I expected to spend three to five nights on Havelock Island. That did not happen.
The ferry ride from Port Blair to Havelock took a few hours. I made conversation with a French girl named Jasmine who was fighting with her boyfriend at home and taking a couple of weeks to think, and then spent the next couple of hours standing in the sun and yukking it up on the deck of the ship with a Hong Kong-born, Tokyo-based pro photog named Eric.
Eric’s banana sticker-shock. Havelock bazaar
The water was, well, really, really blue with crystal visibility. And there were turtles and flying fish on the surface and no other boat traffic for the whole route.
It’s good, no kiddin’. Beach No. 7, Havelock
Somewhere in the course of things, I became a beach snob. Not just ANY beach will do. Each new remote place has to outdo the previous, or it’s a disappointment. This is no way to live, but it’s what’s happened to me, and I don’t know how to reverse it.
The small amount of Goa that I visited turned me off completely, and I think places like Ko Tao are just “okay” (though I still love the Caribbean coast of Mexico). The Andamans were already quiet enough, clean enough, and blessed with high vis water. Good signs.
Reasons why I might dislike a perfectly good island/beach “paradise”:
- Murky water in which you can’t see your feet, much less any sea life. This rules out activities like snorkeling and diving outright.
- Too many annoying merchants on the beach. I didn’t come here to shop unless it’s for cold drinks, fresh fruit or homemade ice cream made from fresh fruit. “Sir? Madam?”
- Trash, pollution, diesel fumes from boats other than the one that you’re on.
- A “nothing is sacred” inescapable party culture that usurps the entire beach and town. If I want this, I’ll seek it out.
- An over-developed beachfront. I don’t need to stare at the ocean for every meal, and I’d prefer not to stare at a restaurant or bar from every inch of the beach.
- Too many people in general.
I was hopeful that the Andamans could pass these tests. They’re remote, have no commercial fishing industry and don’t seem to invite a lot of package tourists.
Beach No. 7, Havelock. Salt water crocodiles are occasionally (rarely) spotted along the beaches of the Andaman Islands, and they’re nothing to mess with. In 2010, an American girl was attacked and killed by a crocodile (this is not that girl, of course), and since then, “NO SWIMMING, CROCODILES” signs have been posted. Everyone still swims, though, all the while nervously joking about sightings.
We landed at the Havelock Island jetty and were, as usual, completely surrounded by rickshaw drivers the minute we got onto the street. Eric, Eric’s travel buddy from Tokyo, Jasmine and I fought bravely, bargained hard and all crammed into one rickshaw, packs hanging from the sides, butts aching on crossbars for the 10-15 minute ride toward the lion’s share of accommodations.
Sad lion wants his share back. No lions on Havelock – this photo comes from greater internet. There are a couple of swimming elephants, though.
The beaches on Havelock are numbered (how creative), and Beach No. 5 is where most accommodation lay. After all of our Lonely Planet picks were full, we took rooms at “El Dorado”, a collection of numbered, windowless green beach huts about 100 meters off the beach. My single room was billed as a double, and cost 400 Rupees with shared bathroom access (gecko-filled cold water shower stalls and two eastern-style gravity toilets). The owner seemed like he had woken up stupid-stoned from an accidental nap.
Riley on a rare rainy day at El Dorado. My room, #42, is behind the tree in the middle.
As I only expected to spend a few days on Havelock, I wanted to get in the water as soon as I could. Jasmine, Eric, Eric’s buddy, and two friendly Canadians (Riley and Callum) from an adjacent El Dorado hut agreed to rent a boat and snorkeling gear for a half-day trip the next morning.
Day 1 snorkling trip. Still can’t figure out why boat boy insisted on life jackets – we were en route to go swimming in the ocean without them. Strangely cautious for India.
Jasmine (not pictured) complained bitterly throughout the entire venture about the quality and color of the coral surrounding Havelock Island.
We are the customer! Take us to better snorkeling!
Though not a certified diver, she had been diving a number of times with a previous boyfriend. From her tone with the boat boy, you’d think she had patented the regulator. Take THAT!
She was right (but annoying) – no, the coral in the shallows wasn’t remarkable – it was bleached from rising water temperatures and oft broken from the impact of the tsunami that hit the islands in 2004. There was still a fair amount of life – spiny lobsters, various snapper and parrotfish, the odd Napoloeon wrasse.
December 24th, 2004 tsunami.
Unremarkable shallow snorkeling led to the question: what about the quality of coral when diving? I was a certified for 18m depth and above. Word on the street that a great deal of the medium-depth coral was also bleached and broken. We needed to go deeper to get to the good sites.
Not deep enough, porcupinefish.
Resort-mate Callum was also interested in diving, and certified for the same depth. After much back and forth, we signed up for additional certification – PADI Advanced Open Water. This would get us to 30 meters depth and thus the three-or-so dive sites we kept hearing good things about: Dixons Pinnacle, Johnny’s Gorge and Jackson’s Bar.
Diving buddy Callum with resort stray Molly.
Advanced certification took three days and set us back the very international price of $300 US at Andaman Bubbles Diving, and the dive sites were fantastic. Our German dive instructor, Helena, was a shining, hilarious star. We saw white-tipped reef sharks at Johnny’s, too – bonus! I snuck in another three days of fun dives for around $70 US a day afterward.
There’s a lot of life in the reefs. Saw these:
- Big’uns like: White-Tipped Reef Sharks, Giant Grouper, Dogfin Tuna, Giant Trevally, Napoleon Wrasse.
- Big schools of: Giant Barracuda (300 plus, circling overhead. wow.), Longfin Bannerfish, various snapper and unclassified sweetlips.
- Sorta-scary looking ones like: Giant Moray Eels, Titan Triggerfish, Banded Sea Krait.
- Personal favorites: Andaman Sweetlips, Oriental Sweetlips, Phantom Bannerfish, Seal-faced pufferfish, Barramundi.
- Funny litle critters like cleaner shrimp & garden eels. Clownfish. The odd reef octopus.
Callum was labeled “most enthusiastic diver” on the boat by Helena due to his frantic, sometimes improvised underwater fish identification hand signals. I got the comment “Matt, you sure like your chocolate, don’t you” by eating a Mars bar one day on the boat, and some Nutella the next. Hey, diving is exhausting! <crosses arms, pouts>
The beaches on Havelock were some of the nicest I had visited, passing all the above beach-tests. Beach No. 7, a nine-Rupee bus ride away from the bazaar, was the far-and-away favorite.
Totally fake smiles at Beach No. 7 from Callum, Riley and Marie.
For the triple crown, the food was fresh, fantastic and inexpensive. Favorite restaurants on Havelock:
- Anju-Coco Resto, where time was marked by (and conversation was regularly, pleasantly interrupted by) mangoes impacting the corrugated metal roof
- POWERFUL Restaurant, the ramshackle home of the best 40 Rupee fruit salad on the planet – well worth the 10 minute hike from El Dorado
- Gita Restaurant, where four to five dollars gets you the freshest banana leaf-grilled bone-in fish imaginable. Snapper, grouper, barracuda, etc.
A lazy chai (and probably fruit salad soon) with Cal at Powerful Restaurant.
Eric managed to squeeze these limes directly into his eyes. Gita Restaurant, Havelock bazaar.
Great food, perfectly clear, blue water and perfect weather are good things to rally around. The gang of friends at El Dorado grew to cast of around ten to fifteen people each night, lazing in a hammock circle around Callum and Riley’s hut, passing a guitar around, getting eaten alive by mosquitos, petting stray dogs, cracking wise and drinking 650 ml Kingfishers until the bar closed at the rather early hour of 10:30 PM (and stockpiling a few warm ones to keep us going until at least midnight, if not 2:00 AM). Countries represented: Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and often Israel, Australia.
morning cleanup, every morning at Riley and Callum’s.
Why would I ever want to leave? So long as I mitigated my desire to go diving every day, it was cheaper for me to stay in Havelock than it was for me to sit in my apartment at home and eat frozen burritos.
I met some good people on Havelock. Here’s one. Cecilia, Beach No. 7.
There was no reason to leave, so I didn’t. We didn’t. I stayed in the same beach hut for seventeen wonderful nights, from March 2nd to March 19th.
Even the stray dogs were nice. This is Jill (we called her Jill, anyway).
A lot of people will try to make you jealous of their tropical beach getaways, and sure, it’s nice to go to the beach and pretend that you’re going to throw your cellphone in the ocean like that Corona commercial. But this was different. And I dare say, better. Such a high quality of life, such a high quality of people surrounding me, and such a simple rhythm. If you went to the Andamans, you might have a different experience – but I found exactly what I was looking for in this case. Everything aligned. It’s a hard-to-explain feeling I still get when I think about the place and time.
But nothing lasts forever. On the 16th and 17th of March, my team of travelers started thinning out – it felt like adult summer camp was ending. Cecilia had to get back to Delhi to finish a school program, Riley and Callum to China for the last leg of their long trip, and our multiple teams of self-labeled True Swedish Adventurers were setting off to Kolkata and North Andaman. I considered staying and riding out my entire 30-day Andamans permit in Havelock, where life was so good, but I wasn’t ready to start over with a new group – I resolved to “quit” while I was ahead.
On March 17th, after protracted battles at the Havelock ticket office, I obtained a ferry ticket to Rangat, the first stop on the way to the northern parts of the Andamans.
Ah, ferry ticket office fun. I didn’t know her at the time, but the girl facing camera in the lower right corner (Naella) would become a travel buddy for the following week.
But first, before I head north: did I mention that Holi Festival took place on March 8th, while I was on Havelock? No, I didn’t – because the festival of colors demands its own entry. It’s Next up! (click here)
For a description of my arrival in the Andaman Islands, see this post:
Hi Matt!
That’s a wonderful blog you have put together and it has got me even more excited for my trip to Havelock. My husband and I are planning to dive and snorkel at Havelock. This will be our first time at both the activities and we are not very good at swimming. Some of the dive sites I have on mind are:
1.Elephant beach
2. South button
3. Tamarind camp
4. Inglis island
Please suggest the best sites for both the activities.
Thanks,
Rashmi
rashmi.bharana@gmail.com
Rashmi:
The elephant in the room (or on the beach?) here is that you mention you’re not confident in your swimming. That could pose problem for your enjoyment and your safety if you’re planning on diving, as diving involves lots and lots of swimming, and (perhaps even more important still) feeling entirely comfortable in the water. Take stock of this before considering diving. Snorkeling may be a better start.
I am going to assume that you and your husband are not dive certified yet – you’ll need around four days to get a basic level of certification (“Open Water Certification”) if you want to dive. May need to consider that in your schedule as well.
Also, it’s been three years since I’ve been to Havelock by this point, so conditions may have changed somewhat for which dive/snorkel sites are best. I’d hate to tell you wrong. Chat up some other divers/travelers when you arrive about what sites they’re enjoying – that’s always the way I find the good places!
Hi Matt, Hi Hanna,
THank you very much for all your comments!
we are preparing to Andamans..
greetings!!
EWelina
I strongly suggest you avoid all Dive Companies except for DiveIndia and Barefoot and (Lacadives on the Mainland). Depending on your Budget – ideally stay at Barefoot @ Rs 3500 a night and Dive with DiveIndia. Eat at Welcome Cafe in the Main Market. The Best DiveSite I did is unfortunately on the MainLand via Lacadives (The Wreck) BUT the Hotel options in that area are extremely limited and expensive (unless you book in advance via Lacadives).
BTW FYI
Why do you strongly advise against other dive companies than those you listed, Cy? Please explain. My experience with (for example) Andaman Bubbles dive shop, on Havelock, was positive, and I expect that many of the other area operations are totally fine as well. Why the indictment?
Also, 3500 rupees per night ($55 US) for lodgings is extremely expensive for budget travelers, which is what this blog is aimed toward. I slept in a simple cabaña on Havelock with shared bathrooms for $8 US per night and had a great time. Just sayin’.
It is just my personal opinion.. I do not want to go into details and hurt feelings 🙂
Additionally for 8 $ a night my Girl and me had a private hut with an attached bathroom as well !
Green Valley Resort and Island Vinnies are great Budget options…..
Hi Matt!
Just discovered your blog. I live on Havelock and just wanted to say that you def captured the same feeling I had the first time I got there(around the same time as you, it seems). I fell in love and ended up with staying there. Going back to work and live now for the third season. It is such a beautiful place, na?
If you ever come back, drop by Barefoot Scuba! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Hanna. On balance, the dive resort I dove with was Andaman Bubbles when I was on Havelock, but I checked in at Barefoot as well. 🙂 I think you guys were booked up with a big group of military people learning to dive at the time.
Hello,
My name is Ewelina, I live in Poland, Europe.
I will be so so gratefull for your reply and recommendations..
I plan to travel to Andamans in Feb 2015 with 2 of my friends. We bought tickets quite spontaneously and just after I red in details about Andamans… and I am not sure if I am “ready” to travel there..
I found many blogs, I have a lot of info now and I have to say, I am totally scared of travelling there…
Please could you confirm if travelling there is really “dangerous” or staying in one place, just on Havelock, close to beach no 5 is quite comfortable ..?
Till now I have visited just one place outside the Europe, it was Barbados last year, but there I even not found one mosquitoe , no jungle there
Some scared info I found in the Internet, is it really true..? (dogs can bite you, sandflies, crocodiles, mosquitoes, some dangerous fish, do not sit under coconut palms …)
Kind regards from Poland,
Ewelina
Sand Flies with voracious appetites!
by CEP1863 Written Mar 14, 2014
I found that the sand flies were a real problem in Havelock as they see humans as a walking meal. unfortunately they do not confine themselves to the beach. They seemed worse on some beaches than on others – I was badly bitten on beach number 3 and beach number 5 whilst I was not too bothered by them on beach number 7. The only thing that seemed to keep the sand flies at bay was insect repellent with a really high DEET content. I am normally not too bothered by bites but I found that the sand fly bites took quite a long time for the itching to stop and for them to calm down. If you are planning to go out for a meal around sunset then I really would definitely recommend wearing a long sleeved top and lightweight pair of trousers.
.
Re: Sand Flies at Andaman
20 January 2014, 10:47
Yes, there are sandflies. And some people react very badly to their bites, although I’ve not heard of them carrying serious disease in the Andamans but they certainly do elsewhere.. I couldn’t say which of the thousands of beaches are worse. Ask the locals.
A generous application of a DEET based insect repellent is my best advice. And try not to expose too much flesh, especially if you are sitting or laying on the sand. I personally find that sitting still for too long, especially around the high tide line (where all the detritus gets washed up) increases your chances of being bitten.
Havelock has a lot of stray dogs. Projects have been organized to deal with this, but it is very difficult to get it under control.
During the day they generally don’t do much other than bark. At night though, they do tend to gang up in the villages and on the beach. We advise travelers to carry a stick to scare off any dogs.
In addition, please DO NOT FEED any dogs. As cute as all the little pups may be, please don’t encourage them and get them used to being in the restaurants and around people.
While bicycling, watch out for dogs, they might bite your leg.
I counted 120 bites in 2 days and now face a major infection.
Just 2 days ago I took a relaxing morning bath at beach #7 on Havlock Islands… I was warned that there are “some sandflies around” but I had no idea how vicious they are!!!
i) you hardly see them, tiny
ii) you dont feel the bite … and they only leave a tiny red mark
iii) it starts itching after 1 day
iv) it can easily get infected
v) there is even a serious disease associated with sand fly bites:http://www.infoplease.com/cig/dangerous-diseases-epidemics/leishmaniasis-sand-fly-bug.html
a) I am still in India and need to get the right creams and medication for my over 100 (!!!) bites across my body … I am itched to death, trying not to, but damn hard. I take some antihistamine pills and some weak anti/itch cream I brought from Germany.
BELIEVE me …after doing some research and seeing infected wounds (due to this climate) you DONT wanna get bitten … it itches like hell, potentially leaves scars forever (think of lady legs, not able to shave and carrying scars …ouch). Pay serious attention to sand flies bites.
Sand flies has a nasty bite that can leave a mark for years.
There were lots of flies along the road. In fact, insects were quite a problem on Andaman. My legs had many sand fly and mosquito bites and flies were a problem during the day.
The worst of the local critters are the smallest, sandflies. They’re almost invisible, they’re veracious, and their bites are both numerous and ultra-itchy. While there are countless kilometres of pristine golden sand, if you lay down for even the shortest amount of time you’ll be eaten alive. Few people can take the insect instigated hell for too long, it’s the only drawback to being on the island
sat on the beach for 15 minutes (realized that it is full of sand flies and that I was outrageously getting bit),
I got my fare share of red snapper, jack fish and barracuda during my stay there.
My resort was on beach no 5 will offers a great view, but poor swimming due to many coral in the water.
One of the main reason to go to Havelock is diving. I saw for the first time of my life outside and aquarium: a white-tip reef shark, three lion fish, a sea snake and anemone fish (nemo!). On top of that there where banks of fishes, a huge grouper and, from the boat.
banded sea krait – only one of the world’s most venomous/deadly snakes.
Reptiles sighted:
King Cobra Juvenile-1
Yellow Lipped Sea Kraits-10
Dog Faced Water Snakes -6
Green Bronze back Tree Snakes- 3
Andaman Pit Viper-1
Monitor Lizard-1 dead
King Cobra Juvenil
Hello Ewelina, thanks for dropping by.
I’ll try to address all your questions below.
DANGERS & ANNOYANCES ON HAVELOCK:
During my time on Havelock Island in 2012, I experienced not a single sand fly bite, nor heard any of my friends/acquaintances else talking about them. Not on beach 5, not on beach 7. I can’t say they’re not there NOW, but we didn’t have any problems at all at the time. Hmm.
As for mosquitos, yes, there are mosquitos, but that’s true of most subtropical areas. I didn’t find them to be intolerably excessive. Bring some repellant for the evenings, maybe pack a pair of lightweight long pants, and sleep inside the mosquito net provided by your lodgings. Easy.
Stray dogs? They’re everywhere in the developing world. I found the dogs on Havelock to actually be pretty harmless – some were even friendly. I’m writing this from Guatemala currently, where dogs are barking like mad outside at midnight, while eating trash in the street near a market. I walk by the same collection of dogs every night on the way back to my lodgings without a problem. I don’t harass them, they don’t bother me. They just want food and lots and lots of sleep in sunny spots, usually.
Coconuts fall out of trees and hit people in the head at times, yeah, and the impact can injure or kill. Solution: I wouldn’t nap under a palm that’s full of coconuts, no. When I was in Havelock, it was MANGO season, and thus (delicious, delicious) mangoes were falling out of the trees like crazy. It was a good problem to have!
As for underwater life: if you plan to go scuba diving, just ask your divemaster what kind of sea life you need to mind. What I can tell you: sea snakes (banded sea krait) have no interest in divers nor swimmers. Yes, they’re highly poisonous, but they won’t come near you if you steer clear of them. I’ve seen them many times while scuba diving. The same logic applies for lionfish, which are also poisonous. As for sharks: there are white- and black-tipped reef sharks at about 30m below the surface as well. They’re not interested in divers either – they just drift along, usually near the bottom.
Ok, so there is ONE thing I want to warn you about, and it is very serious: swimmers need to be highly wary of saltwater crocodiles in the waters surrounding the Andamans. Several people have been killed by these monsters while swimming off the beaches of various islands in the Andamans, including the beautiful lagoon off beach #7. Normally, saltwater crocodiles dwell in the mangroves where no one would ever swim, but they occasionally (rarely) drift off course outside of their usual habitat, to places like beaches. They will attack and kill humans, so swimmers need to be warned, and need to be mindful.
Here’s a related, awful story from 2010:
http://www.today.com/id/37003327/ns/today/t/croc-kills-woman-years-after-her-sisters-death/
WHERE TO STAY
Havelock is a small island, and most of the accommodations are along beaches #3 and #5. There aren’t too many other locations in which to stay, really. Plus, this is where many restaurants and dive resorts are. Beach #7 is much nicer for swimming, but it’s a (very) cheap and easy public bus ride away, or you could hail a private car with your friends for not much more money.
You may also want to visit some of the other islands in the Andamans, like Little Andaman or Long Island. During my time in the Andamans, I did hear reports of sand flies on Little Andaman, to be fair.
ALSO…
Do you have your visa for India worked out? The Andamans are of course part of India, so you’ll have to have your paperwork properly in order. I’m not exactly sure how this works for Polish citizens as I’m a USA citizen myself.
Hope some of this helps! Enjoy your trip.
Hi! I am an Indian (don’t judge harshly)… Going to the Andamans soon to dive and get certified upto an assistant/instructor level.
I have a lot of foreign friends and wow…India will be a whole new world for you – especially if you have never left Europe! Any reason why you chose IndiA?
Use lonelyplanet the website as a guide. Also do look at Lacadives… Its a dive agency / tour operator on the main Andaman island….not Havelock.
Islandvinnies at Havelock is great too…
Contact them…write to them…ask them all you your questions and they will reply to you honestly…
Feel free to email me anytime… I leave for the Andamans with my fiance in less then a month….may spend 6 ish months there too!
CyrusDastoor@Gmail.com is me..
Goodluck, have a BLaST!
PS: if I could afford it…I would love to do the north east coast line of Australia… S check out Cairns to Byron Bay!
Hi Ewelina!
Just saw your comment and want to just answer some of the bad rumors youve heard about the paradise 🙂
First of all, congratulations to your tickets to the Andamans! I went there for the first time in 2012 and got stuck – now im living there, going back for the fourth time in a weeks time. And no, I didnt fell in love with anyone, except from the islands itself… 🙂
To move on to your worries, let them go. Of course – there are dangers in terms of animals and insects around the islands, since its still quite remote and a lot of the area isnt inhabitated by anyone at all. But, as in most other places of the world, animals do still live their own life and dont want to be disturbed by us. When it comes to the crocodiles thats definitely true. There have been attacks from salt water crocs, but it depends a lot on which area you go to. Around Havelock island, where I live, there are in the mangrooves, but nobody I know, even people born on the island, have never seen one. they keep to themself, which I do understand – if I was a crocodile, I wouldnt stay on Havelock, since its got pretty busy recently 🙂 On Little Andaman on the other hand they have signs everywhere “Beware of the Crocodiles”. Just be careful to go swimming around where the mangrooves opens up to the sea. Crocs cannot stay longer time in open water and prefer to lay in the mangroves close to the surface for the sun.
When it comes to mosquitos and sandflies – for the mosquitos, buy a good repellent (you can find decent ones in the supermarket on Havelock) and also (even though I dont like these) there are these “spirals” you can buy, which you lit and they burn slowly, and the smoke is toxic for the mosquitos, at least they dont like it.
And so for the sandflies – I’m telling you, I have hundreds of scars on my legs from these little bitches, But Im also a person who never bought any kind of repellent all my life 😉 The one and only thing that works is 100% coconutoil. Its god’s gift to the human. You can use it in cooking, for your skin, for your hair, but most of all – sandflies cannot get through to your skin.
They get stuck in the oil and die drowning in it, they wont have a fair chance to bite you. You can buy this in the supermarket as well. its the best.
The beaches on Havelock are quite safe when it comes to the sandflies, ive barely had any problems there with them. On Little Andaman on the other hand there were tons of them, on all the beaches more or less. Never heard of any infections though so dont you worry.
For the snakes – except from sea kraits (Im a dive instructor and then you see them from time to time) I can count the numbers of times Ive seen alive snakes on land, on one of my hands.
For the dogs, as the owner of this blog said – there are stray dogs everywhere, but most of them on Havelock are my friends. theyre supersweet. if youre worried, dont walk home in the middle of the night, especially between beach no 3 and no 5, where they somehow always seem to gather up. (In between Sunrise Resort and Full Moon Cafe, sort of).
Drop by Barefoot Scuba if youre interested in scuba diving! I’ll be there 🙂
Thanks for the thoughtful post, Hanna.
Hi Hanna!
Thank you for your reply! We are getting ready to Andamans! 🙂
We made some booking already:
6/02-9/02 we stay in JHotel in Port Blair, during those 3 days we would like to somehow manage a trip to Jolly Buoy and Cinque island
9/02 – 15/02 – we stay in ECOVILLA HAVELOCK
And we would like to also spend 2-3 days on NEIL after
Do you recommend us to book in advance –before our arrival – tickets for ferry? We consider http://www.makruzz.com/site/, or better to do it after arrival?
Should we buy/take with us someting special like mosquito net or some medicine? I will appreciate your comment 🙂
Greetings!!!
Ewelina e.gorbacz@gmail.com
So maybe see you on Havelock!
Your posts are so intriguing and helpful! Did you book your ferry from port blair to havelock in advance or the day you arrived?
I’m not sure that it’s possible to book ahead on the government-run ferries in the Andamans, but you can book ahead on Makruzz (private ferry) it seems.
Upon arrival in Port Blair, I just took an autorickshaw to the port and got on the next government ferry to Havelock – which made me a little nervous of course – I mean, what if there hadn’t been any more boats out that day? I was ready to stay in Port Blair for the night if necessary, and you should be too. But if you can get out on the first day, it’s a bonus.
Buying ferry tickets at the Port Blair government ferry office is generally a total nightmare (much like trying to buy tickets in person at Indian train stations), so if you wanted to pay a little extra to avoid the process (by using Makruzz), I wouldn’t necessarily blame you. But on the other hand, if you plan on traveling elsewhere in the Andamans where the government ferry is the only boat in/out, you might as well develop the skill (after all, what is travel in India if not just overcoming inconvenience and misinformation?).
Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to help!
We are leaving for andamans in 3 days… i am happy that i fould your blogg… great staff, and we will for sure use some of the tipps…
what would you say is the best sport to dive on haveloc? tnx
My recommendation would be to ask around at multiple dive resorts about their favorite dive sites, and to ask other divers what their favorites have been lately as well. Conditions can change and I can’t speak to what sites are most promising this year. Do your research upon arrival – the island is small.
At the time I was on Havelock Island, I found Johnny’s Gorge, Jackson’s Bar and Dixon’s Pinnacle quite good (there were white-tipped reef sharks at Johnny’s if diving with sharks is of interest). These sites are deep though – around 30m, so if you need additional diving certification (advanced open water or higher), plan that as part of your trip as well.
Enjoy!
can you wear bikini on havelock island?i was thinking of visiting the place.thanx.
Yep! The Andamans are a bit more relaxed than mainland India in style of dress, and there aren’t roving bands of Indian men waiting to stare at you at the beach. You’re all clear!
Though I travel extensively in India, Andamans have eluded me. Your posting gives good insight. Have a great journey across India.
Get more glimpses of India in my latest post too… ‘Work is worship’ http://sreeniviews.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/work-is-worship-so-they-say/ Thanks.
Thanks for visiting my blog, R! And WOW, your stuff is amazing! I’ve gotta get back to India with my wide-angle!