Best beaches in southern India
 

Other than Goa, can any one recommend me some of the best beaches in southern part of India on the mainland? Primarily I am looking for beaches in Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Are there any beaches that rival the ones in Maldives etc? Appreciate your suggestions. Thanks.

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Kind of remote but ..

Ganapatipule is nice. As are these -
http://goindia.about.com/od/beachesb.../p/varkala.htm
http://goindia.about.com/od/beachesb.../p/gokarna.htm
http://goindia.about.com/od/beachesb...s/p/marari.htm
http://goindia.about.com/od/beachesb...abalipuram.htm

the last one has lots of resort hotels (like the taj fisherman's cove)

nothing like the beaches in the maldives but i found the beaches in kovalam to be quite nice....

I went for a weekend in Cochin (Kerala), and really enjoyed the Cherai Beach. Clean, safe, nice gold sand, decent food around.

Thanks for your suggestions. I will try one of the beaches in Kerala.

Didn't care for Varkala that much when I was there 6/09. Beach is poor for swimming and suffers from too many local male lookie-loos. Layout of the cliff top is odd - massive parking lot/helipad the "promenade" itself is crammed on the cliff (some bits falling away) with some ok eateries (note - alcohol prohibited in the municipality though they'll give you a warm bug and a beer in a paper bag) and fantastic sunset views.

I'd suggest Sri Lanka. Generally more enjoyable beach experience.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands are a great bet.. Limited connectivity to Port Blair..but great beaches..

Always wanted to go to Andaman & Nicobar Islands but the limited connectivity and the permit process is bothering me. Any one has some insight on the permit process? Any suggestions on places to go and where to stay?

I think to visit just Port Blair and the other main islands, you wouldn't need a permit. But will check on the same though. I remember that you needed a permit, if one wished to travel to certain outlying islands.

As far as flights go, looks like there are 4 flights a day out of MAA and 2 flights a day out of CCU. But due to the limited number of seats on this route, looks like the average fare is always on the higher side.

On a side note, there is a vessel that ply's between Chennai/ Kolkata and Port Blair, but it's certainly no cruise liner from what i hear..!!

You need a permit to go to the andaman islands but you get one when you land. I am not sure what the implication of going there with a travel visa is though with its new one-entry rule.

There is not much to do at port blair. I suggest taking the ferry out to the havelock island island. We stayed at the barefoot resort right by beach #7.