Andaman Islands in 7 days: Port Blair, Havelock and Neil

India's island secret — one of Asia's great beaches, first-scuba water clear as glass, a kayak through glowing plankton, and the ferry logistics that make or break the trip, solved.

South Asia
7 days
≈ AED 1,750 / person
Beach and diving travellers

Researched & checked by Nitesh Parasher Last verified 8 October 2026

Before you go

A thousand kilometres east of the mainland, the Andamans are the India nobody pictures: rainforest islands on the Bay of Bengal, water in Maldives colours at a fraction of Maldives prices, and — on Havelock — a beach TIME once ranked among the world’s best. The trip is three islands in one arc: Port Blair for arrival and its haunting colonial jail, Havelock (officially Swaraj Dweep) for the beaches and diving, little Neil (Shaheed Dweep) for the slow-bicycle version of island life.

The catch — and the reason half the internet’s Andaman plans go wrong — is logistics: everything moves by ferry, December sells out weeks ahead, and the last night must be spent in Port Blair because ferries and flights don’t forgive same-day gambles. This guide is built around those rules.

Go October–May. December 20–January 5 is the surge (book everything 6–8 weeks out); February–April has the calmest, clearest water. Monsoon (roughly May–September) means rough seas and ferry cancellations. One more calendar trick: check the moon. The bioluminescence kayak — a genuine trip highlight — needs dark skies, so aim your Havelock nights near the new moon.

All costs are in Indian rupees (INR), with conversions calculated at today’s exchange rate.

Before you go: the short version of the admin

India visa/UPI/SIM basics live in our Golden Triangle guide. Island specifics:

Permits and getting there

Foreigners: no special permit anymore. The old Restricted Area Permit was abolished for the main tourist islands in 2018 — passports are simply registered on arrival at Port Blair. (Nicobar and tribal reserve areas remain strictly closed to everyone; nothing in this guide goes near them.)
Getting there: fly to Port Blair (IXZ) — direct from Chennai (~2 h), Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad. No international flights; Gulf readers connect via Chennai.

Ferries, and the iron rule

The ferries are the skeleton of the trip. Private catamarans (Makruzz, Nautika, Green Ocean, ITT Majestic) run Port Blair ⇄ Havelock ⇄ Neil: typically ₹1,100–1,800 per person per leg (economy–premium; luxury cabins to ₹3,400), plus ~22% in GST and port fees at checkout. Morning sailings run cheaper; Green Ocean is the budget pick. Book all three legs online as soon as dates are fixed — the government ferries (₹400–700) are cheaper but near-impossible for tourists to secure.
The iron rule: fly out only the day after your last ferry. This itinerary’s final Port Blair night is not optional padding.

Connectivity

Connectivity honesty: the undersea cable improved things, but data is still patchy on Havelock and weak on Neil; ATMs are few and empty-able — carry cash from Port Blair. Download offline maps and tell people you’ll be slow to reply. It’s a feature.

Travelling with kids?

Superb family destination: calm shallow water at Radhanagar and Bharatpur, glass-bottom boats for non-swimmers, sand for days.
Ferry rides are short and air-conditioned; bring motion-sickness tablets for choppy days.
Intro scuba is typically 10+; kids under that snorkel at Elephant Beach happily. Watch the sun — the equatorial UV is fiercer than anywhere on the mainland.

Day by day

Day 1 — Port Blair: arrival and the Cellular Jail

Midday — Land at Port Blair, check in, seafood lunch.
15:00 — Cellular Jail (9:00–17:00, closed Mondays; foreigners ₹100) — the British “Kala Pani” prison where India’s freedom fighters were held in solitary cells facing the sea. Sobering, essential context for everything the islands are.
18:00 — Stay for the Light & Sound show (evening slots ~18:00/19:15 by season; ~₹50; English shows on set days — have your hotel or an agent confirm and book, peak slots fill) — the jail’s story told under floodlights.
20:00 — Dinner near Marina Park; early night — the ferry waits for no one.

Where to stay in Port Blair (nights 1 and 6)

Comfortable, functional and near the jetty is the brief — Port Blair is a gateway, not the destination. Mid-range hotels run ₹3,500–6,000; pick by current reviews and jetty distance.

Day 2 — Ferry to Havelock, sunset at Radhanagar

8:00 — Morning catamaran to Havelock (~90–120 min). Sit portside for island views; luggage limits are generous but real.
11:00 — Check in, rent a scooter (₹400–600/day; licence and helmet, as ever), long lunch.
15:30 — Radhanagar Beach (Beach No. 7) — the famous one: two kilometres of white sand and forest with not one shack on the sand. Swim between the flags (lifeguards on duty), then claim your spot for sunset — the islands’ best.
19:30 — Dinner in the village — the café scene punches far above the island’s size: grilled catch, wood-fired pizza, travellers’ breakfasts all day.

Where to stay on Havelock (three nights)

Luxury: Taj Exotica Resort & Spa — villas in the forest behind Radhanagar itself; the Andamans’ one world-class address.
Mid-range: SeaShell Havelock — superbly rated, private snorkelling reef, the reliable sweet spot.
Budget: Dolphin Resort — sea-view rooms and sunsets at government-run prices; the beach-hut camps near the village are the backpacker tier.

Day 3 — Elephant Beach: the reef day

8:30 — Elephant Beach by speedboat from the jetty (boat + snorkelling packages ~₹1,500–3,500 depending on inclusions — agree exactly what’s in yours) — the island’s liveliest shallow reef: coral heads, parrotfish, the occasional turtle metres from shore. Go early; by 11:00 the day-trip crowds land.
- The free alternative: a ~40-minute jungle trek reaches the same beach at low tide — muddy, fun, bring shoes that agree.
12:30 — Back for lunch; afternoon nap is island law.
16:00 — Kalapathar Beach — the quiet black-rock beach at the island’s far end; the scooter ride through the villages is half the pleasure.
19:00 — Book tomorrow’s dive and confirm the night kayak; dinner and cards by candlelight when the power blips. It will. Charm, not crisis.

Day 4 — First breath underwater, then the glowing sea

8:00 — Intro scuba — the Andamans are India’s best first-dive water: warm, clear, instructor-held. Shore “discover” dives from ~₹4,500; proper boat intro dives from ~₹6,500 with the PADI/SSI schools (pick a school by reviews and small groups, not price). Certified divers: ask about The Wall and Dixon’s Pinnacle.
13:00 — Long lunch, logbook bragging.
15:30 — Free hours: Radhanagar reprise, café crawl, or hammock audit.
19:30 — Bioluminescent night kayaking (~₹2,500/person, ~2 h, runs on dark-moon nights) — paddle the mangrove channels as every stroke ignites blue-green light. On a good night it’s “your own private Milky Way” and the single most repeated sentence in Andaman reviews. This is why you checked the moon.

Day 5 — Neil Island: the slow one

9:00 — Ferry Havelock → Neil (~45 min, ₹700–1,000). Neil is Havelock’s little sibling: 8 km of flat lanes, paddy fields, three beaches and one bazaar.
10:30 — Check in; rent a bicycle (₹100–200) or scooter — Neil is the islands’ best cycling.
11:30 — Bharatpur Beach by the jetty — glass-bottom boat over the coral (~₹500–800) for the non-swimmers’ reef tour; shallow, calm swimming.
14:00 — Thali lunch in the bazaar.
16:00 — The Natural Bridge at Laxmanpur 2 — the coral rock arch, walkable only at low tide (check times locally; wear grippy sandals for the shelf).
17:30 — Laxmanpur Beach 1 for sunset — wide white sand, pink sky, maybe ten other people.
20:00 — Early dinner; Neil sleeps by ten and so will you.

Where to stay on Neil (one night)

Mid-range resorts (SeaShell and Summer Sands class, ₹4,000–8,000) and simple garden guesthouses (₹1,500–3,000) are the whole market — book ahead in season; walk-ins gamble.

Day 6 — Sunrise, back to base, one last island

5:30 — Sitapur Beach sunrise — the east-facing beach does dawn the way Laxmanpur does dusk. Worth the alarm.
10:00 — Ferry Neil → Port Blair (~60–75 min); check in, lunch.
14:30 — Choose your finale: boat to Ross Island (Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep) — the ruined British capital being eaten by strangler figs, now patrolled by deer and peacocks (short boat + entry, ~₹500–800 all-in) — or drive to Chidiya Tapu for the sunset point and forest birdlife.
19:30 — Last seafood dinner; pack the sandy bag.

Day 7 — Fly home

Morning — Airport 15 minutes away; connect via Chennai or your mainland hub. You kept the buffer night, so today is boring — exactly as designed.

Costs and practicalities

Best time to visit

October–May is the dry season, and within it the diving and the sea state matter more than the temperature.

November–February — the best months. Calm seas, excellent visibility at Havelock and Neil, and comfortable temperatures. 20 December–5 January is the surge — book everything months ahead or avoid it.
March–May — hot and humid, but the sea is at its calmest and the diving visibility peaks around March and April.
May–September — the southwest monsoon. Heavy rain, rough crossings, and ferries cancelled for days. Many resorts close.
October — the retreating monsoon; improving but unreliable.

Inter-island ferries are the constraint. The government and private catamarans to Havelock and Neil are weather-dependent and book out in season.

Travel tips

Indian nationals need no permit; foreign nationals get a 30-day RAP on arrival at Port Blair, which covers the main islands. Check current rules — they have changed several times.
North Sentinel Island is strictly off-limits and approaching it is illegal. The Jarawa Reserve road has rules against stopping or photographing — follow them absolutely.
Book ferries online in advance. Makruzz, Green Ocean and the government ferries all sell out in high season, and buying at the jetty is not realistic.
ATMs on Havelock and Neil run out of cash. Draw what you need in Port Blair.
Mobile data is poor and expensive. Only Indian SIMs work and even then coverage is patchy; expect to be largely offline.
Alcohol is limited and some resorts do not serve it.
Reef-safe sunscreen, and do not touch the coral. Saltwater crocodiles are present — swim only at designated beaches.

What this trip actually costs

Two people, 6 nights (1+3+1+1 across the islands), mid-range comfort, mainland flights excluded:

Item	Cost
Hotels, 6 nights	INR 34,500 (≈ AED 1,347)
Ferries: 3 legs × 2 pax incl. fees	INR 8,000 (≈ AED 312)
Activities: Elephant boat, intro dives, night kayak, glass-bottom, jail show, Ross boat	INR 23,000 (≈ AED 898)
Scooters, cycles and taxis	INR 4,500 (≈ AED 176)
Food and drink, 7 days	INR 15,000 (≈ AED 586)
SIM, tips, extras	INR 5,000 (≈ AED 195)
Total for two	INR 90,000 (≈ AED 3,514)

Roughly INR 45,000 (≈ AED 1,757) per person (~USD 525) plus mainland flights — the activities line is the flex: skip the dives and it drops INR 11,000 (≈ AED 430); the Taj Exotica tier rewrites the hotel line entirely. December surge adds 30–50% across the board.
Book in this order: mainland flights → all three ferry legs (the true scarce resource; 6–8 weeks out for December) → Havelock rooms → dive school and night kayak (around the new moon) → the rest walks up.
Hotel and activity picks here are unsponsored — no affiliate links in this article. Chosen on location and current ratings; always check prices and recent reviews before booking.

What to pack

Reef-safe sunscreen (the reefs are the product — protect them), hat, rash guard for snorkel days.
Motion-sickness tablets for ferries and dive boats.
Cash from the mainland — island ATMs are few and moody; UPI works where signal does.
Water shoes or grippy sandals (coral shelves, the Natural Bridge, the Elephant Beach trek).
Torch/headlamp (village lanes are dark), power bank, and a dry bag for boat days.
Mosquito repellent for dusk; light long sleeves.
A book — evenings are early, connectivity is thin, and that’s the point.

FAQ

Andamans or Goa — which beach trip? Different products: Goa is scene, food and heritage with beaches attached; the Andamans are the beaches themselves — clearer, emptier, further — with logistics attached. Honeymoons and divers: Andamans. First India beach trip with nightlife: Goa.

Is one night on Neil enough? Yes for most — it’s a one-road island and the sunset-plus-sunrise pairing completes it. Slow travellers happily double it; skipping Neil entirely to add a fourth Havelock night is also a legitimate build.

How real is the December sellout? Very. Ferries first, then Havelock’s good rooms. If you’re eyeing Christmas–New Year, book at Diwali. February–April is the insider window: same weather, calmer seas, saner prices.

Can non-swimmers enjoy it? Completely: glass-bottom boats, shallow flag-zone wading at Radhanagar and Bharatpur, and intro dives are literally instructor-carried (many first-timers can’t swim). The kayak needs no skill beyond paddling.

Halal and vegetarian food? Seafood-first islands make halal easy by default (confirm meat specifics per kitchen); vegetarians do fine — thali houses in every bazaar and the Havelock cafés cover it — though variety is thinner than the mainland.

What about Baratang and North Andaman? The limestone caves and mud volcanoes of Baratang involve long convoy drives through tribal-reserve territory — ethically murky (the road crosses Jarawa land) and a punishing day trip. We leave it out deliberately; the three-island arc is the better trip and the cleaner conscience.

Prices and entry rules change, and what you need depends on your passport; last checked 8 October 2026, so confirm with the embassy or your airline before booking.