Hello friends, I am here to share my experience of the first trip organized by myself. I always used to think that traveling is a hobby only rich people can afford but I was proven wrong when for the first time I took initiative and decided to plan something on my own that too at a very tight budget. Recently I planned a trip to Andaman with my friends and thank god it was a great success. I will share all the expenses incurred during the trip and give you a clear idea of how we managed our budget without compromising our enjoyment.
Below is the list of expenses incurred by us before the start of our journey, please note the expense may go slightly on the upper side or on the lower side as per your need. So, consider this breakdown as a reference for your financial planning.
1. Flight Tickets (Total Cost - Rs. 10,066)
My friends and I booked flight tickets two months before the date of the journey to get discounted fares. We booked Go First airlines tickets from Mumbai to Port Blair with a four-hour halt at Bangalore Airport.
The to and fro flight ticket for a single person cost us Rs. 10,066.
Note: If you book the flight tickets from Easemytrip.com you can even avail for no cost EMI if you have a Bajaj Finserv EMI card. This is what we did, we were three friends and our total fare amount was Rs. 30,198 which we converted to a six-month no-cost EMI. Even for no-cost EMI, you will have to pay Rs. 200 + 18% GST as a processing fee.
2. Flight Check-in Fees (Total Cost - Rs. 400)
This is an optional expense depending on your airline. The majority of airlines do not ask for a check-in fee but Go First airlines did ask us for an Rs. 400 per person check-in fee. I wonder if this fee was applicable while returning from Port Blair or not. My friend did not ask me for the money so I assume there was no check-in fees for our return flight.
3. Ferry Booking (Total Cost - Rs. 1,500)
I will recommend you all to book your ferry in advance as all the sightseeing locations are on different islands and travel is only possible through ferries and seaplanes but seaplanes are very expensive. We booked a ferry only from Port Blair to Havelock Island which cost us Rs.1,500 per person. We missed one of our targeted travel destinations, Neil Island, due to the unavailability of ferry tickets so make sure you book your ferry tickets in advance to avoid last-minute surprises.
4. Hotel Bookings (Total Cost - Rs. 3,380)
Please book a hotel in advance as well to avoid a last-minute hassle. We booked a stay at the Flying Elephant Hotel at Havelock Island which cost us Rs. 3,380 for three days (Rs. 1126 per day) and I must say it is a good hotel with all its greenery and the complimentary breakfast is just yummy, the best thing about the hotel is its location it is next to Kalapathar Beach. We only made bookings for Havelock Island as we were intending to spend three days over there rest of all bookings we did on spot.
5. Miscellaneous Expense (Total Cost - Rs. 550)
At the airport, we had some food for which the cost per person was Lime Soda Rs. 72, Belgium Burger Rs. 178 and Hazelnut Cappuccino Rs. 300.
These were the expenses made before the start of our journey. From below I will try to give you a day-wise expense of all things we did in Andaman.
6. Day 1 - Port Blair (Total Cost - Rs. 2,058)
We reached Port Blair somewhere around 9-10 am. Below is the category-wise expense incurred on Day 1 at Port Blair.
a) Accommodation - Stay at Port Blair cost us Rs. 500 per person (Andaman Vacations Home), you may choose to stay in a good hotel. We chose a decent and affordable homestay as we did not have many travel plans for the day.
b) Rent a Bike - First thing we did after we kept our luggage in the hotel was to rent a bike and the guy from Andaman Vacation Home had contacts. We got an Activa for Rs. 500 per day with two helmets and filled Rs. 100 Petrol in it (Petrol price was Rs. 90 per Liter in October 2021). Helmets are compulsory in Andaman. I was caught by local city police without a helmet which I forgot at one shop and they are very strict about it. They checked my driving license and other documents and till the time they were convinced they did not let us go.
c) Lunch and Dinner - We asked the locals and found a decent restaurant for lunch (Hotel Milan). Lunch cost us Rs. 408 per person. The taste was good so we decided to have dinner at the same place and dinner cost us Rs. 200 per person, we did not eat much as we had a heavy lunch. We had a few drinks for Rs. 350 per person and called it a day.
7. Day 2 - Havelock Island (Total Cost - Rs. 1,900)
After visiting Munda Pahad a must-visit in Port Blair the route is just amazing long trees on both sides of the road and it feels good to ride a bike on the snake path road. The next day we checked out and traveled to Havelock Island. We reached around 10-11 am. Below is the expense incurred on Day 2 at Havelock Island.
a) Rent a Bike - Here in Havelock, we were able to negotiate for the bike rental. We got a Honda Dio for Rs. 300 per day with two helmets and filled Rs. 200 Petrol as we were supposed to travel a lot on Havelock Island. While renting a bike they may ask you for a deposit amount. Make sure you take photos and videos of the bike from all sides to avoid any argument about the condition of the bike while the deposit is being returned.
b) Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner - We ate chips, bakery products and coffee for breakfast while traveling to Havelock Island which cost around Rs. 150 per person. There are plenty of restaurants and hotels on Havelock island and as we had three days we decided to try all of them. We had our lunch at Anju Coco Restaurant. The taste here is amazing and lunch cost us Rs. 650 per person. We had dinner at Full Moon Cafe and it was a nice fancy place to have your dinner. After dinner, you can have a walk on the beach next to the cafe. Dinner cost us Rs. 600 per person.
8. Day 3 - Havelock Island (Total Cost - Rs. 3,583)
We had our complimentary breakfast at our hotel, the Flying Elephant, which was very delicious. On this day we had multiple activities planned. Below are the details of the cost on Day 3 at Havelock Island.
a) Petrol - We filled Rs. 150 petrol as we had all the day occupied for our activities.
b) Elephant Beach - Elephant Beach is one of the cleanest beaches I have ever encountered. The ticket fare for Elephant Beach from Havelock is Rs. 1,000 per person. We went to this beautiful beach on a boat. You can even ride a bike to Elephant beach to save Rs. 1,000, the route falls on the path of Radhanagar Beach. As we were tired we decided to opt for a more convenient route. On Elephant Beach we had snacks and tea for Rs. 50 per person. We enjoyed ourselves a lot on the crystal clear water of Elephant Beach and did one of the water activities, snorkeling, which cost us Rs. 1,000 per person.
c) Lunch and Dinner - We had our lunch at Kerala Cafe, a South Indian restaurant and the filter coffee was amazing here. We had our lunch enjoying the view as it was raining and the total cost for lunch was Rs. 280 per person.
There is a fancy restaurant called Buddha Garden where we had a few drinks with starters which cost us Rs. 553 per person. Then we had dinner which cost us Rs. 550 per person.
9. Day 4 - Havelock Island (Total Cost - Rs. 6,456)
On day 3 we were tired after traveling and enjoying water activities on Elephant Beach. We decided to do Scuba Diving on Day 4. Below is the detailed list of expenses incurred on Day 4 at Havelock Island.
a) Scuba Diving - As this was our first-time Scuba Diving we wanted to make it a memorable moment so we chose to do Deep Water Scuba Diving which cost Rs. 4,750 after a lot of negotiation the rates are different for different agencies we booked it form the same person we rented the bike from. If you are not sure you want to spend this much on Scuba Diving you can try Shallow Water Scuba Diving which costs around Rs. 2000 to 2500 based on your negotiation skills.
b) Lunch and Dinner - We had lunch at another fancy restaurant which even had a pick and drop facility from the main road as there was a lot of water deposited on the path due to rainfall. Lunch cost us Rs. 1,349 per person. I think this is the most expensive of all the restaurants we ate in Havelock Island and the food taste was okaish visit at your own risk.
For Dinner, we went to Kathmandu Restaurant again. We were disappointed with the taste of the food and the price we had to pay for dinner cost us Rs. 215 per person. We did not eat much and decided to explore other places where our taste buds are satisfied. It was already 9 pm and all restaurants there closed at that time but luckily we got a nice place to eat The Wild Orchid. We only ate ice cream and that too a lot till our stomach was full. It was very tasty and it cost us Rs. 142 per person.
10. Day 5 - Havelock to Port Blair (Total Cost - Rs. 4,468)
We had plans to cover Neil Island but we did not do any prior bookings and the ferry was full so being disappointed we decided to go back to Port Blair.
a) Ferry Ticket - We booked a government ferry ticket to Port Blair which cost us Rs. 665 per person. Government tickets are half the price of private ferries but are hard to get as Andaman is a popular tourist attraction. We had some snacks on the ferry which cost us Rs. 70 per person.
b) Shopping - As our ferry for the afternoon we went on to the local market and did some shopping. Everyone bought something. I purchased a T-shirt which cost me Rs. 170 and shells and ornaments which cost Rs. 1,500.
c) Lunch Havelock Island - We had lunch at Big Bite Restaurant. It is a nice restaurant. We were having seafood for the past couple of days so we decided to have vegetarian food which cost us Rs. 365 per person.
d) Accommodation Port Blair - We again went to the same place we stayed earlier at Andaman Vacations home and booked a room which cost us Rs. 1,000 per person for two days (Rs. 500 per day).
e) Dinner Port Blair - We found a good restaurant just with a water view named New Lighthouse Restaurant. The food was good but the waiting time was a lot and dinner here cost us Rs. 698 per person.
11. Day 6 - Port Blair (Total Cost - Rs. 1,520)
a) Breakfast Lunch Dinner - On Day 6 we had breakfast at a local shop which cost us Rs. 100. We had lunch at Brewery Bakery which cost us Rs. 250. We again had dinner at a local place which cost us Rs. 150.
b) Rent a Bike - We again rented a bike for Rs. 500 per day as we had to visit the beautiful Munda Pahad once again. We filled Rs. 100 petrol and went on to Munda Pahad.
c) Ross Island - We booked a boat to Ross Island where there are remains of the old buildings and church. There are a lot of deers and peacocks running around the island. The return ticket for the boat cost us Rs. 370 per person.
d) Airport - Auto to airport cost us Rs. 50 per person from our hotel.
Summary :
This article is written to give you an overview of how we planned and managed our trip to Andaman. This is how we managed with proper planning. Yes, we did miss some of our planned destinations but overall we enjoyed a lot on this trip and I will share more articles in detail about the places we visited and things we did in the upcoming days.
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