Best Offbeat Places in Andaman for a Peaceful Island Holiday

Beyond Havelock & Neil Island — where the real Andaman begins

The Andaman Islands — a sprawling archipelago of 572 islands dipped in the Bay of Bengal — are far more than their famous beaches. While Radhanagar Beach and scuba diving at Havelock Island get all the Instagram attention, a quieter, more bewitching Andaman waits just beyond the well-worn tourist trail. If you're the kind of traveller who craves still mornings, empty shorelines, and the hum of jungle over the hum of crowds, these offbeat gems are your reward. Pack light, leave your itinerary loose, and let the islands breathe.

01 · Diglipur & Ross & Smith Islands

Twin islands tethered by a natural sandbar

Tucked at the northernmost tip of the Andaman chain, Diglipur is the kind of place that still feels genuinely undiscovered. The journey itself — a scenic overnight ferry or a short flight followed by a winding road through paddy fields and mangrove-fringed inlets — sets the tone perfectly.

The star attraction is Ross & Smith Islands, a pair of small, forested islands joined by a shimmering sandbar that appears and disappears with the tide. Walking across it at sunrise, sea on both sides, feels almost surreal. The coral here is pristine, snorkelling rewarding, and the beach utterly deserted on most mornings. Diglipur is also home to Saddle Peak — the highest point in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands — offering a rewarding trek through tropical evergreen forest.

Travel Tip: Carry enough cash; ATMs in Diglipur are unreliable. Permits for Ross & Smith Islands are issued from Diglipur jetty and are of nominal entry cost.

02 · Baratang Island

Limestone caves, mud volcanoes & silent mangrove creeks

The journey to Baratang is half the experience. You travel through the tribal reserve of the Jarawa people on a government-escorted convoy — windows down, phones away, a silent passage through dense forest that feels like entering another world entirely. On the other side awaits one of Andaman's most bizarre and beautiful landscapes.

Baratang is home to India's only active mud volcanoes — bubbling craters of grey clay that ooze silently in a jungle clearing. A boat ride through narrow, cathedral-like mangrove creeks brings you to Limestone Caves, where formations millions of years old hang in hushed chambers. Parrot Island nearby erupts every evening in a spectacular murmuration of thousands of parakeets returning to roost — a sight that never gets old.

Travel Tip: Convoys depart from Port Blair at fixed timings (6 AM, 9 AM and sometimes noon). Arrive at Jirkatang checkpoint early. No overnight stays are permitted.

03 · Interview Island

Wild elephants, dense jungle & zero tourists

If complete solitude is what you seek, Interview Island — a protected wildlife sanctuary off the west coast of Middle Andaman — is about as remote as it gets in India. The island is home to a population of feral elephants descended from those brought for logging operations and later abandoned. Spotting them on the beach or at the forest edge is an extraordinary, almost otherworldly encounter.

The island has no hotels, no shops, and no permanent human settlement. Visits require prior permission from the forest department. You charter a boat, bring your own supplies, and spend a day in a landscape that belongs entirely to the wild. The beaches here — vast, white, and utterly unvisited — are some of the most beautiful in the archipelago.

Travel Tip: Obtain Wildlife Sanctuary permits in advance from the Chief Wildlife Warden's office in Port Blair. Best visited between October and April.

04 · Chidiya Tapu

The island's birding paradise at the world's edge

Just 25 kilometres south of Port Blair, Chidiya Tapu — literally "Bird Island" — is the kind of place day-trippers overlook and patient travellers treasure. At the southern tip of South Andaman, this small headland is wrapped in mangrove forest and crowned by a lighthouse, offering arguably the finest sunsets in the entire archipelago.

The forest trails are alive with endemic birds: the Andaman drongo, the Andaman woodpecker, emerald doves, and the stunning Andaman serpent eagle, among dozens of others. For birdwatchers, this is genuinely world-class territory. The beach is rocky and dramatic, perfect for quiet contemplation as the sun melts into the horizon.

Travel Tip: Arrive by 5 PM to catch golden hour and the sunset. Early mornings (6–8 AM) are best for birdwatching. Carry binoculars and a field guide.

05 · Little Andaman Island

Surfable waves, waterfalls & an island all to yourself

A four-hour ferry ride south of Port Blair, Little Andaman remains one of the genuinely underdeveloped islands in the chain — and that is precisely its appeal. The beaches here are long, flat, and wild, with consistent surf breaks that have started attracting a small but devoted community of surfers. Butler Bay, the main beach, stretches for kilometres without a souvenir stall in sight.

The interior is lush and mysterious. Whisper Wave Waterfall and White Surf Waterfall tumble through dense forest into rocky pools — perfect for a cooling dip. The island has a quiet tribal village and a handful of simple guesthouses. There are no crowds, no nightlife, no rush — just the rhythm of the ocean and the rustle of palm trees. For travellers seeking true restoration, Little Andaman delivers something increasingly rare: unhurried time.

Travel Tip: The ferry schedule is limited; plan your return journey carefully. Carry all essentials as shops are sparse. Best visited November through February for calm seas.

The Andaman Islands reward the slow traveller — the one who takes the longer ferry, asks a local about a hidden trail, and sits still long enough to watch the tide turn. Go beyond the brochure. The real islands are waiting.