This was a family trip after ages, carefully conceived and executed by yours truly. Hence I did involve enough R&D before pushing the wagon as nothing should potentially go wrong. Note that rates and experiences are based in November and they shoot up exponentially as December sets in.

So I visited blogs and trusty tripadvisor to figure out what could be managed without really pushing the boundaries much and overall, ensuring comfort. I took a relaxed Sunday to Friday window for this trip (one of the longest trip yet. I know right!)

The approach is tried and tested from my previous trips but here I went a step further and boy that saved me some cash. So without further ado, here is the sequence I followed to manage trip without blowing off the budget:

• Research and fix the places you want to visit. Special attention given to places friendly for senior citizens.
• Research and fix great hotels around 4 months early. Booking through tourism partners is actually paying more for hotels, so book them online (with ample discount coupons out there). Just make sure you do it as early as possible since the demand can sky rocket.
• Next book flight tickets, again preferably within the span of 1 month of booking the hotels.
• Meanwhile keep contacting different travel and tourism companies for their rates and inclusions. Most of them asks for an advance, so go with the best deal. Try to keep the whole water adventure part open ended and decide once you reach if you are keen on the same.

Sunday

We landed in afternoon via Spicejet (Kolkata > Port Blair) around 2.30 PM. Make sure you have the window seat checked in cause this is the beauty you see from the windows.

And if you are lucky, you might just sail through an actual rainbow.

The airport is rather small and as one gets out, there will be travel firms standing with placard in hand. Our operator Tropical Andaman had its representative Rohit standing for us. If you are solo, you can hire bikes or auto there for travel point to point. In our case, tourism across places was taken care off in great AC equipped cars run by locals. These locals were also employees of the tour operator.

We checked in to J Hotel which is situated away from the sea but has great rooms and even more amazing food overall. The staff was courteous and extremely helpful.

We caught only the light and sound show at cellular jail that night (which was a smart thing to do before actually seeing cellular jail as it gives better context). They have steel lousy chairs and long queues outside during entry. The show is essentially a brief history of Andaman, the torture inside the jail and overall importance in Independence. They run English and Hindi alternatively (we caught the Hindi one) and ticket prices range around 100 INR (usually the tour operator takes care of that).

Monday

Stick to times as the ferries are pretty punctual. We got Makruzz (the other good one is Green Ocean) which leaves for Havelock by 8.15 AM.

We took the middle package Deluxe (three classes being Premium, Deluxe, Royal) that have tickets around 1500 INR + Tax (again borne by Travel agency). Deluxe gives you window seat and like all hotels in Andaman, pack your lunch while checking out of hotel in morning. The nearly 2 hour long journey is an AC enclosed vessel and blue tinted windows, which I mostly slept through.

Havelock Ferry drop point is quite well maintained with again Tropical Andaman representative waiting with placard to guide us through from exit. We checked in to the amazing Dolphin resort which is a good few kilometers away from the ferry point.

Apart from the mind-blowing location and duplex styles cottage rooms with glass windows, this place has its own private beach where you can waddle through water with minimal swimming. One can swim across a kilometer during tides. The beach is clean and a hub of hermit crabs with just awesomeness written all around it.

We left for Asia’s best beach post lunch, popularly knows as Radhanagar beach. Although crowded, the beach is superbly maintained with crystal clear water and there are changing rooms available.

I have never been to a more swim friendly beach and somehow the water is not salty like other usual beaches, I could even manage 360° flip like those you do in swimming pools.

Tuesday

So we kept our luggage with front desk at Dolphin and went to Kaala Pathar beach which is a quite place to relax and have some really awesome coconuts (40 INR each, deal huh?). The place had random rocks and jagged trees often used by tourists to pose for photos.

Collecting our baggage, we left for Scuba diving (3500 INR each). They get a NOC signed for health related declaration and have strict no policy for elder spectrum. Unfortunately that morning someone spotted a freshwater crocodile prancing in the ocean and forest department suspended scubas and snorkeling across Havelock. Tough Luck!

Pissed and relieved, the tour operator suggested taking us for lunch at a place called Something Different restaurant. Although I am not fan of places being taken outside of itinerary since they are often excuse for extracting more and unnecessary money, I gave it a go ahead. This was considering they arrange ride to ferry point and we already had poor experience with food till now in Dolphin and beyond. The path to this different place is super muddy and wobbly unfortunately.

Something Different is one of the top 3 rated restaurants online for Havelock and rightly so (data gathered once I managed to get WiFi in hotels). The decor is a mishmash of normal restaurant, library, old toy structures, floor seating, jeans crockery and every abstract idea you are thinking of. The food was PHENOMENAL, might be the best we had in entire Andamans. Check out my Google Review here which is somehow getting decent traction.

When you are here, make sure you explore the back end of the restaurant. This is a deserted forest enclosed beach giving off the mangrove vibes.

We took our return ferry to Port Blair which left around 5 PM. Unlike the onward journey, there wasn’t security check or anything happening here. We just got your tickets verified from the nearest boat counter and voila, we are ready. By evening, we had checked into the Port blair government hotel based on their famous bird Megapode.

Wednesday

The second highlight of this trip added after careful research was Jolly Buoy. And boy was Buoy (pun intended!) worth the trip.

 

Early morning 6.30 AM is the usual time to leave for a steep ride to Wandoor jetty. We were advised to pack our breakfast for the hour long journey (Most hotels do that, make sure you inform them the day prior). The place is controlled by forest department and we asked our tourist operator to ensure we were enrolled for the day. The ticket, as mentions, has a Aadhar/Passport mandatory clause.

This place is strictly no plastic zone, aimed to maintain the sanctity and ecosystem of the corals. We got refundable water bottle at the Wandoor counter for 10 INR (+200 INR security deposit) and 35 entry fee Jolly Buoy island. The ferry ride lasted for another good hour as it waded through waters and mangroves.

The ferry parked itself a hundred feet away from the island since anchors can cause significant damage on the coral bed. We hopped on to a boat with glass bottom wearing the life vests. The minimal glimpse of seabed underneath through that tinted glass was mesmerizing to say the least.

There were six variations of corals available with rich biodiversity in this area and a strong fish community frolicking beneath. We took the full package Glass boat tour (1000 INR each) which showcases all these corals and the boat operator/guide throws out details of fish variations and the specialty of that species through thirty minute span of live Discovery channel.

The island is small and have limited dry food/refreshment options and makeshift rest rooms. The sand is deep and people are allowed to swim, till a limited zone in water being closely monitored by coastal guards. The fish are so unaccustomed to human beings that they have no inclination of swimming away and nibble on feet without a care. The boats leave at 2.30 PM for the journey back from this pure no mans land.

Thursday

Next morning, the guide gave us access pass  (580 INR per person) and took us to Rajiv Gandhi water sports complex. Very nicely built, the purpose of the complex is being the center for information, ferry service and motor boat rides. The adjoining jetty is popularly called Aberdeen Jetty. The water bed is shallow that houses multiple fish schools and vibrant starfishes.

First stop was Ross island (Entry fee 30 INR) which used to be capital of Andaman during British Era.

 

 

The island reverb of numerous colonial artifacts, hoards of fearless coconut flesh seeking deer and male peacocks running through the winding paths.

Next stop was North Bay (Entry fee 10 INR) which usually is popular for multiple food outlets and water sports.

Despite the small area being used, this place throws maximum options for tourists seeking adventure-

• semi submarine(1850 INR)
• scuba diving (3500 INR)
• snorkeling(500 INR for half mask/1000 INR for full mask)
• glass boat to see dolphins (1850 INR)
• sea walking (3500 INR).

From popular opinion, one should avoid all of these here since much better variation of scuba/snorkeling are available in Havelock/Neil, better glass boat at Neil/Jolly Buoy. Sea walking and Semi Submarine are only available here. We tried the semi submarine which was a disappointing experience with dallops of sea sickness.

Although it has interior and safety system of an airplane, the green glasses are obscure and one can spot occasional curious orange fish pecking on the panels. The coral bed visibility was low and the ocean floor was in much much worse state than Jolly Buoy.

Friday

Time to go back. Post Checking out of hotel, we went to Cellular Jail again where you can actually see gray-scale photos, roam around the cells, look at the hanging nooks up close, read the list of prisoners engraved on pillars and understand the history better thanks to the light and sound show on day 1. The guard tower on top gives panoramic view of jail cells and islands nearby.

We dropped by the Fisheries and Anthropological Museum before hitting the airport which will roughly take slightly over an hour time. The Fisheries Museum had multiple species kept mostly in formaldehyde as samples collected from the ocean. If you are an enthusiast (like me), you will enjoy looking at the sheer number of species. They also display mummified larger water dwellers like swordfish and dolphins, higher variations of corals and some aquariums with live rare carps and lobsters. The anthropological museum has explanation of aboriginal tribes, their photos, inter cultural differences, weapons and huts made from samples collected from them and lots of insight on how tribes still survive disconnected from the modern world.

We reached the tiny airport as we headed back to Kolkata. Spicejet again. The runaway is bang near the waiting gate, so have fun looking at the take offs and hearing the engines roar.

Tip offs

• Include most pay points with travel partners (like cruise, permission, entry fee etc.) on mail itself while drawing out the deal
• Choose a month that fits your bucket list. Why November was chosen you may ask. Apart from the obvious better temperature and less expense (vs December), mid November is the time when Jolly Buoy opens only for 6 months.
• Scuba has age limit, fitness and 36 other clauses. So go only if you are sure. Even then your scube might get cancelled cause a reptile wanted to pay a visit, so be prepared.
• Jolly buoy and Red skin island alternates every 6 months to allow corals grow. Red skin has worse review, is smaller and not a great experience as per my online research, so time your trip for Jolly Buoy (Highly recommended)
• Why i didn’t go to Neal? For starters, Neil is very similar and can only be throughly enjoyed if you plan to cycle around island or go water sports, which was not my exact case.
• Why not mud volcano and limestone caves? I really wanted to do it (despite some bad criticism out there) but I dropped it off as it involves a lot of walking/trekking that can prove hard for aged people. I will recommend it as it changes the scenery.
• Debit card only works in Cellular Jail. No, seriously.
• Don’t take base package in cruise, the price difference is often not worth it. Take only private ones (the government ones are in horrible state and takes way too much time).
• Fit light and sound show on first day and museum/cellular jail later for better context. This happened by accident/on recommendation of tourist guides on reaching there, but it was a good recommendation.
• Get window seat and afternoon flight. Thank me later.
• If you plan to stay in J Hotel, must try their food. Great stuff.
• Dolphin has like really bad food stick to veg if you have to). Instead go to coco restaurant around 1.5 km away. Food is expensive there but tastes nice.
• No opinion on food of Megapode resort. They have cafes, nice restaurant and great maintanance. Nothing really tastes out of the world but they serve their purpose well (they have got a buffet system too).
• Book hotels super early, esp if govt hotel is what you are aiming for. They go fully booked as early as six months early.
• When you are in Security check for Makruzz/Green Ocean ferry, dont carry anything that might be taken away in an actual flight baggage check. We lost a cigarette lighter.

My Recommendation

Take Dolphin Resort, have food at Something Different and spend more time at Havelock.

Here is a Hermit Crab for you.

 

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

Sayantan