Advice needed for Lakshadweep tour

sandy22_theone

hi friends,

i with my friends (a group of 7) are planning for a trip to Lakshdweep this January on Republic day weekend. We have 4 full days at our disposal and want to make best use of it.

Can somebody suggest me the best possible itinerary to cover lakshadweep in 4 days. I have looked on the sites of SPORTS and other tourism sites of lakshadweep.

They say that from cochin there is a heliciopter service available for aggati island but i don't know how to book it ?

There are many 5 day tours offered by SPORTS but none for a 4 day trip

We have already booked for cochin and will be extremely thankful if someone can guide me on how to plan it from cochin.

waiting for your suggestions.............

sald

As far as the SPORTS packages are concerned, the tourism office plans your travel, stay and touring so there is not much scope for any suggestions. The packages are ex-Cochin, so you really don't have to bother about getting to Agatti.

There are 4-day packages offerred by Agatti Island Resort (www.agattiislandresorts.com) and Bangaram Island Resort (www.cghearth.com). For these resorts, you'll have to get to Agatti either by ship or air. No idea about Helicopters, but Indian Airlines flies daily (except Sunday) to Agatti in a small Donera aircraft. Note that Bangaram does not offer any packages and tariffs are on a per day basis for any number of days you want to spend. Agatti has 3 and 5-day packages which you could tweak to suit yourself.

Have a nice trip.

CliveG

Hi Sandy,
As far as I am aware the helicopter is only available during the monsoon season when it is difficult to get to the islands by boat - there certainly isn't a scheduled flight service and the only time I have seen one is when the Ghandi family descend onto Bangaram.
The usual route is to take the flight from Kochi to Agatti and then transfer to either Kadmat or Bangaram by boat. There is only one flight a day leaving at about 09h30 in the morning. Together with the boat journey it would be about 14h30 when you arrive on Bangaram - so bear in mind you will lose two half days travelling out of your 4 day trip. The boat trip to Kadmat takes even longer.
As for a tour of the islands I not sure that is practical. Agatti, Bangaram and Kadmat are the only islands that allow tourism and Agatti is a dry island and most tourists there tend to be Indian Nationals. Kadmat is primarily for divers - it is quite basic there with no entertainment and it is also a dry island so technically no alcohol.
Bangaram is for divers and for people who want to chill out. It allows no more than 60 tourists at a time. There is a beach bar (stunning cocktails!!!!) where we tend to congregate during the evenings. Evening meals over Christmas are on the beach and the food is excellent. Apart from snorkelling, diving, kayaking fishing and swimming there is little else to do and you can walk around the island in less than an hour. However it is very peaceful and beautiful and is one of the best kept secrets on this planet. I would advise that you settle for 3 nights on Bangaram. However if you are a group that wants to party I would think twice. Bookings can be made via Casino Hotels Cochin or if you want to book some diving through Lacadives in Mumbai.

saikyo

Piggy back this.

Is going to Bangaram and NOT diving an incredible waste of a trip?

How is the snorkeling there?

I have heard that it is smart to bring your own snorkel, is this true?

We'll be on Bangaram for 3 nights!

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nanookmog

We travelled to Banagaram for a week about 2years ago at this time. Definitely would say that the diving is the main reason for going. I don't dive and found it a very long week. The snorkelling was fairly good in the lagoon but it depended on the day and water conditions. You can also organise to be taken out on a snorkelling trip to a wreck but we didn't try that. I thought the snorkelling equipment was OK. Had to return the first set as the snorkel leaked but the second set was OK.

My husband has been to the Maldives a few times and he felt that the snorkelling was far better there.

Food is lovely and there are yoga classes every morning which are ideal for a wake up call.

The boat trip from Agatti takes about 2 hours (we were told half an hour) and the flight from Cochin about 1 and a half hours.

3 nights is a good length of time to stay there, unless you are a diving fanatic.

CliveG

Hi Saikyo,

No I do not thing it is a waste of time going if you are not a diver. Snorkelling is O.K. dependent on the weather which can stir up the coral sand in the lagoon but as Nanookmog said you can snorkel on the shipwreck or go out on the dive boat and snorkel over the reef while the divers are down - it can be fun to watch the divers 25 metres below and see the fish and sharks etc.
Wouldn't bother with taking snorkelliing gear - hire it there.
Is is boring for people who are not divers? Well it depends on your state of mind and circumstances. Nice place to spend part of your honeymoon on a small island with clear skies and warm beautifully clear seas. As mentioned the food is excellent and you can spend time on your own. Take a trip to Kinnikara island with lunch and spend a day alone on a deserted island. Go kayaking, night fishing, take the sailing boat out or just laze around feeling very relaxed.
I go there partly for the diving but also as a place to be away from everything -I have just booked to return yet again!
What ever you do have a great time and let us know how your trip went.

saikyo

Thanks for the advice! This shipwreck sounds interesting. I'm imagining a large wooden ship sticking halfway out of the water that you can climb around on and snorkel through.

We both actually have Padi C scuba licenses, and have been scuba diving once, in Guam, so maybe we will use one day to dive at Bangaram. Not sure. Personally, diving scares me. The wife loves it though. (>_<)

I didn't know all these activities were available! Well noted! We only have 3 days... Yikes. So much to do. So little time.

CliveG

If you think you might dive take your PADI licence with you as they will need to see it at the dive centre. Also they will probably want to see you know the major excercises such as regulator retrieval, mask clearance etc. so go and see the dive guys as soon as you arive and arrange a quick test in the lagoon so they are confident about your abilities. Good thing is if you go for a dive they will prepare all the kit for you as it is a safety requirement on the island! All you have to do is fall in the water and enjoy.