Mesmerizing Beaches and vibrating wildlife is luring tourists to Plan a Andaman Holiday and they start browsing the internet to look for a good offer on Andaman Holiday Package. A well-informed tourist can design a Andaman tour himself or customize a Andaman tour package himself. Once you have decided to visit Andaman and need a perfect Andaman tour itinerary, you have to read you’re your mind and take a call on-
- Type of Resorts and hotels
- Preferred length of stay in each location
- Realistic Andaman Budget including Flights and Visa
Planning a trip Himself or buying a tour package has its own advantage and disadvantage, you have to weigh them all before taking a call on it. We are listing down a few of them here.
Planning an Andaman tour by tourist himself:
Tourists will need to take care of more parts to design a trip by themself as islands are riddled with many issues like ferries and licenses are put into account, the preparation needs an extra level of effort. Selecting the right hotel and a correct flight is of utmost importance in planning a Good Andaman trip, due to its peculiar situation.
There are lots of things on the list that needs to be taken care of with minor details, but let’s take a look at them.
Vehicles:
You will need to book vehicles and cab prior to starting your journey because most of the holiday vehicles in Andaman are pre-booked. But if you need it, there are rented bikes and city buses available. Only make sure you book it for every place you visit since most of the Andaman’s islands are isolated by water, without any bridges or highways. Online Taxi apps like Ola and Uber are not available in Andaman.
Cruises and Ferries:
Cruise and ferry reservations, an integral and crucial part of the Andaman tour, must be purchased before you get here, as most cruise seats are sold out 2 weeks before planned date and there may be an acute scarcity that may conflict with your travel plans. You may opt for the online purchase of cruise tickets to plan a headache free holiday in Andaman.
Ferries can’t be pre-booked, and you have to visit the jetty to get a reservation, which may seem fair enough, but the local Islanders are granted first preference so that you may not get any.
Permits:
Permits and Tickets are required to visit some places, which can be taken by visiting the respective office of the controller. These tickets cannot be booked online and you need help from a local tour operator.
Rules and Timing of the places:
A & N group of islands has some area-specific regulations and rules, where you have to abide by specific rules, for instance: you should not take photographs inside the Port Blair airdrome. Timings of ferries and Cruises like The closing hours of some places are at 5.30 pm and you have to book the ferries and speedboat to leave the island before the specified time. For instance: The last transport leaves Ross Island at 4.30 pm after that tourist cannot reach their hotel in Port Blair.
Resorts and Hotels:
When planning a tour by themselves, finding the right hotel desires to be a top priority, particularly when the taxis are not booked before arrival. Booking a resort like Desire Riviera Maya Resort should help you get around quicker. It means you can book tickets for the ferry quickly and get permits.
Things to remember when planning your Andaman Vacation by Yourself:
Your proof of identity- which is required to get ferry tickets, permits and island entry.
Passport- Required for non-Indian Travelers at the airport and onboarding plane.
Emergency Contacts– Holding local authorities touch in case of mishaps or conflict with wild animals.
Ferry timetable- While most of the ferry ticketing takes place near the Jetty itself, there are locations in Andaman where the ticketing takes place in an alternative location, from the jetty, like Jolly Buoy, for whom ticketing takes place approximately 24 Kms away from the boarding area.
Procedure for receiving permits– Special Permits for protected places need to be understood and some protocols need to be taken care of. Especially when you are using a drone and a Camera. These permits are not available online and you need to visit the office to get them.
Travel Agencies vs Planning a tour by yourself:
Either you spend the time you spend money to plan a holiday that has all three important ingredients, Conform, Saving and Safety.
Comfort:
Everything is planned and executed by the operator with the tour packages, including, permits, cruises, cars, etc. All the research, booking and planning will be done by your travel planner but for a nominal fee.
Thanks to so many factors, the booking, and scheduling of cabs, cruises, permits, timings, guesthouses are difficult to take care of, especially inexperienced travelers and need to be in perfect time.
Savings:
Usually, it’s a perception that planning a vacation by yourself can be cost-effective, which is not true everywhere in India.
This is because travelling with a travel agent is not only is comfortable, planned and it reduces the cost as all travel planner buy flight seats and hotel rooms in bulk at pre-negotiated and discounted prices, and sell them at discount.
The best thing to do here is getting a good tour operator’s expert advice on Andaman, it will help you to get the lowest offer on the trip.
Ensure that you select the correct trip operator and avoid paying extra on service charges and fees that can vary from Rs. 6,000/–8,000/-. You have to take a call on whether you want a well-advised and planned tour to Andaman a trip cooked with inexperience and inadequate information.
Safety:
Although Andaman is mostly friendly, if you don’t follow proper directions or reach restricted or tribal regions, they can be equally unsafe.
This can be easily resolved if you sincerely follow the rules of the location that you are touring.
What should be avoided in your Andaman Holiday?
- Do not go to other beaches for swimming until telling the authorities. The water current is really strong sometimes that can drag you down.
- Be alert at beaches where the sign for the crocodile is up. There have been some cases of people who missed it and had a crocodile hit.
- Do not remove anything including gravel, shells, corals from the sand. It is prohibited and it searches the baggage at the airport.
- When you purchase souvenirs, please take the bills of your purchase. The bill will have to be shown at the airport.
- Do not drink wine or beer on beaches or surrounding. It is illegal.
- Do use permission to travel to certain locations. Andamans have many Govt. Areas restricted for Tourists and civilians.
- Do not take photographs of local tribal. That is strictly Prohibited.
- Do not fly without a valid identification card. Sudden identity searches are widespread in Andaman.
- Don’t take pictures at or near to the airport. The airport is for defense services.
- Do not go alone for snorkeling. These are allowed only at specific sections on the respective Andaman beaches.
