Andaman and Nicobar Islands - Tourism
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Foreign tourists could soon be boarding direct flights to India's remote Andaman and Nicobar islands in a move officials hope will provide a major boost to communities hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Most visitors have so far been Indians keen to see the most far-flung outpost of their country, which borders Indonesia. Travel is expensive and time consuming, with a one-way flight from Delhi to the islands' capital, Port Blair, costing $570. The islands, home to ancient but dwindling tribes, are also a major military base and foreigners need special permission to visit Port Blair and are banned from the more remote Nicobars. But the islands' top official told Reuters international flights would soon be allowed to land in Port Blair. http://au.news.yahoo.com/060116/15/xm72.html I still have not gotten over there. :) |
Air Sahara service to Andamans?
I've seen a few news articles on Air Sahara starting service to Port Blair this month; I can see the flights in ExpertFlyer, but I can't book on Air Sahara's site or any other site.
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Apparently, this is likely to be an environmental disaster...
Time will tell if this is a good or bad thing...
An article in iafrica.com on the environmental impact of the move There are probably not a lot of voters in the islands that can exert local political pressure for keeping it clean, while the resort developers stand to make a killing and can afford nice kickbacks for those who give them the permits. |
Originally Posted by hauteboy
I've seen a few news articles on Air Sahara starting service to Port Blair this month; I can see the flights in ExpertFlyer, but I can't book on Air Sahara's site or any other site.
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Originally Posted by hauteboy
We're planning on going to the Andamans in January, 5 nights in Port Blair/Havelock island. It was difficult finding seats in January! Apparently you can't use AA miles to get to Port Blair on S2, nor can you use airpasses on Indian Airlines or Jet Airways!
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
Any explanation of why Port Blair is not included as an AA redemption possibility? Air Sahara's own miles seem to be available for use on Air Sahara's flights to Port Blair, subject to availability, as far as I know.
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Originally Posted by hauteboy
I haven't checked if awards to the Maldives are possible yet either (Air Sahara will fly there via Colombo).
I was in MLE a few days back and the hotel staff were telling me that Jet are also starting a direct flight to MLE from BOM. Great news! ^ |
Andaman & Nicobar is a territory in India and has the same diversity in culture with people from all over India living there. No muslim restriction stuff. Some parts of Nicobar which are populated by aborigines are off limits to outsiders to avoid them catching 'simple' diseases that can kill them.
Andaman is more developed in terms of tourism compared to Nicobar. As a foreigner, you need to register for a permit. This is done on landing in the airport with a mini immigration counter for foreigners. The officer fills out some paperwork with you and you are then free to roam a specified number of islands. There are plenty of certified snorkeling and diving outfits in Andaman that will take you on day trips to islands that have amazing coral reefs and have been cleared for tourists to visit. Most parts of the nature reserve are no go areas to preserve the wild life and probably to prevent spying on the indian navy base(s). I would suggest you buy a globetrotting guide like lonely planet and read up. The tsunami destroyed a lot in the area, so be careful to verify info. |
I went diving in the Andamans last January. We flew MAA-IXZ-MAA on Jet Airways, then took the ferry to Havelock Island.
The diving was very good, but facilities were VERY basic. We dove off a powered dinghy, that had shaken my teeth out by the time we'd spent 2 hrs on it to get to our dive site! Unfortunately my camera broke before I got to the Andamans so I don't have any underwater pics. Certainly a good variety of coral and fish. Is it worthwhile to go there just to dive? Not sure about that, I'm not the type to go somewhere just to dive, but will go if it is possible. I only did two dives while there. Here is our trip report: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=656750 |
Visiting Andaman
Has anybody been to Andaman Islands in India...
Is it worth the hassel of getting there? Any suggestions on where to stay? |
To be perfectly honest, I'd never heard of it before this post.
I managed to find a little bit of information around the web, and it really doesn't look promising unless you're really up for a challenge. The main tourism website has dead links to hotel websites - so i can't even begin to suggest a place to stay. It's tiny and there appear restrictions on everything. You need permission to go there, you can't photograph many things, there's rules on where you can be in daytime versus night time. etc.. Seems like a big hassle. Best website i managed to find: http://www.diveandamans.com/home Tiny islands with little tiny buildings dotted around them. |
Please continue to follow this thread in the FT India Forum.
Thanks.. Obscure2k TravelBuzz Moderator |
Originally Posted by tinypsu
(Post 10981203)
Has anybody been to Andaman Islands in India...
Is it worth the hassel of getting there? Any suggestions on where to stay? http://www.makemytrip.com/holiday-pa...er-Andaman.htm Also talk to an India specific travel agent like Cox and Kings or Thomas Cook |
I've heard great things about it from a friend, and am planning a trip in April. While still well off the beaten path, the islands have become much more accessible in the last few years and are already transforming pretty fast. Permits are now available on-arrival at the airport and those islands open to tourism have no hassles, although infrastructure is still pretty bare-bones. A few of the really remote islands, eg. the Sentinels, are home to Stone Age tribes and off limits to everybody -- some researches were shot at by arrows when they tried to visit!
The best resource on the net, and even that's not saying very much, is probably Wikitravel: http://wikitravel.org/en/Andaman_and_Nicobar http://wikitravel.org/en/Havelock_Island |
Originally Posted by tinypsu
(Post 10981203)
Has anybody been to Andaman Islands in India...
Is it worth the hassel of getting there? Any suggestions on where to stay? |
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