The Andaman Islands were far, far away. It was not always easy to get around due to limited tourist infrastructure and because island hopping always meant stopping over in the less than spectacular Port Blair. BUT, the long waits and transfers were worth it!
Instead of visiting the touristy but beautiful Havelock, we went to the wild north, the distant Little Andaman (our personal highlight) and the very chill Neil island.
Every island had charm.
In the north we experienced great snorkeling. Swimming through open water to the uninhabited tiny Craggy island was something special. Unfortunately our second snorkel expedition was less successful. A sudden thunderstorm trapped us on this little island without shelter. Being some of the very few tourists so far north we were lucky to have met Marcus, who accompanied us. He did not hesitate to build a rain shelter out of firewood, swimming fins and garbage casted by the sea to the shore. Adventure!
Other activities included a long and challenging jungle trek and helping freshly hatched leatherback sea turtles into the ocean. Here we treated ourselves to a lovely stay in a nice resort (Pristine Resort).
Our next stop was more than a two day journey away. We had a longer stop in Port Blair where another adventure happened. While waiting in the post que Britt got bitten by a giant centipede. This monster was huge and the pain is enormous. It turned out that the Andamans are also known for giant centipedes. One elderly local, who settled and spent his whole life on the Andamans, later told us that he got bitten only once in his lifetime by such a centipede and that he can still remember the pain. What bad luck for us. What were the chances?!
Little Andaman blew our minds. Little Andaman is quite far from the other islands and due to an irregular ferry connection it is off limits for the vast majority of domestic tourists with little time. The island community is spread through few villages. All of the villages are situated along one road on the East of the island. The rest is jungle and/ or tribal area.
Some beaches are infested with sandflies. We learned how to avoid them. Aside from the sandflies, it is the perfect paradise with kilometers of beautiful and empty beaches and the occasional cows.
There is still the possibility of bumping into a crocodile when going into the rivers at dusk! We were lucky, we did not see any.
Little Andaman is apparently a great surfing spot. Most other backpackers (about 10 individuals) were here mainly for the waves. For us, as surfing beginners who did not want to spend every minute on the board (and couldn’t due to Alex’ little surfing accident), Little Andaman also had other things to offer: trips to waterfalls in the jungle or to beaches far away from any human settlement.
The reason we liked it so much was probably the tranquility and of course the people we met. The thing that most people here had in common was time.
After two weeks on Little Andaman we decided to see at least another island before heading back to mainland India. We chose Neil Island. Being closer to the town with the airport a.k.a. Port Blair, Neil was well connected with multiple sailings per day. It was far more touristy than the other islands but apparently far less than the main sightseeing hub: Havelock Island. Neil had a surprisingly calm vibe and some teriffic pasta places. We were surprised too. The little local family restaurants had amazing homemade pasta!
After almost one month in paradise we flew to Delhi.
For more photos of the Andamans click here.
Budget for the Andaman Islands (for us as a couple):
Some useful budget information for those interested in going to the Andaman Islands:
On North Andamans we spent 4800 INR / day. This is due to us treating ourselves with a nice room.
Little Andaman was cheaper: room + scooter were 750 INR/day. Food was cheap too. Some days we spent not more than 1.600 INR/day. But then we discovered the wine shop on the island.
Neil was a tiny bit more expensive than Little Andaman.
In total we spent 3000 INR/day. This included accommodation, food, transportation, sightseeing, scooter and, and, and.
Please mind, we did not go to Havelock (which did not sound too tempting after seeing beautiful, and empty beaches also on the other islands) and we travelled in shoulder season.
A two to three weeks vacation on the Andaman Islands from Europe is possible and despite the price for the costs for the flights maybe a better deal than some destinations nearby.
Lessons learned
Below are our tips and suggestions for travelling the Andaman islands. Most things that are not in the guidebook but still very useful for anyone going to the Andamans to know:
General:
– Use the ATM in Port Blair and bring plenty of cash to the islands. Else you might spend half a day trying to withdraw cash from empty or not working or not connected ATMs.
– On most islands internet is still how it used to be once upon a time: slow or not available. We were told there is yet no sea cable connection. Therefore book the exit flight in advance if you are a self organizing traveller.
– For many activities you need to present the permit which you get upon arrival at Port Blair airport.
-Ask about the best time for snorkeling. Low tide can be super unpleasant.
– Bring sunblocker (hard to get on some islands).
– Trust other like minded rather than reviews about accommodations because some travelers can have different standards.
– On Neil we had amazing homemade pasta.
– On small islands the people rather go fair and do not scam.
– Hospitals are free.
– Don’t get lost in the jungle. Except on some marked treks go with guide. Travellers seeking the real jungle experience tend to get lost.
-Beware of crocodiles on big islands with rivers.
– Get used to cold showers.
– My Vodafone SIM had almost no reception. BSNL worked better on the Andamans.
-With a SIM you can also call and ask for availability at places. Many accommodations are not available online.
– For us it was a good experience to stay longer in few places instead of trying to cover everything.
– Plan with puffers. Everything takes time, “island time”.
Ferries and transportation
-For ferry tickets you might need a photocopy of your pass and permit.
– If you want to catch your return flight last minute carry a print out of the flight tickets when buying ferries back to Port Blair.
– If you travel as a couple use the ladyline for buying ferry tickets (quicker).
– Ferry timings can change.
– Some ferries served lunch and dinner (FYI there was no cutlery).
– In Port Blair are at least 3 jetty docks at different locations. Make sure you know where yours depart.
-Try not to be set in the last row of the bus.
How to avoid Sandflies without putting on oil?
-Beaches that were “cleaned” by the tide had less/no sandflies.
– On dry sand the sandflies attack, closer to water there were none.
– In the mornings we had no sandflies, maybe it was also tide related.
We would definitely recommend to most people to visit the Andamans. But this paradise is far away for sure.