Andaman Islands: 7 days itinerary

Turquoise blue waters, pristine white beaches and amazing scuba and snorkelling spots – these are the images that spring to mind when you think of the Andaman Islands.

Located in the east of Bay of Bengal and to the west of Andaman Sea is an archipelago of 572 islands known as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Only a few of them are inhabited. They are divided into three districts namely Nicobar, South Andaman, and Middle and North Andaman. Tourists are permitted to only visit the latter two. South Andaman is the most touristy region of the archipelago.

The islands were populated with indigenous peoples. However, they are a minority these days. Descendants of the Nicobarese and Shompen tribes live in the Nicobar Island. The Jarawas, Onges and Sentilenese and Great Andamanese live in various pockets of the Andaman group of islands.

Much of Andaman is home to Bengali-speaking people who had arrived to Calcutta as refugees from East Pakistan (currently known as Bangladesh) during the India-Pakistan war of 1971. The refugees were given land to live off of and start a life afresh in the islands of Andaman. The other segment of current inhabitants of Andaman are people from mainland India whose forefathers had worked with Government of India at some point.

Is this itinerary right for you?

This itinerary is right for nature lovers and people who are looking for moderate water activities. It involves a moderate pace of travel.

Are Andaman islands safe?

Andaman group of Island is safe to travel if you follow common sense and the rules laid down by the authorities. Port Blair, Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) and Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep) are largely safe. Many islands of the archipelago, forested areas and beaches are inhibited by indigenous population. In these places access to tourists may be restricted.

The Jarawas and the Sentinels live a primitive way of life. They are aggressive toward outsiders. Unknown people who trespass their zones are fatally hit with poisoned arrows. It is also illegal as per laws set by the Government of India to trespass in their habitat. However, the Jarawas and the Sentinels are not bound by Indian laws in their own dwellings. So, if they kill an outsider, they will not face any trial in Indian courts.

Man-crocodile conflicts are becoming increasingly common across Andaman. The saltwater crocodiles, also known as salties, are Schedule I animals according to Wildlife Protection Act of India. They receive the same level of protection as the Royal Bengal Tigers. Just like the latter, they are known to attack stealthily. Unlike most of the other places, they have survived in the wilderness of Andaman and Nicobar.

However, with increased human population, tourism, and agricultural activities, these conflicts are now increasing. As tourism is an important industry in the island, the government and the industry insiders often shy away from telling the whole truth about these man-animal conflicts. If you are planning to do water activities in Andamans, particularly in the main island of Andaman, please do your research diligently and understand the risks before entering the water.

Andaman 7-days itinerary

Day 1: Fly to Portblair early morning. Sight-seeing in Portblair.

Check in to your accommodation, take rest.

Post lunch head to Cellular Jail. The building complex was used by the British to lock up and torture political prisoners who fought for independence of India. Exploring the full jail complex and reading through the history would take around 3 hours. Later, check out the fantastic view of the ocean from the topmost part of the jail.

Catch the one-hour long spectacular light and sound show in Cellular Jail in the language of your choice. The show dwells on the history of the jail. The first batch starts around 5.30 PM.

During sunset, walk on the footpath adjacent to the Rajiv Gandhi Road that runs parallel to the ocean. In this empty stretch, just like that, you will come across ruins of Japanese bunkers!

Later, explore the Marina Park and grab some evening snacks from the eateries there. Marina Park is a newly made, well-maintained promenade along the ocean with children’s park and activities areas, sitting benches, and food stalls.

Day 2: Visit Baratang Island through the Jarwa Reserve Forest. Explore the limestone cave in Baratang. Overnight in Port Blair.

Wake up, get ready and leave your hotel by 4 AM in the morning for Baratang by private car.

If you are staying near the Aberdeen Bazaar it will take around 1 to 1.5 hour for you to reach the army convoy at Jirkatang. Here, show your identity card and fill a form to get the permit. If you have hired a car+driver for this leg, usually the driver will do these for you.

Stroll around this area and grab some early breakfast from a shack while you wait. The idlis sold in one such humble shacks here was class apart!

At 6.30 AM the convoy will start from Jirkatang to Middle Strait Jetty via Jarawa Reserve Forest along Great Andaman Trunk Road. This essentially means all the vehicles make this journey of 48 kilometres in a neat clear file. Army vehicles would be in the front and in the end of this convoy. Halting, overtaking, and U-turns are not allowed. There is a speed limit of 40 kilometre per hour. No one is allowed to roll down their windows or take photos and videos of anything on this route. You may come across a few Jarawa people going about their daily lives.

At Middle Strait Jetty, the Great Andaman Trunk Road is cut by a creek. The other side of the creek is Baratang Jetty or Nilambar Jetty of Baratang Island. At Middle Strait Jetty private vehicles must be parked. People cross the creek in rusty ferries to reach Baratang Island. The charge is very nominal. If you wish to continue your journey northward in the Andamans then you can transport your car in the ferry as well. Government buses are transferred in the ferry as well.

At Nilambar Jetty get tickets for Nayadara jetty and limestone caves. You will be assigned a boat. Follow the boatman to his small motorized boat. Unless you are a group of 8-10 people, you will be joined by strangers—other fellow tourists assigned the same boat.

The creek is hemmed by mangroves and the salties are known to dwell here. The first part of the ride is extremely breezy, beautiful, and fast on the wide creek. The second part involves slowly moving in a narrow stretch of the muddy creek hemmed on both sides by mangroves. You will reach the Nayadara Jetty which is a bamboo structure.

From here onwards your boatman will guide you on the trail. You will walk on a bamboo bridge to reach a village. Then cross farmlands, old trees, forests, and uneven dirt paths to reach the limestone cave. It is a 3-kilometres walk. The cave is nothing special but the journey is the highlight here.

Come back the same way and have lunch at Nilambar Jetty before catching the ferry to Middle Strait Jetty. The convoy towards Port Blair starts at 12.30PM from Middle Strait Jetty. You will reach Port Blair within 2-2.5 hours.

Have an early dinner and retire after this long day!

Day 3: Leave Portblair for Havelock Island (Swaraj Dweep). Overnight in Havelock (Swaraj Dweep).

Have breakfast and reach the jetty of Port Blair to catch a morning ferry to Havelock (Swaraj Dweep). A 1.5 hours ferry ride later you will reach Havelock (Swaraj Dweep).

Have breakfast in one of the several eateries near the Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) jetty and then move towards your hotel.

Check-in at your hotel then visit the famous Radhanagar beach— a white sand beach. Take a dip here in the ocean till you exhaust yourself.

Once done with swimming, have lunch and rest at the beach.

In the late afternoon go for a beach walk and enjoy the sunset.

Return to your hotel in the evening and enjoy in your accommodation. Have dinner and retire for the day.

Day 4: Go sightseeing in Havelock (Swaraj Dweep), enjoy water activities and niche walking trails. Overnight in Havelock (Swaraj Dweep).

Have breakfast and set off for Kala Pathar beach, another white sand beach to the east of the island. Go for a long beach walk here.

Next, have fun enjoying pre-booked water activities. These can be booked through your hotel in advance. These are conducted in a different part of the island which is reachable only by boat or a long trek through the forest. Reach with enough time to spare as the activities wind up by afternoon.

You can also book various educational walks that are conducted on the Island by Seashells Resort and Spa. Some of their walks include guided treks in deep forests, intertidal pool walks where the naturalist would show you marine flora and fauna. There are stargazing trails at night. Unfortunately, these walks are irrationally expensive!

If you have attended shore walks in other cities before or if you have some knowledge regarding marine flora and fauna, you can go to Govindnagar Beach during low tide and check if you can spot anything yourself. Parts of this beach are rocky. You will be able to see many fishermen’s boats docked here.

Enjoy the daylight hours exploring the island. Head to your hotel and retire for the day once it is evening.

Havelock island - swaraj dweep - andaman trip

Day 5: Leave Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) for Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep). Sightseeing and activities in Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep). Overnight in Neil.

Have breakfast in Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) and reach the jetty to catch the morning ferry to Neil Island(Shaheed Dweep). It takes around 1 hour to reach Neil (Shaheed Dweep).

Check-in to your hotel, take rest, book water activities, and hire a car+driver for local sightseeing.

Head to Bharatpur beach, the northern beach, for water activities like snorkel and scuba.

Have lunch and set off for Lakshmanpur Sunset Beach, the western beach. Once you reach here, just sit on the sand, and watch the sky on fire. Gawk at the giant sea-mahua trees. Due to the absence of light-pollution, you can enjoy the night sky in the evening. Munch on some fried fish from the local shacks.

Have dinner and retire for the day.

NOTE: You can trek to the Natural Bridge, a natural rock formation on a beach in Neil Island. However, you need to know the low tide timings for the same. Incorporate trek to Natural Bridge in your itinerary accordingly.

Day 6: Go bicycling in Neil Island in the morning. Later catch the ferry to Port Blair.

Wake up early and bicycle your way to Sitapur beach, the eastern beach. Wreckage of the tsunami of 2004 is still visible in this beach. The journey is through small villages and farmlands. You can also use this time to trek to the Natural Bridge (if there is low tide in the morning).

Have breakfast, check out, and set off for the ferry back to Port Blair.

Check in to your hotel in Port Blair, have lunch and take rest.

Visit the Samudrika Museum in the afternoon. Here you get to know about the native population of Andaman. The island’s history and ecology. Alternatively, of you have time, you may consider a visit to Ross island for the dilapidated British era houses on the uninhabited island.

Spend the evening shopping from Aberdeen Bazaar. Have dinner and get back to your hotel.

Day 7: Check out from Port Blair and catch your flight home.

Accommodation

We discover accommodations using Booking.com. We select the ones that fit our budget, ‘check-in’ timings, and have good reviews. Then we cross-check the reviews on Google. Finally, we do the bookings and, as a rule of thumb, we always call up the properties to ascertain if they have received our bookings and if all is good. Only then we pay the advance. This has protected us from ugly surprises.

Port Blair

Property name – P.G Homes (INR 1124 per night a room for double occupancy, booked through Booking.com.)

P.G homes is very conveniently located in Port Blair. It is just a few minutes walk from the Samudrika Museum. We were in a ground floor room. The room was very spacious and clean with a dressing table, chair and a side table. The washroom was also clean. There is no restaurant here but you can order food from Swiggy or Zomato. You can find plates and cutlery in the dining area upstairs.

Havelock Island (Swaraj Dweep)

Property name – Blue Ocean Resort (INR 2500 per night a room for double occupancy, breakfast included; booked directly by contacting hotel)

We chose to stay closer to Radhanagar beach for easy access throughout the day, as opposed to the many more options closer to the jetty.

Initially we had used a hotel aggregator platform to book this. Later, on calling the accommodation, we discovered that the aggregator has listed the hotel on their platform against the hotel’s wish. So bookings coming from the concerned platform are not respected by the hotel. The hotel asked us to cancel the booking from the platform and pay them directly. This worked fine for us.

This accommodation is a 3 minutes-walk from the Radhanagar beach. It is 1 minute from the road and bus stand. It stands in front of a lush green field. The neighbourhood is a residential area with a primary school and houses of permanent residents of Havelock (Swaraj Dweep). It is almost a homestay.

Our room was on the ground floor. It was small but clean. The bed and linen were comfortable. There was a wardrobe, dressing table, centre table and a couple of chairs. The people at the reception and the owner were friendly and helpful. They have a restaurant. Breakfast was good with items that Bengalis love—luchi and parotta!

Contact – +91 9476052068

Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep)

Property name – Neha Palace (INR 1500 per night a room for double occupancy, booked directly by contacting hotel)

I found this hotel from Google Maps and got in touch to make the booking and payment. The hotel was pretty with a well-maintained garden and lawn. The rooms are all on the ground floor, styled like cottages with a front porch and massive glass windows. They were also surprisingly spacious and neat. There was a big dressing table with wardrobe, centre-table and a chair. Even the washroom was very big!

There is a restaurant upstairs. It serves good food, but you must place your order a couple of hours before showing up.

Contact – +91 9474212840

Food

Different types of Indian cuisines are available in Port Blair. Bengali, Mughlai, North Indian and South Indian food is easily available. I gather Aberdeen Market is more Bengali in nature. Our stay was in the Marriamman Temple area, the neighbourhood was more Telegu in nature. Swiggy and Zomato delivery is easily available here.

The residents of Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) and Neil (Shaheed Dweep) are Bengalis. So, it is easy to find Bengali food here (including phuchka!). However, the usual North and South Indian fare is also available.

Transport

The civilian airport of Andaman is in Port Blair. The airport is well connected with Chennai and Kolkata. Infrequent direct flights also operate from New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

It is best to take autos for commuting within Port Blair. Government and private buses are available to take one from Port Blair to various points in Middle and North Andaman Islands including Baratang, Diglipur and so on. For early morning buses it is advisable to buy tickets from the counter a day in advance.

The bus service on Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) is very good. Many government operated and air-conditioned private buses constantly ply on the Havelock Jetty – Radhanagar beach, Havelock jetty – Kalapathar beach route. The perfectly comfortable buses charge around INR 30 per head for this route. Private autos will at least charge INR 600 for this same journey! We took the bus for all our travel within Havelock (Swaraj Dweep).

Port Blair is connected to Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) and Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep) through water routes. Government and private ferries ply here. If you plan to travel via private ferries book the ferry tickets way in advance. Even more so if you have a low budget. Otherwise only the expensive tickets would be available.

How to book the ferries to Havelock(Swaraj Dweep) and Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep)?

The private ferries available are Nautika, Makruzz, Green Ocean and ITT Majestic. Each of these ferries provide 2-3 classes of tickets. Nautika has two classes: luxury and royal. Makruzz has three classes premium, deluxe and royal. ITT Majestic has two classes: silver and majesty. Green Ocean has three classes: economy, luxury and royal.

All classes of Nautika, Makruzz and ITT Majestic are air-conditioned. Only Green Ocean’s morning cruise has a non-air-conditioned cabin. The pricier classes are only marginally better so it is wiser to book the cheaper tickets if available.

Unlike other ferries, Green Ocean also has a shaded open deck. Here loud music is blasted and tourists usually end up dancing. If you can avoid the loud chaos and focus on the sea you can see many flying fish. At least we did, in November.

The route followed by the private ferries are: Port Blair – Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) – Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep) – Port Blair. It is advised you follow this route while planning your travel and not the other way around. If you plan to go to Neil (Shaheed Dweep) directly from Port Blair you will have to buy a government ferry ticket or book two ferry tickets.

You can book ferry tickets online from portals like go2andaman.com or visit these companies’ individual sites as well. Alternatively, you can ask people at your booked accommodation to buy these tickets for you. The pricing varies according to tourist seasons, they are most expensive during Christmas and new year.

Government ferry tickets can only be purchased by queuing up at the physical counters. Tickets for Tuesday to Thursday are available from Monday and tickets for Friday to Sunday are available from Thursday. If you have time and if you are on a budget, this is the cheapest way to travel.

Our experience with ferries in Andaman

We have booked tickets of private ferries via our accommodation in Port Blair just 6 days in advance. We had very little choice as most of the tickets available were expensive. So we just booked the cheapest ticket from whatever was available. We used Makruzz (premium) for Port Blair-Havelock and Makruzz (deluxe) for Havelock-Neil and Green Ocean 1 (royal) for Neil-Port Blair. In the deluxe class we were served “food”, it was just bread and sauce.

Luggage is handled very poorly in these ferries. There is no mechanism in place to trace a bag in case it is mistakenly picked up by someone else. They have absolutely no system in place and it is done in a very crude way. The unloading of luggage is super chaotic. It is best if you can carry such less luggage that it fits in a backpack and you take it as a carry-on. We had one big backpack and two small ones.

We had deposited our big backpack in the Port Blair – Havelock leg and then Havelock – Neil leg. Then at Neil Island, we failed to find our bag in the sea of bags and humans. I informed the handler and though he searched for our bag he was clearly miffed. Finally, the boat left without caring one bit about us.

It is like nothing could be done, there is not even a place to put up complaints! Thankfully once the crowd cleared, we spotted our bag. After this bitter experience we just carried all three of our backpacks as carry-ons on the Neil-Port Blair leg.

Language

Bengali is largely spoken in the Andaman Islands. Particularly in Havelock (Swaraj Dweep), Neil (Shaheed Dweep) and in Middle and North Andaman. There is also a considerable Telegu, Hindi and Tamil speaking population in South Andaman. In the tourist circuits Hindi and English is understood.

Climate/time of travel

April to end May is summer in Andaman, these are the months with maximum heat and sunny skies. June to September is time for southwest monsoon. The seas are closed for fishing, swimming, and water activities during this time as heavy rains, thunder and lightning are common during these months. November to March is considered winter in Andaman with minimum temperature. However, monsoon visits twice in the Andamans.

The second monsoon of the year, known as northeast monsoon, visits Andaman from November to January. However, northeast monsoon is mild. Intermittent rains are common during this time. Keep in mind your planned water activities may be delayed or postponed by a day or two if you go during this time.

The Christmas and new year weeks see maximum tourist crowds. Everything would be expensive and tourist sites would be jam-packed. It is best to avoid this time.

Probabilistically speaking, February is the best month to visit Andaman weather-wise.

Final Notes

There are many more interesting places that you can visit in Andaman like the historic Ross and Smith Island, the less touristy Diglipur and the beautiful Long Island. You can even visit the Barren Island—the subcontinent’s only active volcano! All the best. Happy travels!

Have you been to Andaman and Nicobar Islands? Did I miss anything? Comment below to add to the knowledge and start a conversation!

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