All activities / Surfing / Cox's Bazar
Surfing in Cox's Bazar
A beach town on the southeast coast of Bangladesh fronting what is often called the longest natural sea beach on earth, an almost unbroken run of sand stretching around 120 kilometres down the Bay of Bengal. It is the country's main seaside resort and the birthplace of Bangladeshi surfing.
Why here
Cox's Bazar is where surfing in Bangladesh began and where it still lives, on a beach break running down what locals call the longest natural sea beach in the world. Surfing arrived here in the 1990s through Jafar Alam, widely called the country's first surfer, and it has since grown into a small but real scene supported by a handful of local clubs that double as youth programmes, teaching street kids and, notably, girls to ride and to save lives in the water. For a visitor this is not a crowded, competitive lineup but a curiosity worth seeking out: warm water, mellow beach-break waves that suit learners, and a chance to paddle out somewhere almost no travellers think to surf. The waves clean up through the winter, and the culture around the clubs, part sport, part social project, is as much the reason to come as the surf itself. Pair it with long walks on an enormous empty beach and it makes an easy, offbeat coastal stop.
Best months
The most comfortable surf season is the winter, from November to March, when the waves are cleanest and November is often the pick of the year; the beach break is exposed and works much of the time. The southwest monsoon from June to September brings the biggest waves but also heavy rain, strong currents and the risk of cyclones, so it is for confident surfers only. Water is warm year round. There is no developed board-rental industry, so arrange gear and lessons through one of the local clubs in advance.
Getting there & around
Cox's Bazar has its own airport with regular flights from Dhaka, and is also reached by long-distance bus; it is a well-established domestic resort, so hotels are plentiful. The surf clubs are based on or near the main beach, and lessons, boards and a local guide are arranged directly with them rather than through a shop. Currents can be strong on this open coast, so surf near the club-patrolled stretches and heed local advice on conditions.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (2)
No Dorai Surf Club
ClubNo Dorai Surf Club is a Cox's Bazar surf school run out of the Sayeman Beach Resort, taking its name from No Dorai, Bangladesh's first surf-themed feature film, released in 2019. It coaches new surfers on the beach breaks of the country's longest natural sea beach and fields a team in national and international surfing competitions, running lessons and board hire through the cleaner winter season.
Street Surf School
SchoolStreet Surf School is a Cox's Bazar surf outfit that teaches surfing to local street and community children while offering lessons and board hire to visitors on the town's main beach break. It works the exposed breaks where surfing was pioneered in the 1990s by Jafar Alam, Bangladesh's first surfer, and coaches beginners through the gentle winter waves. Booking is direct through its active Facebook page rather than a walk-in shop.