My Experience...

First and foremost: Thanks to my wonderful friends for making this superb trip happen. Special thanks to Fred for all the pics :)

I am in Chennai railway station waiting for my return train to Bangalore. I returned this morning from Portblair after an amazing 10 days trip. Here's my trip experience and gyan, which might be of help..

Preparations before the trip:

Most of our trips are well planned, especially the ones that include overnight stays. This time, I must say we didnt put in a lot of efforts in the planning, bookings or knowing the place. Our trip was planned from 25th Jan'12 night till 5th Feb'12. We were travelling from Bangalore to Portblair. There were direct flights from B'lore to Portblair but it was expensive. If you are planning for flight from B'lore to Portblair then, please book your tickets well in advance. We booked train tickets to and fro B'lore to Chennai. Also to and fro flight tickets from Chennai to Portblair. The tickets were booked 2 months in advance and it cost us around 11k per head (train - 3 AC and AC chair car; flight - economy class).

We booked our stay in Diviyum Manor hotel in Portblair. Non-AC room cost us 1300 per night (breakfast complimentary). We were planning of Scuba dive in Havelock and booked our stay in Barefoot Scuba Resort. We opted for a tented cottage which cost us 2500 per night (breakfast Rs.100 complimentary per head). Other places had govt accomodation which we could not book before the trip. Mr.Diwakar of Diviyum Manor was very helpful and connected us to Mr.Eswar (owner of Eswar tours n travels). We spoke to Mr.Eswar and gave a heads up about our trip.

Shopping for the trip- Cottons, swim wear, summer wear, hats, sunglasses, sun screen (though it wont help you much), floaters (as you are prone to lose slipper in water), shorts, 3/4th pants etc.

Here goes my journey...

Day 1: 25th and 26th Jan -
We boarded the train at night from B'lore. Reached Chennai in the morning.

Chennai Central Railway station

Then straight to Chennai airport. The airport was not all that clean. Reached Portblair at 12noon. The view from our flight was breathtaking. Turquoise blue water with lush green islands. Seemed like a movie scene.

The first view of Emerald Islands :)

 The hotel was just opposite the airport and hardly 2 mins walk.

Our hotel at Portblair

Non-AC room

Rooms were clean and decent. During our trip the weather was pleasant so didnt need AC. Restaurant is also good. We hired a taxi from Mr.Eswar and started at around 2. First went to Corbyn's Cove. The beach is  rocky at one side. We were pretty excited as the water and beach were very clean.

Corbyn's Cove

Next went to Chidiyatapu. Its more like a backwater. But the place is very good to watch sunset. Clicked some awesome pics there. The sunsets here by 5 or 5.30 and rises also pretty early. We spent our entire evening at Chidiyatapu. Scuba diving and snorkelling also can be done here, which need prior booking with the instructors.

Chidiyatpu

Sunset at Chidiyatapu

We wanted to explore Portblair. Went to the Aberdeen market. The market seemed more or less like a typical market in most of the Indian towns.

Temple at Aberdeen Market

Then we went to the park at Rajiv Gandhi sports complex, which is walkable from the market (unless one is too tired). There is a park at the sports complex. Must say, very well maintained park. As it was 26th Jan (holiday), the place was quite crowded. But it was fun. We enjoyed the evening walk. Ferries for one day tour can be booked and boarded here. Returned to our hotel for dinner.

Day 2- 27th Jan: Plan for the day was Portblair city tour. Completed our complimentary breakfast (which is mostly bread toast, omelet, sandwich or aloo paratha). Went to Samudrika, which is a museum and also has a small aquarium. This place has lots of information about Andaman and Nicobar islands. A must visit in Portblair.

Our next destination was Anthropological museum. Got to know about the human race and its journey so far. The museum also hosts information about the tribes in Andaman and Nicobar islands. I liked both the museums. Next we went to the cellular jail. It was around 1.30 I guess. All these places are closed for lunch during 1 to 2. We had to find a place to eat. We had lunch at the Light house restaurant which is at Rajiv Gandhi sports complex. The food was good.

General info about the Cellular Jail

Cellular jail and sports complex are at walkable distance. Went back to see the jail. This place has a horrifying silence even when its crowded. Every cell and brick speaks of gruesome punishments given by the English on our brave freedom fighters.

View of the cellular jail

Spent almost 2 hrs going around the jail. One can also see Ross island from top of the jail. This was where most of the Britisher's lived and had a small township built. There is a light n sound show at 5.30(Hindi) n 6.30(english). One has to come out of the jail to get the tickets for the show. The queue is pretty long but they have a ladies queue also. The show is good. After the show again we went to Rajiv Gandhi sports complex to book the ferry tikcets for next day trip. One day trip to North Bay, Ross and Viper island costs Rs.400 with lunch and half litre drinking water.

One of the stalls that sell ferry tickets at Rajiv Gandhi sports complex

Had dinner at Annapurna restaurant which is also at the Aberdeen market. The restaurant serves pure vegetarian food. Food is decent.

Day 3: 28th Jan - The ferry for our day trip was scheduled at 9.30am. We reached the jetty 20 mins early to get the tickets. There is no seat wise booking. Its on first come basis.

Our ferry

Its pretty sunny, remember to carry your hats, sun sunscreen and shades. Carry enough water, snacks as it would be an entire day trip. Also take along additional pair of clothes to change after snorkeling. Each ferry has its own guide who gives you information about the islands. We were first taken to North Bay island.

North Bay Island

You can snorkel here. It costs 300. Also you can see the marine life in a glass bottom boat. We went for both. One guide takes with him 4-5 people for snorkelling. He gives you the mask and a tube around waist. One need not know swimming but should be comfortable to float in water. You also dont need proper swim wear but you will be completely in water so need another pair of dry clothes. Changing rooms here are shacks. Lockers on rent are also available. The snorkelling was good. Glass bottom boat is ok as you would see most of the marine life in snorkelling.

After changing we returned to our ferry where lunch was served. The lunch was rice, curry with salad and half liter of water.  We were at Ross Island. There is a Kulfi guy at the entrance of Ross Island. Yum Kulfi he sells. This island has the ruins of the British buildings. Its better if you visit the cellular jail first and then goto Ross island. They had officers club, bakeries etc.

Ross Island

One can find deers on this island. There are remains of a church also. One can see the beautiful Ferrar beach. There are steps down and a tiny pathway to the beach. The beach is very beautiful and serene. One can find lot of shells on the beach.

Ferrar beach

Next we went to Viper island. One for the freedom fighters was hanged here. There is nothing much to see here. While returning to Portblair one can see Navy ships. We returned Portblair at around 5.30. Had nothing to do for the evening so again went to our Aberdeen market :). Every single day we were at Rajiv Gandhi sports and Aberdeen market.

Day 4: 29th Jan - Our next destination was Jollybouy via Wandoor. We hired a taxi from Mr.Eswar from our hotel to Wandoor and return. It cost us Rs.1000. One has to catch a ferry from Wandoor jetty to Jollybuoy. After breakfast we started to Wandoor. Here again carry additional pair of dry clothes, hat, shades and snacks(there is nothing available on the island). Its 30kms from Portblair. Before going to the jetty we went to Wandoor beach. It is also quite clean and you get to see the blue green sea.

Wandoor Beach

Mr.Eswar had booked the ferry tickets for us in prior. The ticket cost is Rs.550 and permit to Mahatma Gandhi National marine park is Rs.50, total Rs.600. The ferry ticket includes snorkeling (not in very deep sea, its the first level of snorkeling) and glass bottom boat ride. No plastic bags are allowed to the island. Even plastic water bottles are not allowed, one has to pay a deposit of Rs.100 to carry a bottle. Also at the counter one can get Jute bags on rent to be carried to the island. After 45mins ferry ride we reached Jolly bouy. The water is very clean. After reaching we changed for snorkeling. The experience here was amazing. If you wish to go farther from the shore for snorkeling, there is extra cost involved. One can pay Rs.300, 400 or 500 to go farther in sea. The water was clearer than North Bay island and could see more fishes and corals. Loved the experience.
 

Me Snorkeling :)

Went again for Glass bottom boat ride. All the ferries return by 2pm. Returned to Wandoor jetty at around 3.30pm. Our taxi was waiting for us. Had lunch at a nearby Bengali restaurant. Returned to Portblair in the evening and had dinner at Light house residency restaurant. This is quite close to the light house restaurant at Rajiv Gandhi Sports complex, it is a little fine dining kinds and expensive.

Day 5: 30th Jan - We had to leave quite early at around 3.30am to Diglipur. We hired a taxi from Mr.Eswar for our 3day 2night trip to Diglipur, Rangat, Mayabunder and Baratang. It cost us Rs.12000. We started at around 3.45am and reached the convoy check post by 5.30am. The first convoy is at 6am. The convoy is of 45mins, where if you get lucky can see few of the Jarawa tribals. In the convoy photography is strictly prohibited. After 1.5hrs road travel a ferry has to be boarded which is like 10-15mins ride to Baratang and costs Rs.4 per head. Again 1hr road travel and one more ferry to Rangat. Around 1.5 hrs road travel to Mayabunder. Here we went to Karmatang beach. There was a turtle hatchery.

On thing about most of the beaches in Andaman is that they are very clean and beautiful. Next again 2 hrs travel to Diglipur. We reached around 3.30pm to Diglipur. Had lunch at nearby Bengali restaurant (Name is Hira something). They served yummy dal. Our stay was booked by Mr.Eswar at Turtle Beach resort, which is a govt. accommodation. The resort is around 25kms from the town.

Turtle Beach resort

The booking has to be done in advance and all the govt. guest house bookings are done in Portblair. The information is available at http://tourism.andaman.nic.in/accommodation.htm. Non-AC rooms cost Rs.600 and AC Rs.1000. There were no guests in the hotel except us. As soon as we reached, we had to place order for dinner as they have a in-house kitchen. The rooms are neat and decent. Each room has a balcony that opens to a resort maintained garden. There are no TV's in the rooms (good considering you are on a holiday :)), however there is a lounge in the resort which has a TV.

Non-AC room

Opposite the guest house is a private resort Pristine Resort - http://www.andamanpristineresorts.com/. The cottages here are made out of bamboo and give the jungle resort feeling. The beach was at a 5mins walk distance from the guest house. Not a very great beach though. Its called Kalipur beach. Crocodiles were supposedly seen here. Its advised not to roam around the beach after dusk.

Kalipur beach

We went to the pristine resort for tea and snacks. The owner was pretty nice to talk to and had a brief conversation with us. Returned to our resort and had dinner (decent food). The dinner is served at the guest house. After dinner we had to place order for the next day's breakfast. The stay at night was a little scary as the whole place was a little spooky. Huge guest house with only us. Very silent.

Day 6: 31st Jan - After breakfast we went to the jetty to hire a boat to Ross and Smith island. The boat ride is for 20mins and costs 2000 for 2-2.5 hrs.

Map of Diglipur

Ferry details

Ross and Smith are two islands separated by a narrow sand strip. I am falling short of words to describe the beauty of the islands. It was just us, the boat owner, 2 dogs and 3-4 forest department officials when we went. We had the whole island for our self. One side is serene, calm with hardly any waves more back water kinds and the other side has light, small waves. There are open eco-huts with changing rooms. Also there are benches. One can just sit and watch the sea. It is worth every single penny.

Ross and Smith Island

 Could find many varieties of sea shells. We wanted to spend more time but the boat guy charges 300 extra per additional hour. Definitely a must visit in Andaman. Went back to Diglipur town and had lunch in the same Bengali hotel (Hira something). Then started to Rangat. Even at Rangat our stay was booked in the govt. guess house, Hawksbill Nest Resort. Here too the booking has to be done in advance. The charges are same. The guest house is opposite beach (5mins walk). But the guest house is not that great as Turtle Beach resort.

 

Hawks Bill Nest

Non-AC room

The beach is also not that great. And it was almost dark by the time we went to the beach. Food is cooked in the guest house kitchen and order has to be placed in the evening itself. The food is good though. Next day we had to leave early to Baratang.

Day 7: 1st Feb - We started at around 6am to leave to Baratang to see the limestone caves. After the ferry ride we reached Baratang at around 8.30am.

Ferry to Baratang

 The boat charges Rs.350 per head till the cave and return. This is on sharing basis. The exclusive boat costs 2500 per boat. We waited for almost 1.5hrs to find a sharing boat. The boat ride is almost 20mins and further 20mins walk to the caves. It was raining when we went there.

On the way to Caves

The caves are nice. They are natural limestone formations. One could find the patterns of lotus, tiger claws, Ganesha etc out of the formations. Well its upto one's imagination :).

Limestone Caves

The caves are dark. The guide carries a torch with him. After the caves we came back through the same convoy and reached Portblair by 4pm. We had rooms booked in the same hotel Diviyum Manor for the night. It was raining cats and dogs in Portblair, so could not do much. I was just sleeping, sleeping and sleeping entire evening. We had to board ferry at 6 the next morning to Neil Island. Had dinner at the hotel itself. They serve good food.

Day 8: 2nd Feb - Started at 5.30am to board the ferry at Phoenix Bay Jetty. The ferry was till Neil Island. It is a govt. run ferry and costs Rs.195 per head. It takes 2 hrs to reach Neil Island. We reached by 8.30am. It was raining at the island also. Had breakfast at a local restaurant and placed order for lunch there. Mr.Eswar had arranged for a taxi at Neil island. We went to Sitapur beach, which was more like a view point. Bharatpur beach was good. We went for the glass bottom boat ride. The corals and fishes were decent. I liked them best at Jolly buoy. After the ride we didnt feel like snorkeling and also it was raining. After spending 2-3 hrs on Neil island, we had lunch and went back to the jetty to board the next ferry to Havelock. Even this one was a govt. run ferry with ticket fare Rs.195 and took 90mins to reach Havelock. We reached Havelock by 4pm. We had hired a taxi here also and went to our resort - Barefoot Scuba Resort.

Our tented cottage

 The resort was very beautiful. We stayed in a tented cottage which costs 2500 per night. There are also basic huts called Aframe hut which cost Rs.150. They are good for bagpackers who stay for weeks or months. They are pretty small and have common bathrooms.

A frame hut

I liked our tent though. Behind the resort was the beach - Beach No.3. One could see lot of foreign tourists in Havelock. The restaurant Cafe Del Mar is also good but a little expensive. After checking in our cottage first thing we did was booked our Scuba dive slot for the next day. In the evening we just went for a walk at the beach. Clicked a few pics and went to the market.

Beach No.3; Behind our resort

Havelock is more of a cosmopolitan place with people from all over the world. Went to Charcoal restaurant opposite our resort. Decent food but expensive. It has a bar also - Venom. After dinner returned to our resort and had to gear up for our dive next day.

Day 9: 3rd Feb - Who knew it would be such an eventful day. Got up by 7am as our dive was scheduled at 9.30am. Had breakfast and went for a walk on the beach. I was quite scared for the dive. I was kind of getting mentally prepared for the dive. At 9.30 we reached the restaurant where we were given a briefing on the basics of the dive. Along with us was a 67 year old lady from the US. Seeing her we were pretty inspired to go for the dive. The instructors made it quite easy for us. We finished the formalities and tried our dive suits. We were taken in a boat to Beach 2 for the skills practice and then the dive. The skills were pretty simple and the instructors made it easier. There was one instructor with each one of us for 1 on 1 supervision. After the basics, we went for the dive. I have no words to explain how it was. Trust me no adjectives can describe it. I was in a total different world. Beautiful fishes and corals.

Me again.. diving :)

You dont have to know swimming for the basic dive but need to be comfortable in water. But it is hell of an experience for sure :). I didnt realise how fast 45mins went and we were back in our boat to the resort. After lunch at Cafe Del Mar we decided to go to Radha Nagar beach. The beach is around 12kms from the resort. We were deciding about how to go to the beach, options were - taxi, auto or bicycle. Bicycle it was :). We rented bicycles from a garage which was 5-7 mins walk from our resort. The rent is Rs.70 for a day with a deposit of Rs.500 per cycle. All of us were riding cycles after years. As soon as we started, there was a slope, where I could not balance the cycle. My cycle hit my friends cycle who was in front of me and I fell down the cycle :). I fell on the road n there was a SUV coming from the other side. The driver immediately applied brakes and the front tyre was close to my head. It was fultu filmy :). The driver scolded me left and right. Thankfully I was not hurt. I had no words :(. I changed my cycle and we all started again. The road has a lot of up and down slopes. We didnt realise this before hiring the cycles. After 40 mins of riding and walking, one can see a diversion to Elephant beach. The beach is a trek of 45-60mins from this point. One can also go via ferry to the beach, it would cost 3000 I guess. After around 1.5 hrs we reached Radhanagar beach dead tired at 4.30pm. We met the jeep driver who picked us from the jetty previous day. We decided to go back in the jeep as it was difficult to ride back in the dark with no lights. We hit the beach, it was beautiful. It is rated as one of the best beaches of Asia by Times magazine.

Sunset at Radhanagar beach

I went for a walk on the beach, clicked few pics. Was just sitting on the beach watching the sun go down. Amazing it was! We were last ones to return from the beach. After reaching the resort, we had to return our cycles. I had heard about a restaurant The Wild Orchid in Havelock. It was almost 2 kms from our resort. We went to the restaurant. The owner, head chef and bartender were from Bangalore :). We started our Kannada bonding. The food was not great and quite expensive. Would not recommend. After such a long day, we hit the sack. We had to checkout the next day.

Day 10: 4th Feb - Slept pretty well after such a tiring day. Our checkout time was 10am. I went to the beach again and clicked more pics.

Morning at Beach #3

Had breakfast at Cafe Del Mar. They make yummy mushroom cheese omelet n masala tea. We had booked the jeep for the rest of the day. We cleared our bills at the resort and went to Vijaynagar beach. Spent the rest of the morning and noon at the beach.There were a few trees on the beach.  I was just lying on the tree trunk under its own shade, with cool breeze blowing around me, eyes closed and listening to the rhythmic waves of the blue ocean.. What do I say.. Bliss!!!

I was on the tree :)

We skipped the elephant beach. Went to Barefoot Brasserie restaurant at the jetty for lunch. The restuarant is beach side and serves decent food. Their brownie with ice-cream is too good :). Our return tickets were booked in Makruzz. Its an airconditioned private run ferry. It costs Rs.700 per head and drops you at Portblair in 90 mins.

We reached back to our so called home at Diviyum Manor at around 5. Cleared our bills at the hotel and with our travel guide Mr.Eswar. Went to the restuarant TSG Emerald for dinner. Food was decent. Returned to our rooms. We had to catch the return flight next day to Chennai and further train to Bangalore. With a heavy heart went to sleep :(.

Places must visit:

1. Chidiyatapu
2. Samudrika
3. Anthropology museum
4. Cellular jail
5. Light house restaurant at Rajiv Gandhi sports complex (Light house residency is a diff one)
6. Aberdeen market in Portblair (we went almost everyday)
7. North bay island
8. Ross island especially Ferrar beach
9. Jolly Bouy - Mahatma Gandhi national marine park (awesome for snorkelling)
10. Ross and Smith island (its a Paisa vasool place :))
11. Neil island (can skip snorkelling if already done at Jolly Bouy)
12. Beach No. 3 Havelock
13. Radhanagar beach at Havelock
14. Vijaynagar beach at Havelock

Expenses:

Our budget was max 30K per head and 5 of us, totally 1.5Lakh for the entire trip. Last minute one of our friends had to drop out which overshot our budget by 7-8k per head. Rounding off to say... 40k per head. The split up-

Travel (Air and rail) - 11,000

Stay (Decent hotels and a beach resort) - 7,000 (all rooms are twin sharing, this amount is for one person)

Food - 6,000 (breakfast at many places is complementary. Food in local Bengali restaurants is quite cheap)

Local Travel (Auto, Taxi and Ferry) - 8,000

Entry tickets and snorkeling - 800 (depends on how many times and where you go for snorkeling)

Scuba dive - 4,500

Miscellaneous - 1,000

GRAND TOTAL - 38,300; Lets make it 40,000.

Tips n Gyan:

1. Book the taxi in advance to avoid last minute surprises.
2. The ferry to Jollybouy, Neil Island and Havelock have to be booked in advance. 
3. Simple food (roti, sabzi, rice and dal) is easily available. Fish is in abundance, enjoy the seafood.
4. Tea/Coffee all is made out of milk powder. I could not make out much difference though. Milk is not readily available.
5. Everyone speaks Hindi. Apart from Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Telugu are dominant.
6. People are really helpful and honest.
   
7. The islands as such are very safe. No robbery, beggars etc. Most of the places we left our bags on beach and were roaming around.
8. Sun rises by 5.30 am and sets by 5.30pm. Places shut by 8-8.30pm, however restaurants are open till 10-10.30pm (last order 9-9.30pm).
9. Girls are not allowed in the bar, check before you get in one.
10. Most of the tourist places - museums etc are closed on Monday. Plan accordingly.
11. Not much to shop apart from the shell jewellery, beach wear, show pieces etc.
12. BSNL works mostly everywhere. Other networks are on/off in other places apart from Portblair.
13. There is one internet centre in Aberdeen market, Portblair near the clock tower.
14. The autos are pretty cheap (compared to Bangalore). One can cover the entire town in max Rs.50 (we were 4 in an auto).
15. Clicking pictures of tribals is strictly prohibited. Anyone found doing so would be fined.
16. The weather changes rapidly. It could be sunny and could rain, all on the same day. Be prepared accordingly.
    
17. The place is a little laid back than most Indian towns/cities. It is going to be a laid back, leisure holiday.
    

Places I want to visit next time:

1.  Little Andaman
2. Long Island
3. Cinque Island
4. Nicobar Islands
5. Want to stay for a week or more in Havelock and do nothing :)

Wish, hope and pray that I visit these emerald islands sooooonnnn.....