Sundarban Excursion With Rocket

Arrival to departure package to visit 02 World Heritage Sight in Bangladesh – Sundarbans and Bagerhat, including an overnight journey on a century old paddle steamer called Rocket, and experiencing the life and sights at Old Dhaka. Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest on earth., home of Bengal Tigers and many birds and wildlife. Bagerhat is a muslin city from 15th century, full of astonishing mosques. Best tour to experience Sundarbans.

On this tour, after visiting Old Dhaka the whole day and before embarking paddle steamer in the evening, we’ll take you back to your hotel in the evening for shower, which will significantly improve your experience, as there is no facilities for shower on Rocket and you have yet another day ahead before reaching your next hotel at Mongla. This is the main difference of this tour other than including three different hotel categories and airport transfer with our original Rocket and Sundarbans Tour.

You can easily combine this tour with visiting India. After returning from Sundarbans to Khulna, Instead of coming to Dhaka we can transfer you to Benapole/Petrapole border to cross over to Kolkata which is very close from Khulna. Cost for returning to Dhaka and the last night’s accommodation will be deducted on that case.

Tour Highlights

• Visit 2 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Bangladesh.

• Explore the largest mangrove forest on earth – Sundarbans,

For full 3 days.

• Overnight journey on a century old paddle wheel steamer

called Rocket.

• Visit historical sites at Bagerhat, a UNESCO World Heritage

City from 15th century, including 60 Dpme Mosque.

• Full day tour at Old Dhaka including rickshaw ide on narrow

Streets and boat ride on Dhaka’s busiest river at Buriganga.

• Ride a Bangladeshi train – a unique experience.

Itinerary of Sundarbans Excursion with Rocket

Day-01: Arrival

1. A guide of us will meet you inside the airport, pick you

Up and transfer you to your hotel. (Hotel 71)

1. Overnight stay at Dhaka.

Day-02: Old Dhaka and Rocket

1. Pick-up hotel lobby at 8.00 H and visit key tourist

Attractions in Old Dhaka the whole day, including

Dhakeshwari Temple, Lalbagh Fort, Khan Mohammad

Mridha Mosque, Armenian Church, Star Mosque, Ahsan

Manzil and Sadarghat River Ferry Terminal.

1. Stop for lunch at a decent local restaurant in Old Dhaka

and continue sightseeing.

1. Return to hotel and have couple of hours for shower

Before heading back to Sadarghat River Ferry Terminal.

1. Enjoy a short boat ride at river Buriganga in the evening

On a wooden boat to feel the rhythm of the live and

Vibrant river and enjoy sunset.

1. Embark Rocket Steamer at Sadarghat River Station at

18.00 H. A memorable overnight journey in Rocket

Steamer to Hularhat.

1. Overnight at Rocket (Sleeping Cabin)

Day-03: UNESCO World Heritage City Bagerhat

1. Enjoy the riverine beauty of Bangladesh from Rocket

Steamer in the morning. Disembark from Rocket at

Hularhat around 09.00 H.

1. Drive towards Bagerhat (01 hrs) in an air-conditioned car,

And visit 15th century Mosque city one called

Khalifatabad, which is the present day Bagerhat and is

An UNESCO protected World Heritage site in Bangladesh.

1. You’ll visit most of the remaining mosques from the

15th century city Khalifatabad the whole day, including

The 60 Dome Mosque, 09 Dome Mosque, Rono Bijoypur

Mosque and Singair Mosque. Also we’ll take you to visit

The shrine of Khan Jahan Ali, the saint general from

Turkey who ame to spread Islam in this country and

Founded this great city and Kodla Moth – a very beautiful

Hindu temple from 17th century. Drive toward Mongla (01 hrs).

1. Overnight at Mongla (Parjatan Hotel Pasur)

Day-04: Sundarbans: Kochikhali

1. Transfer to our waiting boat in the jetty at 06.00 H, and

Head immediately toward Sundarbans. Stop on a forest

Station on the way to complete formalities and continue

Toward Kochikhali.

1. We’ll go through many small canals and rivers with our

Small boat where big boats can not go because of their

Size and the canals being shallow. Taking you through

These rewarding narrow canals is the main point of this

Private tour on a small boat, where is your best chance

To spot a tiger and many wildlife. We’ve spotted a tiger

On such a canal on 14th July, 2016, which was crossing

the river just 300 miters ahead of us in board day light.

We were the only lucky tour operator to spot an wild

Bengal tiger in last few years on a tour in Sundarbans.

1. We’ll reach Kochikhali in the evening and explore a

Small canal on a small row boat in search of wild-life.

They come to drink water in the evening and morning

On the creeks and canals. You’ll seat on the boat quietly

And float by on a breath-taking environment listening to

Many birds singing and the calls of many animals.

1. Overnight stay on the boat in a sleeping cabin, anchoring

In the middle of the river in front of Kochikhali forest Station.

Day-05: Sundarbans: Kochikhali & Kotka Wildlife Sanctuary

1. Ride a wooden rowboat on a canal in the morning in

Search wildlife.

1. Back to the main boat and have breakfast at 07.30 H.

Start hiking on the forest from Kochikhali forest station

Toward the Jamtola Beach (10 Km, 03 Hrs). Spend an

Hour on the beach which is the quietest, nicest and

Cleanest beach in Bangladesh and hike toward Kotka

Forest station through the forest. Reach Kotka station

and transfer to our waiting boat which already arrived

hear from Kochikhali through an inside canal.

1. Go to the watch tower at Kotka and seat there rest of

The evening. This is a feeding ground of animals. Lots

Of deer and other wild animals come here in the evening

To eat grass and drink water. You never know what

Surprises can be waiting for you here!

1. Overnight Stay on the boat in a sleeping cabin, anchoring

In the middle of the river in front of Kotka forest station.

Day-06: Sundarbans: Kotka Wildlife Sanctuary

1. Go for a boat ride on the small row boat at 06.00 H and

Explore a canal near Kotka Wildlife Sanctuary. Return to

The main boat at 07.30 and have breakfast. We’ll start

our journey toward Mongla from here through other

small rivers and canals.

1. Visit a fishing village in on the way. Reach Mongla in the

Afternoon and drive to Khulna (1.5 hrs).

1. Overnight stay at Khulna (Hotel Royal International)

Day-07: Khulna – Dhaka

1. After breakfast, transfer to Khulna Railway Station.

Depart for Dhaka on 08.30 H Chitra Express. Arrive

Dhaka around 18.00 H, and transfer to Hotel.

1. Overnight stay at Dhaka (Fours Point By Sheraton)

Day-07: Departure

1. Transfer to airport according to your flight, say good

Bye.

1. End of the tour.

Price of Sundarbans Excursion With Rocket

Inclusions and Exclusions

• Tour Includes:

• All airport transfer at Dhaka.

• 07 Nights accommodation in hotels and boat cabin as

                              Mentioned in the itinerary, with complementary breakfast.

• Lunch on Day-02 on a decent local restaurant (authentic

Local food).

• All meals, drinking water, tea and coffee while on the

Boat at Sundarbans for three days on Day-04,05 and 06.

• 1^st class cabin on Rocket Paddle Steamer to Hularhat on

Twin sharing basis.

• All train and boat tickets.

• All site entrance tickets.

• Air-conditioned car, driver and English speaking guide.

• 5,500 BDT per person forest permission fee for Sundarbans

• All tips except our guide, driver and boat crew.

• Does not includes:

• Any food, drinks or beverage other than mentioned

Above.

• 1,200 BDT fee for video camera (If need any)

• Any personal item.

Important Notes

Availability

• Minimum 02 person is required to book this tour

Outside the scheduled tour. Solo travelers can only

Join the scheduled tours.

• This tour is available to start on any Saturday, Monday,

Or Friday – round the year.

Rocket & Train

• 1st class tickets of Rocket and Train depends on availability.

You might have to travel on the 2nd class if 1st class is not

Available. Only difference on 1st and 2nd class on the Rocket

is, 2nd class is located in the back side, and have no

air-conditioning. Other facilities are same. Passengers of 2nd

class can use all the facilities of 1st class, e.h. dining area, sitting

area on the front side etc.

• On Monday and Thursday, a traditional ferry comes in service

Instead of the paddle steam boats. If you book for these days,

You have to travel on the traditional ferry instead of a paddle

Wheel streamer.

• If for some unexpected reason Rocket ticket is not available at

All, we’ll take you up to Barisal by atraditional ferry (overnight part)

And from Barisal to Hularhat on the Rocket (daytime journey part).

• In case of traveling on the 2nd class of train, you’ll have a reserved

Seat.

Sundarbans

• Itinerary of Sundarbans Tour is just a general outline and not

fixed. It could be changed depending on the season, moon phase,

day light hours, tide and fog. But we’ll try to include all the places

and activities mentioned in the itinerary as much as possible.

• The boat for Sundarbans is a very basic boat without air-conditioning,

Electricity and running hot water (we will supply them on bucket). It

has accommodation facilities for 08 person in max and one western

style toilet. But we have a large boat too to arrange tour for bigger

groups.

• The cabin in the boat at Sundarbans are lit by small lights running on

battery. We’ll run the generator in the evening for couple of hours

everyday to charge your devices.

• You’ll get mobile phone signal of Grameen Phone on the first half

Day-04. In Kotka, a new network signal tower of Teletalk opened

recently, so yo’ll get full network coverage of only Teletalk in Kotka

with 2G internet network facilities which is very slow. No other SIM

card will work inside other parts of the forest.

• For trekking in the forest on day-05, the land is flat and we will not

go through very dense forest, so it will be easy for most of the people,

as long as you can walk about 10 Km. The trail is dry, not muddy. Bring

covered shoes which is suitable for trekking and can protect you from

small grass and trees with spikes.

• If you do not want to walk, you can remain on the boat which will be still

enjoyable, as it will go from Kochikhali to Kotka through small canals, which

will be a ride of about 03 hours.

Single Supplement

• Single supplement is applicable for the hotels only. You might not be

provided separate cabins on Rocket and on the boat at Sundarbans,

even if you pay for the single supplement, based on the availability.

Visa On Arrival

• Citizens of EU, USA, Australia, Canada, Russia and some Asian countries

can get Visa on Arrival in Bangladesh, which is a pretty straight-forward

process. Although there is a rule to take visa beforehand if you have a

Bangladesh mission on the country where you are coming from, this rule

is completely overlooked. They never check where you are coming from.

They only check if you are a national of a country which are eligible for

VOA and directly issue the Visa.

• Unless there is a long Que for VOA, it will take just 10 minutes of your time

to get VOA. Fee for most of the country is $51 USD. You’ll not require any

previous application or anything else to get the Visa. However, they will ask

you for your hotel reservation and a phone number of the hotel. Simply

show our details itinerary which we will send you once you confirm your

booking, where all the hotel information will be written. They will be happy

enough to give you a VOA of maximum 30 days

Check here for more information on visa on arrival for Bangladesh.

Foreign Exchange

• ATM Availability: Although Bangladesh has many ATMs, some of

These do not accept foreign cards – your guide can give advice on

which ATMs to use but we do not advise relying on ATMs alone

for money.

• Credit and Debit Card Acceptance: Cards are generally only accepted

in the more expensive shops and restaurants.

• Local Currency: Taka

• Recommended Currency for Exchange: US Dollar, Euro.

• Where to Exchange: There are a number of exchange houses in large

            towns and cities.

Eating and Drinking

• All the breakfasts, 03 lunches and 02 dinners are included on the trip. You need to

pay for rest of the lunches and dinners during your trip. A meal on a decent local

restaurant will cost about $5-$7 USD.

• Tea and Soft drinks are very cheap. Mineral water is widely available.

• Bangladesh is a secular Muslim country and whilst the people are very liberal and

friendly, alcohol is not widely available. There are only a couple of hotels on the

trip which have a bar, and even at these establishments you cannot usually

drink in the restaurant. Local beer, when available, costs approx. $5 USD for a 300ml

can and a measure of spirits is similarly priced. Wine is not available. It may

sometimes be possible to purchase alcohol outside the hotels, but it is prohibited to

consume in public places. There is a duty freeon arrival in Dhaka airport

(before immigration) and you are permitted two bottles of spirits per person.

• In Dhaka, there are some wire houses from where you can buy alcohol showing your

Foreign passport. But they only sell whole cartons of usually 24 bottles/cans.

Tipping / Bakshis

• Tipping is a common practice is Asia. Bangladesh, most workers will expect a small tip,

anything from 50 Taka upwards depending on the service provided. At the end of

the tour, if your principle guide, together with the driver and the boat crews have been

helpful then you could think about tipping them. Normally guest give them $100 USD tip

for total trip. But that is obviously your choice. The amount can obviously be left to you.

Miscellencious

• Booking this tour at least 03 weeks in advance is advised.