I am writing this for you, who plans to travel to Andaman and would like to plan the trip yourself in a cost effective manner but without sacrificing the enjoyment. I will mention my plans for you to learn, and some points to note that I couldn’t find myself before reaching there.

And, just to be clear, I travelled to Port Blair, Havelock, Neil and Jolly Bouy. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I couldn’t visit Ross Island. I eventually plan to go there once more, maybe with a larger group, and I plan to visit Ross and Smith Island and Baturang caves also, and may be take a trip to our Barren Island too, India’s only active volcano.

We tried to save some money here and there and ultimately spent ₹1 lakh (100000 rupees) per person over 9 days. We could have definitely saved some more here and there, which I will clarify in this post.

The major cost will be the Flights and Hotels. Flights are expensive in December which is the peak season. Andaman is also a couple’s destination for honeymoon and in fact, our flight was literally all couples – either newly married or retired. So it follows that flights become expensive once against near valentine’s day in February. Still, early planning can do wonder and you can get discounts up to 50%.

We pre-booked hotels and ferries. While we had no discomfort, we could have done a better job.

Port Blair

Port Blair is the main city in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and has every important government building. It is mountainous small city which is the true metropolitan of India. It is mostly populated by Bengalis and Tamils – and Hindus and Muslims – and its language is Hindi. It is centrally governed though it has 1 MP.

Any area in main city can be reached with ₹50 to ₹100 autorickshaw. Stepping outside of the main city will cost more. Normally they are supposed to charge ₹30 per km but I could maybe find 1 auto with working meter.

Scooty – two-wheelers – are other option. You can get them in ₹600 for 24 hours. You will have to get 1 litre of petrol, but petrol is very cheap since Andaman is centrally governed. I will question what you were doing if you are able to spend ₹100 worth of petrol in 24 hours to be honest. The downside of two-wheelers, just like in other countries, everyone will know you are a tourist due to special yellow-coloured number plates and invariably you will be fined for some imagined infraction for which you will have to go to the police station, situated again, in Aberdeen Bazaar.

The third option is actually the best – government buses. Government has started running comfortable AC mini-buses along with regular buses. They run very punctually and at regular intervals. If you are willing to walk the extra mile here and there you really won’t need anything.

All buses start and end at Aberdeen Bazaar which is also where you should book your hotel in Port Blair. Almost everything is walkable distance or within 2 kms of the bus stand including Cellular Jail, Samudrika Naval Museum, Anthropological Museum, Chatam Mill, Haddo Jetty, Marina Park and Flag point. You will pretty much always find an auto that will help you reach the “last mile”.

We had awesome sea-food at Sea Food Delights restaurant which was slightly on the expensive side but it was great with ambiance and view.

Samudrika Naval Museum is a nice cozy place where assorted dead coral are on display along with some information about the place, native tribes and history. Inside it is a very reasonably priced gift museum.

Chatham Mill can be missed. You will learn something about the different types of trees and wood on the islands and will be presented an opportunity to buy wooden gift. We took less than 10 minutes because it is, after all, a mill and we had no interest in buying something.

Corbyn’s Cove beach, hmm, my guess is Corbyn never cared for India or Indians but if he did he would be rolling in his grave. You can most definitely skip this place. It is full of tourists who have nowhere else to go and completely full of garbage. I mean, it is impossible to not touch garbage. I really do mean literally. It has some stones jetting forward in to the ocean which are extremly ugly due to barnacles and a attached slightly calmer beach which is even more full of garbage. There are broken bottles thrown around everywhere. Going there is a waste of time, though the Corbyn’s Cove Road is slightly scenic which has some rich houses. If you are using buses (which you should), they will have a stop at Corbyn’s Cove while returning from Jolly Bouy which you can use to watch this beach from afar, hopefully avoiding the sight of garbage in the night.

Jolly Bouy

This is the hidden diamond among the pearls. Just before Wandoor beach, one needs a government license to go there, which you can get a day prior from Tourism Office near Aberdeen Bazaar. The prices have increased and the ticket is now slightly less than ₹2000 per person, but it is worth it. We also found that some people got the license right at the ticketing counter in Wandoor. Still, it is better to be safe.

One the day of the travel you will have to reach Wandoor early morning. We caught ~6:30 AM bus and reached on time around ~8:00 AM, but people were still reaching until 9:00 AM and the jetty from Wandoor to Jolly Bouy only left by 9:30 AM. It takes around 45 minutes to 1 hour for it to reach Jolly Bouy island. You are not allowed to carry plastic water bottles or any plastic garbage there. You can be given a different bottle by the government that you can fill before leaving to the island, but best to carry your own.

Before leaving, there is a free museum right next to the ticketing counter that is open by 8:00 AM and is a must-see. It is about the local marine life, but most importantly it will familiarize you with all the corals you are going to see. That familiarity enhances your coral-watching experience 10 fold easily.

Jolly Bouy has the cleanest water. Unfortunately, the government has stopped scuba or other water activities there which in my opinion is for the good. You are not allowed to venture too deep because the water flow is really strong between the islands and it will take you down into the Indian Ocean, but otherwise the deep parts are not deeper than 5 meters or so I was told.

Once on the Island, you will have the option to ride “Glass Bottom Boat”. The price rise is justified by the government saying that it involves a ride to this boat, but the boat rider will take you around for may be 5 minutes and will ask ₹1000 per person for a longer 20 minutes session. If you are planning to do scuba later, which we did, you can totally skip this, which we didn’t know. Instead, enjoy your time on Jolly Bouy. There is a watch-point deeper into the island which itself is quite small.

The island is kept pristine by having no presence on it and blocking access to it for half of the year. Everyone, including the policemen, will leave along with you from there after noon around 1:00 PM. Once back on Wandoor you can have food and wait for the bus back, or go further to Wandoor beach for a short while. All beaches in Andaman close at 5 PM, so you won’t have too much time.

Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island)

Swaraj Deep

To reach Swaraj Deep, previously known as Havelock Island, you will need to book a ferry that will leave from “jetty”. If you are booking a private ferry, like Makruzz, Nautika or ITT Majestica, they will leave from Haddo Jetty which is just opposite to the Chatham mill. You will have to reach 1 hour prior to departure and get a boarding-pass from a very make-shift booth inside the jetty premises. Once inside, you are not allowed to get out and there is no food seller inside so keep that in mind.

It will take around 1 hour 15 minutes to reach Swaraj Deep at Govind nagar beach.

There are many beaches in Havelock and all are unique.

— To Be Continued —