Day one: settle in and learn the shoreline
Most travellers reach Inani by road from Cox's Bāzār town, roughly 30 to 35 kilometres south along the Marine Drive. The drive takes about 45 to 60 minutes in a car or CNG auto-rickshaw, longer on Fridays and Saturdays when Marine Drive traffic thickens in the afternoon. Hire a car from the town centre rather than relying on local buses, which drop you on the road some distance from the beach hotels. Check in, then walk the beach south of Inani Para toward the Himchari end before sunset. The sand here is coarser and the water livelier than at Sugandha, so keep to the shallows.
Eat dinner at your hotel or one of the small beachfront restaurants along the Inani road; expect simple rice, fish and vegetable plates rather than a wide menu. Carry cash, because ATMs are scarce once you leave the town and mobile payment signals are patchy. Book a sea-facing room if you can, since the road-side rooms catch noise from the Marine Drive at night. Late November to February is the most comfortable window, with daytime temperatures around 20 to 28 degrees Celsius and little rain; avoid the June to September monsoon, when the sea is rough and many small places close.
Day two: Himchari, waterfalls and the Marine Drive
Himchari National Park sits about 12 kilometres north of Inani along the same road, and it is the easiest half-day trip from your hotel. The park entrance is close to the Himchari waterfall, which is at its best between June and September but is often a thin trickle by February, so temper your expectations in the dry months. The walk up to the viewpoint takes 20 to 30 minutes on a stepped path; go before 9am to beat both the heat and the tour groups that arrive mid-morning. Entry is inexpensive, but bring small notes.
The Marine Drive between Himchari and Inani is the best part of the day: a coastal road that runs between the hills and the sea, with pull-offs where you can stop for photographs. If you are on a motorbike or in a hired car, allow two hours for the return with stops. Skip the roadside souvenir stalls near the park gate, which are pricier than the market in Cox's Bāzār town. Back at Inani, the afternoon is for the beach again, or for a short walk to the fishing hamlet at Inani Para, where you can watch the boats come in around 4pm.
Day three: the town day and what to skip
Give the third day to Cox's Bāzār town rather than more beach time, because Inani has little beyond the sand. The trip north takes 45 to 60 minutes. Start at the fish market near the Bakkhali river mouth in the morning, then walk to the Burmese market on the town's main road for textiles and dry goods. Sugandha beach, at the town end, is the busiest stretch and worth a look but not a long stay. A river-side lunch of fresh fish near the Bakkhali is the best meal of the trip for many visitors.
Skip the theme parks and the boat trips to Saint Martin's Island unless you have a spare day; the island crossing is long, weather-dependent and not worth squeezing into three days. If you want a final quiet evening, return to Inani rather than staying in town, since the beach at sunset is far calmer than Sugandha. For a three-day Inani base I would book a mid-range sea-facing hotel on the Inani road, roughly in the range you would pay for a comparable room in Cox's Bāzār town, and use it as a launch point rather than a resort.
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Hotels in Cox’s Bazar
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