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If you have a week for the islands, this is the trip to plan for. A good Andaman 7 day itinerary gives you two nights in Port Blair, two or three on Havelock (Swaraj Dweep), and a night on Neil (Shaheed Dweep) — enough time to see the headline beaches without spending your whole holiday chasing ferries. We live and work here in Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), so the plan below is built the way we’d route our own family: real ferry timings, honest budgets, and small choices that make the difference between a rushed trip and a relaxed one.
Here’s the short answer before we go day by day. Six nights and seven days (6N/7D) is the sweet spot for the Andamans. Fewer days and you’re skipping an island; more and you’ll want to add Baratang or North Andaman. This guide covers the standard 2N Port Blair + 2-3N Havelock + 1N Neil loop, with variations for couples and for families, plus the ferry logic that ties it all together.
The 6N/7D itinerary at a glance
Before the day-by-day, here’s the skeleton. Your flight lands and departs from Port Blair (Veer Savarkar International Airport) — that’s the only airport, so both ends of the trip are here.
- Days 1-2: Port Blair — Cellular Jail, Corbyn’s Cove, and a half-day to Ross Island and North Bay (2 nights)
- Days 3-4: Havelock Island / Swaraj Dweep — Radhanagar Beach, Elephant Beach, and water sports (2 to 3 nights)
- Day 5: Neil Island / Shaheed Dweep — Bharatpur, Laxmanpur, and the natural rock bridge (1 night)
- Days 6-7: Ferry back to Port Blair, last-minute shopping in Aberdeen Bazaar, and your flight home
The whole thing runs on three ferry legs: Port Blair to Havelock, Havelock to Neil, and Neil back to Port Blair. Get those three bookings right and the rest of the trip falls into place. More on that below.
Day 1 — Arrive Port Blair, Cellular Jail & the light-and-sound show
Most flights from the mainland land before noon. After check-in and a bite, head to Corbyn’s Cove — the closest beach to town — to shake off the travel. In the afternoon, the Cellular Jail National Memorial is a must. Give it a proper hour or two; the cell blocks and the gallows are sobering, and the audio guide is worth it. Stay for the evening light-and-sound show, which tells the story of the freedom fighters held here. It’s the one thing in Port Blair almost everyone remembers.
Local tip: the show has an English slot and a Hindi slot on most evenings. Ask which is running the night you go, and get there 20 minutes early — seating near the central tree gives the best view.
Day 2 — Ross Island & North Bay half-day
Start early at the Aberdeen Jetty for the harbour cruise to Ross Island (Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island) and North Bay. Ross was the British administrative headquarters — today it’s colonial ruins slowly being reclaimed by the forest, with deer and peacocks wandering the paths. North Bay is where the water sports live: glass-bottom boat rides, snorkeling, and sea walking, where you walk the ocean floor in a weighted helmet with no swimming required. That last one is the family favourite because grandparents and kids can both do it.
You’ll be back in town by afternoon. Use the free evening for Aberdeen Bazaar, the Samudrika Naval Marine Museum, or simply resting up — tomorrow is a ferry morning.
Day 3 — Ferry to Havelock, sunset at Radhanagar Beach
Take a morning ferry from Port Blair to Havelock. The private cruises — Makruzz, Nautika, Green Ocean — cover the crossing in roughly 90 minutes to two hours; the government ferry is cheaper but slower and books out fast in peak season. Once you’re settled on Havelock, head to Radhanagar Beach (Beach No. 7) for sunset. It’s regularly ranked among Asia’s best beaches, and for once the hype holds up — a long curve of white sand backed by forest, with the sky going gold over the water. This is the postcard everyone comes for.
Day 4 — Elephant Beach, snorkeling & water sports
Elephant Beach is the activity hub of Havelock. You reach it by a short speedboat ride (or a jungle trek if you’d rather walk). The reef here is close to shore, so the snorkeling and the sea walking are excellent, and this is one of the best places in the islands for a first scuba dive if you’ve never tried it. Certified divers should ask us about Barracuda City, The Wall, and Nemo Reef instead — Havelock is the diving capital of the Andamans for good reason.
If you’ve booked the extra night on Havelock (the 3N option), keep Day 4 relaxed and do the water sports on the morning of Day 5 before the ferry. Couples often use that spare morning for a slow breakfast and a walk on Vijaynagar Beach (Beach No. 5); families use it to let the kids swim.
Day 5 — Ferry to Neil Island, Bharatpur & Laxmanpur sunset
Neil Island is only about 45 minutes by ferry from Havelock, so this is the easiest leg of the trip. Neil is smaller, greener, and slower — the antidote to Havelock’s buzz. Spend the afternoon at Bharatpur Beach, where the water is shallow and calm (the best beach on the trip for young children and nervous swimmers), then move to Laxmanpur Beach for one of the finest sunsets in the islands. If the tide is right, walk out to the natural rock bridge near Laxmanpur before the light goes.
Not sure whether Neil deserves a night of your week? We wrote an honest side-by-side on Havelock Island vs Neil Island to help you decide — the short version is that they do very different jobs, and on a 7-day trip you have room for both.
Day 6 — Ferry back to Port Blair, free afternoon
A morning ferry takes you from Neil back to Port Blair in about 90 minutes to two hours. This buffer day matters: if your flight home is on Day 6 or 7, being back in Port Blair the night before means one ferry delay can’t make you miss it. Use the free afternoon for Chidiya Tapu (the “sunset point” with birdlife on the way to the beach), a spot of shopping for shell and pearl souvenirs in Aberdeen Bazaar, or the Anthropological Museum if the history of Day 1 stayed with you.
Day 7 — Departure (or an optional Baratang day)
If your flight is in the afternoon, you have a relaxed final morning. If you’d rather trade a beach for something wilder and you’ve kept Day 7 open, Baratang is the option: a pre-dawn start, a convoy through the Jarawa tribal reserve, a mangrove creek boat ride, and limestone caves with proper stalactites. It’s a long day (you leave around 4 am and return by evening) so it only works if your flight is the following morning — which is why some families stretch this itinerary to 7N/8D. For most travellers, we’d keep Day 7 gentle and save Baratang for a return trip.
Couples vs families — how to adjust the same week
For couples and honeymooners
Give Havelock the extra night (make it 3N) and trim Port Blair to the essentials. Base yourselves at a beachfront property near Radhanagar, add a private candlelight dinner on the sand, and keep the pace slow — this is a honeymoon, not a checklist. Neil’s Laxmanpur sunset and the quiet of Bharatpur suit couples beautifully. If you want this shaped end to end, our Andaman honeymoon packages are built around exactly this rhythm.
For families with kids
Keep Port Blair at 2N — the Ross Island wildlife walk, the glass-bottom boat at North Bay, and sea walking (no swimming needed) are all winners with children. On Havelock, favour Elephant Beach’s shallow snorkeling over deep-water activities, and on Neil, Bharatpur’s calm water is genuinely the safest swim of the trip. Pack the ferry mornings with a little buffer so nobody’s rushed. Our Andaman family tour packages pace this out with kid-friendly stays and easy transfers.
The ferry chain — the logic that makes this work
Everything in this itinerary hangs on three inter-island ferry legs, and this is where most self-planned trips come unstuck. Here’s how to think about it:
- Book the ferries first, then the hotels. Ferry seats — especially the private cruises — sell out before hotels do in peak season (December to January). The ferry schedule dictates your check-in and check-out days, not the other way around.
- Always take morning ferries. Afternoon crossings can be cancelled at short notice if the sea turns rough. A morning slot gives you the rest of the day on the new island and a fallback if there’s a delay.
- Keep a buffer night in Port Blair at the end. Never schedule an island-to-airport ferry on the same morning as your flight. One cancelled ferry shouldn’t cost you a flight.
- Private vs government ferries. Private cruises (Makruzz, Nautika, Green Ocean) are faster, air-conditioned, and more reliable; the government ferry is cheaper but slower and harder to book online from the mainland.
This is the single biggest reason travellers book with a local operator: we hold the ferry slots, sequence them correctly, and rebook you ourselves if the weather forces a change. You never have to stand at a jetty working out a plan B.
Realistic budget bands for a 6N/7D trip
These are honest, land-only ranges — per person, on twin-sharing, excluding your flights to Port Blair. They cover hotels, inter-island ferries, private cab transfers, sightseeing with entry tickets, and daily breakfast. Peak season (roughly October to February, and sharply so around Christmas and New Year) runs 25-35% higher, so book 60-90 days ahead for those dates.
- Budget (clean, basic hotels, breakfast only): around ₹18,000–₹22,000 per person
- Standard / mid-range (3-star hotels, more inclusions): around ₹24,000–₹30,000 per person
- Premium / luxury (4-5 star, beachfront resorts, extras): around ₹37,000–₹55,000 per person
A few things sit outside these bands: scuba diving (around ₹3,500–₹6,500 per dive), parasailing, restaurant dinners, room upgrades, and of course your flights. We’ll always itemise these so you can decide what’s worth it — no surprises at the end. If you’re watching the number, our budget Andaman tour packages hit this same route at the lower band, and the full Andaman tour packages hub lays out every duration side by side.
FAQ
Is 7 days enough for the Andaman Islands?
Yes — 6 nights and 7 days is the ideal length for a first trip. It gives you Port Blair, Havelock, and Neil at a comfortable pace with a safety buffer for the ferries. If you want to add Baratang or North Andaman (Diglipur), stretch to 7N/8D so you’re not skipping a beach to fit it in.
How much does a 7-day Andaman trip cost per person?
Land-only (excluding flights), budget a 6N/7D trip at roughly ₹18,000–₹22,000 per person for basic hotels, ₹24,000–₹30,000 for mid-range, and ₹37,000 upwards for premium resorts. Add your flights and any scuba diving on top. Peak-season dates (December–January) run 25-35% higher.
What is the best order — Havelock or Neil first?
Do Havelock first, then Neil, then back to Port Blair. Havelock has the headline beaches and most of the water sports, so you want fresh energy for it; Neil is the slow, quiet wind-down before you head home. The ferry timings also line up better this way — Havelock to Neil is a short 45-minute hop.
When is the best time to do this itinerary?
October to May has the calmest seas and the most reliable ferries, which matters for an island-hopping route like this. December and January are the busiest and priciest. The monsoon months (June to September) bring lower prices and green landscapes, but rougher crossings and the occasional cancelled ferry — plan a little more buffer if you travel then.
Ready to lock in your week?
We’re a local team based right here in Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), and we plan this exact route every week — ferries sequenced, stays chosen, transfers and permits handled, and a real person on call the whole way. Tell us your dates, how many of you are travelling, and your budget, and we’ll send a custom quote with everything itemised. Browse our full Andaman tour packages, or just message us on WhatsApp and we’ll shape this 7-day plan around your trip — no obligation, and we usually reply within minutes.
