7 Day Extended Andaman 7 Days Package | Unhurried

The pre-dawn departure from Port Blair on Day 2 of this andaman 7 days package is for the convoy checkpoint on the Andaman Trunk Road — the government-managed convoy that escorts vehicles through the Jarawa Tribal Reserve section of the road north. Stopping within the reserve is prohibited and photography is not permitted in the reserve area — the convoy passes through at a set pace without stops. Baratang Island is approximately 100 kilometres north of Port Blair and the full journey including the convoy takes approximately 3 to 4 hours.

At Baratang the limestone caves are reached by a boat through the mangrove channel from the jetty — approximately 30 minutes each way — followed by a short forest walk to the cave entrance. The limestone formations inside — stalactites and stalagmites built over thousands of years — are geological features found nowhere else in the accessible Andaman Islands. The mud volcanoes near Baratang are a short forest walk from the road — small circular formations that periodically emit mud and gases. The return convoy to Port Blair brings the group back by early evening. Overnight in Port Blair.

The private ferry from Port Blair to Havelock on Day 3 of this andaman 7 days package covers approximately 57 kilometres in around 1.5 to 2.5 hours. The two Port Blair nights before this ferry mean the group reaches Havelock with the Cellular Jail history and the Baratang limestone caves already behind them — a different quality of arrival than the standard circuit where Havelock is the first island after a single Port Blair night.

Radhanagar Beach on the western side is the afternoon programme — the long arc of white sand backed by uncleared forest. In the andaman 7 days package this is not the only Havelock afternoon — there are two full days on the island — so the Day 3 Radhanagar arrival is the unhurried first look at the beach rather than the only look. Overnight at Havelock.

Day 4 is the full two-end Havelock light day of this andaman 7 days package. The pre-dawn drive to Kalapathar Beach on the eastern side arrives before first light — the dark rock formations against the pale pre-dawn water, the horizontal first light catching the upper surfaces of the boulders as the sun comes up over the open channel to the east. Elephant Beach in the morning is the reef day — the 45-minute boat ride to the bay where sea walking, snorkelling and scuba introduction dives are available from registered operators at charges paid locally.

The Radhanagar Beach afternoon is the sunset session — the 45-minute window before the sun drops behind the tree line when the water colour shifts from blue-green to copper in the western light. Day 4 of the andaman 7 days package covers both ends of the Havelock light calendar in a single day because Day 5 is free for whatever the group wants rather than compressed into a second attempt at the same sites. Overnight at Havelock.

Day 5 is the Havelock freedom day of this andaman 7 days package — the day with no fixed programme that the five-day circuit never produces. The group has already covered Kalapathar, Elephant Beach and Radhanagar the day before. Day 5 can be a second Elephant Beach session for those who want more time in the reef, a kayaking session through the mangrove channels for those who want the interior waterway rather than the open beach, a stand-up paddleboarding session on the flat eastern channel water, a return to Radhanagar for the morning light rather than the sunset or a day of no activity on the beach with nothing scheduled.

The andaman 7 days package gives this day its freedom specifically because the traveller who has a full week in the Andaman Islands deserves at least one day that is entirely their own. All activity charges paid locally. Overnight at Havelock.

The ferry from Havelock to Neil Island on Day 6 of this andaman 7 days package takes approximately 30 to 60 minutes. Neil — Shaheed Dweep — is the quietest island on the circuit and the one that benefits most from the unhurried arrival that the andaman 7 days package structure allows. In a five-day circuit Neil Island gets one overnight and a morning before the return ferry. In this andaman 7 days package Neil Island gets the full Day 6 afternoon and evening plus the Day 7 pre-dawn Sitapur visit before the ferry.

The natural bridge at Laxmanpur Beach in the afternoon — best at low tide — and the Bharatpur Beach evening are the two Neil Island anchors. The island’s unhurried pace is what the andaman 7 days package gives the traveller the time to actually experience rather than pass through on the way to the return ferry. Overnight at Neil Island.

The pre-dawn start on the final day of this andaman 7 days package is for Sitapur Beach on Neil Island’s eastern tip — the reef exposed at low tide, the sunrise coming up over the open water ahead with nothing between Neil Island and the horizon. This is the morning that the andaman 7 days package earns over the five-day version — in a single-night Neil stay the ferry pressure makes the Sitapur sunrise a rushed decision rather than a natural programme. With Day 6 as the full Neil night the group wakes early, walks to Sitapur at low tide and returns to the ferry without pressure.

The Neil to Port Blair ferry takes approximately 1 to 2 hours. Ross Island — Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island — in the afternoon closes this andaman 7 days package at the colonial ruins and the deer on the cleared paths. The Bon Voyagers vehicle drops at Port Blair Airport for the return flight.