Kolkata - Port Blair, Port Blair - Chennai

Swe_Mats

Hello Everybody!
I've been thinking of going to Port Blair this summer. I don't want to fly so I guess the boat is the only option.
So, my questions are:
Is it worth spending 6 days offshore? Is it safe? and can I as a tourist travvel in the budgetclass? I've heard that this is impossibel, but is it? And is Portblair and andaman worth a visit? what is there to do on the islands?


Mats

Radjesh

Andamans is a fantastic place, there are many beautiful islands other than Port Blair. But its not a good option to go there in the summer when temp will be around 35 - 40C, the heat and humidity will be just too much. The best time is around Dec-Feb

Swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, Deep sea fishing could be some activites that you could indulge in.

martinez

If you wanna go by boat then Chennai is your best option because Kolkata is on a tidal river and the boat operators have told me that the tides are quite unpredictable until about a week before whichever proposed sailing date,thereby makig advance booking an unviable option.. Chennai,as i understand does NOT suffer the same complications.. Martin

Nick-H

I understand from a passing-through Kolkatta resident who plans a visit, that it is a few hours sailing from Chennai, but a couple of days from Kokatta.

Unpredictable tides does sound unlikely. Comments from our resident Captain if he passes this way, please?

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capt_mahajan

Though Kolkata is on the Hooghly, which is tidal- not too much is unpredictable about it, even though it is prone to shifting sand bars and silting. The local pilots have the latest information, and I have gone in and out of Kolkata with hardly 15cm below the keel, (and once, briefly, run aground) which is interesting if you are 9 or 10 metres deep.

Big ships can't go into Kolkata, and real big ones can't even go to Haldia, closer to the mouth of the river.

I would disagree. Passenger ships are not so deep drafted, and, given that the height of tide is known and predicted well in advance, they would change their schedule accordingly long before any bookings.

If they are not doing this, then they are poorly organised- which may well be true. Maybe a local Kolkattan can tell us more.

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Shiver me Timbers

Hi I took the ferry from Chennai in 2006.

It took 3 nights, and a bunk in budget class cost 1550 Rupees.

The dorms where you have your bunk are quite hot and crowded, so I slept out on deck for the last two nights.

It's worth taking the ferry I think - you'll meet other travellers (all the foreigners are bunched together), and you can have fun. Just beware - do not take alcohol on board and flash it around - make sur you're discreet about it, and hide it away. Me and friend had two bottles of whiskey confiscated.

It's also worth taking some of your own food on board, as the selection on the ship is not great.

For more info, see the link below....

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Andaman's Tips

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Manzey

I am not sure about this. But somewhere I read that the distance between Kolkatta and Port Blair and Chennai and Port Blair is almost same and the time taken is also almost same to reach the place.
Not sure if this is worth 2 cents also to anybody....
Cheers...

navinkurian2002

Summer is over in the Andaman . The sea has become choppy. It was really choppy a few days ago when there was the cyclone over Burma.

At the best of times ships can get cancelled and delayed. Do check with the shipping authorities before booking .

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Swe_Mats

I also think that the distance between Chennai - Port Blair is the sam as Kolkata - Port Blair. Anyway I am comming from Bangkok so it would be easy to take the boat from Kolkata and then to Chennai from Port Blair, but i will probalby skip the whole deal if Andaman is so bad during summer. I'll go there next winter instead

Nick-H

Well, I could easily have miss-remembered the conversation, I guess .

Thanks for the nauticalia, Captain. I wouldn't have been keen on 15cm under the keel in a vessel drawing 1.5m! Waiting for the Grrrrrnch

capt_mahajan

Chennai to the Andamans may well be faster; it can take almost a day for the downriver trip to the mouth of the Hoogly (Sandheads) from Calcutta; ships often have to anchor at Garden Reach or before the sand bar off Haldia (Balari) waiting for the tide

martinez

ok boys,thanks for the vote of no confidence.
the information i posted was from the the mouth of the head of booking in the strand,calcutta. And i quote,WE can only take booking for about a week in advance because tides are variable,but from Chennai bookings can be made more in advance.
Please understand that the reply i posted was as a help to the enquirer. Maybe i was ill informed? If so,why?

saajan_20

I think i read a news flash somewhere that port blair airport is submerged in rainwater !! Can anybody put light to it pleases!!

Radjesh

Very true, just heard in the news. All flights have been cancelled and some 200 odd people are stranded in the airport...

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv...WEN20080049427

Swe_Mats

I just read that the distance between Chennai - Port Blair and Kolkata - Port Blair is almost the same. It is about 1220 km from Kolkata and 1120 from Chennai