Landing at Dhaka airport: a step-by-step arrival guide
Everything that happens between your wheels touching down at Hazrat Shahjalal and your bag hitting the floor of your hotel room — in the order you will actually meet it.
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (airport code DAC) handled around 12.7 million passengers in 2025, and almost none of them were leisure tourists. That matters, because it means the arrival process is built for returning Bangladeshis and business travellers who already know the drill — not for a first-time visitor working it out from the signs.
None of it is difficult. It is just unsignposted. Here is the whole sequence.
What this covers
1. Which terminal you land in
International flights arrive at Terminal 1 or Terminal 2. They are in the same building, so for arriving passengers the distinction barely matters. You will walk from the aircraft to immigration, then down to the international arrivals concourse hall on the ground floor, exiting past canopy 1 or canopy 2. The domestic terminal is a separate single-storey building to the left of the international ones — relevant only if you are connecting onward to Cox’s Bazar, Sylhet or Chattogram.
A third terminal has been built and is being brought into service in phases. Your airline will tell you if you are affected; as of writing, assume you are arriving into the existing international terminals.
2. Visa on arrival, if you are using it
If you already have a visa in your passport, skip to the next section.
Bangladesh does offer a visa on arrival at Dhaka airport, but it is worth being precise about what that means, because getting this wrong is the single most stressful way to start a trip.
- It is discretionary. The immigration officer decides. Eligibility is not the same as entitlement, and it is generally intended for travellers who could not reasonably apply in advance.
- The fee is around USD 51 — a USD 50 fee plus tax — payable in cash only, in US dollars, euros or pounds. There is a bank counter before the immigration desks where you pay and collect a receipt.
- It is single entry, up to 30 days. The officer can grant fewer days based on your ticket.
- You need to be able to show a confirmed return or onward ticket, a hotel booking or invitation letter, and proof of roughly USD 500 in cash or on a card.
Get the visa in advance if you can
An advance visa from a Bangladeshi mission costs more — around USD 160 for US citizens — but is typically multiple entry and valid for years. More importantly, some airlines will not board a passenger without a visa, regardless of what Bangladeshi rules permit. Check with your airline before you rely on visa on arrival, and confirm the current fee and rules with the Bangladeshi mission covering your country, because these details change.
3. Immigration and baggage
Queues are longest late at night and early in the morning, which is unfortunately when most long-haul flights land. Budget 20 minutes on a quiet arrival and up to an hour when three wide-bodies land together.
Have your hotel address written down. “I will find somewhere” is a slow answer to give an immigration officer at 1am. Baggage belts are straight through after immigration. If a bag does not appear, the Lost and Found desk is room 15, and the airport runs a 24-hour call centre on 13600.
4. Customs and the green channel
Unless you are carrying goods to declare, you walk through the green channel. Nothing to sign, usually nothing to open. Immediately in front of the green channel is the useful part of the terminal: SIM card sales, several banks for currency exchange, car rental desks and telephone booths. Do both of the next two steps before you walk out of exit gates 1 and 2, because it is much harder once you are outside.
5. Money: what to change and where
The currency is the Bangladeshi taka (BDT). The bank counters in the arrivals hall are legitimate and their rates are acceptable — not the best in the country, but fine. City exchange houses in Gulshan or Motijheel give slightly better rates.
So change a working amount at the airport rather than all your money: enough for transport, a meal and a day or two of incidentals. US dollars, euros and pounds are all straightforward. Ask for some small notes; a 1000-taka note is awkward for a rickshaw fare.
ATMs exist in the arrivals area and widely across Dhaka, and international cards generally work at bank-branded machines. Cards are accepted in hotels, malls and mid-range restaurants, and nowhere else you will want to go. Bangladesh runs on cash.
6. Getting online
Grameenphone, Robi and Banglalink all have counters in the arrivals hall, just past the green channel. You need your passport — the photo page and the visa page — and it is worth carrying a couple of passport photographs because registration requirements vary. Registration is a legal requirement in Bangladesh, so the process involves paperwork and sometimes a fingerprint; allow ten to fifteen minutes.
Do not skip this. It is the difference between calling a ride on Pathao or Uber for 300 to 400 taka and paying 800 to 1000 taka for a prepaid taxi because you cannot get online. The SIM pays for itself before you leave the car park. The full detail is in the SIM card guide.
7. Getting to your hotel — and what it should cost
Three realistic options, in order of how much stress they cost you:
| Option | Rough cost | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-arranged car (hotel or guide) | BDT 1,500–2,500 | Someone is holding a sign with your name. No negotiation, no app, no language. The reason most first-timers choose it. |
| Uber or Pathao | BDT 300–500 to Gulshan or Banani | Cheapest and perfectly safe, but needs a working SIM and a pickup point that drivers can actually reach. |
| Airport prepaid taxi | BDT 800–1,200 | Fixed price at a counter, no haggling. Fine. Roughly double the app price. |
What to avoid: the drivers who approach you inside or just outside the terminal offering a ride. They are not dangerous, but you will pay several times the real fare and the conversation is exhausting after a fourteen-hour flight.
Travel time to Gulshan or Banani is about 30 to 45 minutes at night, and anywhere between 45 minutes and two hours in daytime traffic. Dhaka traffic is not an exaggeration.
8. If you land at 2am
Most long-haul routes into Dhaka land between midnight and 5am, and that is when the airport feels most intimidating: tired, crowded, noisy, and every taxi tout wide awake. Three things make it painless.
- Pre-book your ride — through your hotel, or with me. Walking out to a name sign changes the entire tone of the arrival.
- Get the SIM before you exit. The counters run for the late arrivals.
- Tell your hotel your flight number. Guaranteed late check-in means nobody is asking questions at 3am.
The first ninety minutes decide how the whole trip feels. Everything after that is much easier than people expect — Bangladesh is an extraordinarily welcoming country once you are past the kerb.
Quick arrival checklist
- Visa sorted in advance, or USD 51 in cash plus return ticket, hotel booking and proof of funds
- Hotel address written down on paper, not only on a dead phone
- Passport copies and two passport photos for the SIM counter
- SIM and money sorted before you leave the arrivals hall
- Ride pre-arranged, or the Uber/Pathao app already installed and logged in
- Nobody approached in the car park gets your luggage
Or skip all of it. My airport welcome is a flat $120: I meet you at arrivals with a sign, track your flight so a delay costs nothing, handle the SIM counter and the bank, and take you to your hotel in a pre-booked car. Send me your flight number and it is arranged.
Fees, terminal arrangements and visa rules change. Confirm anything critical with your airline and with the Bangladeshi mission covering your country before you travel — or message me and I will check the current position for you.
Do not arrive into Dhaka alone at 2am.
Airport welcome, flight tracked, SIM and money handled, hotel drop included. $120 flat, paid after I meet you.