The Indian government has been advocating eco-friendly tourism development on Havelock for a while now, and while it's the most visited of the islands it sees only a fraction of the visitors that crowd other island destinations such as Thailand. The pace of life is slow, the locals are friendly and still not too affected by tourism, and the facilities are moderately basic for the most part. While many of the lodges have 'resort' in their names, none come even close, thankfully.
The beaches have been given a rather boring numbering system instead of names, although some names like Radhanagar are in popular use. The arrival port is at Beach #1, the junction at the center is Beach #3 and so on. The town is small and has only a handful of shops and local dhabas. Most accommodation is grouped along the road from Beach #3 to Beach #5. From the 'junction' near Beach #3 a road veers off to Beach #7 (Radhanagar Beach), the most beautiful spot on the island.
Mid-January until mid-May sees the best weather, and often the best diving conditions. The days are mostly sunny at this time of year, and the sea sometimes flat enough to reflect the clouds. The monsoon usually hits around late May, lasting until the end of July, and is probably the worst time to visit the island – strong winds, frequent rain and low visibility underwater. August thru November see some occasional showers and slightly rougher seas, but diving can still be great at this time of year. The weather often takes a turn for the worse for the month of December through early January.
Get in
Ferries are the only way on or off the island. 2-3 arrive daily from Port Blair, one of which comes via Neil Island. The first ferry leaves for Havelock at 6:30AM followed by one at 10:30AM and and a "tourist special" at 2PM. The tourist special is smaller and takes 2 1/2 hours from Port Blair. The larger boats take 3-4 hours, more if the sea is rough.
Heading back to Port Blair the first ferry leaves around 10AM and the last one at 4:30PM. If you wish to get to Port Blair directly without the hassle and the expense of stopping at Neil Island en route, the first available ferry is at 2:30 PM.
Ferries operated by government operators are basic. There are two types of tickets for non-locals — Rs 150 for standard seating or Rs 200 for luxury which will get you old recliners in the bottom part of the boat without the benefit of a porthole.
There are no food or drink available on the tourist ferry, but there is a basic canteen selling snacks and tea on the other one. You may want to avoid eating a lot before you set off, as it will only come back the way it went if the sea is rough.
It is best to get return tickets in Port Blair if your return trip is scheduled on a firm date as return tickets tend to be pre-reserved and can sometimes be hard to procure on the way back. Otherwise get to the port early and elbow your way to the front of the queue as the Indians do.
Get around
See
Do
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is probably the biggest activity on the island other than lying around and eating great seafood. Both operators on Havelock are PADI certified dive centers, and each have 2 converted 'dungi' dive boats, provide good equipment and offer training up to instructor. They share pretty much all of the same discovered dive sites. The diving possibilities around the Andamans are vast and it feels that what has been discovered is only the beginning... and even that is pretty great. Look for more sites to open up soon. As of now Havelock is the main center for diving in the island chain. DIVE India has talked about opening up a shop in Diglipur, ask about this. If you're an experienced diver, also enquire about dive expeditions, where they will take you out hunting for new and undiscovered sites. There's much to find – a manta cleaning station would be nice.
Snorkeling
Snorkeling is also popular, with several options.
Eat
Some food is grown on the island (like tasty bananas), but most vegetables and fruits are imported.
Budget
Splurge
Drink
Sleep
The majority of accommodation on offer are cheap palm-thatched beach huts.
Budget
The recent boom in tourism means that there is not always enough accomodation to meet demand — the majority of the places between Beaches #3 and #5 have huts for around Rs 200/night, so it makes sense to start at one end and work your way down looking for an available hut. In busier times you may end up pitching a tent if you have one, or sleeping in a hammock for a night or two until something frees up.
Mid-range
Splurge
Contact
Phones
Landlines are scarce, and with the exception of a couple of the nicer accomodation options, most places don't have a phone.
Internet
Stay safe
Wild dogs can be a problem, especially along the beach at night – people are regularly bitten. You'd be well-advised to carry a stick to scare them off... or a handful of stones.
If you plan to be out until sunset or beyond it's a good idea to carry a flashlight (torch). It can get pretty dark, especially if there's no moon out, and the beaches are often backed by dense forest.
Beware of strong currents at Radhanagar Beach, especially close to Barefoot at Havelock Resort. There have been a number of accidents as people, even skilled swimmers, have been caught by sudden and extremely powerful waves. Two people drowned in October '06 and one was badly injured a month later. Supposedly the authorities have taken action to employ trained lifeguards and put up watchtowers.
Get out
Havelock Island (often just Havelock for short) with an area of some 92 km2 is the largest of the islands which comprise Ritchie's Archipelago, a chain of islands to the east of Great Andaman in the Andaman Islands. The island population is comprised of Bengali settlers.
It is one of the few places that the administration of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India has permitted and encouraged development of tourism, with a focus on promoting eco-tourism.
Havelock Island avoided much of the devastation which was visited upon most of the shores affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and its resultant tsunami, and there were no documented casualties.
Beach No. 7, better known as "Radha Nagar" Beach is the most popular of all beaches on Havelock, specially with tourists. The elephant beach (Hathi Dera)at Havelock is wonderful, prestine for snorkling with rich coral reef and wonderful marine life.
Hevelock offers decent to good diving and snorkelling and many options for an eco traveler to stay, right from Rs. 100 per pax per day to Rs. 7000 for a couple.
