Andaman - How to reach and tips

How to reach

There are direct flights from Chennai, Kolkota and I think Bhubaneshwar to Port Blair and back. I saw a few good deals on flights from Chennai to Port Blair for as low as 2900 recently. Planning ahead might help you score a deal. There is also an option of going by sea (it you are the adventurous type and also have time on your hand). Regular passenger ship services are available from Chennai, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam to Port Blair and back.

The Govt. ferry to Havelock (pretty neat right)

Where to stay

We chose Barefoot Resort (near beach no. 7, Havelock island) for accommodation and dealing with them was a breeze. The whole transaction was done through email. In the very first reply to the email enquiry we sent, they gave us a comprehensive list of documents (17 docs in total) containing all the information required for planning a trip to Barefoot. They covered everything, right from weather patterns in Havelock to room pictures to flight and ferry schedules to activities price list to travel tips. We felt much more confident after that mail :)

A little bit more about Barefoot Resort - 

"Located on the fringe of what TIME Magazine acclaimed as the best beach in Asia in Nov 2004, Barefoot at Havelock, the Andaman Islands’ only eco-hideaway is set in rainforest and tropical fruit trees behind a pristine 2 km white-sand stretch of the quirkily named Beach No. 7 at Havelock Island.

Our resort comprises 19 beautifully designed cottages that are hidden among 7 acres of grounds, their hardwood walls and conical thatch roofs blending into the tropical foliage. You get basic comforts (modern plumbing, air-con or ceiling fans) and an exhilarating closeness to nature. The barefoot philosophy means a minimal footprint, so only indigenous materials are used, rainwater is harvested, and most staff are local. Venture out to kayak through mangrove creeks, snorkel or dive the reefs, camp on a deserted island; stay in and there's yoga, bird watching, hammocks - and a blissful beach. Barefoot at Havelock is perfect if you are looking for an unpretentious hideaway in one of the world’s last undeveloped tropical islands. 

     

You're very cut off from the rest of the world: no television, newspapers, internet or (sometimes) telephone - bliss for some! This is also part of a conscious effort to take our guests out of their cottages and experience the beauty of Havelock Island. Room service is not provided as the cottages are far apart from the kitchen and also because we have a wonderful atmospheric lounge and restaurant where we encourage our guests to mingle and sit back and enjoy a tall drink and a delicious meal with some relaxing music."

For more details visit their website -

http://www.barefoot-andaman.com/index.php

The non-AC Nicobari cottage

Nicobari Cottage from inside (please excuse the bad photos :P)

 AC Andaman Villa (the lounge chairs on the right are super awesome to hang out)

 The sole pic of the Andaman Villa from inside - the bathroom with skylight :D

The low seating dining area in the Barefoot Resort (again sorry for the bad photo)

 Tips for planning a vacation in Barefoot Resort:

1. Barefoot resort has a tie up with Go Air and you get a discount if you book your flight tickets through them.
2. Nicobari Villa is quite good and if you go around December, you will not need AC. I liked it better than the AC Andaman Villa (we split the stay between the two).
3. If you are not going there on a honeymoon or are looking for a budget option, then it is better to stay in Barefoot Scuba Resort (Beach No. 3) which is closer to the jetty and the hub for all water activities (it is a sister resort of the main Barefoot Resort on Beach No. 7). The rooms overlooking the beach are quite lovely (see the hammock pic down).
4. Confirm the ferry timings ahead (Govt. or Makruzz) and book your flight to and from Port Blair accordingly so that you will not have to spend an extra night in Port Blair.
5. Also inform Barefoot about your preference in the ferry type and the time (there are 2 trips of each for both onward and return). Inform the return ferry timing once again during check in as the ferry can be booked only two days in advance. On your last day you can check out and keep your stuff in the office and take the 4.30 PM ferry. This way you will get more time in the resort/Havelock.
6. There is a free drop to Barefoot Scuba Resort from the main resort every morning at 6.30 AM and a free drop back at 4.30 PM for Barefoot guests. Plan your activities accordingly so that you do not end up paying extra for cab.
7. Breakfast is complimentary at Barefoot and on the days you go for some activity and have to leave early at 6.30 AM, if informed earlier they will pack and give you breakfast. Do not forget to take it along.
8. You can hire two wheelers near the main market for exploring the place on your own. Petrol is available at many shops in bottles.
9. Plan your activities and make booking as soon as possible as the resort people need to plan accordingly. Especially if you are interested in the activities involving the in-house elephant, Rajan J. So once you check in, drop in at the activity center in the resort to know more about what is available and book accordingly. The day trips (to Tamarind Bay and South Button) are conducted only if sufficient participants are there so that the trip is viable to the resort. So keeping them informed makes the planning easier.
10. The food at the Barefoot main resort is excellent and very cheap. So binge!! You do not know the best part yet, if you order a curry, a big bowl of rice or 4 phulkas are complimentary with the curry! (the waiter informed us this as if it was so obvious, err…hello, no it is not obvious, we shell out sometimes up to 20 bucks each for a single phulka back in the mainland).
11. There might be a few creepy crawlies in your room or in the resort on the pathways etc but like John, the manager said when a girl complained of one in the room, "they are not the intruders, we are, in their habitat". So it really is ok, they don’t bother you and it is best we do not too. And no, we did not find any creepy crawlies in our room (if that makes you feel better) but we did see a giant crab in the walkway (now don’t get scared :D).
12. Mobile signal is there and it is not that you are in the middle of nowhere with no means of communication. You just might have to walk a bit till the main road (5 min) to catch a signal (vodafone was present).
13. The transfer charges from and to the resort (including pickup at Port Blair airport to the Nest and from there to the jetty and the ferry ticket and the cab ride to the resort at Havelock) is 2500 per head. We felt it was a bit steep considering the ferry ticket cost was only 250 and the rest was for the cab charges and the welcome and goodbye kit having a some snacks and water bottle. If somehow you can manage to get the ferry tickets (which are sold only two days before the date of journey, you can save some bucks). Again it might be possible only if you stay two days or more in Port Blair and then head over to Havelock.
14. You do not have to stay with Barefoot to go for the scuba/snorkel trips or other activities conducted by Barefoot Scuba. There are a lot of stay options on Havelock. You can just book your seats for the trip and report there on time :)

 The rooms in Barefoot Scuba Resort on Beach No. 3 (the hammocks are super comfy as you can see)

 The Barefoot Scuba hub at Beach No. 3

 You can swim with Rajan for a bomb (we did not, this is just a pic of the poster there :P)

The mentioned creepy crawly :D

We hired the two wheeler here

What to Carry

1. Clothes wise girls, this is the best place to wear anything you want (or don't want :P). No one stares or gives you the creeps. You will feel confident and at ease and so will be the guy with you (Puneeth was relieved to say the least :D). So you can carry all your cute beachwear :)
2. Carry hair-dryer if you can, you are not allowed to scuba if you catch a cold.
3. Most of the resorts give you beach towels, even for day trips so you won't need to carry them. But carry one just in case :)
4. Carry any specific medicines/cosmetics you need. You might not get all brands on Havelock.
5. The beach staples like sun-screen, hat, flip-flops etc.

Good time to visit Andaman
Good time starts from October and goes on till February. Best time would be late November to early January. We went in mid December and the weather was glorious. It was sunny but the sun was not at all harsh. Surprisingly it was not that humid too ( we were expecting it to be a sweat fest, we had such a wrong notion of the place :D). The sun sets around 5.30, so you get very little day time unless you start your day early (I know, early on a vacation. But its worth it!).

Read the complete Andaman series for all the info:
Why Andaman
Andaman - Day wise itinerary

Hope this post was useful to you. Drop in a comment or an email in case you want any more info J

Andaman - Day wise itinerary

We went to Andaman for five days and six nights and at the end of it, we still did not want to come back J If we did not have to join back office (and pay back the huge credit card bills from the wedding), we would have happily stayed back more or do what our scuba instructor did, he came to Havelock as a tourist but stayed back and became a full time scuba instructor there. Yes the place is that captivating and charming.

        And even more charming are the people of Havelock (actually whole of Andaman). They are sweet and down to earth and very helpful. They are very soft spoken but will not shy away from giving you the whole information and the best virtue of them all is that they love their land. They are extremely environment conscious. They know that the flora and fauna on the land as well as in the ocean are their treasure and are quite protective about it. So the beaches are super clean and you don’t see plastic or litter strewn around anywhere. The beautiful people and the beautiful place truly won our heart J

Here is a quick day wise schedule of what we did:

Day 1

We left for Chennai from Bangalore in a late night KSRTC bus.

Day 2

We reached Chennai early morning around 5. Go Air flight from Chennai to Port Blair was at 8.15 AM and we reached Port Blair at 10.30 AM. We were picked up from Port Blair airport by Barefoot Resort person and whisked away to their guest house called The Nest, where we could keep our luggage and freshen up and hang out while we waited to take the ferry to Havelock island (we opted for the Govt. ferry at 2 PM, there is a private luxury ferry called Makruzz too). The Govt. ferry was quite good; we were quite awed to be on a proper boat. And the minute we were on the deck, we hit totally another level of awe struck. The vast blue spread of the ocean with white waves rippling through and the occasional sighting of flying fish and sea turtles was a sight to behold. We reached Havelock around 4.30 PM after a journey which almost put to rest all our doubts regarding Andaman and gave us confidence that we did make a good choice after all J. Again at Havelock dock, we were picked up by a Barefoot representative to take us to the resort which was around 11 kms from the dock. So we reached Barefoot with buoyant spirits and boy we were not disappointed. It was exactly (in fact better) the way it was in the pictures. Tents and cottages and the restaurant nestled amidst a forest lit by the golden glow of the setting sun with the roar of the waves on the beach in the background and we felt we were in paradise. After a quick introduction and check in (and a quick victory jig), we dashed to the beach to see our first glorious sunset in Andaman (sun sets very early in Andaman, around 5.30 PM only, so early to bed early to rise should be your mantra :P). It was so so so unbelievable as there was not even one person on the entire stretch of the beach and after the sunset, it kinda became little spooky later with pitch darkness and the roar of the sea (in going with the eco-friendly philosophy of the resort, there are no lights to light up your pathway and all you have to find your way around are two torch lights given to you at the time of check in). Post sunset, the only thing you can do there was hang out at the bar and the lounge, which is pretty awesome. They have live music performances sometimes and the food there is unbelievably good and cheap (so much so that we stuffed ourselves too much actually :P). A starter called Devilled Vegetables is highly recommended for vegetarians. Also watch out for the infamous local chilli in the assorted vegetable pakora unless you want to go through the roof and take tour of the Havelock skyline (Puneeth who prides himself as a spicy food eater had steam coming out of his ears :D). The restaurant also has a low seating arrangement with mattresses and we felt so much at home with the hospitality and the good food J

One of our new friends at the resort

The mystical forest of gigantic trees between the resort and the beach

Day 3

We woke up early to catch the awesome sun rise at the beach and discovered that day started pretty early here. If you want to do scuba or snorkeling, one has to inform them so that they can book you at the Barefoot Scuba (another Barefoot resort with cheaper cottages and tents and almost forty minutes from the main Barefoot resort). A van transports guests from the main Barefoot to Barefoot scuba free of charge at 6.30 in the morning. If you miss that, they will arrange a cab for which you have to pay. So the first day we figured out all this and obviously missed the free transport. None the less they managed to get us in time to Barefoot Scuba for our first snorkeling trip to Inglish Island.  The boat ride to the island itself was so exciting and breathtaking that when we spotted the island with its clear white beach and turquoise water, we just kept staring. Once we reached, we quickly acquainted ourselves with the scuba gear and David (our scuba instructor) took us on this amazing under sea journey that everyting else in the whole world kind of obliviated for us. The water was crystal clear and visibility was excellent which enabled us to see a wide variety of fishes and coral. It is so beautiful and amazing down there that you are in awe of the creator, so many types of fishes and coral and flora and fauna, it becomes overwhelming. The best thing is snorkeling can also be done by non-swimmers, you just latch yourself on to a buoy and the instructor will lug you around :P. After more than an hour of snorkeling near the coast of Inglish Island, we headed back to the coast for lunch (yummy pasta was packed in hot boxes J). We then trekked through the island and explored the beach for a while. Puneeth made friends with a fish (he claims to have saved the fish from dying!) which just would not leave him and followed him wherever we went in the beach. It kind of spooked me out actually :D. The best part of the beach in Inglish Island was that there were hardly any waves, it was like a big natural swimming pool. The place was so serene and so blissful. Other than our boat, there were no other people on the island (a total of 6 other people other than us). We were just far far away in a paradise and I just wanted to stay there forever…

 Puneeth has still not forgiven me for spoiling this pic :D

Our snorkeling group

 Check out the beach!! (dont check out the guy :P)

 L: Game from the sea, R: Puneeth's fishy friend

Day 4

We went to Tamarind Bay and South Button Island trip for scuba. With the splendor of Inglish Island still fresh on our minds, we thought nothing could surpass it, that we had seen it all. But we were so wrong. Scuba at Tamarind Bay was out of this world. I will have to admit that initially I was a bit scared of scuba and was flustered with the pain in the ears due to water pressure (nothing to worry about, the instructor will be with you throughout and they teach you a way to neutralize the pressure by blowing your nose while holding your breadth). Again visibility was excellent and we got to see landscape and the sea floor and the fishes from quite close. Many times we were caught in the school of fish and it was just amazing. Scuba was followed by an amazing, super delicious lunch at the coast. This time it was more elaborate. Roti, rice, dal, papad, non veg curry and veg curry. The veg curry was just so yummy that even the non vegetarians and foreigners attacked it J. We goofed around the island a bit and then headed towards South Button Island. Why is it called South Button Island? Well it is the perfect description of the place. It is just a button shaped piece of land jutting out of the ocean with no coast. The visibility here was so amazing that you could see the sea floor several meters down from your boat itself and it was quite scary to just jump into the water even with the life jacket on. We planned to skip scuba and go for snorkeling here instead as the visibility was so good and snorkeling is more pleasurable, in scuba you have to keep a lot of things in mind and you can’t be free. So we were back with my favorite instructor David who took us all around the island, that’s right we snorkeled one whole round around the island. Here we spotted much more variety of underwater creatures including a water snake which came charging at us (and I screamed underwater!). It was so much fun spotting them and David would keep coming up and telling us about the fish and pointed to all that was there to see so that we did not miss anything J.  After a long and tiring day we reached back, and spent a relaxing evening at the bar and the restaurant stuffing our faces J. Ahh pure bliss…

 All aboard :)

 Feeling strong after the sumptuous lunch

 Solitary reaper :P

Underwater sights :)

Day 5

We decided to take it easy on this day. Had a nice yummy complimentary breakfast at the restaurant. The hot-hot puris and idiappams were being gobbled at an alarming rate. We followed that by a walk on the beach and bonded with the in house pets (two Labradors). After a late lunch, we went for an ayurvedic massage which was quite relaxing. Barefoot also had a small library and I picked up a book and we went to the beach to spend some more time there lazing….doing nothing…Post that we went to Barefoot Scuba on the two wheeler we hired on the previous day after the trip. We frolicked in the beach and then lazed on the hammock, stuffed our faces again and the day was over…

Hula Hoop time :) (check out the awesome lounge and the bar)

Chilling *smug*

Day 6

We decided to explore Havelock on this day and went to the main market area where Barefoot Scuba is there. We took the two-wheeler and went to explore a beach called Kala Pathar Beach (true transalation - Black Rocks Beach). It was a nice drive and it was fun zipping through the fresh air along the coastline. We had lunch in a restaurant called The Wild Orchid where the pasta was yummy. Then we headed to Barefoot Scuba to laze around on the hammock where Puneeth slept like a log while I read a book and took his funny photos :D

Haste haste kat jaaye raste :)

Everything is so picturesque *sigh*

Day 7

Had a hearty breakfast and bid farewell to Barefoot Resort with a heavy heart. We were booked on the 11.30 AM ferry and we reached Port Blair around lunch time. We were put up at The Nest at Port Blair which was arranged by Barefoot itself. We wanted to visit Ross Island but due to bad weather all boats were cancelled for that day. We actually did not mind that and just took a walk around. We did not go to the Central Jail also as somehow we were not in a mood to do anything touristy. We just wanted to soak in the beauty of the place for one last time. We explored the local market a bit and got a few souvenirs for friends and family. You get a lot of stuff made out of shells, key chains, ear rings, show pieces etc. also a lot of things carved out of wood are available. We got a magnificent Shiva bust carved out of a tree root. For going around in Port Blair, you can just flag down an auto. Their charges are nominal, quite a contrast from the ever demanding auto guys we are used to back home in Bangalore.

Bye-bye Havelock (so grumpy to leave :D)

Day 8

Return flight from Port Blair to Chennai at 11 AM. From Chennai we again took a KSRTC bus back to Bangalore. Back to blaring horns and stench of pollution and loud noises and litter and basically opposite of what we experienced over the past few days. Sigh…if only vacations lasted forever…

Psst: Detailed information about how and how much coming soon :)

Why Andaman

This travelogue has been long pending. We went to Andaman for our *cough cough* (aaa I don’t like saying honeymoon :P). Anyway now you know…we had decided that it had to be a beach destination. There is so much to do, scuba, snorkeling, canoeing,  and of course frolicking in the beach and not to forget lazing on the beach in a hammock. So beach it was, but choosing the right one became a huge task (mainly because of budget constraints :P). Our first preference was Maldives, the pictures online were surreal and the resorts drool worthy. After a lot of internet trawling for reviews and deals, we figured out that it was just way out of our budget, so we dropped the idea.

2 main reasons why we dropped Maldives:

1.  Though the air fare from India to Male (Maldives capital) was manageable, the transport from Male to the respective resort was very expensive as they use private air crafts or speed boats to take you there.
2.  The room tariff was not high but we found out that the food bill was going to be ridiculously expensive. The packages with food inclusive were very high too. We were also concerned about getting decent vegetarian food.

Next Mauritius was in consideration, it seemed so picturesque and a lot of information was available as it seemed one of the favourite honeymoon (there I said it again :D) destinations for Indians. A few of our friends and relatives had been there and so we got a lot of first hand info. It was on the expensive side but there were quite a few resorts in our budget and the total cost was coming up to little more than what we had in mind.

But again we dropped Mauritius for 2 reasons:

1. A lot of Indians go there, it seemed like a mini India, especially the resorts in our budget. We did not want to travel all the way and spend so much and not even feel like we are abroad :P
2.  The food in the resorts we were considering was again predominantly Indian cuisine. So again same logic.

Somehow Mauritius did not entice us much and we did not spend much time researching more about it too.

           Next we started looking at options closer home (read Lakshadweep. We had a lot of preconceived notions about Andaman and hence did not even consider it).

Lakshadweep was a very good option, it was as picturesque as Mauritius or Maldives and that too at a fraction of a cost but there was a catch (there always is!). All tourism in Lakshadweep is handled by Govt. of India (SPORTS). What’s wrong in that you ask? Nothing, just that accommodation and all might not be suitable for a honeymoon (ok I can’t write this post without saying it :D). It might be a great option for a trip but for honeymoon, you need something more special J

           So we were back to square one (and on the verge of abandoning beach and going for Rajasthan or something) when one of Puneeth’s friend suggested Andaman and when we scoffed at the idea, he convinced us to check out Barefoot Resort online. And when we did check out Barefoot, we were hooked. It seemed just the place for us and of course no doubt Andaman is very beautiful. We had a lot of preconceived notions that the accommodation might not be that great and the beaches might not be clean, and to top it I even read a review where they suffered a very bad rash after insects attacked them in the beach!! Now after reading all this, we were very skeptical but the Barefoot resort seemed like a nice place and we thought that even if it is half as nice as what it appears online, it is ok (we were really running out of options and patience). So we zeroed in on Andaman and kept our fingers crossed :)

Glimpse of what was in store for us -

Psst: Day wise itinerary and expenses breakdown will be covered in the upcoming posts :)