seasonal fresh fruits and delicious local snacks from the village/markets. Drive back to Barisal the same way by reserved car for an overnight stay. Late in the afternoon, your guide will offer you a visit to a superb Mughal-era Mosque nearby; walking around this village is undoubtedly a wonderful experience. Continue exploring Barisal's charming and chaotic downtown and the largest evening fish market. This vibrant city has much to offer. Dinner and a good night at Hotel Grand Park in Barisal town.

Leave the hotel after breakfast by reserved car to Bagerhat. This city has the highest number of Islamic architecture after Dhaka city. The Sixty domed mosque, Khan Jahan Ali Mausoleum, lot of other mosques and temples await your arrival. It is about an hour through the beautiful landscape to Bagerhat, our first visit would be to Kodlamoth - a beautiful Hindu architecture. Subsequently all the archaeological and world heritage sites of Bagerhat. Continue driving to Nararil to enjoy unique otter fishing. Some Hindu communities in these areas have been using trained otters for fishing at night in the Sundarban area for several thousands of years. We invite you to meet some of the last remaining generations involved in this traditional way of fishing. Usually, a Hindu fisherman family prepares and serves a freshly prepared typical lunch for our guests (which was never been an issue to be worried about stomach upset) or late lunch in Jessore town at a restaurant. Drive to Jessore to avail of the late afternoon/ early evening flight to Dhaka. Upon arrival in Dhaka, walk to the international departure terminal to avail of an onward flight to your home or next destination. Those who have a flight to catch by the following morning may request us to book a hotel near the airport at an additional cost.