Travelling In The Andaman Islands

The way back to Port Blair from Neil is same as the way you went. You catch a ferry from the docks. We caught the Makruzz ferry which probably is the ferry of my choice. Always remember to check ferry schedules to see how many boats leave from the island and at what times. This is because Neil has lesser number of ships arriving and leaving the port. So if you miss the one in the morning, your next window will be in the evening. This is specially important if you are catching a flight back from Port Blair on the same day.  Neil has a shorter jetty than Port Blair, thankfully. But if you reach before time for the ferry, as is advisable, there is a que at the gate of the docks. The gates open when the ship arrives. This is not uncommon and happens in every port. However, things get tricky if it starts to rain :).  Que leading to the gate of the docks on Neil Island. Waiting before the Makruzz ferry arrives.  Most people traveling don’t c...

You will hear a great deal about Radhanagar Beach if you are traveling to the Andamans, especially if you are on Havelock Island. That’s where the beach is. You will also get to read on a lot websites online, mostly those prompting travel and tours of Andamans, that Radhanagar Beach is the #1 rated beach in Asia and rated #7 in the world by Times. What most of these websites will fail to mention is that this rating was received in the year 2004. Right. Radhanagar is a good beach. It’s sandy and stretches out for miles in either direction. That in itself makes it different from a lot of other beaches. There is a lot of sand and surf for sure. Also, it was the ONLY beach I came across where you can actually swim. Radhanagar is the only beach where you can get into the water to swim among all the popular beaches you will visit in Port Blair, Havelock and Neil combined. Most of the other popular beaches are rocky beaches. For example, Kala Patthar is a beautiful beach. But...

A lot people traveling to the Andamans are headed straight to one of it's beautiful islands, out of which Havelock is one of the most popular. However, the only airport of the Andaman is the one in Port Blair. So even if your destination is Havelock, you have to go to Port Blair first. You will note that I will refer to this union territory of India as the Andaman, although its full and proper name is Andaman and Nicobar. Andaman and Nicobar comprises of a group of small islands. However, no tourists are allowed on the Nicobar islands. Only a special permission can got you there and then only if you have a legitimate purpose for making the trip. The Nicobar islands are a protected territory and the indigenous people do not welcome outsiders. So for all purpose, anyone going to the Andaman and Nicobar is only going to the Andaman part of it. The only way of transportation between the islands of Andaman is by boat and crossing the sea. This is done with the help of ferries and...

Which ferry service to take? Now, strangely enough, or maybe not, people have a preference about which of these boats they take. The reasons vary. For me, I prefer Makaruzz because they are more organised and offer a more refined experience of traveling the waters. The boats are faster, modern and their service more professional. For others, who tend to get sea sick, claim that they feel better traveling on the government ferry, while the next choice is Green Ocean ships. The reasons is that those boats pitch about to a lesser degree than Makaruzz, especially if the waters are choppy. The government ferry is an impressive boat. It is an all metal ship and rides the water in a staid calmer manner. It cuts through the water with its nose and heavy weight. It is also slower so that adds to the calmer ride. Green Ocean boats are similar but not as solidly built as the government ferry. Makruzz on the other hand are modern fibre boats with twin hulls. It is arguable that these boat...

Port Blair has a quaint, small airport. It has a relaxed feel about it, something that will take you by surprise if you are used to flying from the metro city airports. If you want to visit the Andaman Islands in India, this is the airport you need to fly to.  As of now, no direct international flights can land there. You have to come via a connecting city within India. View from the plane window on approach to Port Blair. There are few main routes if you want to travel to Andaman islands from anywhere in India. You can find flights from many major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Madras and Calcutta, to name a few. If you are traveling from inland India, your flight will most likely have a layover in one of the coastal airports like Madras or Calcutta. There are a few direct flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Port Blair. Actually just one. At the moment in Air India flies a single non-stop flight to Port Blair from Delhi. Go Air flies a similar one from Mumb...

If you want to visit Neil Island in the Andamans, you will probably have to travel to Havelock from Port Blair first. The ferries to Neil Island from Port Blair are infrequent and as of right now, there seem to be none. So you will have to go to Havelock first and then catch a ferry from there to Neil Island.   I am guessing the the main reason for this is more people traveling to Havelock than Neil from Port Blair. Even the people who plant to visit Neil Island, mostly go to Havelock first. Thats just how most travel itineraries are made.   I remember when we went towards the end of 2017, there were ferries plying to both Havelock and Neil from Port Blair. The ferries to Neil were fewer but they were there. I remember while planning our travel itinerary we had to decide which island to go to first Neil or Havelock. Neil Island is well know for scuba and snorkelling because of it’s beautiful coral reefs.   As of the time of writing this post, there seem to be no direct ferries fr...