Andaman Islands · Island Realms
How to reach
By air
- Veer Savarkar International Airport, Port Blair (IXZ) — The only civil airport in the territory, with flights from Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru. It shares the runway with a naval air station, which is why the flying window is restricted.
By rail
- Chennai Central and Kolkata — There is no railway on the islands. The mainland railheads that matter are the ones serving the passenger ship terminals at Chennai, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam.
By road
The Andaman Trunk Road runs north from Port Blair to Diglipur via Baratang, Rangat and Mayabunder, crossing creeks by vehicle ferry and passing through the Jarawa reserve, where traffic moves in escorted convoy and stopping, interacting or photographing is prohibitedLocal road networks on each settled island, generally single-lane and slow
By water
Passenger ships from Chennai, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam to Port Blair, taking roughly 60 hoursGovernment and private ferries from Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep and Shaheed DweepGovernment ships to Little Andaman, Diglipur, Rangat and the northern settlementsVehicle ferries across the creeks on the Andaman Trunk Road
Getting around
Buses, autos, hired scooters and taxis on the settled islands. Foreign nationals must present passports on arrival and separate approvals are required for reserved forests, wildlife sanctuaries and tribal reserves; citizens of some countries still require a Restricted Area Permit, and the rules have changed more than once in the past decade, so check the current position before booking.
How to reach Andaman Islands by air, rail, road and water, and how to get around once there. (2)