Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Travel Page by tayloretc

Havelock is the current center for snorkeling and scuba diving in the Andamans. There’s not much else here, but it’s worth the effort to get here even if you’re not an avid diver (more about the effort later). Some of the least visited coral reefs in the world are located an hour boat ride or less from lots of places to stay, and the beaches are gorgeous. One beach on Havelock has actually been rated the most beautiful beach in Asia, but all of them are fine white sand, backed by old palms or mangrove, with shallow waters extending a long way into the unreal blues of the Andaman Sea.

I was here for the sole purpose of taking a scuba course, since I had never tried it and wanted to see if I liked it. I do. The experience of scuba diving is strange, but it’s been a long, long time since I’ve felt a whole new world opening up this way. Well worth the initial panic and flailing about as my brain insisted I was drowning. Okay, the initial panic and flailing lasted two days and several dives, and even after four days and several more dives I was still flailing about underwater, but still.

I borrowed a camera and tried taking pictures underwater, too, but they’re awful. It’s really hard to do – to hold yourself still in moving water, or at least not crashing into things, first off, then the light is completely different, and the creatures aren’t particularly interested in you or in being cooperative, and then there’s the whole thing about breathing underwater. I’ve posted some photos here anyway, and I’ll try it again once I’ve got the staying still and breathing parts down.

I’ve been told Havelock is becoming the new Goa, and not in a good way – increasingly full of a certain kind of traveler. I was mostly underwater or studying and had little to do with anyone who wasn’t hard core into diving, so I really don’t know what went on out there. On my little walks, there was evidence of new buildings, specifically of the “guest house” hut variety, and one frequent diver said some of the good sites are now perpetually crowded with snorklers. (He had mixed feelings about this – more snorklers = more people understanding how important the oceans are, and that’s good.) Nobody talked much about the certain kind of traveler. For now, the beaches I saw were relatively empty, and six of seven places we dove we went an hour at a time not seeing any other humans.

About the effort to get to Havelock. After one of the few available flights to Port Blair foreigners form a scrum around the lone desk granting permits (which are only granted if you have proof you’re going to leave); the ferry is across town and usually goes, but not always, and not always at the time stated. Two-and-a-half hot and crowded hours later (if you manage to get the fast ferry), foreigners get to stand in line on the dock for a long, long time, waiting to show the permit to a lone person logging everyone into a ledger by hand. Chennai door to Havelock hotel took me nearly ten hours.

The effort to leave was worse, with a cruel little twist. The first ferry from Havelock to Port Blair leaves at about 2 pm; most (if not all) of the flights out leave before noon. This means staying overnight in Port Blair whether you want to or not. I asked about hiring a private boat the morning of my flight, and was told it was possible (maybe, well, not likely) but it would take six or seven hours to get to Port Blair that way. In the end, Havelock hotel to Chennai door took nearly 24 hours.

I’m going back anyway.