This blog describes my Andaman and Nicobar Island trip experience with my family in the month of December 2017. It will help you plan a perfect full week getaway in Andaman which requires proper planning due to limited resource availabilty on the web w.r.t. what all should you keep in mind before going, where you can stay and what you can do.
Picture Credits: Pratyush Singh
Time-Line: Dec 21, 2017 – Dec 27, 2017
The idea for a winter trip with family started around mid October. With everyone’s agreement, I started planning for the trip to Andaman and Nicobar island in the month of December (last week).
I discussed about this trip with few friends and got to know about the local situation in Andaman and Nicobar Island (logistics and all). Few travel agents and marketplace which I considered were Experience Andaman, Yatra, TravelTriangle, Andaman Connection, Thomas Cook.
I decided to go with Yatra.
We were 2 families(4+4), other was of my Mausi’s(Maternal Aunt).
It all started in Varanasi on Dec 20, 2017 when I arrived from Bangalore but I landed 1 hour late (12 PM) due to heavy fog at Varanasi airport. Thanks to Mom as she had packed everything.
We had to catch Rajdhani from Mughalsarai at around 1AM(Dec 21, 2017) as we were going via Kolkata(much cheaper option for us). We got to know that train is late by more than 4 hours but yet we decided to reach Mughalsarai early because of fog and unavailability of cab late night.
Finally the train arrived at 5AM in the morning and we reached Kolkata at around 1PM (Dec 21, 2017).
Day 0: Kolkata
We checked in at Hotel Geetanjali Residency, VIP Road (4Km from Airport) because we had a very early morning flight(6:15AM) next day. After some refreshment at hotel, we decided to visit Victoria Memorial, Park Street and Howrah bridge in the evening. The city really is full of joy, whole park street was decorated with lights and just looked amazing. The pic below would still won’t justify the beauty of Kolkata.
After walking on Park Street for an hour and so, we went to Oh Calcutta! for the dinner. The place is awesome with some nice delicacies. Following that, we left for the hotel to have a sound sleep as the next day was full of city tours.
You can find an Ola Cab easily anywhere in the city.
We left on time from Kolkata and landed at Port Blair dot on time (8:30AM).
I would suggest that whenever you plan a trip to Andaman and Nicobar Island, take the early morning flight to Port Blair as it helps you to save 1 day.
Day 1: Port Blair
Port Blair Airport is pretty small and you will get the luggage easily. The airport is amazing as I saw, for the first time ever, a road-crossing at the runway 😛
We checked-into the Hotel Shompen at around 9:30AM followed by brunch. Our tour coordinator gave us a time of 12PM for the sight-seeing. We visited Samudrika Museum, Cellular Jail, Naval Museum and Anthropological Museum till evening. Take a government guide at Cellular Jail. Its cheap(INR 300 for 8) and very informative.
We saw sunset at Carbyn’s Cover Beach.
I would recommend visiting the Anthropological Museum as you would know Andaman and its tribes in much detail. This is a good knowledge to have and you would love to know one of the tribes called Sentinels, who still don’t have any contact with others.
Then, we went for the Light & Sound Show at Cellular Jail (1 hr show) the same day.
Do ask your travel agent to book these tickets in advance.
Our dinner was at Annapurna Veg Restaurant.
Day 2: Port Blair
We check-into Keys Hotel today at around 10AM.
Today, we started for Wandoor which is around 20Km(1 hr) from Port Blair. This is a must go place but you won’t be able to take bath at the beach due to a recent crocodile attack. This area was mostly destroyed in the 2004 Tsunami and has been restored.
Then we went to Kalapani Museum which is a private museum and the most amazing one. They have a lot of collection of historical notes and they provide good information about the tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Island (which we came to know about in this trip).
Today, we saw the sunset at Chidiyatapu. Don’t expect birds at this place. You can avoid if you don’t want to ride for long as it is again approximately 20Km from Port Blair.
We took dinner at Ananda Restaurant which we didn’t like a lot but this place is famous in Port Blair.
Day 3: Port Blair – Havelock
We checked-out from hotel at 7AM to catch Makruzz to Havelock.
You can book Makruzz tickets directly at http://makruzz.com/site/
Be prepared for a bumpy ride in the sea. Don’t eat a lot before leaving and take Dimox or any other vomit preventing medicine. In our cruise, almost everyone was vomiting and so was my family.
We reached Havelock at around 10:30AM. We gave our bags to the agent over there to get it delivered at the hotel. We directly reached Elephanta Island from the port. You can do all the fun activities including the complementary snorkeling over there. We also did Banana Ride(Rs 600/person) to prepare ourselves for the Scuba Next day as it removes the fear of water to an extent.
Elephanta beach has lockers(Rs 200 per locker) and bathrooms, in case. This place is not meant to take bath in the waters as it has rocks.
Today, we saw sunset at one of the Asia’s most famous beach, Radhanagar Beach.
We checked in at Sands Marina Resort which is a nice place to stay.
Don’t forget to visit Something Different cafe where we had our dinner. This is probably the best restaurant, cafe or whatever in Andamans. Just call them and they will arrange transportation from your hotel wherever it is at Havelock.
We booked for the scuba diving for the early morning slot and paid INR 3,500/person.
Remember to confirm this 1 day before doing scuba.
Day 4: Havelock – Neil
We reached the diving center at 6AM. Our diving was of 30 minutes post 15 min oral and 15 min water training. They will provide all the items. One just need to carry dry clothes and towel to the diving center. You also have to fill a short form at the diving center.
Everyone of us did Scuba 😀
Post scuba, we went to hotel, had breakfast and checked-out to catch the first ferry at 10AM to Neil.
We reached Neil at 11:30AM.
As its name says, the water here is totally turquoise and just amazing.
We checked-in at Summer Sands Beach Resort and had our lunch over there.
We then left for Bharatpur Beach to spend the rest of the day. The beach is one of the best to take bath and relax.
We then went for the sunset at Sitapur Beach where you will find a lot of tourists enjoying in the late evening.
Today, we had our dinner at hotel itself as there are almost no good places to eat at Neil except hotel restaurants.
Day 5: Neil – Port Blair
We checked-out from Hotel at 8AM and went straight to Laxmanpur Beach to see the Natural Rock formation which I had seen only in the wallpapers till then.
We departed from Neil at 9:15AM for Port Blair. Today, we checked-in at Hotel Driftwood(Avoid this). Today, plan was to visit Chidiya Tapu but we had already covered that. So it was more of a relaxed day. We had dinner at the hotel itself which was okayish.
Day 6: Port Blair
We had to visit North Bay and Ross Island today but as Ross was closed due to an order from Navy, our coordinator arranged for a visit to Viper Island.
We left from the hotel at 8:30AM for the Junglighat Port.
At North Bay you have nothing to do except enjoying the beautiful turquoise water and water activities such as Semi-submarine, Underwater walk, Scuba Diving and Dolphin.
We chose Semi-Submarine which is a 1 hour under water tour in a glass chamber of the corals and fishes at North Bay. We paid INR 1850/person for this.
Day 7: Departure
We had a flight at 2:50 PM for Kolkata , so we checked-out at around 11AM from the hotel
Departed with loads of memories and an amazing experience at Andaman, we landed at 5 PM at Kolkata and went straight to Howrah Junction to catch our train to Varanasi.
Since we had time, we took dinner at Barbeque Nation, Park Street.
And the trip ends………
Tips and Notes
Andaman and Nicobar Island Trip requires proper planning and I have put down few things to take care of below:
- If you have a early morning departure next day, ask your hotel to pack the breakfast
- There is literally no Internet connectivity in whole Andaman except very slow WiFi connection at few hotel receptions.(Keys Hotel had a decent WiFi)
- Carry ample Cash as you will find ATM only at Port Blair and no one accepts card/wallet payments
- Avoid eating a lot before boarding any ferry as you may vomit due to up and down movement of the ferry
- Stay longer in Neil and Havelock than Port Blair
- Ask for PNR of Makruzz from your respective agent
- Carry Dimox and other common medicines
- Scuba Diving is subject to weather, so plan accordingly
- Do visit Something Different at Havelock!
- Always be on time at Havelock and Neil as there are very limited cabs at both the islands and drivers have a very packed schedule. If you miss, you are done!
- Carry enough of fast dry clothes
- Keep all the trip printouts before landing and cache all the mobile documents
- Prefer a early morning scuba as water is clear and calm
Live Yourself with a Trip and Reward Yourself with a Vacation!
