Andaman Island Escape with Ross Island & North Bay – 5 Nights / 6 Days

Your holiday begins before you land. As the plane banks over the Andaman Sea, the window fills with turquoise water, coral reefs showing as pale patches beneath the surface, and small islands covered in forest right to the shoreline. On a clear morning, you can even pick out the islands you'll be visiting later in the week: the harbour islands of Ross and North Bay just off Port Blair, and further east, the long green shapes of Havelock and Neil.

You step out of Veer Savarkar International Airport into warm island air, and our representative is waiting outside with your name. A private air-conditioned car takes you the short distance to your hotel in Port Blair, now officially called Sri Vijaya Puram. This will be your base for three of your five nights, so it's worth getting to know the town a little. Port Blair spreads over a series of green hills around a deep natural harbour, and its streets wind up and down past colourful houses, government offices built in the old colonial style, busy markets and small temples, churches, gurdwaras and mosques that reflect the many communities who have made their home here. Settle in, freshen up and let the slower rhythm of island life take over.

The town is named after Archibald Blair, a British naval officer who surveyed the islands in the 18th century, while its new name, Sri Vijaya Puram, adopted in 2024, honours the islands' place in India's freedom struggle. In 1943, during the Second World War, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose raised the Indian tricolour here, at a ceremony in Port Blair, the first time it flew over Indian soil freed from British rule. It's a town with a long and layered history, and over the next few days, you'll discover much of it.

In the afternoon, you drive along the coast to Corbyn's Cove, about 7 kilometres from the town. The road follows the shoreline, with the sea glittering on one side and forest on the other, and passes old Japanese bunkers from the Second World War, half-hidden among the trees. Then the beach appears: coconut palms leaning over a curve of golden sand, fishing boats bobbing offshore, and warm, calm water. Walk barefoot along the waterline, let the children paddle in the shallows, sip a fresh coconut, and feel the city and the flight fall away.

From the beach, you continue to the Cellular Jail, now a National Memorial, where the British held India's freedom fighters in long wings of tiny solitary cells. Built between 1896 and 1906, the jail got its name from its design: 693 individual cells, each one for a single prisoner, arranged in seven wings that spread out from a central tower like the spokes of a wheel. The cells faced the back of the next wing, so that no prisoner could see or talk to another. Prisoners were made to work long hours, pulling oil mills like animals and making rope from coconut fibre, and many did not survive. Walking its corridors and peering into the cells, you feel the weight of what happened here. In the gallery, the names of the prisoners are carved on marble plaques, and a museum displays photographs, letters and the instruments of punishment used by the jailers.

From the top of the central tower, you look out over the harbour to Ross Island, which you'll visit tomorrow, as the evening lights come on. After dark, the Light and Sound Show retells the prisoners' stories in voice, music and light against the walls of the jail itself. As the voices of the freedom fighters fill the night, it's impossible not to be moved. It's a fitting start to your Andaman journey, a reminder that these beautiful islands also have a story that every Indian should know.

Not far from the Cellular Jail, out in the harbour, lies Viper Island, where the British built the first jail for convicts before the Cellular Jail was finished. It was here that Sher Ali, the prisoner who assassinated the Viceroy, Lord Mayo, during his visit to the islands in 1872, was hanged. The story of the islands as a place of exile is long and dark, but it makes the freedom and beauty you'll enjoy over the next few days feel all the more precious.

Back at your hotel, enjoy dinner and an early night. Tomorrow's boat trip across the harbour is one of the highlights of the week, and you'll want to be fresh for a day on and in the water.

Included today: airport pick-up, private air-conditioned car, Corbyn's Cove, Cellular Jail entry and Light and Sound Show tickets.

Good to know: arrival-day breakfast is not included. Cars stop at the jail parking area, about 200 metres' walk from the entrance. The show may be cancelled in heavy rain.

Today you see Port Blair from the sea, and it's the day that makes this six-day trip special. After breakfast, you head to the jetty and set out by boat across the harbour. As the boat pulls away, the town's green hills rise behind you, the Cellular Jail stands out on its headland, and ahead of you, across the sparkling water, stands the white-and-red lighthouse of North Bay. If you have an old twenty-rupee note in your wallet, look at the back: the view printed on it is this very scene, the North Bay lighthouse among the palms.

At North Bay Island, the water is so clear that you can see coral from the surface, even from the boat. North Bay is one of the best places near Port Blair to explore a coral reef, and it's ideal for beginners because the water is calm and shallow. Relax on the shore and watch the boats come and go, or go further. Snorkelling is the simplest way to see the reef: float face-down on the surface, breathing through your snorkel, and watch the underwater world unfold beneath you, with branching corals, giant clams with their wavy, purple-blue lips, sea anemones swaying in the current and clouds of tiny fish. If you'd like to go deeper, a scuba try-dive with an instructor takes you a few metres down among the coral, and no previous experience is needed. For those who'd rather stay dry, a glass-bottom boat or a semi-submarine ride will show you the reef through windows beneath your feet. You might spot parrotfish, butterflyfish, angelfish, clownfish and, sometimes, a turtle or a small reef shark.

The boat then takes you on to Ross Island, officially renamed Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island in 2018, in honour of Netaji's visit to the islands in 1943. For more than 80 years, from 1858 until 1941, this tiny island was the headquarters of the British administration in the Andamans. It was called the Paris of the East, and the British built a remarkable little town here, with a Chief Commissioner's house, a church, a bakery, a printing press, a hospital, a swimming pool, a tennis court, a ballroom and grand bungalows, while the prisoners laboured on the mainland across the water. A great earthquake in 1941, and then the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, brought that era to an end, and the island was abandoned.

Today it feels like a lost city reclaimed by the jungle. Paths lead through tropical greenery to brick ruins with giant tree roots wrapped around their walls, like something from an adventure film. Arches, staircases and empty windows stand among the trees, and the roots of huge peepal and ficus trees have split the walls and grown through the roofs. Spotted deer, peacocks and rabbits wander between the ruins, quite used to visitors, and you can often walk right up to them. Look out for the old church, its walls still standing, and the Japanese bunkers built during the war. A small museum, the Smritika, run by the Indian Navy, has photographs and stories of life on the island in British times.

Walk slowly around the island, which takes about an hour, imagining island life a hundred years ago, with officers in white uniforms and ladies with parasols taking the evening air. Then return by boat to Port Blair in the afternoon, with the evening free to relax, take a stroll along the sea front or enjoy a seafood dinner in the town.

In the evening, many travellers like to visit Chidiya Tapu, about 25 kilometres south of Port Blair, for one of the most beautiful sunsets near the town. The road winds through thick forest, where you may hear the calls of the islands' unique birds, and ends at a small beach looking out over a scattering of little islands. As the sun goes down, the sky turns gold and red and the forest falls quiet. It can be arranged with your driver at a small extra cost.

Port Blair also has some good places for a relaxed dinner after your day on the water. Look for restaurants serving fresh seafood, such as grilled fish, prawn masala and crab cooked in coconut and spices, as well as North and South Indian dishes and Bengali specialities like fish curry with mustard, reflecting the mix of communities who live on the islands.

Before bed, rinse your swimwear and hang it to dry: the islands' sun and sea air dry clothes quickly, and you'll need them again on Havelock.

Included today: boat trips to North Bay and Ross Island, breakfast.

Good to know: snorkelling, diving and glass-bottom boat rides at North Bay are optional, paid extra and depend on weather and availability. Ross Island is closed on Wednesdays, so we plan around it. Wear comfortable shoes for Ross Island and bring water.

After breakfast (packed, if your ferry leaves before 8 AM), you drive to the Haddo or Phoenix Bay jetty and board the inter-island ferry to Havelock Island, now officially named Swaraj Dweep. The government ferries are larger and slower than the private catamarans, with open decks where you can stand in the sea breeze and watch the islands go by, and the journey takes around two and a half to three hours. It's a chance to see island life up close: families travelling with bags of shopping, fishermen, students heading home, and goods of every kind being loaded and unloaded. Step out on deck or take a window seat: Port Blair falls behind, the water deepens to a rich blue, and forested islands slide past, some with tiny beaches where not a single person lives.

Havelock is the largest island of Ritchie's Archipelago, and it's the island that has made the Andamans famous. It's covered in thick tropical forest, with giant trees, paddy fields and coconut groves, and its coast is lined with some of the finest beaches in India. Our representative meets you on arrival and takes you to your hotel, where you can freshen up and change into beach clothes.

In the afternoon, you visit Kala Pathar Beach on the island's eastern coast, where dark rocks, green trees and turquoise water meet along a quiet, uncrowded shore. The beach takes its name from the black rocks scattered along the water's edge, which make a striking contrast with the white sand and the clear blue sea. The road here follows the coast past small villages and plantations, and it's a lovely first stop for photographs and a paddle.

Then you continue to Radhanagar Beach on the western coast, once named the best beach in Asia by TIME magazine and regularly listed among the finest beaches in the world. A long bay of soft, pale sand curves between tall forest and clear, shallow water that stays gentle a long way out, so it's inviting for swimmers and non-swimmers alike. The forest behind the beach is home to giant trees, some of them hundreds of years old, and their shade is the perfect place to rest. Walk its full length, swim in the warm sea, build sandcastles with the children, or simply find a shady spot under the trees and watch the waves.

There's no need to rush this afternoon. Radhanagar faces the sunset, and as the sun drops towards the sea, the whole bay turns gold and then rose, while the waves catch the light like liquid fire. Couples sit close together on the sand, children chase the last waves, and photographers wait for the perfect moment. By evening, you'll understand why so many travellers call Havelock the highlight of their Andaman trip.

Havelock is also famous as one of India's best places for scuba diving, and the island's dive shops attract divers from all over the world. If you'd like to try, ask your representative about adding a dive the next morning before your ferry to Neil.

In the evening, after the sunset, the island's main village comes alive in a gentle way. Small restaurants and cafés along the main road and near the beaches serve everything from fresh seafood and Indian curries to wood-fired pizza, pancakes and fruit smoothies, a sign of how many travellers from around the world come to Havelock. Fresh fish, grilled with lime and spices, is a speciality, and many restaurants display the day's catch on ice so you can choose your own.

Havelock's forests are worth noticing too. The island still has large areas of tall, ancient rainforest, and if you drive inland, you'll pass giant trees with huge buttress roots, wild orchids and ferns, and, if you're lucky, colourful birds such as the Andaman drongo, the white-bellied sea eagle soaring over the coast, or the brilliant blue flash of a kingfisher. The forest is also home to the Andaman wild pig and many species of butterflies, and in the early morning, the sounds of the jungle fill the air.

One of the joys of Havelock is how relaxed it feels. There are no big shopping malls, no traffic jams and no nightclubs, just the sea, the sand, the forest and a few simple villages. It's the kind of place where you quickly lose track of the days, and where a cup of tea on the veranda, listening to the waves, feels like the best entertainment in the world.

Tonight, sleep with the windows open if you can, and let the sound of the sea and the crickets lull you to sleep.

Included today: ferry Port Blair–Havelock, transfers, Kala Pathar and Radhanagar beaches, breakfast.

Good to know: bring a change of clothes if you plan to swim at Radhanagar. Swim only where the lifeguards indicate. Government ferry times can change at short notice, and we'll confirm them the evening before.

After breakfast on Havelock, you take the short ferry ride to Neil Island, now officially named Shaheed Dweep, and within minutes of arriving, you notice the difference. Neil is smaller and slower: village lanes lined with banana and coconut groves, small farms growing vegetables and paddy, few vehicles, and a relaxed, friendly pace. It's the kind of island where people still greet strangers on the road, and where an afternoon can pass with nothing more urgent to do than watch the tide come in. Our representative takes you to your resort, where you can rest before heading out.

Neil is only about 14 square kilometres, small enough to cross by car in fifteen minutes, and it's home to a few thousand people, many of them descendants of families who came from Bengal and settled here in the decades after independence. They turned the forest into farms, and today the island supplies fresh vegetables to Port Blair, earning it the name the vegetable bowl of the Andamans. Its beaches are named after characters from the Ramayana, Bharatpur, Laxmanpur, Sitapur and Ramnagar.

Your first stop is Bharatpur Beach, near the jetty, where the water is shallow, calm and so clear you can see the ripples in the sand beneath it, a favourite with families for a gentle paddle. A coral reef lies just off the beach, and if you'd like to see it without getting wet, add a glass-bottom boat ride. As you glide over the reef, coral, starfish and bright fish slide past beneath your feet, and your boatman will point out the different corals and creatures. For the adventurous, snorkelling and other water sports are available here too.

Next is the Natural Coral Bridge, a rock arch the sea has carved out of ancient coral, one of the most photographed natural features in the Andamans. It's best visited at low tide, when the sea draws back to reveal a rocky shelf of fossilised coral, dotted with rock pools full of life. Walk carefully over the rocky shore with your guide, peer into the tide pools for tiny fish, crabs, sea cucumbers and starfish, and take one of the best photographs of the trip, framed beneath the arch with the sea beyond.

In the late afternoon, you make your way to Laxmanpur Beach, a long, curving stretch of white sand on the island's western side, scattered with shells and pieces of coral washed up by the waves. Find a comfortable spot on the sand and watch the sky change colour over the water, from gold to orange to soft pink and violet, as the sun slips into the sea. There's no music and no crowd, just the sound of small waves and the rustle of the palms: one of the quietest, most beautiful evenings of the whole holiday.

After sunset, enjoy dinner at your resort, and then step outside to look up. With almost no lights on the island, the night sky over Neil is full of stars, and on clear, moonless nights, you can see the Milky Way.

Neil is a wonderful place to explore by bicycle. Many resorts have bikes to borrow or rent, and the island is flat and quiet, so even children and older travellers can ride safely. Pedalling slowly along the lanes, past paddy fields where white egrets stand among the rice, small ponds covered with water lilies, and simple houses with gardens full of hibiscus and bougainvillea, you'll see the real rhythm of island life. Stop at a roadside stall for a fresh coconut, a cup of tea or a plate of hot samosas, and chat with the friendly shopkeepers, many of whom speak Bengali as their first language.

The food on Neil is fresh and local. Many of the vegetables, bananas and coconuts you'll eat are grown on the island itself, and the fish comes straight from the boats at the jetty. Try a coconut fish curry with rice, crisp fried pomfret, prawns cooked with mustard in the Bengali style, or a simple vegetarian thali, followed by sweet, ripe local bananas or papaya.

The island also has a quiet beach called Ramnagar, which few visitors reach. If you have time, ask your driver to show it to you: its calm water and shady trees make it one of the most peaceful spots on the island.

Many travellers say Neil was their favourite island, precisely because so little happens here. There's no rush and no crowd, and the simple pleasures, a walk on the beach, a fresh coconut, a sunset, feel all the more special for it.

Included today: ferry Havelock–Neil, transfers, Bharatpur Beach, Natural Coral Bridge, Laxmanpur Beach, breakfast.

Good to know: the glass-bottom boat ride is optional and paid extra. Coral Bridge access depends on the tide; the rocks are sharp and slippery, so wear sturdy sandals. Please don't touch or step on live coral.

After four days of islands, beaches and boat rides, today is deliberately unhurried. If you're up early, Sitapur Beach, at the eastern tip of Neil, is the island's sunrise point, and watching the sky turn from grey to pink to gold over the sea is a lovely way to start your last morning on the islands. Otherwise, enjoy a slow breakfast on Neil and one last look at the sea.

Then take the ferry back to Port Blair, watching Neil and Havelock shrink into green lines on the horizon. The government ferry gives you plenty of time to sit on deck, feel the sea breeze and look back over your trip. A private car meets you at the jetty and takes you to your hotel.

The rest of the day is yours. Look through your photographs over a cup of tea, and you'll be surprised by how much you've seen: a lost British capital, a coral reef, two of the most beautiful beaches in Asia, a coral bridge and a string of glorious sunsets. If you'd like to go out, Port Blair has plenty to offer for a relaxed afternoon.

Browse the local market at Aberdeen Bazaar, the old heart of the town, for shell craft, spices and souvenirs. Look for Andaman spices such as cinnamon, cloves and black pepper, locally made coconut oil and honey, wooden and cane handicrafts, and jewellery made from shells and pearls. The government emporium, Sagarika, is a good place to find authentic handicrafts at fair prices, and it gives you the receipt you'll need for any shell or coral items. You might also visit the Samudrika Naval Marine Museum, with its displays on the islands' marine life and history, or the Anthropological Museum, which tells the story of the islands' indigenous tribes.

In the evening, take an easy walk along the sea front near Aberdeen Jetty and Marina Park, as the harbour lights come on and the cool breeze comes in off the sea. Across the water, you can see the dark outline of Ross Island, where you walked among the ruins just a few days ago. Local families gather here in the evenings, children play, and vendors sell roasted corn, ice cream and chai. Families often tell us this free evening is exactly what everyone needed before the journey home.

For dinner, Port Blair's restaurants serve excellent fresh seafood, such as grilled fish, prawn curry and crab masala, as well as North Indian, South Indian and Bengali dishes, reflecting the mix of people who live on the islands.

If you'd like to see one more view before you leave the islands, ask about a short trip to Mount Harriet, now renamed Mount Manipur, across the harbour from Port Blair, reached by a short vehicle ferry and a drive up through the forest. At around 365 metres, it's one of the highest points in the South Andaman, and its forested slopes are part of a national park. During British times, the Chief Commissioner used it as a summer retreat. From the viewpoint at the top, you look out over the forest and the sea to North Bay and Ross Island, the very islands you visited earlier in the week, and on clear days, the view stretches far across the Andaman Sea. It can be arranged with your driver at a small extra cost, depending on time and permissions.

This is also a good time to think about what you'd like to see on a future visit. The Andamans have much more to offer than any one trip can cover: the coral reefs of the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park at Wandoor, with its islands of Jolly Buoy and Red Skin; Elephant Beach on Havelock, with its water sports and snorkelling; the mangroves and limestone caves of Baratang; and the remote beaches of Little Andaman, where waterfalls tumble out of the forest and surfers ride the waves. Many of our travellers come back two or three times, each time discovering a different side of the islands.

Port Blair's evening markets are also worth a stroll. Sweet shops sell rasgullas, sandesh and other Bengali sweets, roadside stalls serve hot momos, chaat and fresh fruit juices, and the streets around Aberdeen Bazaar are busy with families out for an evening walk. It's a friendly, safe town, and a nice way to end your island-hopping holiday among the islanders themselves.

If you'd like, take a moment tonight to pack for tomorrow's flight, so your last morning is relaxed.

Included today: ferry Neil–Port Blair, transfer to your hotel, breakfast.

Good to know: museums close one day a week and on some holidays, so check with your local team. Shopping and dinner are at your own cost. Buy shell and coral items only from licensed shops and keep the receipt.

On your last morning, have breakfast and look back on a trip that showed you the Andamans properly. You heard the stories of the freedom fighters in the Cellular Jail and watched the sun set at Corbyn's Cove. You crossed the harbour to the coral reefs of North Bay and walked among the jungle-covered ruins of Ross Island, the lost British capital. You sailed to Havelock and swam at Radhanagar, one of the most beautiful beaches in Asia, and on Neil, you explored the Natural Coral Bridge and watched the sun go down at Laxmanpur.

Six days is the length many of our travellers find just right for a first visit to the Andamans. It's long enough to see the history, the reefs and the beaches without rushing, and short enough to fit into a busy year. And it leaves plenty to come back for: the mangroves and limestone caves of Baratang, Elephant Beach on Havelock, the quiet beaches of Long Island, or a dive course on Havelock.

If your flight is later in the day, take a final walk near your hotel, enjoy a last tender coconut, or sit in a café overlooking the harbour. Before you pack, check that you have receipts for any shell or coral souvenirs, and remember that shells, sand and coral from the beaches can't be taken home; they belong to the islands.

Then we take you to Veer Savarkar International Airport for your flight home. As the plane rises over Port Blair, look out of the window one last time. You'll see the harbour where you sailed to Ross Island and North Bay, the green hills of the town, and, stretching away to the east, the islands of Havelock and Neil, set like jewels in the blue sea. You'll fly home rested, with a camera full of photographs and six days of island memories.

Thank you for travelling with Dreamland Vacations. We hope to welcome you back to the islands soon.

As you travel home, you might find yourself thinking about the islands in a new way. Before the trip, the Andamans were probably a picture of white sand and blue sea. Now you know the stories behind them: the freedom fighters of the Cellular Jail, the British officers of Ross Island, the families from Bengal who turned the forests of Havelock and Neil into farms, and the Indigenous peoples who have lived in these forests for thousands of years. You've seen how fragile and precious the coral reefs are, and how much care the islanders take to protect them.

The Andamans also have a lesson about resilience. In December 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami struck the islands, causing great loss of life and damage, especially in the Nicobar Islands to the south. The islanders rebuilt their homes, their jetties and their lives, and the forests and reefs have largely recovered. Today, the islands welcome more visitors than ever, and the warmth of their people is one of the things travellers remember most.

Once you're home, take a little time to rest and look through your photographs. Choose a few favourites to print: the turquoise water at North Bay, the tree roots wrapped around the ruins on Ross Island, the sunset at Radhanagar, and your family under the coral bridge. They'll bring back the warmth of the islands on a grey day at home.

And if you've enjoyed this six-day escape, we'd love to hear from you. Your feedback helps us make every trip a little better, and your stories help other travellers discover the islands. Whenever you're ready for your next journey, whether it's back to the Andamans or somewhere new, our team will be happy to help.

A few practical tips for the journey home: Port Blair has direct flights to Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Bengaluru and several other cities, and the small airport can get busy in the mornings, so allow plenty of time for check-in and security. Keep valuables, medicines and documents in your hand luggage, pack liquids such as coconut oil or honey in your checked bag, and carry the receipts for any shell or coral souvenirs. If you have time to spare before your transfer, a cup of tea in the hotel garden, listening to the birds, is the gentlest possible goodbye to the islands.

As the plane turns north towards the mainland, the islands soon disappear behind you, but the feeling stays: the warmth of the sun, the softness of the sand, and the calm of days spent by the sea. Many travellers tell us that, weeks later, they still catch themselves daydreaming about a hammock under the palms on Havelock or a sunset on Neil. That's the mark of a holiday well spent.

Included today: breakfast, airport drop.

Good to know: ferry timings, tides and weather may change the order or timing of visits. Hotels check out at about 8 AM. Arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before your flight.