A trip to Andaman Islands with my Dad

My father is 88 year young and always wanted to visit the distant Andaman and I for one always up for warm tropical paradise. I started my journey from San Francisco to pick my father from Kolkata on late October evening. 

Planning

The Andaman Islands cover a huge area of 8,249 sq km (thanks to go2andaman for the map!) and consist of about 572 islands—though only 38 of them are actually inhabited (shoutout to Google AI for the fun fact). Most travelers fly into Port Blair, hop on a boat to Havelock (now called Swaraj Dweep), then take another boat to Neil (Saheed Dweep), and finally head back to Port Blair.

We decided to tweak the usual route and planned plenty of breaks in between to make sure my dad could get enough downtime. These islands are all about slowing down—soaking in nature, the ocean, and, if you’re an early riser, those dazzling starry skies.

Word of caution, make sure to reserve inter island boat tickets early especially in the hi season.

There are three main boat operators besides the government ferry.

1. Nautika. Fast Catamaran, Great Service and we liked the fact that you can select seats unlike other operators. We took Nautika from Haddo jetty in Port Blair to Havelock. Highly recommended.
   
   
2. Makruzz. Another fast Catamaran. Seats are 3-4-3 configuration. The boats are bit older compared to Nautika and slightly cheaper. We took this from Neil to Port Blair. 
   
   
3. Green Ocean. This is a large ship, so if you suffer from severe motion sickness, you may want to consider this. It is slower, but has a open deck and dance floor and has a kind of desi vibe. 

Final Itinerary along with resorts,

Port Blair(1 night) ⇨ Havelock (3 night) ⇨ Neil (1 night) ⇨ Back to Port Blair(2 Night) 

MegaPode resort       Seashell                       Seashell               Seashell

Day  1, Port Blair

As our flight from Kolkata neared the archipelago, we could see the vast expanse of Bay of Bengal dotted with green islands ringed with coral reef.  

Port Blair is pretty hilly, and we spent our first night at Megapode Resort, run by the Government of India. If you’re after something fancy, this might not be your vibe. But if you’re into great views and wide open spaces, this place is perfect. We stayed in the Nicobari Cottage, which seems to be super popular—and for good reason. Perched right on a cliff overlooking the bay, it’s the spot for early risers to catch a stunning sunrise over the Bay of Bengal. Absolutely magnificent.

Even though Nov is supposed to be dry month, Andaman welcomed us with heavy tropical downpour. The rains are whimsical in this part of the world, all of it sudden it stops as if someone turned off the faucet! For me a long time Californian who grew up in the foothills of Darjeeling the sound of monsoon and tropical smell was soul soothing. 

Day2: Going to Havelock, Swaraj Dweep:

Next day sky was clear and we had nice breakfast in the garden overlooking the bay. After that we headed to Haddo Jetty to catch the Nautika boat to Havelock. Navigating the jetty for my dad was nit difficult, it was quite crowded and most of the seats were occupied. Fortunately they provide wheelchair service similar to airports and past security check my father was happily seated on wheelchair. 

Bengalis are overwhelming majority in this Archipelago, and both havelock and Neil are 90% Bengali. Our driver Nitesh who we hired at the airport turned out to be 3rd generation Bengali, born on the north side of Andaman, a place call Diglipur. He quickly connected us to fellow guide, drivers in all the other islands and we had fantastic private tour everywhere we went. This was extremely helpful given my father's limited mobility and advanced age. I have attached contacts at the end of the blog and  highly recommend each of them. These folks are local and very punctual and helpful. 

  

;

Havelock Island (Day 2,3,4):

Havelock is generally known as adventure hub of Andaman, however we did not go diving or snorkelling this time. It was time for us to chill, relax and visit some of the best beaches in the world. It is a typical small island and the very first beach right near the Jetty is Govindnagar beach, a pristine but filled with rocky coral. Most resorts and our resort, the Seashell Havelock was located right onto this beach. The resort is pretty big with detached cottages on large area, amazing staff and mouth watering food. They have full fledged dive shop right at the resort so if you are so inclined, you can literally walk over the corals and start enjoying. 

 

Seashell is right on Govindnagar Beach, during lowtide you can watch hundreds of colorful crabs crawling all over the place.

The two other beaches immensely enjoyed are KalaPathar (means Balck rock) beach and the world famous Radhanagar Beach. The water is crystal clear with endless soft sand and dense green forest all around you. 

The Beautiful  green ocean and soft sands at Kalpathaar Beach

Sunset in Radhanagar beach is treat for eyes, turquoise water and white soft sandy beach that just keeps going forever.

Radhanagar Beach

Sunset from Radhanagar Beach

 

Day 4,5: Neil Island :

We took the Makruzz boat at noon and got to Neil Jetty in about an hour. The ride pretty much sticks to the channel between the main Andaman island and Havelock. Neil is much smaller, but honestly, we thought it was the most beautiful and still had that rustic charm. Renting a scooter or bicycle is super easy and, honestly, the best way to explore the whole island at your own pace. Highly recommend it!

We stayed at the Seashell Resort again—much smaller than the one in Havelock but just as charming in its own way.

Right next to the jetty is Bharatpur Beach, where all the water sports action happens. It’s definitely crowded, but that gently sloping beach is unbeatable. You can literally walk almost 800 meters into the water! The crystal-clear shallows felt like a warm bathtub under the midday sun—absolute bliss.

In the evening, we headed to Laxmanpur Beach for the famous sunset spot. It was even prettier than Radhanagar Beach, with its endless white sand stretching for miles. The best part? After a while, it felt like you had the whole beach to yourself, even on a busy evening.

The next morning, during low tide, we made it to Natural Bridges Beach—definitely the best time to visit.

Natural Bridge at Laxmanpur beach

Sunset at Laxmanpur Beach: Author with Father

Look at those Colorful Zebra Fish!!

Day 6,7, Back to Port Blair:

Neil is the quintessential charming little island where everything slows down. We absolutely loved it, but the locals? Not so much—they seemed bored out of their minds with nothing to do. A policeman I chatted with at the jetty said it’s just ‘too much nature and a whole lot of nothing.’ Guess that’s the two sides of the coin, huh?

As a kid I have read many fascinating stories about the Jarawa tribes and always wanted to visit them. Thanks to efforts of many the Indian government has set aside a restricted forest area for Jarwas, however any interaction with tribe is strictly prohibited law, but in reality we found that is not really the case!

If you are planning to visit Limestone cave at Bartang then be prepared to start around 3:30AM in the morning. We skipped the cave, so we started at 6:30 in the morning.

Port Blair to Jirkatang (40Km). Your journey takes you thru the ATR, Andaman Trunk Road that connects Port Blair to the Northern part of Andaman and ends at Diglipur. The Road is runs thru lush forest, hills, streams and at many places it can only be crossed via ferry. 

Waiting at Jirkatang Checkpost

Jirkatang Checkpost, Cars forming the morning Convoy

The next 45 Kms is the Middle Andaman thru the dense Jarwa forest. Once in a while we spotted some tribes man bending over a kill or so it looked like. The first 30 Km was not so eventful and then all of sudden the convoy stopped and we could see bunch of Jarawa kids running from Car to Car demanding food and other stuff while two older tribesman walked with a machete--yeah my heart skipped a bit for a while. We gave the some food, but they were kind of aggressive. Our driver explained that nowadays there is a bit of a interaction with tourists, but typically not this aggresive.

Middle Strait Jetty to Bartang ( A quick ferry ride) This is where you park your car unless one is going to northern part and take the ferry.  We visited the mud volcano, but it was quite disappointing. 

Ferry Jetty at Middle Andaman

Ferry to Bartang

Celebrated the end of our trip with dad at the rooftop restaurant of the Seashell Port Blair Hotel.