You must avoid visiting the beautiful Andaman Islands and restricting yourself to the capital, Port Blair (recently renamed Sri Vijaya Puram). You must include a remote island stay in your itinerary and the most accessible yet pristine island from Port Blair by ferry is Havelock Island. If you are wondering about the places to visit in Havelock and things to do in Havelock Island, we have you covered.
We have covered our trip to the Andamans in 3 Chapters from the lens of travelling to the Andamans from any major city in India, experiences to include in your itinerary, island hopping in the Andamans, availability of vegetarian food in the Andamans, exploring the indigenous tribal culture and connecting the dots back to India’s freedom struggle.
You are reading Chapter 3.
Table of contents
Where is Havelock Island?
Havelock Island is located in the Bay of Bengal, part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, towards the northeast of the capital town of Port Blair. It is about an hour away by ferry from Port Blair and the water turns a lighter shade of blue as you inch closer to Havelock Island from Port Blair.
Best places to stay in Havelock Island
A comfortable resort stay in wooden cottages that does not particularly burn a hole in your pocket is at the Sea Shell Resort & Spa, Havelock. Not too far away from the Havelock Island jetty, the resort is by the Govind Nagar Beach and has a private beach entrance with sun loungers under the shade of round hay cantilevers. The room was spacious along with having a rustic tropical charm to it, and the resort housekeeping did try their best to keep the trespassing lizards at bay as is expected of any equatorial paradise. The resort also has 3 in-house restaurants, a spa, a dive shop, and an activity center for add-on experiences conducted by marine biologists and other experts at the resort.
If you’re here on your honeymoon or want to splurge more on your stay then there is also the Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Andamans by the Radha Nagar Beach in Havelock Island.
How many days are enough for Havelock Island
Around 2-3 nights are enough at Havelock Island, whether you want to relax and unwind or opt for water activities and adventure sports. You can add in a day if you want to take a day trip to Neil Island, where the water turns more cerulean. Some people even choose to spend 1-2 nights at Neil Island and Sea Shells also has a property in Neil Island.
If you are here for a scuba diving certification course, then you will need a minimum of 2 nights to complete the number of dives and also account for any weather-related cancellations.
Best places to visit in Havelock Island
Havelock Island has some of the best beaches in India and I also found the cafe and beach shack scene to be better in Havelock than Port Blair.
Commuting in Havelock
First, you can rent out a two-wheeler in Havelock to get around the island. However, the less adventurous and comfort-seeking travellers hired a chauffeur-driven car to get to slightly more faraway beaches from our resort. We hired a car to and fro from Radhanagar Beach from Sea Shell.
To visit nearby beaches and restaurants, you can hail an auto or ask the security personnel at the front gate to help you with an auto. In my opinion, the winding roads of Havelock Island laced with palm trees are best explored in a rickshaw.
Havelock Island Beaches
Radhanagar Beach is one of the best beaches to visit in Havelock, and the best time to visit it is in the evening hours for the perfect diffused light and golden hour shots with the sun setting on the side of the horizon. Radhanagar Beach is one of the Blue Flag Beaches in India that meets the environmental standards for water quality and public safety.
Other beaches to visit in Havelock are the Govind Nagar Beach and the Vijay Nagar Beach which are smaller and less crowded than the Radhanagar Beach. You may also spot bioluminescence here or go on guided nocturnal marine trails after sunset as there are no lights at the beach. Beaches are generally vacated post sunset and since we are on the eastern coast of India, the sun sets earlier and it is pitch dark by 7 PM.
Vegetarian-friendly places to eat in Havelock
All the 3 restaurants at Sea Shell Havelock served great vegetarian food. From the daily breakfast buffet spread to a North Indian lunch, the White Lotus is an indoor air-conditioned space with serene spa music playing all day long. The Bonova Cafe & Pub is a good place to dine at for some continental fares with live music especially over the weekends. If you’re here in the cooler months, grabbing a beer with some finger food at the al fresco High Tide is also a good idea.
Another highly recommended lunch spot is Fullmoon’s Cafe which is like a beach shack and you can also request for an outdoor table under the shade of the coconut palms facing the Vijay Nagar Beach known for its black sand. The vegetarian falafels and sandwiches here quite flavourful and you could even enjoy an afternoon siesta by the beach or on a hammock post a hearty meal. The Vijay Nagar Beach is also accessible from this restaurant and you’ll find a dog and a few cats to keep you company. Just beware of the flies that also get as excited for your food as you and keep teeming around till you have completed the last bite.
Another accessible option for dinner is Something Different which is at a stone’s throw away from Sea Shell. You could either do the 5 minute walk from the front gate on the road or choose to walk through the Govind Nagar Beach with torchlights in the evening hours till you saw welcoming LED lights and heard their music. It is a beach-facing restaurant that is enclosed but not air-conditioned letting the cool evening sea breeze into the space. They are known for their cocktails, dinner and desserts.
Scuba diving at Havelock Island
Havelock is a scuba diver’s dream come true and a lot of people visit to obtain their PADI Basic or Advanced Open Water Diver Certification. My husband also completed his certification with Scubalov who have their dive shop at Sea Shell Havelock. The main advantage of completing an Advanced certification is that you can dive underwater upto 30 meters where there are higher chances for you to spot exotic marine life. The Basic certification allows you to dive up to a depth of 18 meters and to obtain either of the certifications you are to complete a few exercises across indoor pool training and approximately 4-5 open water dives. My husband completed his indoor pool training back home in Mumbai to make the most of his time in the ocean and to include a few fun dives along with the mandatory dives in Havelock.
For most of the dives, the instructors request you to reach the dive shop early in the morning and they are back by lunchtime. At times, a boat also leaves the shore during the afternoon and is back by late afternoon. Some people also experience night dives. Beyond scuba diving, you can also inquire at the Dive Shop for snorkelling and parasailing.
Other things to do in Havelock Island
If you are not planning to get into the water and are in Havelock simply to relax, then all you need is some comfortable clothing, a good book and a spot on a sunbed under the cantilever facing the beach. Block your spot earlier in the day to avoid sun beds that get direct sunlight as the day progresses.
You can also unwind at the Sattva Spa in the resort, their foot massage is divine and you can choose to pamper a different body part every day of your stay in this tropical heaven. You could also get into the swimming pool if you are travelling with kids and enjoy the jacuzzi corners while watching over kids splashing and playing in the pool under the canopy of mahua and palm trees. We had entered the pool in the evening, and the electricity went off for a few minutes and it was the most breathtaking spectacle in the sky with a hundred stars beaming brighter than ever.
You can check with the naturalists at the resort for any daily activities in the evening hours like stargazing tours, marine trails and mangrove safaris.
Last word
I really enjoyed my trip to the Andamans and especially Havelock Island as it gave me the peace I was seeking amid a busy life filled with work and social commitments. The network is patchy on the island that gives you an off the grid experience, however, the resort wifi works fine - just that you may have to keep entering and re-entering the password time and again. Sometimes, no connectivity is a blessing in disguise forcing us to slow down and not care about the world outside the lagoon we are lounging in.
Comments