Have you been to Havelock?

Let's come straight to the point!
If you wish to dive into superb crystal blue sea water, it is in Andaman. You do not need to fly to another Asian country for white sandy beaches, if you do not have the budget and time. Just fly to the Andaman Islands in India for Havelock and Neil. We decided to fly from our base Bangalore with a direct nonstop flight to Port Blair. It took us around 2 hours and we landed at Port Blair airport safely.
Take the window seat while landing and the last thirty minutes will leave you awestruck. You will not be able to stop yourself from clicking pictures through the window glass. Andaman Islands looks magical with  thick mangrove forests merging in varied shades of blue water into the Indian Ocean. You will be surprised to see few strips of land that look like Islands but left completely secluded and solitary.
  Our first two nights in Port Blair started with an evening walk to Corby's Cove beach which did not look quite clean and impressive. But the drive up to Corbyn beach is beautifully surrounded by the ocean. Do visit the Marine museum to know about Andaman Islands. You can also visit the Mahatma Gandhi marine park.
For Cellular jail and the popular light and sound show, keep it to the next day or the day you come back from Havelock. As the entire visit to Cellular jail requires walking around with sufficient time in hand followed by the light and sound show that begins after dusk. As we were waiting for the show and release of tickets that you can get online only before the ticket counter, it started raining heavily and we had to miss the show as the chairs placed to sit got wet. It is absolutely must to carry an umbrella and raincoat specially if you have kids. Carrying a lot of water and keeping yourself hydrated is also a must. Taste those giant sized tender coconut waters if thirsty.
    

This is the day we took our cruise ship to Havelock. It takes around 2.5 hours depending on weather conditions. Luckily for us everything went on time and we enjoyed the sail with no sea sickness. I would suggest to eat light and drink less on the cruise ship and yes the Royal class is more comfy to sit with bigger glass windows. While returning from Havelock, take the open cruise in the evening to view the sunset standing outside on the deck and sip tea with samosa available on board.
Our resort in Havelock was very near to the Port and had its own private beach. So it took us less time to settle down in the resort. There are mainly three beaches in Havelock, out of which Radhanagar beach is more tourist friendly with an amazingly long beach, completely white sand and friendly  waves. Why friendly sea waves? You will not wish to come out of the sea!  There are changing areas and ample homely food stalls to eat lunch or snacks. Though none of the stalls are posh, the food served is absolutely fresh and delicious. You can spend an entire day in Radhanagar beach before getting back to resort. We hired a scooty in Havelock to ease our tour itinerary at our own pace.
     The Elephanta beach, which we skipped seemed more for the sea adventure seekers and water sports lovers. We skipped that as we had a toddler and it did not seem quite adventurous to us in the hot sun. On day five we instead headed to the Kalapathar beach. The ride through the woods was quite interesting and the sea looked magical. Sea water showed up multiple shades of blue as the sun changed positions reflecting in  crystal clear water. Most beaches in Havelock are beautifully covered with heaps of white broken corals, conch shells, tiny tortoises, mangrove roots and coconut trees. To me, Kalapathar beach seemed the whitest like a pearl!  Do not forget to shop for pearls and conches in Kalapathar. Though swimming is not encouraged here as the water is quite deep, sitting leisurely after a lunch till sunset was so relaxing.

This is the day we traveled back to Port Blair. Checked in again as it is always good to keep one night in hand from Havelock in Port Blair before flying back. We did visit Ross island in Port Blair which looked completely a waste and a trap for the tourists to pay money to the local speed boats and ferry services. You can also add Neil island to your itinerary for an overnight stay, which we skipped. Neil is another island like Havelock, accessible by cruise ships but lesser crowded and secluded. We could manage only seven nights in Andaman. Next afternoon we took our flight back to home. I do not think any lesser number of days could have done justice to Andaman. Visit Andaman to get transported to another kind of life amidst simple people, simple food and a magical land.