Bay of Bengal, India
Andaman Islands
India's white-sand archipelago for UK travellers: Radhanagar Beach on Havelock, the Cellular Jail at Port Blair and the government ferry that links them — where to base, what the boats cost in pounds, and why you fly via Chennai or Delhi rather than direct.
In short
Andaman Islands at a glance
The Andaman Islands are India's tropical outlier — a chain of more than 500 islands in the Bay of Bengal, far closer to Myanmar and Thailand than to the mainland, of which UK visitors realistically see three. Port Blair, the capital on South Andaman, is the entry point: it has the only airport, and its colonial-era Cellular Jail — the British penal colony where independence campaigners were held — is the one piece of heavy sightseeing on the trip. From there you take a ferry to Havelock (officially renamed Swaraj Dwip), home of Radhanagar Beach and the best diving and snorkelling in the group, and most people add a night or two on quieter Neil Island (Shaheed Dwip) next door. There are no direct flights from the UK; you connect through Chennai or Delhi, then it is roughly a 2-hour domestic hop to Port Blair, so the islands work as a 5-to-7-night beach leg bolted onto a wider India trip rather than a standalone break. Come November to April for the dry, calm season; avoid the May-to-September southwest monsoon, when seas are rough and ferries are frequently cancelled.
The Andaman Islands are the part of India that looks nothing like the rest of it: a chain of more than 500 islands strung across the Bay of Bengal, closer to Myanmar than to Kolkata, where the water is the turquoise of a Thai postcard and the sand is white. Three islands carry a UK trip. Port Blair on South Andaman is the way in — it holds the only airport and the colonial Cellular Jail, the British penal colony where independence campaigners were locked up, which is the one piece of serious sightseeing you’ll do. From there the trip is really about Havelock, renamed Swaraj Dwip, where Radhanagar Beach runs in a long casuarina-backed arc down the west coast and the diving is the best in the group, with quieter Neil Island (Shaheed Dwip) next door for the slow days.
The thing first-timers underestimate is the ferry. There are no flights between the islands once you’ve landed, so the whole trip is built around catamaran crossings — Makruzz, Green Ocean and Nautika running Port Blair to Havelock in about 1.5 to 2 hours — and those sailings sell out in the December-to-January and Easter peaks, so you book them online days ahead, not on the morning. The crossings also answer to the weather: the May-to-September southwest monsoon throws up rough seas and outright cancellations, which is why the islands are a November-to-April proposition and why you never put the last ferry of the day in front of a tight onward flight. Get there and you’ve got a 5-to-7-night beach leg to bolt onto a wider India trip — not a one-week holiday from Britain, because the journey is a long-haul flight to Chennai or Delhi and then a domestic hop on top.
The route
A 6-night loop that flies into Port Blair, does the one big piece of sightseeing there, then spends the bulk of the trip on Havelock and Neil before flying out. The order matters because every island move is a ferry you should pre-book — base in each place rather than day-tripping back and forth. It works in the November-to-April dry season; the May-to-September monsoon turns the crossings rough and cancels sailings.
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Days 1–2
Port Blair
Land at Veer Savarkar airport after the roughly 2-hour hop from Chennai or Delhi. Spend the afternoon at the Cellular Jail (entry ~₹50 / about 40p) and stay for the evening sound-and-light show on the prison's history (~₹300 / about £2.35, book the English-language showing). Next morning, before your ferry, see Corbyn's Cove beach or the Samudrika naval marine museum, then board the catamaran to Havelock.
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Days 3–4
Havelock (Swaraj Dwip)
Take the 1.5–2 hour catamaran across (Makruzz or Green Ocean, roughly ₹1,200–1,800 / about £9.50–14). Hire a scooter or use the autos to reach Radhanagar Beach on the west coast for sunset, snorkel or dive off Elephant Beach, and book a two-tank dive (around ₹6,000–8,000 / about £47–62) or a discover-scuba session if you've never dived. Evenings are low-key beach shacks at Govind Nagar.
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Day 5
Neil Island (Shaheed Dwip)
Hop the short ferry (about 1 hour, ~₹700–1,000 / roughly £5.50–8) to Neil, the quieter neighbour. Cycle or scooter between its three small beaches — Laxmanpur for sunset and the natural rock bridge (best at low tide), Bharatpur for snorkelling off the jetty, and Sitapur for sunrise. It's the slow day of the trip; one night is enough.
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Day 6
Back to Port Blair and out
Take a morning ferry back to Port Blair (Neil to the capital is about 1–1.5 hours) and leave a generous buffer — afternoon seas and the occasional cancellation mean you don't want to cut a flight connection fine. Settle into an airport-side hotel for the night or connect straight onto the Chennai/Delhi flight for the onward UK leg.
Where to base yourself
Pick one or two bases rather than moving every night.
Havelock — Govind Nagar (Beach No. 3)
££ mid-rangeThe main strip on Havelock, lined with beach shacks, dive schools and a spread of stays from backpacker huts to the island's upscale resorts further along Beach No. 5 and Vijaynagar. The natural base: you're close to the jetty, the dive operators and the autos out to Radhanagar Beach. Where most of a trip is spent.
Best for: Diving, Radhanagar sunsets, first-timers
Havelock — Radhanagar / Beach No. 7 end
£££ premiumThe quieter west-coast end near the headline beach, with a handful of higher-end resorts set back in the casuarina trees. You trade the buzz of the jetty strip for being on the doorstep of Radhanagar at dawn and dusk, but you'll rely on a scooter or autos to reach the dive shops.
Best for: Couples, beach-first stays, sunsets
Neil Island (Shaheed Dwip)
£ valueA much smaller, slower island with simple guesthouses and a few mid-range resorts near Laxmanpur and Sitapur beaches. Cycling distance covers the lot. Come for a night or two of quiet after Havelock's diving — there's little to do beyond the three beaches, which is the point.
Best for: Slow beach days, cyclists, budget travellers
Port Blair
££ mid-rangeThe capital and only sizeable town, with business-style hotels near Aberdeen Bazaar and a few sea-view places at Corbyn's Cove. Not a beach base — you stay here for the Cellular Jail at the start and an airport-buffer night at the end, not for a holiday in itself.
Best for: The airport leg, the Cellular Jail, transit nights
Getting around Andaman Islands
The Andamans run on ferries, and they are the thing to plan around. The air-conditioned private catamarans — Makruzz, Green Ocean and Nautika — link Port Blair, Havelock and Neil several times a day; Port Blair to Havelock is about 1.5–2 hours at roughly ₹1,200–1,800 (about £9.50–14) each way, and you should book online days ahead in the December–January and Easter peaks because sailings sell out. The cheaper government (DSS) ferries cover the same routes for a few hundred rupees but are slower, busier and harder to book from abroad. On each island you get around by hired scooter (around ₹400–500 / about £3.10–3.90 a day), the shared autos and a few buses; Havelock's Radhanagar Beach is about 12km from the jetty, a ₹600–800 (roughly £5–6) auto ride. Crossings are weather-dependent: the May-to-September southwest monsoon brings rough seas and cancellations, and ferry-safety standards in India are not the UK's (GOV.UK), so leave a buffer before your flight out and don't book the last ferry of the day onto a tight Port Blair connection. There is no flying between the islands — it's boats only once you've landed.
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