"Attack of the Sand Flies!" Top 5 Page for this destination Union Territory of Lakshadweep Warnings Or Dangers Tip by cherrybug

The beautiful white sand beaches of Lakshadweep hide a terrible secret........ Sand Flies!

Being probably one of the most attractive people around to the bloodsucking female mosquito, I found during my visit to Lakshadweep that I really hadn't seen anything yet!

Seduced by snorkelling in the warm, clear lagoon on arrival, I found out all too late that if you don't thoroughly wash immediately after leaving the ocean and remove every last bit of salt - you really are just asking for trouble!

Now, I moaned about mosquitos endlessly as I applied copious amounts of Odomos and religiously plugged in my anti mozzie plug every night but after an attack of the sand flies all was instantly forgiven.

Sand flies bite (a lot) and cause not only the worst itching you've probably ever experienced (really really!) but the bites then spectacularly rise up as big blisters and burst into open, weeping sores. Ouch! And my fabulous anti itch cream which was invaluable in calming my previous mozzie bites had zero impact on the superior chomp from a sand fly. Luckily for me the dive centre provided me with antibiotic cream (and sympathy) which helped immensely.

So a lesson learned. Always wash thoroughly after being in the ocean and get rid of every last bit of salt on your body. Smother yourself with anti insect cream at night and hope and pray you don't get bitten because the itching and discomfort is like nothing else.