Dhaka is among the most densely populated cities on earth. Roughly 23 million people in the metropolitan area, built on a delta that floods, with a traffic problem so severe it is studied internationally and a river port at Sadarghat where several hundred thousand people a day move through on launches. Visitors tend to arrive planning to leave quickly. That is a mistake, and not for sentimental reasons: this city holds the Mughal and colonial architecture, the museums and the river life that explain everything else you will see in Bangladesh.
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It is also a city that almost nobody visits for its own sake. Bangladesh receives a tiny fraction of the tourists who go to India or Thailand, and for a foreign woman travelling independently the practical consequence is attention rather than danger: you will be looked at, asked where you are from, and photographed, several times a day, by people who are curious and friendly. The safety section below treats that as the central fact rather than a footnote, because the advisory does too.
Old Dhaka, Which Is the Reason to Come
The sights are concentrated in a dense square south of the modern city, and the only way to see it is on foot and by rickshaw, because the lanes do not take cars.
Ahsan Manzil, the pink palace on the Buriganga, was the residence of the Nawab of Dhaka and is now a museum, and it is the city's signature building. Lalbagh Fort, shown at the top of this page, is an unfinished Mughal complex begun in 1678 and abandoned after the governor's daughter died, with a mosque, a tomb and gardens. The Star Mosque, Tara Masjid, is a small building decorated inside and out with broken Chinese porcelain in a star pattern, and is the most purely delightful thing in the city. Armenian Church and the surrounding Armanitola lanes are the old trading quarter.
Sadarghat, in the third photograph here, is the river terminal and is the single most extraordinary place in Dhaka. Hundreds of launches, a tidal mass of people boarding and disembarking, porters, vendors and small boats crossing the Buriganga for a few taka. You can hire a rowing boat for half an hour and see the whole thing from the water, which is the best thirty minutes a visitor to Bangladesh can spend.
North of the old city, the Liberation War Museum and the National Martyrs' Memorial at Savar cover the 1971 war of independence, which killed hundreds of thousands and is not optional context for understanding the country. The Bangladesh National Museum in Shahbagh is large and good, and Dhakeshwari Temple is the principal Hindu temple.
Getting Around, Which Is the Hard Part
The metro changed Dhaka and is the single best piece of travel advice for the city. The MRT Line 6 runs north to south from Uttara through the centre to Motijheel, it is clean, air-conditioned, cheap and fast, and it bypasses a traffic problem that can turn eight kilometres into two hours. It has women-only carriages. Use it for any journey it covers.
Cycle rickshaws are the way to move inside Old Dhaka and are one of the pleasures of the place. Agree the fare before you get in, in taka, and expect to be charged more as a foreigner, which is normal and is still almost nothing. CNGs, the green three-wheelers, cover longer distances; agree the fare or insist on the meter. Ride-hailing apps work well and remove the negotiation entirely, which is often worth it.
Note what the advisory says about buses and about travelling alone, which is covered in the safety section and is unusually direct. And note that it names the airport specifically: Dhaka international has a documented problem with passport theft, harassment and taxi overcharging, so arrange your arrival transfer in advance through your hotel rather than negotiating in the arrivals hall.
When to Go
November to February is the season and it is not a close call. Cool, dry, low humidity, with Dhaka in the low twenties and the sky clear. This is when the city is pleasant to walk and the river trips are at their best.
And it is also the worst air of the year, which is the trade-off nobody mentions. From roughly November to March Dhaka's air quality is among the worst of any capital city in the world, regularly in ranges where the health advice is to stay indoors. A properly rated respirator mask rather than a surgical one is a genuine packing item for a winter trip, and the combination of pleasant weather and hazardous air is the honest shape of Dhaka in January.
March to May is the pre-monsoon hot season, reaching the high thirties with humidity to match and the Kalbaishakhi thunderstorms arriving violently in the afternoons. June to September is the monsoon, when the city floods in places, the traffic becomes impossible and the air is at least clean. Eid, twice a year, empties Dhaka as millions leave for their home villages, which is either the quietest and most pleasant week to be here or a transport impossibility, depending on which side of it you arrive.
Is Dhaka Safe for Women Travelers
UK FCDO: the FCDO advises against ALL BUT ESSENTIAL TRAVEL to the CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS, which it defines as exactly three districts: RANGAMATI, KHAGRACHARI and BANDARBAN. Its reason is that security there is a cause for concern, with regular reports of violence and other criminal activity particularly in more remote areas. AND THE ADVISORY ITSELF NAMES WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED, which is the half most reports of it leave out: "Chittagong City and other districts of Chittagong Division are not included in the travel warning." So the port city of Chittagong, the second largest in the country, is outside the restriction entirely, and so is the rest of the division. A reader who saw "Chittagong Hill Tracts" and assumed the city was covered would have it backwards. ONE REQUIREMENT APPLIES IF YOU GO ANYWAY AND IT IS A PROCESS RATHER THAN A PRECAUTION: you MUST GIVE THE BANGLADESHI AUTHORITIES TEN DAYS' NOTICE before travelling to the Hill Tracts. The FCDO names the two offices to contact, the Chittagong Divisional Commissioner's Office on 031 615 247 and the Chittagong Deputy Commissioner's Office on 031 619 996. Ten days is long enough that it has to be planned from home rather than arranged on arrival.
None of that touches Dhaka, which carries no advise-against at all, and the reason it appears on this page is that it is the only advised-against area in the country and readers should know where it is and where it is not.
The harassment warning is the most important line in this advisory and the FCDO does not soften it. It records a risk of sexual assault INCLUDING ATTACKS ON FEMALE FOREIGN NATIONAL VISITORS, and states that female travellers OFTEN experience verbal and physical harassment by individuals or groups of men. Its instructions are to avoid isolated areas when alone AT ANY TIME OF DAY, not merely after dark, and to be particularly vigilant at night. That wording is worth reading carefully, because "often" is a stronger word than these pages usually use and "at any time of day" removes the usual daylight reassurance. In a country that receives very few independent foreign women the attention is close to constant, and the honest framing is that it is overwhelmingly intrusive rather than violent, and that the two warnings sit in the same paragraph for a reason.
Violent crime has increased since the 2024 uprising and the advisory is specific about the method. It reports an increase since July and August 2024, names criminal gangs operating in Dhaka and other cities, and describes thieves working IN PAIRS ON MOTORCYCLES OR ON THE GREEN THREE-WHEELERS KNOWN AS CNGs. The threats it lists are armed robbery, violent crime and rape. Then it gives the single most useful instruction on the page, which is about transport rather than streets: passengers using rickshaws, taxis, buses or trains are vulnerable to violent crime PARTICULARLY AT NIGHT, and you should avoid using public transport if you are travelling alone. That is not hedged and it should shape an itinerary rather than sit in a footnote.
That instruction about public transport is the most useful line in the whole Bangladeshi advisory and it is easy to follow in Dhaka specifically, because the metro and the ride-hailing apps exist. Use the metro, which has women-only carriages, use an app rather than a hailed CNG, and avoid local buses entirely, which is advice almost every resident would also give you.
On terrorism the wording is the strong form. The FCDO states that terrorists are VERY LIKELY to try to carry out attacks in Bangladesh, that attacks could be indiscriminate including in places visited by foreign nationals, and it names the categories: public buildings including restaurants and cafes, public transport, crowded areas, religious buildings and political rallies. It records that some groups have targeted people they consider to have views and lifestyles contrary to Islam, including religious minorities, that Islamist extremist groups operate in the country, and that the authorities continue to disrupt planned attacks. Security force presence and restrictions on movement can be imposed at short notice.
Politics reaches the street here in a way that will affect an ordinary itinerary. Bangladesh held national elections on 12 February 2026, and the FCDO records that rallies and demonstrations can turn violent quickly. During demonstrations and the general strikes known as HARTALS there can be arson, violence and vandalism in towns and cities across the country, which can result in fatalities, and there have been improvised explosive device attacks in major cities as well as attacks on police and on minority religious communities. The July and August 2024 uprising brought widespread violence with many deaths and injuries. The instruction is to stay away from protests, rallies and large gatherings and to be alert to quickly changing situations on the streets. A hartal is also a practical problem: shops close and transport stops, so it is worth knowing the word before you arrive.
What this adds up to for a day in Old Dhaka. Dress modestly, which means shoulders and legs covered and is expected of everyone. Go with a guide for the old city if it is your first day, which is cheap and genuinely improves it. Carry a photocopy of your passport and visa, because officials may ask. Keep your bag closed and in front of you in crowds. Do not take out a phone in a stationary rickshaw in traffic, which is where the motorcycle snatch described in the advisory happens. And treat any gathering, rally or hartal as somewhere to leave rather than observe.
If you are a British national of Bangladeshi origin, the Bangladeshi government will consider you a Bangladeshi citizen even if you have never held a Bangladeshi passport and were born outside the country, and the FCDO states plainly that this MAY LIMIT THE HELP THE UK GOVERNMENT CAN OFFER YOU. Given how many British Bangladeshis trace their families to Sylhet specifically, this affects a substantial share of the people most likely to make this trip. Check your position with the Bangladeshi High Commission in the UK before travelling rather than after a problem, and note that the Bangladesh Police Expatriate Help Cell explicitly serves foreign nationals including dual nationals.
The Dhaka Packing List
Modest clothing, in the lightest fabric you own
The advisory asks women to cover shoulders and legs in public, and it is also simply what everyone does. Loose long trousers or a long skirt, tunics or long-sleeved shirts, and a scarf. A salwar kameez bought locally in the first day or two is the best solution available: cool, completely appropriate, costs very little and makes you much less conspicuous than Western clothing.
A merino layer, for covered-in-the-heat and for the air conditioning
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women solves the specific Dhaka problem, which is that you need your arms covered all day in heat and humidity. Cotton sleeves here are soaked within the hour and stay soaked. Merino moves the moisture, does not hold the smell over several days in a city this polluted, and is also the layer for the metro and the hotel, both of which are air-conditioned to genuinely cold.
A respirator mask, and a real one
From November to March this is not a precaution, it is the difference between a comfortable week and a sore throat and headache for the whole trip. Buy a properly rated fitted mask before you travel, because what is sold locally is mostly surgical and does nothing for particulates.
Shoes you do not mind ruining
Closed, comfortable, washable. Old Dhaka's lanes have open drains, standing water and surfaces you will not want to look at closely, and in the monsoon the streets flood. Sandals are a bad idea in those lanes specifically. A waterproof hiking shoe is more than the city needs unless you are going on to the Sundarbans or Sylhet.
A rain shell
A packable Marmot PreCip Eco rain jacket covers the Kalbaishakhi storms in spring, the monsoon and the spray on a Buriganga boat.
Insect repellent, used in daylight
Dengue is endemic and Dhaka has had severe outbreaks, and the mosquito that carries it bites during the day rather than at dusk. Repellent with DEET, reapplied, plus the long sleeves you are already wearing. This is a genuine health item in this city rather than a comfort one.
Water and a light
An insulated water bottle, because tap water is not drinkable anywhere in Bangladesh and the heat is serious. A rechargeable headlamp for power cuts, which are routine, and for Old Dhaka lanes after dark.
The small things
Taka in cash, because cards work in hotels and malls and almost nowhere else. A photocopy of your passport photo page and visa, carried separately from the originals. A scarf. Hand sanitiser. A power bank. And patience with being photographed, which will happen several times a day and is friendly rather than hostile.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Essential Resources for Women in Dhaka
Emergency numbers: 999 is the national emergency line for police, fire and ambulance and is answered in Bengali and English. 333 is the government information line. There is also a dedicated Police Expatriate Help Cell serving foreign nationals including dual nationals, which the FCDO names specifically and which is the right first call for a foreign visitor's non-emergency problem. For violence against women the government operates the 109 national helpline, and the One-Stop Crisis Centre at Dhaka Medical College Hospital provides medical care, police liaison and legal support in one place, which is the most useful single thing in this section.
US State Department travel advisory: the Bangladesh advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/bangladesh, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
Main hospitals: Evercare Hospital in Bashundhara and United Hospital in Gulshan are the two private hospitals used by the diplomatic community and are where a serious problem should go; Square Hospital in Panthapath is a third and is central. Dhaka Medical College Hospital is the large government facility and is where the One-Stop Crisis Centre sits. For anything major the realistic answer is medical evacuation to Bangkok or Singapore, which is a flight rather than a drive, so insurance that covers EVACUATION rather than only treatment is not optional in Bangladesh.
Official health authority: the Directorate General of Health Services, which is the operational health authority under Bangladesh's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The DGHS publishes current dengue situation reports and Dhaka's outbreaks have been severe, with the numbers changing weekly, so it is worth reading before a monsoon or post-monsoon trip. Insurance must cover EVACUATION, because anything major means a flight to Bangkok or Singapore
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Dhaka.
Official tourism authority: Beautiful Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Tourism Board's site under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism. Beautiful Bangladesh is the Tourism Board's working site. Note that the Board's other domains, tourismboard.gov.bd and parjatan.gov.bd, currently fail certificate verification on every address, so this is the one to use
Use the metro. It has women-only carriages and it bypasses the traffic entirely.
Do not use public transport alone. It is the advisory's own instruction and the metro and apps make it easy to follow.
Solo women safety assessment: Dhaka is demanding and it is not dangerous in the way its reputation suggests, and keeping those apart is the most useful thing this section can do. Bangladesh's ONLY advised-against area is the Chittagong Hill Tracts, three districts hundreds of kilometres away, and the advisory states in the same breath that Chittagong City and the rest of that division are not included. Dhaka carries no restriction at all. WHAT IS REAL AND CONSTANT IS HARASSMENT RATHER THAN VIOLENCE. The FCDO records a risk of sexual assault including attacks on female foreign visitors and says female travellers OFTEN experience verbal and physical harassment by individuals or groups of men, with the instruction to avoid isolated areas when alone AT ANY TIME OF DAY. In a city that receives very few independent foreign women you will be stared at, occasionally followed, and photographed without being asked. The countermeasures are specific and Dhaka makes them easy. DO NOT USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT ALONE, which the FCDO states outright and is the single most effective choice available: the metro is clean, fast, cheap, has women-only carriages and bypasses the traffic, and ride-hailing apps remove the fare negotiation. Avoid local buses entirely. Dress modestly with shoulders and legs covered, and a locally bought salwar kameez is cooler and far less conspicuous than Western clothes. Use hotels with a staffed desk around the clock, arrange your airport transfer in advance because the advisory names Dhaka airport for passport theft and overcharging, and carry a photocopy of your passport and visa because officials ask. Violent crime has risen since 2024, criminal gangs operate in the city, and thieves work in pairs on motorcycles and CNGs, so keep a phone out of sight in stationary traffic. TERRORISTS ARE DESCRIBED AS VERY LIKELY TO TRY TO ATTACK, with public transport, crowded areas, religious buildings and political rallies named, and hartals and demonstrations can bring arson and fatalities to the streets at short notice, so a gathering is somewhere to leave. The environmental risks are the air, which from November to March is among the worst of any capital on earth and warrants a fitted respirator, and dengue, which is endemic and bites in daylight. Same-sex sexual activity is illegal. British nationals of Bangladeshi origin are treated as Bangladeshi citizens whether or not they have held a Bangladeshi passport, which can limit consular help. 999 for emergencies, 109 for violence against women, the Police Expatriate Help Cell for foreign nationals, the One-Stop Crisis Centre at Dhaka Medical College, and Evercare or United for anything serious with evacuation cover behind it.
Reading On
Dhaka is the first Bangladeshi destination in this library and the rest of the country is being added alongside it. The Bangladesh travel guide for women carries the country-level advice on the Chittagong Hill Tracts restriction, the monsoon, the ferries and the costs, and is the page to read before any of the destinations. The Cox's Bazar packing list covers the long beach in the south east, the Sonargaon packing list the abandoned merchant city an hour away that makes the best day trip from Dhaka, the Barisal packing list the river city reached by overnight launch from Sadarghat, and the Chittagong packing list and Rajshahi packing list the second and fourth cities. Across the border, the Kolkata packing list covers the other great Bengali city 300km west, which shares the language and much of the food, and the India travel guide for women the wider region. For why merino rather than cotton when your arms must stay covered in heat and humidity, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
