Andaman in 5 days: Port Blair and Havelock

Five days is Port Blair's colonial history and three nights on Havelock — Radhanagar at sunset, snorkelling at Elephant Beach, and a first dive if you want one. Neil Island is left out deliberately: on five days the extra ferry costs more than the island gives back.

South Asia
5 days
≈ AED 1,250 / person
One island, three nights, and the best beach in India

Researched & checked by Nitesh Parasher Last verified 26 October 2026

Before you go

Five days in the Andamans is one island, properly: a night in Port Blair for the history, then three nights on Havelock (Swaraj Dweep), which is where the beaches are.

Neil Island is left out on purpose. It is lovely and it is another ferry, another check-in and another half-day of logistics. On five days that trade does not pay. Seven days adds Neil and the Ross and North Bay day without any of it feeling tight.

The ferries are the whole plan. There are a handful of sailings a day, they sell out in season, and a missed one costs you a day because there is no next option. Book them before the hotels.

Figure INR 32,000 (≈ AED 1,250) per person. November to April; May to September is the southwest monsoon and ferries are regularly cancelled.

Before you go: the short version of the admin

Visas and permits

e-Visa at the official indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa — and note that the Andamans accept e-Visa arrivals at Port Blair airport.
Foreign nationals need a Restricted Area Permit (RAP), issued free on arrival at Port Blair airport for most nationalities, valid 30 days, and covering Havelock and Neil. Carry photocopies of passport and visa; hotels and ferry counters will ask.
Indian nationals need no permit for these islands.
Some tribal areas are closed entirely. North Sentinel is off-limits and approaching it is a criminal offence, not an adventure.

Flying in from the Gulf

There are no international flights to Port Blair. You connect through Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi or Bengaluru, and Chennai is the shortest hop at about two hours.
From the Gulf, the practical routing is Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chennai or Bengaluru, overnight there, then the morning flight out. Do not book a same-day connection — a delay into Chennai means missing the only useful Port Blair flight of the day.
Flights land in the morning. That is deliberate: the ferry to Havelock goes early afternoon.

The ferries — book these first

Private fast ferries: Makruzz, Green Ocean, Nautika. Around 90 minutes to Havelock, air-conditioned, assigned seats, ₹1,200–2,000 each way.
Book online, weeks ahead, for December to February. They sell out and there is no walk-up option in season.
Government ferries are far cheaper, slower, and a bureaucratic errand to book. Not worth it on a five-day trip.
Build in a buffer day before an international flight. Rough weather cancels sailings and the Andamans do not care about your connection.

Money and connectivity

Carry cash. ATMs exist in Port Blair and are sparse and unreliable on Havelock. Bring enough rupees for the whole island stay.
Cards work at the bigger resorts and dive shops, nowhere else reliably.
Data is poor and you should plan for it. Airtel and BSNL have the best coverage and “best” is relative. Download your maps, tickets and booking confirmations before you fly. Many resorts have slow satellite-backed wifi in the evening only.
This is genuinely a place where being unreachable is part of the offer.

Day by day

Day 1 — Port Blair, and the Cellular Jail

10:00 — Land, drop bags, and give the afternoon to the history. This is the only day you have for it. Foreign nationals collect the free Restricted Area Permit at the airport on arrival.
14:00 — The Cellular Jail, the reason to stop in Port Blair. Built 1896–1906, seven wings radiating from a central tower, each cell solitary and facing a blank wall by design. Indian independence campaigners were transported here — kala pani, the black water. Three wings survive.
Give it two hours and take the museum seriously. The gallows and the wing interiors are sobering rather than scenic.
16:30 — Corbyn’s Cove, fifteen minutes out, if you want sand on day one.
18:00 — The light and sound show in the jail courtyard, which is well done and the best use of a Port Blair night. Book the English showing.
Sleep near Aberdeen Bazaar or the jetty.

Day 2 — Ferry to Havelock, and Radhanagar at sunset

09:00 — The Samudrika Naval Marine Museum or the Anthropological Museum — both small, both good, and they explain the islands better than anything online.
13:00 — The fast ferry to Havelock, about 90 minutes. This is the booking you made weeks ago; there is no walk-up option in season.
15:00 — Check in at Govind Nagar (Beach No. 3 and 5) for restaurants and dive shops, or out at Radhanagar for quiet and nothing else.
16:30 — Radhanagar (Beach No. 7), long, wide and backed by forest rather than hotels. Routinely called the best beach in Asia, which for once is close to true.
Swim before sunset, not after. There are no lights and the beach empties fast.

Day 3 — Elephant Beach, and the reef

07:30 — Elephant Beach, by a 20-minute boat from the jetty or a 40-minute walk through forest and mangrove that is better and muddier. Go now — the day-trip boats arrive around 10:00 and the water goes from clear to crowded.
08:00 — The snorkelling. Shallow, bright, coral starting a few metres out, and the best reef you can reach without a tank. Sea walking and parasailing are sold hard here; the snorkelling is the good bit.
12:00 — Back for lunch and the hot hours.
16:00 — Kalapathar beach on the other side of the island: black rocks, pale sand, almost nobody, and the best light of the day at about now.
19:00 — Dinner at Govind Nagar. Havelock eats early and closes early.

Day 4 — Dive, or do nothing

07:00 — A Discover Scuba day, if you are diving: one supervised dive, no certification, and the right choice on a trip this short. A full PADI Open Water takes three to four days and would eat this itinerary. Check the shop, not the price — ask about instructor ratios, equipment age, and whether they dive the far sites in rough weather.
Havelock is one of the best places in Asia to learn: warm, calm, shallow, and excellent visibility from November to April.
07:30 — If you would rather not dive: Radhanagar again, early, when it is genuinely empty.
14:00 — Hire a scooter and ride the island end to end. It takes an afternoon and there is nowhere you can get lost.
17:00 — Sunset at Radhanagar, properly, with time.

Day 5 — Ferry back, and out

09:00 — The morning ferry to Port Blair, which is why you booked a return sailing weeks ago.
13:00 — Flights out, mostly early afternoon, connecting through Chennai or Kolkata.
Do not plan an international connection today. Overnight on the mainland and fly home the following morning — the ferry and the single daily flight leave no room for weather.

Costs and practicalities

Best time to visit

December to March — the best of it. Dry, 24–30°C, calm seas, excellent underwater visibility. Also the most expensive and the most booked.
November and April — the shoulders. Nearly as good, noticeably cheaper, and the sea is still settled.
May to September — the southwest monsoon. Heavy rain, rough seas, ferries cancelled at short notice, and many dive schools shut. Cheap for a reason.
October — transitional and improving, with the seas settling late in the month.

Visibility underwater is the thing the season actually decides. In January you can see 25–30 metres; in July you often cannot see your own fins.

Travel tips

Ferries before hotels. It is the only booking with no alternative.
Never plan a same-day international connection at either end.
Carry cash for the whole island stay.
Download maps and tickets before you fly.
Radhanagar at sunset is worth two visits, not one.
Elephant Beach before ten, or not at all.
Scooters are the way to get around Havelock; the island is small and the taxis are a fixed-rate cartel.
No alcohol on the beaches, and Havelock’s licensing is limited to resorts and a few restaurants.
Take the reef seriously. Standing on coral kills it; the Andamans have already lost a great deal to bleaching.
Leave nothing. Waste leaves these islands by boat, if at all.

What this trip actually costs

Two people, 4 nights, mid-range comfort, international flights excluded:

Item	Cost
Hotels, 4 nights (1 Port Blair + 3 Havelock)	INR 24,000 (≈ AED 937)
Return fast ferries, airport and island transfers	INR 12,000 (≈ AED 469)
Cellular Jail, museums, Elephant Beach boat, one Discover Scuba dive	INR 12,000 (≈ AED 469)
Food and drink, 5 days	INR 12,000 (≈ AED 469)
SIM, cash buffer, tips, extras	INR 4,000 (≈ AED 156)
Total for two	INR 64,000 (≈ AED 2,499)

Roughly INR 32,000 (≈ AED 1,250) per person, excluding the mainland flights to Port Blair, which are the largest single cost of an Andaman trip and vary wildly — ₹8,000–20,000 return per person from Chennai depending on season and how early you book.
The dive line is optional. Drop the Discover Scuba and this falls by about ₹9,000 for two.
Havelock’s hotel range is wide, from ₹2,500 guesthouses to Taj and Jalakara at ten times that. The middle here is genuinely pleasant.
Christmas to mid-January is a different market — expect minimum stays and roughly double these figures.
Hotel picks here are chosen on location, not on commission — always check prices and recent reviews before booking.

What to pack

Reef-safe sun cream. The ordinary kind bleaches coral and is discouraged here.
Your own snorkel and mask if you have them; rental sets are tired.
Cash, more than you think.
A dry bag for the ferry and the boat to Elephant Beach.
Mosquito repellent for evenings — the forest comes right down to the beach.
A torch. Havelock’s lanes are unlit and the power is not continuous.
Downloaded maps and offline bookings.

FAQ

Is five days enough for the Andamans? For Port Blair and Havelock, yes. It is not enough to add Neil without the trip becoming a ferry timetable.

Havelock or Neil, if I only do one? Havelock. Radhanagar, the diving and the infrastructure are all there. Neil is quieter and smaller and rewards a slower trip.

Do I need a permit? Foreign nationals need a Restricted Area Permit, free and issued on arrival at Port Blair for most nationalities. Indian nationals do not.

Can I learn to dive in five days? You can do a supervised Discover Scuba dive comfortably. A full Open Water certification needs three to four days and would consume this itinerary — go for seven days if that is the goal.

Is the Cellular Jail worth a whole afternoon? Yes. It is the most significant historical site in the islands and the reason Port Blair is more than a transit stop.

Will my phone work? Barely. Plan for poor data, download everything in advance, and treat it as a feature.

Prices and entry rules change, and what you need depends on your passport; last checked 26 October 2026, so confirm with the embassy or your airline before booking.