Amazing Andaman

After visiting to a few places within and outside India, I and my wife wanted to go to an island for our next vacation, like SriLanka or Maldives. But then we decided on Andaman which is right in India – Less expensive and less of a hassle option. We planned the trip for 2018 Dec, when the kids have holidays for their school. We were traveling from Pune, and my sister’s family was to join us from Hyderabad – A total of 7 people including kids. 

Palm Trees at Ross

I prefer to make the bookings myself and not go through a travel agent. This gives us flexibility and lets us enjoy what we like, without the ‘pushing’ from the travel guide. After some research on the internet, we decided on the Itinerary – 1 day at Port Blair, 2 days at Havelock, 1 day at Neil and 1 day at Port Blair. Only after completing our trip, did we realize that we were among the last few tourists to ever visit the Ross, Havelock and Neil Islands. No kidding. The reason being that these three islands have been officially renamed on 30 Dec, 2018 😉

Three months prior to the trip, we got our flight and hotel bookings done. With all our bookings and the planning done (shopping too) we were all set and excited. But may be not. I did not realize that we had missed to arrange for something very important for a trip to Andaman!!

Day One - Port Blair

Top view

Just before landing at Port Blair, we could get a breath-taking view of the islands from the plane. The blue and green water, the vast stretch of beaches, and trees – Nothing else (no high rises, no buildings). When we got out of the Port Blair airport, it was so hot and humid. From 10 Deg C in Pune, when we boarded the flight, it was 26 Deg C in Port Blair. We hired a cab to the hotel. The driver could speak my local language (Telugu). On hearing to our Itinerary, the first question he asked was, if we have booked our ferry tickets for inter-island traveling. He was surprised that we have not, and I was shocked to hear that we might not get any, as it was a holiday season. Then, we went around to at least 5 travel agents in Port Blair and finally managed to get Ferry tickets for one-way Port Blair – Havelock (by paying additional price). I took a risk and decided to buy the one-way tickets, hoping to manage for the return tickets somehow at a later time.

Hungry !!!

 After lunch, we visited the historic Cellular jail. The jail rooms had a very narrow entrance and I felt so claustrophobic just on entering one of the jail rooms. A salute to all those freedom fighters who were kept there and survived the solitary confinement, without losing the zeal for freedom!! They organize a light and sound show in the jail which has 4 shows every evening. The tickets can be booked online at around 4 PM. But it was so crowded on that day, that all those tickets were sold out in no time, and we had to miss the show. Later, we visited the Veer Savarkar Park, which is right opposite to the jail. You can spend 2-3 hrs at this place (jail + park). Visiting the jail and the park, left us in a sense of pride and patriotism.

Then we went to the Corbyn’s Cove Beach and spent some time there. There were a few water sports (like jet-ski, parasailing), but it was almost dark, and we did not do any activities there. Later we came back to the hotel, had dinner and then went off to bed.

Day Two – Ross Island (Now called Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island)

Boat to Ross

We checked out of the Port Blair hotel in the morning. We left our luggage at the hotel reception, had breakfast and later took a boat ride to Ross Island (INR 350 two way trip). It takes about 15 min to reach the Ross Island. On the island, we took a battery car to go around the island. It costs INR 80 per person.  It is a good 2 km walk around the island plus it is hot and humid. The boat person gives you a pickup time, so you must be back in that time. So, I suggest you take the car ride, that will give you an on un-official guide (the car driver) too !The driver showed us around the island. It was the capital during the British Rule. It was about 200 acres of island

Playing with the Animals in Ross

land initially, but after the two tsunamis that hit, only ¼ of it is left. There are old dismantled buildings that you can see. One of them was bombed by the Japanese during the World War 2. You get to see and play with a few deer, peacocks and rabbits that are maintained by the navy. There is a Smritika Museum on the island, but you can very well skip it. 

We took the ferry back to Port Blair and next visited the Sea Aquarium. It has a good collection or corals, in lot of different shapes like mushroom, helmet, finger etc.  There are a few small aquariums inside. The fee is nominal, but if you are planning to visit the ‘Samudrika’ at a later time, then you can very well skip visiting this Aquarium.

View from Havelock Resort

During checkout, we had asked the hotel person to transfer our luggage to the port. and by the time we reached the port, our luggage was waiting for us. After the security check, we boarded the ferry to Havelock. The ride is about 1.5 hrs. It was late evening by the time we reached the hotel in Havelock. The resort was next to the sea shore and the kids had enough energy left, to go and spend some time at the sea.

I got hold of the cab driver, who, with the help of a travel agent, managed to arrange for our ferry tickets for the return to Port Blair (via Neil) – at an exorbitant price!!


Day Three – Havelock Island (Now called Swaraj Island)

Elephant Beach

Early morning, after freshening up, we went to the port. There, you will find a lot of agents, trying to sell different trip packages. We booked a speed-boat ride to Elephant Beach. It costs about INR 1,000 per person, includes complimentary snorkeling. We took tickets to the ‘Sea Walk’ aswell. The ticket is INR 3,500. They will return you back INR 3,000, in case we are not able to do the activity for any reason – a fair deal. Kids of 8yrs and older are allowed to do this. You could buy these tickets once you reach the Elephant Beach aswell. The still pictures of the Sea Walk are complimentary, but you have to pay INR 500 extra per person for a video shoot of the walk, but it is worth it.

Sea Walk

After about 30 min ride, we reached the Elephant Beach. It was a great place. Very scenic. We did the free snorkeling. There is an option for deep-water snorkeling (paid option), but if you plan to do either sea-walking or scuba-diving, then you can skip the paid option. We then took a speed-boat to reach a bigger boat, where we have done sea-walking. They take you to about 25 ft below the water level, via a ladder. It lasts for about 10 min and is definitely a once in a life time experience. Lot of sea life. Two people from our group could not do it, so we got the money refunded. 

Radhanagar Beach

We went back to the Elephant Beach, played for some time, and took the boat back to Havelock Port. We had lunch at the port and took a cab to Radha Nagar Beach. The drive to the beach is nice. Lot of greenery around. 

Radhanagar Beach

About 70% of the area is forest land. You will find a lot of fields of beetle nut trees on the way. This is their commercial crop. Radha Nagar Beach is considered one of the best beaches of Asia, and it truly is. We enjoyed in the sea for more then 3 hrs. but missed the sun-set as it was a bit cloudy. There are lockers and shower rooms available for convenience (pay per use basis). But the showers were not that clean. We took a public bus back to hotel, had dinner and back to bed. The bus was a very cheap option (Ticket price INR 12 per adult), while the 7 seater cab was charging somewhere around INR 400. I think the last bus leaves at 6 PM.



Day Four – Havelock Island

Sun Rise

In the morning, we had time to go to the Kalapathar Beach, which was only 3 km. away from our resort, but we preferred to stay back at the resort and enjoy the private beach. The water was shallow, and still, and with beautiful green – blue shades. 

Kids Play

At Beach Resort

There were abundant palm trees between the beach and the resort. It was again a great experience. I strongly suggest staying in a beach side resort than any hotel away from the water. You get to enjoy the sun-rise aswell, which is usually around at 5:30 AM.

 After lunch, we did some local shopping. Later we boarded the ferry to the Neil Island. The ride is about 1.5 hrs. Once we reached the Neil Island, we took a cab to the hotel. Later in the evening, we walked around the local market, did lot of shopping and came back to the hotel for food.

Trivia: We were roaming around in a 7 seater cab (Mahindra Xylo). I asked if there were any showrooms on the island. The car was bought in PortBlair, and the driver had to pay INR 80,000 to ship it to Havelock.  It is hard to find a repair shop on this island and in case of any issue, he has to call and wait for someone from Port Blair to come and fix it. Tough life !!

Day Five – Neil Island (Now called Shaheed Island)

Holding a Sea Animal

We checkout out the hotel early, kept the luggage at the reception, had breakfast and back to the beach. We took a cab to Lakshmanpur beach.  The water here is so clear, and lot of corals to see.  It is suggested to reach here early morning, when there is a low tide. Later in the day, the level of water increases, and it gets really difficult to move around.  This is where the famous natural bridge is, and it is made of dead coral and not rock.  A little bit of trekking (about 15-20 min) on the corals and reach the other side of the bridge. You get an amazing view. Lot of pictures to click.  

Natural Coral Bridge at Neil

 



 After spending an hour there, we took the cab to the Bharatpur beach. Again, there are lot of water activities to do. We had done jet-ski, which is about INR 500. The water here is very clear, and you could go for glass-bottom boat to get a good view of the fish and corals. But if you have done a sea-walk, then that activity is not worth doing. At this beach, there were shower rooms on pay per use basis, and this time, they were very decent.
 

Island view from the port

We later went to the port. The cab driver had already brought our luggage there, from the hotel. We did not have time to have lunch, as the ferry was already there. But the captain of the ship was kind enough to offer us water and snacks. The ferry stopped at Havelock Island, picked up few other passengers and then reached Port Blair. The ride is about 3 hrs. During the ship ride, my sister had asked the captain, as to how much longer the journey is. The captain looked up at the sky, and walked a bit, to look down at the sea water. She thought that he is ignoring us, but he walked back to us and said, that it will take about 1.5 hrs more. Then we realized that he was checking the wind conditions and the water turbulence, to estimate the time 😊. From the port, we went to the hotel and spent the rest of the day there.

Day Six – Port Blair

Exhibits at the Saw Mill (No, not the kids, but at the background (LOL)

We checked out from the hotel, kept our luggage at the reception and back on the road. After having breakfast, we went to Samudrika Marine Museum. Interesting place. Lot of corals and depiction of history, showing the natives. Then we went to Chatham Saw Mill. This was again an informative tour.

We later picked up our luggage from the hotel and headed back to the airport. There is a restaurant at (outside) the airport, where you can get your food packed for you travel, if you prefer not to buy expensive food on the flight / airport.

Trivia: At the time of Tsunami (and cyclones) commercial / private ships were / are not allowed to ply to the islands. But there were tourist stranded on the islands, who were evacuated by the Navy. The Navy here controls the air base as well.

Expenses and Summary
  The trip to Andaman has been an amazing experience. Stunning natural beauty, clean and vast beaches, water activities, variety of marine life and lot of history. And of course, it is a photographer’s paradise.

Our Iternary

Day 1	Port Blair: Cellular Jail, Corbyn’s Cove Beach
Day 2	Port-Blair / Havelock: Ross Island, Aquarium, Ferry to Havelock
Day 3	Havelock: Elephant Beach, Water activities, Radhanagar Beach (sun set)
Day 4	Havelock / Neil: Resort Beach (sun rise), Ferry to Neil Island, shopping
Day 5	Neil / Port Blair: Lakshmanpur beach, Bharatpur beach, Water activities Ferry to Port Blair
Day 6	Port Blair: Samudrika Marine Museum, Chatham Saw Mill

  ·
Major expenses
 

Round Trip Flight tickets from Pune (for 4 people)	84,000
Hotel Mainak at Port Blair (One room for 2 Adults and 2 kids)	3,660
Two Day Resort (Cross Bill Beach Resort) at Havelock (One room for 2 Adults and 2 kids)	11,000
Hotel Amulya Neil (One room for 2 Adults and 2 kids)	4,250
Hotel Mainak at Port Blair (One room for 2 Adults and 2 kids)	3,500
Ferry from Port Blair to Ross (per person)	350
'Makruzz' Ferry from Port Blair to Havelock (per person)	1,525
Boat to Elephant Beach	950
Government Ferry from Havelock to Neil (per person)	500
'Bhagya Express' Ferry from Neil to Port Blair (per person)	1,450

·  

Approximate total cost per person: INR 31,500 (Excluding the agent fees for Ferry tickets)

Things that we missed

Port Blair: Dinner Cruise, Chidiya Tapu, Light and Sound show in Cellular Jail, Kala Paani Museum, Baratang Island (which is famous for Limestone caves and seeing tribal people)
Havelock Island: Kala Pathar Beach.

Tips

• Buy your inter-island ferry tickets before hand.
• Make sure you carry photo id cards for every passenger, including kids.
• Be prepared for cash-only transactions. Most of the times, the ATM’s are dry, and due to bad internet, credit card transactions are not accepted at most of the places
• The sun sets around 5:30 PM (during December) so there is nothing much you can do after that, except to party. So, try to do your ferry travel during late evening, so that you have more time to spend in the islands.
• Try out the local food and give proper instructions on the spice level. At one of the places, we ordered Paneer Butter Masala for the kids, and it was so sweet.
• The food is cooked and served fresh, literally. At most of the places, it took us about an hour, after we ordered the food. At a restaurant in Neil Island, we were told to order the dinner well ahead, as they had to go to the market to buy the crabs; based on what we order. Really?
• Don’t carry warm cloths, even in December. The climate there is hot and humid. I was told that there are only two seasons, summer and monsoon. So, when you go around, only carry your shades, sun screen, hats and drink lots of water.
• Book your light and sound tickets for the Cellular Jail before hand. They can be booked on internet, on the day before.
• You are NOT  allowed to carry corals back from the islands. I was told there is a fine of INR 25,000 / - if you are found carrying them in the airport. If you are in doubt, check with the officials beforehand.
• Makruzz (one of the ferry boats between the islands) does not let you go on to the deck, during the travel. There are other options like the government operated. But Makruzz is supposed to have less turbulence during the sea ride. So, if you don’t have sea sickness, you might want to consider other options, that let you go to the deck, and enjoy the sea ride.
• You can rent a scooter and go around the island. It is a cheaper and fun option.
• Carry a few extra pair of cloths. Even though the weather was hot, it was so humid, that even our swim suits would not dry, when hanged outdoors.