Andamans or Kerala

banksie

Hey up,

I will be travelling to India for the first time in Februaury to attend a wedding in Bangalore. After that I will have about 7 days to travel on my own around India. After much deliberation I have narrowed down to two destinations: The Andamans or Kerala. I really can't decide which place to go to! They both look fantastic. Has anyone been to both destinations, and if so could they comment on which one they would visit if they could only pick one?!! I am kind of swaying towards the Andamans as I figure it'd be best to experience it now before it becomes too popular and easily accessable ( I read somewhere they were considering opening up a route from Bangkok?)!

Thanks

Rob

kalbarri

banksie, hi!
you have the right idea about going to the andamans before it is too late, but with only 7 days, it is hardly worth it. you will be very frustrated to have to leave after such a short time. it is exellent! i would suggest kerala, this trip and if you can afford to rent a car and driver, way to go. within a short distance of the border, coming from bangalore, there are national parks and some lovely places to see. munnar, marayoor down to coast, cochin and vypeen island. great scenery. lots more but if you only have seven days just pick a few spots.

vandy

Hi there,

Kalbarri is right, with the limited time you have Kerala is the go

Western Ghats is spectacular.

rgds

vandy

palerider

My thoughts too. Andamans can be time consuming. More time is needed to see it properly.

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santos_g15

My choice too would be kerala.its got everything.mountains,wildlife, waterways,beaches.7 days might not be enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

banksie

Thanks for your comments guys. 7 days isn't long I know, but I just can't shake my desire to go to the Andamans after seeing all the amazing photos and reading all the great posts on this forum! My plan was to fly in on the 22nd Feb and head straight to Havelock for 4 or 5 days and do some diving and then try and visit Jolly Buoy before flying back out on the 1st March. Actually, I'm not sure about the Jolly Buoy bit yet because I haven't worked out where it is in relation to Havelock yet and how long it takes to get there!

I see there's a few WA residents on here! I spent a year over there studying at UWA - was one of the best years of my life! One of my greatest memories was Kalbarri actually, on a moonless night. I couldn't believe how many stars I could see, it was one of thwe most amazing things I ever seen. We don't get nights like that in Derby, too much light pollution

Cheers

kalbarri

i was going to say that you may have to spend 2 nights of that time in port blair, depending on arrival and departure times of boats. jolly boy is not too far from port blair, about 30 or so ks from port blair but the boats may not go every day to the island. (since we can't convince you to go to kerala.)
considering the dates you mentioned, you could fit it in and it will be a nice hit.
in the off season the boats only went to jolly boy saturday and wednesday, i think it was. someone else may have more recent info. have a dive for me, if you go to andamans.

mamagourmande

Wondering the same thing Andamans or Kerala...but for August when it is potentially rainy. I come from England - I want to see as little rain as possible! Also internet flights look so expensive for the Andamans. Would we be better off waiting till we got to Delhi to buy them there?

kannan infratech

I have planned my vacation to Andamans with family (2 days in Port Blair and 4 days in Havelock) and I booked through TSG Travels for my accomodation and local trips.

You have only one flight from Chennai (King Fisher Red aka Deccan) and the flight is so expensive. Chennai to Port Blair is somewhat ok but the return trip from Port Blair to Chennai costs a fortune. Overall, a round trip to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand looks cheaper in comparison.

Kolkotha seems to have better connectivity.

kalbarri

from chennai, i think my flight return to port blair was about $300 australian.
the rain in august when, i was there was not every day and was a relief and so were the cloudy skies but you could still go snorkelling and wander about. there were only a couple of days where it was raining all day.
but each season will vary so see if you can find any long range weather predictions.

mamagourmande

Thanks Kannon and Kalbarri, that's really helpful. All in all i think we might stick to Kerala, and save the Andamans for another trip

kalbarri

the andamans are definitely worth a longer stay. at least a month.

dwardoo

at least a month? i was planning on spending two-three days there since the boat to kolkata takes another two days going and two days coming. Am I thinking of the impossible? Dont want to miss out on the Andamans though!

machadinha

Dwardoo, those boats don't run that often I think,* so you'll definitely have to take this into account with any plans, or look into flights at least one way.

* One or two a fortnight from either Kolkata or Chennai, according to my Lonely Planet '07. All subject to change, no doubt. They caution btw to take listed travel times with a large grain of salt, & that with delays and weather and sea conditions the trip can take to three days or more; this seems to concur with what some people told me just recently.

Sites they give for it are http://www.tourism.andaman.nic.in/ and http://www.shipindia.com/ ; thing is you probably already know those and I've never found them very up-to-date in the past.

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dwardoo

thanks machadinha, looking more and more impossible, especially in monsoon season!