Getting around the Andaman Islands: why the ferry is the only option

Most of the destinations TripWise plans for have a genuine choice of how to get there and around — a flight or a train, a bus or a car. The Andaman Islands don't, for the second half of the trip, and it would be dishonest to pretend they do.

Getting there: fly to Port Blair

There's exactly one realistic way in — a direct flight from Chennai, Kolkata or Bengaluru to Port Blair, roughly ₹13,000 per adult round-trip and about 5 hours door-to-door. TripWise shows this as the only option on the main leg, not as a default among alternatives that don't exist.

Port Blair to Havelock Island: ferry, no exceptions

Havelock Island — home to Radhanagar Beach, regularly ranked among Asia's best — is a real island with real water in between, and there is no bridge. The government or a private catamaran is the only way across: about ₹2,500 per adult one-way and roughly 2.5 hours. In season, book ahead — this is the one leg of an Andaman trip that can genuinely sell out.

Havelock to Neil Island: another short hop

A second, shorter inter-island ferry — about ₹1,200 per adult one-way, around 1.5 hours — covers the last leg to Neil Island, the quieter, less-visited counterpart to Havelock.

How this shows up in the itinerary

Because there's no choice to make on either transfer, TripWise doesn't show you a picker with one greyed-out option — it just tells you plainly that the ferry is the only way, prices it into the trip total, and places it on the right day of the Andaman itinerary: the Port Blair–Havelock ferry lands on day 2, and the Havelock–Neil ferry on day 4, once you've actually had time on Havelock first.

This matters more than it sounds like it should. A planner that quietly assumes a road exists where there isn't one hands you a trip that's wrong the moment you land. One that shows the real, single option — and prices it correctly — is the one you can actually follow.

Plan the full Andaman itinerary, or check what it costs against your own budget.