Friday 8 March 2019

Exploring Andaman without any tour package

Date: 1st March-6th March
Places covered: Havelock, Neil, Port Blair.
Number of persons: 2

Flight details: The price is around rs10,000 per person from Kolkata to Port Blair(round trip economy class). Booking in advance can save you money but the price mainly depends on the season you are going. Try to opt for morning flight and left side seats for awesome views of islands before landing.

Cruise details: As Andaman is a group of islands, cruises are required to go from one place to another. Both government and private ferries are available. Government ferries are cheaper but have to be booked 3-4days in advance and from booking counter only. Those who are planning to go by themselves, private ferries are more efficient as it can be booked online in advance. It takes half the amount of time taken by government ferry. Three private cruise services are available: Makruzz, Green ocean, and Bhagya express. We booked Makruzz for port blair to havelock, Green ocean for Havelock to Neil, and Neil to Port Blair. Two days before the journey, Green ocean cancelled their sailings. In this aspect, we found Makruzz more reliable. Finally, we booked all the tickets from Makruzz. The total cost was 3500 per person(Port blair-> Havelock-> Neil-> Port blair). Contact the cruises 4-5 days earlier than the date of sailing to be ensured of the confirmation of the booking.

Note: You will need a bsnl sim to survive there as the other networks hardly work.

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~Our experience~

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Day1: We took an early flight and reached Port Blair by 11am. Our cruise to Havelock was at 2pm that day. We took an auto to the Haddo jetty(this jetty is for private cruises). We finally reached Havelock around 3:30pm and our hotel, Holiday Inn by auto took 10 minutes.

Govindpur beach
Cost break -->
auto - rs150 + rs100
hotel - rs3500 + tax

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Day2: Early in the morning, we rented a scooty and went to the trekking point to Elephanta beach. This point closes around 2:30pm. We hired a guide to help us reach the beach. The trekking takes 45-50mins. Different water sports can be done in the Elephanta beach but we chose to only click photos. We returned by lunch time and had lunch at Radhangar beach which is at 10mins distance. Radhanagar beach is great for swimming and to watch sunset. We spent our time there till evening and returned to our next hotel stay at Dolphin resort.

trekking path to Elephanta beach
Elephanta beach
Radhanagar beach
Cost break -->
scooty rent - 400rs 
petrol -100rs
trekking guide - 500rs
hotel - 3000rs + tax





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Day3: We started our day with viewing sunrise at Kalapathar beach. We had to reach there before 4:30am so yes, be ready to sacrifice sleep. Next, we went to scuba dive by 6:30am. Dont miss this experience if you are visiting Andaman. It was 30-40min dive with a 10min prep included. It is highly advisable to go scuba early morning as the water is clearer and corals are more visible. After scuba, we had our cruise to Neil at 10am. By 11.30am, we reached Neil, checked in hotel Sarthak residency. We had lunch there and rent a scooty, and went to Laxmanpur beach 2, which is famous for its naturally formed bridges. Try to go there when tide is low as only in low tide you can watch fishes and other sea creatures in naturally created aquarium. We spent 2 to 3 hrs there and then went to Laxmanpur beach 1 which is famous as a sunset point. After sunset, we returned to our resort.

Kalapathar beach
Laxmanpur beach2: natural bridges

Cost break-->
scuba - rs6500 for two persons
Hotel - rs3500 + tax
Scooty rent - rs500

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Day4: Again early in the morning, we went Sitapur beach to view sunrise. After spending one hour there, we went Bharatpur beach and did glass boating( a boat that has glass surface underneath so that corals can be viewed) there. It was for 30 minutes. As in scuba diving, this water activity is also best in the morning. Water was crystal clear and large coral reefs were visible. Scuba diving in Neil is highly recommended, also there is option to go scuba in deep water taken by boat unlike in Havelock which was done in shore(less depth). But this will charge rs1000 extra. Next we returned to Port blair (by cruise) by 1:10pm. After checking in our hotel, Milan Manor, We rented a scooty from Saro travels and immediately left for Cellular jail visit as it closes by 5pm. After a small visit to the nearby Gandhi park, we enjoyed evening light and sound show at Cellular jail. We booked this ticket in advance from online website of Andaman government. Then we returned back to hotel.
Sitapur beach
Bharatpur beach


Cellular jail
Gandhi park
Cost break -->
Glass boating- Rs 800 per person
scooty rent - Rs 500 for 24 hours
Cellular jail entry ticket - 30rs per person
Light and sound show - Rs 100 per person
Hotel - Rs 1700 per night

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Day 5: Early morning by 8.30am, we reached Abeerden jetty and took ferry for Ross island. We spent one hour there, as this island is small and can be visited in one hour. After coming back to Portblair from ross island, we went Samudrika marine museum, and then Chatham shaw mill which can be visited by road. By the time of lunch we came back to hotel, took rest for two hours and then by 3pm we went chidiyatapu to visit sunset. If possible, visit this early as the beach closes by 5pm. It is 27km from center of city and road paases throght forest area so make sure you have enough petrol. By 6pm, we came back to city and enjoyed the rest of night at our hotel. We had to pay 400 rs extra for the scooty as they charged 100rs/ extra hour.

Ross island
Samudrika museum

Chidiyatapu sunset point

Cost break-->
Ross island ticket - Rs 350 round trip per person.
Ross island entry ticket - Rs 20 per person.
Samudrika marine museum ticket - Rs 30 per person
Chatamshaw mill - Rs 20 per person.
Scotty fine - Rs 400

Day 6: We checked out from the hotel, went to airport for flight which was at 11.25am for Kolkata by auto and bid goodbye to Andaman with a heavy heart.
Cost - auto 100rs.




Here are the contact numbers of persons who helped us executing our andaman trip. As these persons live there, they can help you make quick decisions and also can lend a helping hand in time of need.

Jaggy bhai at havelock: 94760 87855
arranged sucba for us

Uttam bhai at havelock:94760 67641
He was our guide for trekking to elephant beach

Ranjan bhai at Neil:94742 22224
He arranged resort and scooty at neil, he also own cab, if you want to explore neil by cab, you can rent.

Javed bhai at Port blair: 99332 40596 he arranged hotel and scooty at port blair.

If you still have any query, feel free to contact us at 8292556170.

We had an amazing experience at Andaman. We look forward to go there again and visit Diglipur, Ross and Smith island, little Andaman, Wandoor beach etc places we have missed this time.