Day 1 – We flew directly to Port Blair from Hyderabad via Indigo flight and our family took another Indigo flight from Kolkata to Port Blair. We all reached Port Blair in the first half of the day itself. And this trip was taken in the month of November. After reaching, we checked into a picturesque homestay named “Andaman Castle”, situated on a cliff directly overlooking the Andaman sea. In the evening, we visited the Cellular Jail. Tickets for the Jail visit as well the Light and Sound show can be purchased online or directly from the ticket counter.
Day 2 – We went for a morning stroll to the Corbyn’s Cove beach before boarding our afternoon Makruzz ferry to reach Havelock island. Our gorgeous government property named “Dolphin Beach Resort” was located right along the Govindnagar beach lined with Mangroves. Apart from exploring the resort, the second day was mostly spent in Niksen (The art of doing nothing)!
Day 3 – We were mesmerized to witness the adjacent seabed to our resort during low tides, filled with corals and underwater animals, a phenomenon that none of us had ever experienced. We also braved the rains (not a monsoon season, but cyclone alerts are pretty common here due to the geographical location of the islands) and visited Kalapatthar beach. From this beach, we went to take a dip in the warm waters of Radhanagar beach. Disclaimer – I can’t pick out any one favourite beach because I honestly loved every one of them!
Day 4 – It was time for us to again board our Makruzz ferry to reach the Neil island this time. The sun again shone on us as our ferry approached Neil island. This was also the island where we indulged ourselves in most of the water activities like glass boating, snorkelling and scuba diving that take place from Bharatpur beach. Our property “Tango Beach Resort” was right along the Laxmanpur Beach No. 1 with a serene pool facing the sea. Here, I was also lucky to witness the most gorgeous sunset of my life till date.
Day 5 – Our morning hike to Laxmanpur Beach No. 2 was equally commendable. One thing to note here is if you want to hike till the Natural bridge, you need to start really early in the morning. The sea level starts increasing from 8 am and it would be impossible or dangerous to reach that point in the later part of the morning. Although we stayed in Neil island for the shortest duration of this entire trip, this place stole our hearts. The island is blessed with clear blue skies, pristine turquoise waters and humble helpful locals. But soon it was time for was to board the last Macruzz ferry of our trip to return to Port Blair.
Day 6 – For the last two days of the trip, we booked this grand government property named “Megapode Resort”. This place held strong nostalgia for me as my maternal grandfather had booked this same property forty years back for his own family trip and my mom had stayed in this exact same property forty years back too! The majestic resort is nestled amongst lush greenery, situated on a cliff overlooking the ocean, similar to our first homestay in Port Blair. We loved our visit to the Ross island, an abandoned township stuck in time, where nature and wildlife has taken over the human ruins; and also the huge lighthouse of the North Bay island, the image of which was present in our previous 20 rupees note.
Day 7 – We bid adieu to Port Blair and boarded our flights to return back to the mainland with a heavy heart!
Please note that the average cost of the entire trip per person for a week can range between 70k to 1 lakh (including flights) or even beyond, depending on how budget or how luxurious of a trip you are planning. It also depends on how many and which water activities are you engaging in. Being an island, this is also a seafood heaven! Last but not the least, if you also want to cover North Andamans, you would need to plan a trip of 2 weeks as there’s no airport connectivity in the North Andamans and traveling can be more of a hassle as compared to the South with daily ferry connectivity.