Chittagong (CGP): green three-wheelers out front, and negotiate first
Twenty kilometres out at Patenga, with a fifty minute run in light traffic and much longer in bad. The taxis are colour coded and none of them use a meter by default.
- The airport is about 20 km from central Chattogram, out in Patenga practically on the shore of the Bay of Bengal.
- Allow about 50 minutes in light traffic and up to an hour and a half otherwise.
- Three-wheeler green taxis wait in the car park directly in front of the terminal, during the day.
- Negotiate the price before you get in. None of these run a meter as a matter of course.
- Yellow taxis have air conditioning, blue ones do not and are cheaper.
- A taxi into the city is normally about 800 to 1,200 taka for up to four people.
- Uber and Pathao both operate in Chattogram, which fixes the fare in advance.
- The nearest bus stop is Patenga 15, about 850 metres from the terminal, near the Hazrat Osman Goni Jame Mosque on Potenga Road. That is a walk with luggage.
- One terminal, departures upstairs and arrivals below.
- There is no left luggage facility. Plan around that if you have a long gap.
Where it is
- Patenga, about 20 km from the city centre, on a spit of land next to the Bay of Bengal. The route in follows M. A. Aziz Road.
- 50 minutes is the light-traffic figure. Chattogram is a port city with heavy freight traffic, so the bad case is well over an hour.
The taxis, which are colour coded
- Green three-wheelers are in the car park directly in front of the terminal building, during daylight hours. They are the cheapest thing that will take a bag.
- Yellow taxis are air conditioned. Blue taxis are not, and cost less. In Chattogram's humidity that is a real decision rather than a preference.
- Agree the fare before you move. Insist on the meter if there is one, and if there is not, fix the number.
- Roughly 800 to 1,200 taka into the city for up to four passengers is the going range.
The apps
- Uber and Pathao both work in Chattogram. The fare is quoted before you accept, which removes the negotiation entirely.
- Match the plate, the make and the model before you get in, and note that Bangladeshi plates are in Bangla script while the app shows them in English.
- Drivers generally want cash, in taka.
The bus, honestly
- Patenga Bus Stop 15 is about 850 metres from the terminal. There is no bus into the airport.
- 850 metres in that heat with a suitcase is not a plan. It is a genuine option with a daypack and time to spare.
The terminal
- One terminal handles domestic and international, departures on the upper floor and arrivals on the lower.
- Currency exchange, ATMs, duty free in the international section, a prayer room, cafés, business lounges, free wifi, charging points, a mother and child room and a 24 hour medical centre.
- No left luggage. If you are doing a day trip out of Chattogram between flights, your bag comes with you.
What flies here
- US-Bangla and Biman Bangladesh do the domestic work, with Dhaka the dominant route.
- The international map is Gulf-facing: Emirates and Air Arabia Abu Dhabi among others, which reflects Chattogram's labour migration rather than its tourism.
- Cox's Bazar is about four hours away by road, so CGP is a plausible alternative arrival for the beach if the CXB flights are full.
Comments
No comments yet. Share the first one.
Share a tip
Sign in to continue.