Andaman – How to Plan

How to plan a dead cheap Andaman island travel package?

How to plan your Andaman Trip?

Andaman Trip can sometimes get daunting because of so many things happening across Andaman Tours. Hundreds of people offer Andaman Tour Packages. How will you know what is best during your trip? Well, do cheapest tours to Andaman actually means its cheapest? Well, trust us this page has it all and this page will give you an overview as how to plan your Andaman Trip.

To begin with, we recommend you to Identify 3 Most Important Things for your Trip:

Before we land into the top 3 points. We recommend you to check the flight tickets. Flight tickets usually gets expensive as the date of travel approaches near. Book your flight tickets as early as possible. Suggested time is 72-90 Days in advance. If you are not finding cheap tickets during your travel date then put an alert in skyscanner.com. This website will give you regular updates about the price for your travel dates. The second option is to consult local travel companies in Andaman who does group flight bookings. These companies have better deals on the flight tickets as they purchase some tickets in advance for a group. Now lets begin.

Things you need to identify

• Destination and Attractions you prefer to visit. Described in detail below
• Things you wish to do in Andaman Islands
• Number of Days you plan to visit, do not plan just 3-4 days. It is too less time to visit this exotic destination
• Expected Budget. Every one has a limit

Preference

• Some prefer everything
• Some prefer a relaxed trip not bothered about where they go and what they do. Just don’t want any overhead
• Some are more inclined towards “Dude, what are the cheapest things to do? or how to reduce my trip cost”
• Some for Honeymoon, Business meets, Group tour, research etc…

Now, considering all these factors this is what we at Experience Andamans try to achieve. Irrespective of what your budget is, what your preferences are, what your feedback for a particular destination is or what your inner self feel is correct. An unbiased review about a particular hotel, resort, activity or restaurant is what we recommend to travellers to help plan their trip in a better way.

Where do most people visit?

Most of the travellers who visit Andaman Islands, visit Port Blair (The Capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Havelock Island(Known for its beach resorts and amazing water activities) and Neil Island (Scenic Island with very little crowd and lots of open space). Now, those who come for longer duration visit Middle Andaman, this includes Baratang Island and Rangat, and North Andaman, known for its turtle nesting grounds and twin island Ross and Smith. Seen below is the map of the Andaman Islands that will give you an idea about the islands.

Which Hotel or Resorts to select at the Andaman Islands?

Budget/Standard Category Hotels in Andaman Islands

Port Blair – Hotel Velocity, Andaman Residency, Hotel Marine View, Hotel London etc. Some even cheaper lodges are Phoenix, Hotel ASM, Hotel Paradise, Raj Niwas, Aashina Hotel and many more … These might not have any websites, however has a good following for people looking for budgeted trips. Havelock Island – V Knot residency and El Dorado. The cheapest rooms in any known resort are the NON AC Rooms, Eco Rooms or huts in Havelock Island. Neil Island – Pearl Park resort and Tango Resort NON AC Room are the best options currently available. Hotel Kingfisher is dead cheap but the room quality is not very good.

Can we stay in NON AC Rooms or ECO Huts in the Andaman Islands, are these hotels safe?

Yes, its fine to stay in an Eco Huts (Available in Havelock and Neil Island.) or NON AC Rooms(Available in Port Blair). Specifically, if you are planning for a PADI certified course,which are expensive you do not want to spend a lot on your room cost. People who are avid travellers and who doesn’t care much about their accommodation or room quality can stay in such rooms. Just to make it clear, these rooms are clean, its just that these are very basic. Is it safe? Yes, indeed at the Andaman Islands people understand that their main source of revenue is tourism and the hotel and resorts make sure that the travellers are not affected by any kind of nuisance around their locality irrespective of what their gender or age is. Each person at the Andaman Islands unknowingly by his/her behaviour contribute to Andaman Tourism and help people around them.

Deluxe Category hotels in the Andaman Islands

Port Blair – Sea Shell, Hotel Shompen, Hotel Rhishab, Hotel NK Internation, Hotel J, Hotel Haywizz, De Marina (Sea Facing Hotel), Silver Spring, Aparupa, Sun Sea, Blue Sea, Megapode Nest etc.
Havelock Island – Symphony Palms, Sea Shell, Holiday Inn Beach Resort, Blue Bird Beach Resort, Wild Orchid, Dolphin Resort, Cross Bill, Island Vinnie etc.
Neil Island – Tango Beach Resort, Pearl Park and Sea Shell.

Luxury Category Hotels/ Resorts in Andaman Islands

Port Blair – Sea Princess beach resort, Sinclairs bay View, Peerless Sarovar, Fortune Resort Bay Island and Rose Valley Resort.
Havelock Island – Silver Sand Beach Resort, Munjoh Ocean Resort and Barefoot.
Neil Island – At Neil you pay for the location. Its the same as deluxe category. Don’t expect the luxury of the above resorts. Though Sea Shell at Neil Island and Tango – Lagoon Room could be an option.

Must Visit Attraction at the Andaman Islands

Port Blair

• Jolly Bouy Island – Opened only for 6 months in a year. Closed on Mondays
• Baratang Island – Closed on Mondays
• Chidia Tapu – Always Open
• Ross Island – Closed on Wednesdays
• North Bay Island – Always Open

Havelock Island

• Elephant Beach for Snorkeling – Can be reached by boat or by trekking for upto 40 Minutes.
• Radhanagar Beach – Always Open except after sunset.

Neil Island

• Laxmanpur Beach, Sitapur beach and Howra Bridge can be visited.

Diglipur

• Ross and Smith Island, Saddle Peak and Turtle nesting from December-March.

Must Do Activities at the Andaman Islands

• Scuba Diving at Havelock Island.
• Sea Walk at North Bay Island.
• Snorkelling at Jolly Bouy and Elephant Beach
• Trekking to Limestone Caves – Baratang Island
• Fishing Trips to Cinque Island, if you have the budget.

Now, we think you have an overview of what your Andaman tour package should contain.

How cheap is the Andaman Tour Package?

If you come in a group of 20 people or above you will get the best deals. No matter where you stay and what you prefer because you will be travelling in your group and will distribute the total costing which will end up each person spending less amount than for travellers in less number. The discount can go upto 40%.

If you come in a group of 10 people the cost reduces. This can go upto 40% again but now you will just have to consider where you wish to stay as the cost can significantly vary depending upon the room cost per night.

For couples, your total cost depends upon the category of hotels, and the places you prefer to visit. Please don’t just go with the initial package cost you see. Ask the vendor, how have you charged me? Can you provide the breakup? Business who can provide the break ups are the real ones because they know the best prices in the market and are ready to share the breakup. Those who are not take different ways. We at Experience Andamans share breakup of the total tour cost so that you know what you are paying for. Thus bringing transparency in your trip to Andaman Islands
The package price varies depending upon what you do and where you stay and yes the number of days as well. Some packages can go less than 5000 per person. Yes, off course this is the starting range where people travel for only 3 Nights or less to Andaman Islands. We at Experience Andamans, personally do not recommend such a less amount of days to Andaman Islands. But, be careful that you just don’t get anything which is not even worth the price you are paying for. On an average a package for 4 Nights and above can cost you Rupees 9000 to Rupees 50000 per person based on the things you will be doing in Andaman Islands.

Resorts / Hotels Suggested for Andaman and Nicobar Honeymoon Package?

PORT BLAIR – De Marina – Sea Facing Rooms, Hotel J, Hotel Shompen, Hotel Haywizz, Sinclairs, Megapode Nest, Sea Princess, Rose Valley and Peerless Sarovar. HAVELOCK – Sea Shell, Symphony Palms, Silver Sand, Holiday Inn beach Resort, Cross Bill Resort, Munjoh and Barefoot. NEIL – Pearl Park Beach Resort and Sea Shell.

If you have any specific hotel or resort request during customization of your package then do drop a request.

What you need to check while selecting a travel package from any travel company?

• Make sure the brand is known and has good visibility and reviews.
• Make sure your itinerary contains the best of the experiences in Andaman. If it is not then customize and add your preferred tours in your itinerary.
• Make sure the company is open to customization as per your travel requirements. If not, then look into a different travel.
• Ask for breakup of the total travel cost as this will help you to understand where you are paying for what.
• Go with local agencies who have good national presence. As the local companies will know the best price floating in the market.
• Never make a mistake to use the same tour as suggested by your friend as your friend might have different taste than yours. Check your friends itinerary before confirming.

So what is Experience Andamans?

Lets make it clear, we are the experts of the Andaman Islands and we work only for Andaman Islands. If you are looking for genuine inputs about the islands then do reach us. Tours with us can be customized in the best possible way, we can suggest you things that not many knowns about it. We expertize in Honeymoon, family and adventure tours. And the prices off course, we work on net rates only, which means the best prices available in the local market. We have our own vehicles, guides, representatives and its all home made, and we are proud about that 🙂 For almost every hotels we provide UPTO 10.51% OFF or even more except from December 10 – January 20 as this is the peak season when surcharge is applicable to almost every hotel and resorts. We are the best agency in the Andaman Islands where you are planning to visit. Every agency based in the mainland or so called travel giants requires a local agent whom they outsource their customers. So even if you pick up any mainland based agency to operate your tour you will end up being handled by a local agent at the Andaman Islands. Doesn’t look like a smart decision, does it? Anyways its your call.

Do I need a travel Package to the Andaman Islands?

In the Andaman Islands anything can happen at the last moment. Sometimes heavy rainfall out of nowhere, resulting in cancellation of many boats, sometimes an attraction is CLOSED and you never know it until last moments or sometimes minor accidents takes place, resulting in the cancellation of the boat. There are so many dependency such as ferry tickets to various islands, attraction closed on specific days of a week, cancellation of ferry and sea plane, timings when the convoy opens, boat timings to various day trip activities and many more. The list goes on and we have been trying to make the guest updated with whatever changes are taking place during/before their trip. If you are well equipped to handle such situations or you do not have any fixed dates to return back then you may not take a tour package. We are certain that you will manage the Andaman Trip well. These above mentioned points should be taken into consideration while planning your trip. Whoever is not certain in such scenarios or whoever does not want to take an overhead we recommend a tour package. We encounter many situations on weekly basis that guests reach Andamans doing all by themselves, ending up not visiting many of the attraction as planned before the trip began. This is purely to blame them for not taking into account many scenarios as mentioned above. We try what we can best do in such situation for guests who have not planned appropriately.

If Andaman Islands is in your list of “Places to visit in India”, then any better option than us in the Andaman Islands is highly unlikely. Many can speak over forums – so called destination experts, however, they cannot solve the problem on ground but we can in regard to your Andaman travel. Hope this page helped you to plan your travel to the Andaman Islands in a better way.