Travel in Andaman & Nicobar Islands

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands appear in our programme once, and it is worth being clear about what that entry is. It is a travel component — Paradise Andaman & Nicobar Islands, five days from EUR 410 — and it is a beach stay, not a touring region. There is no cultural route through the islands in our catalogue and no longer version with sightseeing built in. If you want a guided week around the archipelago, this is not it.

What the component does is straightforward. You land at Port Blair, you are picked up at the airport, and you take the ferry past a line of uninhabited islands to Havelock. The beaches there are fine white sand backed by dense rainforest, and the water is clear and turquoise. Days two to four are yours. The plan names sunbathing, a swim in the sea and snorkelling over the reef, then says to arrange the time entirely according to your own wishes. Dolphins and sea turtles live in these waters — the itinerary says they are there, not that you will see them. On day five you take the ferry back to Port Blair and transfer to the airport. Four nights on Havelock, three open days, a travel day at each end.

A few things the five days do not contain. Nothing is scheduled beyond the two ferry crossings and the two transfers, so there are no excursions, no boat trips and no dive days in the plan. Port Blair is a transit point in both directions. Day five is labelled "Historical Tour" in our itinerary, but the day it then describes is the crossing and the drive to the airport and nothing else, so ask us before you count on seeing the old penal colony. And despite the name of the component, nothing in it goes to the Nicobars. The trip stays between Port Blair and Havelock.

It is also not a trip on its own. The itinerary begins when you land at Port Blair and ends when you are dropped back there, which means the flight to the islands is not one of the five days. That flight comes from the Indian mainland and has to be built into whatever route you attach the beach to. Two other components have the same shape — Goa from EUR 350, Marari in Kerala from EUR 400 — and a fourth covers the Maldives from EUR 700. If you would rather not bolt anything on, several India routes already finish at a beach: the fourteen-day India – from North to South ends at Marari, and the twenty-five-day The diversity of South India ends with a beach stay in Goa. Neither goes to the Andamans. That is the trade.

The inclusions match the rest of the India programme: hotel accommodation, breakfast, a German-speaking guide, 24-hour contact with our team throughout, and a bottle of water on arrival. International flights are not included, here or anywhere in our catalogue. Two things are worth raising when you enquire. The itinerary schedules nothing for days two to four, so ask what the guide covers on a stay like this and we will put the answer on your quote rather than leave you to assume. And no hotel is named for this component; that is settled when the trip is put together. There is no five-star tier on any of our trips.

Like everything we sell, the trip is private and there are no fixed departure dates, so the component attaches to your route on the dates that suit it. The two ferry crossings are the fixed points in the plan. If a particular month matters to you, say so early and we will confirm what runs before anything is priced.