Top 10 Road Trip Destinations Near Dhaka
Leave before 6am and the city lets you go without a fight. Here are ten drives worth a weekend, with rough driving times from Banani.
1. Sonargaon and Panam Nagar (1 hour). Colonial merchant houses along one lane, and the folk art museum.
2. Padma Bridge and Mawa (1.5 hours). Hilsa lunch by the river after the crossing.
3. Gazipur sal forests (1.5 hours). Resorts with lakes, good for a first drive in a new car.
4. Mymensingh (3 hours). The Brahmaputra at sunset and Shashi Lodge.
5. Sreemangal (4 hours). Tea gardens, Lawachara forest and seven-layer tea.
6. Sylhet and Jaflong (6 hours). Stone rivers and the hills of Meghalaya on the horizon.
7. Kuakata (6 hours over the Padma Bridge). Sunrise and sunset from the same beach.
8. Cox's Bazar and Marine Drive (8 hours, or fly and rent there). 80 km of road along the sea.
9. Rangamati (7 hours). Kaptai Lake by boat, hanging bridge included.
10. Bandarban (8 hours). Nilgiri and the road to Thanchi; take a 4x4 like our Prado.
Fill up at the big stations on the highways, carry cash for tolls, and tell us your route: our 24/7 line knows every one of these roads.
How to Choose the Right Car for Your Needs
Start with people and bags, not looks. A Corolla or Civic takes four adults and two medium suitcases; a Camry is the same with far more room in the back; seven people or a family with a pram need a Prado; groups of eight or more, a HiAce with one of our drivers.
Then think about the roads. In Dhaka traffic a hybrid like the Camry saves real money on fuel and runs silent in jams. For the hill tracts, Sajek or Bandarban, you want ground clearance and four-wheel drive. On the highway to Chattogram or Sylhet, a bigger engine makes overtaking trucks less stressful.
Decide who drives. If you are new to Bangladesh's roads, a chauffeur costs from $30 a day on top of the car and lets you work or sleep between meetings.
Finally, match the car to the occasion. A C-Class or X5 for visiting directors, the Rolls-Royce or Bentley for a wedding, a Corolla on a monthly plan for a field team. Still unsure? Tell us the trip and we will suggest two options with prices.
Car Rental vs Car Ownership: Which is Better?
We ran the numbers on a new Toyota Corolla bought in Dhaka and kept for five years, against renting the same car from us.
Owning. Depreciation is the biggest cost: roughly 40% of the price over five years. Add registration and tax tokens, insurance, servicing and tyres, a parking space in Gulshan or Banani, and a full-time driver if you do not drive yourself. Before fuel, that comes to about $1,100 a month.
Renting. Our monthly plan is $1,250 with servicing, insurance, tyres and a replacement car included, and you can hand it back when you no longer need it. Occasional use is cheaper still: at $65 a day, a car for 12 days a month costs $780.
The rule of thumb. If you need a car more than 20 days a month for more than three years, owning usually wins. Under 15 days a month, or for a posting of a year or two, renting is cheaper and far less hassle. In between, it depends on how much your time is worth when the car needs a service.
If you want to own, our ex-fleet cars for sale come with the full service history and a warranty.