Saint Martin's Island

Tides, turtles and the short open season on Saint Martin's

Saint Martin's Island is open to tourists only for a short winter window, roughly November to January under rules applied since February 2025, with a daily cap on visitors. Those weeks bring the calmest sea and the turtle nesting season, and the tide decides each day, since Sunset Point and the crossing to Chhera Dwip need low water.

Three clocks run Saint Martin's: the visitor rules, the sea and the tide. The rules come first. Since February 2025 the island has been shut to tourists for most of the year, leaving the cool, dry weeks around November to January as the only window, with a cap on how many people may land each day. Those weeks also bring the calmest water in this corner of the Bay of Bengal, which is why the ships run then and lay up once the monsoon swell arrives from May.

Winter is nesting time too. Green and olive ridley turtles haul themselves up the beaches at night to lay, and conservation groups have monitored nesting here for years. A hatchery on the west coast buries the eggs under bamboo cages until they hatch. There is little to watch by day, but it explains the requests to keep the sand dark after sunset. The fishing year peaks in the same months, so the beaches are busiest with boats just when visitors are allowed in.

The tide decides the shape of each day. Sunset Point on the north-west corner and the crossing to Chhera Dwip both need low water, so get the tide times when you check in and plan both around them. A low tide at sunset is the best luck the island can hand you.

North-east jetty to Chhera Dwip, tide permitting

One day on Saint Martin's runs from the north-east jetty along the empty east-coast beaches in the morning, across the village paths to the west coast and the turtle hatchery in the afternoon, and, if you stay overnight, to Sunset Point at low tide. Next morning, catch sunrise on the east side and walk or boat to Chhera Dwip.

Morning: the ship lands at the north-east jetty, and the stalls along the landing strip are at their busiest as passengers pour off. Walk straight through them. Turn left at the junction and follow the east coast, where the beaches are emptiest before noon and fishing boats lie pulled up on the sand. Lunch at a jetty shack on fish, dal and rice, or pay more at a hotel restaurant for better cooking.

Afternoon: cut across the island on the village paths. You pass rice plots, coconut groves and racks of fish drying in the sun, and come out on the west coast near the turtle hatchery. Day-trippers should turn back towards the jetty from here; the ship will not wait for stragglers.

Evening, for those staying over: time Sunset Point, on the north-west corner, for low tide. After dark, with very little electric light, the stars take over. Next morning, catch sunrise on the east side, then take a boat or a falling-tide walk to Chhera Dwip before the heat builds.

Shutki, grilled catch and green coconuts

Food on Saint Martin's is simple and dearer than in Cox's Bazar, because almost everything except fish and coconuts arrives by boat. Shacks serve paratha and omelettes for breakfast and rice, dal and fish curry later, evening restaurants grill the day's catch to order, and islanders sell good shutki. Drink green coconuts; there is no bar.

Apart from fish and coconuts, almost everything on your plate arrived by boat, so expect higher prices than in Cox's Bazar and simple cooking. Breakfast at the shacks along the path from the jetty is paratha with an omelette or a bowl of vegetable curry, with sweet milky cha on the side. Later in the day the same kitchens serve the standard plate of rice, dal, vegetables and fish curry.

Evenings are better. Restaurants along the main path lay out the day's catch, and you pick a fish to be grilled whole; crab and lobster appear some nights at a steep price, so ask before they cook. Hotel restaurants charge more than the shacks but use better ingredients. Islanders also sell shutki, sun-dried fish that is fresher than most of what reaches the mainland markets, and it packs well for the trip home.

Drink green coconuts, sold along every path. There is no bar and no nightlife to speak of.