Kuakata sea beach, some 20km from the Sundarbans, boasts beautiful natural scenery, particularly spectacular views of sunrises and sunsets.
The excellent accommodation and other facilities at Kuakata tourist spot draw tourists like a magnet. At least 3,000 tourists can stay at the Kuakata tourist centre on any day. Government and non-government organisations have set up around 50 residential hotels for tourists in Kuakata. These residential hotels have air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned rooms. Notable among these are Parjaton Corporation’s Holiday Homes, Pantha Nibas, LGED rest house, BWDB rest house, Roads and Highways rest house, T&T rest house, Kuakata International, Hotel Nilanjona, Sky Palace, Banani, Hotel Graver Inn and Sea View.
Bangladesh, a country renowned for its scenic beauty, has several famous and well-known sea beaches. Kuakata is the most attractive amongst them, being the calmest sea beach of them all. It is located in Patuakhali district, considered the southernmost point of Bangladesh. It is the only place in the country where one can enjoy views of the sunrise and
sunset from the same sandy sea beach of the Bay of Bengal.
Kuakata’s natural beauty is incomparable. Many picnic spots, a long sea beach, the tamarisk gardens and coconut gardens, eco-park and fishermen’s villages are great tourist attractions. Thousands of local and foreign tourists congregate at Kuakata to enjoy their Eid vacations. Picnics are held at 25 to 30 places in the beach area.  Nihar Ranjan Sarkar Milton, a tourist who had come from Dhaka, told this correspondent: “I enjoyed the Kuakata tour with my family members because of the excellent journey and the beautiful sunrises and sunsets.”
Mir Fasiur Rahman, senior assistant superintendent of police (ASP) of the Kuakata Tourist Police, said, “Kuakata Tourist Police have been working hard to ensure security for tourists in Kuakata.”
 History: The name ‘Kuakata’ is derived from the word ‘Kua’, meaning ‘a well in the earth for drinking water’, and ‘Kata’ means ‘the process of digging the earth’. The early Rakhaine people had dug ‘kuas’ (wells) in the sea beach to get drinking water. From that time, it has been a tradition of the Rakhaine tribes. Locally, Kuakata is known as ‘Shagor Konya’ (daughter of the sea) for its calm and tranquil natural environment.
 The sunrise and sunset in Kuakata are divine experiences. One can watch the sunrise on walking just 15 minutes from Kuakata’s hotel-motel zone. Motorcycles, vans and rickshaws are also available on rent in this area.
 Boating: Boats there are aplenty for tourists here. Anybody can avail speedboats and trawlers from the sea beach and enjoy the ebbs and tides of the sea.
 Motorcycling and horse-riding: These are other great pleasures for travellers visiting the sea beach. Riding on the seashore, where gentle breezes frequently blow, is an awesome experience. Most travellers do not miss the opportunity to ride motorcycles and horses, which are not very expensive.
 Sunbathing and swimming: Sunbathing and swimming are widespread in every sea beach. Kuakata is no exception—it is a safe place for swimming and sunbathing.
 Calm environment: Generally, the sea becomes calm and quiet at night. At that time, the susurration of the Bay of Bengal is truly charming. Kuakata sea beach is a very safe and enjoyable place at night.
 How to reach there: Kuakata is about 320km south of Dhaka and 70km south of Patuakhali. Hence, it is not so easy to reach there. Visitors can go by bus or by launch. Road communication from Dhaka to Kuakata is very good. Bus services are available from Dhaka to Kuakata. Each trip costs around Tk. 650 to Tk. 850 per person. The journey may take 10 to 12 hours.
There are several launch services from Sadarghat launch terminal of Dhaka. They leave the terminal from 6pm to 9pm everyday. If somebody wants to make a comfortable journey from Dhaka to Barisal, it might cost him/her Tk. 1,500 to Tk. 2,000, but if he/she wants to travel normally, it would cost only Tk. 150 to Tk. 200 per person.
It takes 10 to 12 hours to reach Barisal or Patuakhali. Then one has to take a local bus from Barisal or Patuakhali to Kuakata. The distance of Kuakata from Barisal is about 90 km and from Patuakhali is about 36 km. So, it takes four or five hours from Barisal to reach there. Food items: The beach, though famous for its natural scenic beauty, is not an ideal place for regular food items favoured by Bangladeshis. One can find everything one wants to eat in the restaurants at Kuakata, but the food items are not so cheap. Shopping: To make one’s journey memorable, tourists can buy handicrafts and other products made by local artisans.