Port Blair is the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a town of about 110,000 on South Andaman, 1,200km from the Indian mainland in the Bay of Bengal. It is the entry point to the archipelago and it is built around the CELLULAR JAIL, the colonial prison where Indian independence activists were held in solitary confinement.
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What Is Here
THE CELLULAR JAIL IS A NATIONAL MEMORIAL AND IT IS THE REASON MOST INDIANS COME. Completed in 1906, it was built as seven wings radiating from a central tower so that no prisoner could see or speak to another, with 693 individual cells. Three of the seven wings survive. Veer Savarkar, Batukeshwar Dutt and many others were imprisoned here, and the sound and light show in the evening tells that history. It is a sombre place and is treated as one.
ROSS ISLAND, NOW NETAJI SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE DWEEP, IS THE BEST HALF DAY. A short boat ride away, it was the British administrative headquarters until the 1941 earthquake, and the ruins of the church, bakery and ballroom are being taken back by banyan roots and are full of deer and peacocks.
The harbour at sunset is the second image, and it is the working face of the place: Port Blair is a port and a naval base before it is a resort.
CORBYN'S COVE IS THE TOWN BEACH, 7km away, with palms and calm water, and it is pleasant rather than remarkable. The famous Andaman beaches are on Havelock and Neil, which are ferries away.
THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL MUSEUM AND THE SAMUDRIKA NAVAL MARINE MUSEUM are both genuinely worthwhile, the first on the islands' indigenous peoples and the second on the reefs.
MOST VISITORS USE PORT BLAIR AS A TRANSIT POINT and that is reasonable: the ferries to Havelock and Neil leave from here and the islands are why people come. Two nights here is plenty, and the jail deserves one of them.
When to Go
November to April is the season: drier, calmer seas, and the ferries running reliably.
MAY TO SEPTEMBER IS THE SOUTH WEST MONSOON, with heavy rain and rough seas that cancel ferries and water activities. October is the transition.
It is tropical and humid all year, between about 23 and 31C, and the humidity rather than the heat is what tires people.
Ferries are the constraint on any Andaman itinerary. Book them in advance, leave a buffer day before a return flight, and expect cancellations in bad weather.
Getting There
By air to Veer Savarkar International, with direct flights from Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru. This is how essentially everyone arrives.
By ship from Chennai, Kolkata or Visakhapatnam, taking three to four days, which is cheap, infrequent and an experience.
Onward, government and private ferries run to Havelock and Neil, taking one and a half to two and a half hours.
Foreign nationals no longer need a Restricted Area Permit for most of the Andamans, but the rules have changed repeatedly: check the current position before travelling, and note that the Nicobars remain closed.
Is Port Blair Safe for Women?
Port Blair is a quiet administrative town and is among the safest places in India for a visitor. The FCDO does publish advised-against areas for India, and being precise about them matters more than a general warning. It advises against all travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, except air travel to and movement within the city of Jammu, and against all travel within 10km of the India-Pakistan border, where the Wagah-Attari crossing is closed. It advises against all but essential travel to the state of Manipur, including Imphal. None of that is anywhere near this destination, and it is worth knowing which parts of a very large country the warnings actually describe.
North-east India carries conditions rather than a prohibition, and they are about movement rather than crime. The FCDO records that sudden flareups and skirmishes happen along inter-state borders including the Assam-Meghalaya boundary, that there have been skirmishes on the India-Bangladesh border, and that protests, blockades and large gatherings are common across the region, can begin without warning, and disrupt traffic on the national highways that connect these states to each other and to Assam. Check with local authorities before travelling in the region, avoid any crowd that forms, and build slack into a schedule that depends on one road. Note separately that the FCDO advises against all but essential travel to MANIPUR because of ethnic violence since May 2023.
THE JARAWA RESERVE ON THE ANDAMAN TRUNK ROAD IS CLOSED AND THE LAW IS SERIOUS ABOUT IT. The Jarawa are a protected indigenous people with very limited contact, and PHOTOGRAPHING, FEEDING OR INTERACTING WITH THEM IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE. Tours that promise sightings are illegal and exploitative, and there have been prosecutions. If your route uses the Trunk Road, you stay in the vehicle and you do not photograph.
The sea is the other hazard. Currents around the islands are strong, there are crocodiles in some mangrove creeks and saltwater inlets, and there have been fatal attacks in the Andamans. Swim at recognised beaches, heed local signs, and ask locally rather than assuming a creek is fine.
Dengue and malaria are present and the humidity makes repellent a daily item.
The 2004 tsunami is in living memory here and the islands are seismically active; evacuation routes are signposted and worth noticing.
The Port Blair Packing List
Tropical humidity, heavy monsoon rain, and a lot of boats.
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women is a better choice in the tropics than people expect: it covers your arms against mosquitoes and sun, it does not hold sweat the way cotton does, and in humidity where nothing dries it does not begin to smell after a day. That last point is the practical one on an island trip with limited laundry.
A Marmot PreCip Eco rain jacket, which in the monsoon is essential and in the dry season is still useful on a ferry deck.
Waterproof walking shoes with Darn Tough merino socks: the jail and Ross Island are uneven stone and root, and closed shoes matter on an island with snakes and sharp coral debris.
DEET insect repellent and Sawyer Permethrin for clothing, because dengue and malaria are both present.
Not linked and worth packing: REEF-CONSCIOUS SUNSCREEN, which we do not link because our registry holds no sunscreen and "reef safe" is not a regulated term, so read the label for non-nanoparticle zinc oxide; SOMETHING FOR YOUR FEET IN THE WATER, which we also do not link because our only water-shoe entry is contested; A DRY BAG; A WIDE BRIM HAT; SEASICKNESS TABLETS for the ferries; A WATER PURIFICATION METHOD; and CASH, since ATMs are in Port Blair and scarce beyond it. Book ferries in advance and leave a buffer day.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Essential Resources for Women in Port Blair
Emergency numbers: 112 is the single national emergency number and works from any phone. 100 reaches police directly, 108 ambulance and 101 fire. 1091 is the national women's helpline and 1098 the child helpline.
The Jarawa reserve on the Andaman Trunk Road is closed, and photographing, feeding or interacting with the Jarawa is a criminal offence with prosecutions on record. Tours promising sightings are illegal and exploitative. If your route uses the Trunk Road you stay in the vehicle and you do not photograph. SALTWATER CROCODILES ARE PRESENT in some mangrove creeks and inlets and there have been fatal attacks in the Andamans: swim at recognised beaches, heed signs and ask locally. DENGUE AND MALARIA ARE PRESENT. FERRIES ARE THE CONSTRAINT on any Andaman itinerary: book ahead and leave a buffer day before a return flight. THE RESTRICTED AREA PERMIT RULES FOR FOREIGN NATIONALS HAVE CHANGED REPEATEDLY: check the current position, and note the Nicobars remain closed. The 2004 tsunami is in living memory and evacuation routes are signposted.
US State Department travel advisory: the India advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/india, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
Main hospital: the G B Pant Hospital in Port Blair is the main facility for the whole archipelago, which is the thing to understand before going island-hopping: anything serious on Havelock or Neil means a ferry or an air evacuation back here, and from here to Chennai. Dial 108 for an ambulance. Insurance covering air evacuation is strongly advised for this trip. Healthcare in the large Indian cities is genuinely good in the private hospitals and variable in the public ones, and the private sector expects payment or a direct insurance guarantee up front. Carry insurance with a high medical limit and repatriation cover, and carry proof of it. The commonest problem by far is not dramatic: it is stomach upset, so drink sealed bottled or filtered water, and be more careful with raw salad and cut fruit than with hot food cooked in front of you.
Official health authority: the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. covers the Andaman and Nicobar administration health service
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in New Delhi.
Official tourism authority: Incredible India, the Ministry of Tourism's official site. publishes the Cellular Jail and sound and light show timings, the inter-island ferry schedules and the current permit position for foreign nationals
Takeaways
The Cellular Jail is the reason to stop here. Take the evening show.
Ross Island is the better half day. Ruins, banyan roots, deer and peacocks.
Never photograph or approach the Jarawa. It is a criminal offence.
Book ferries ahead and leave a buffer day before your flight home.
Solo women safety assessment: Port Blair is among the most comfortable places in India for a woman travelling alone. The Andamans have a settled, mixed population from across India, a large government and naval presence, and a visitor economy of Indian families and divers rather than a backpacker scene; the harassment that tires travellers on the mainland is noticeably absent, and women travelling independently are commonplace on the ferries. Dress modestly in town, as everywhere in India, and beachwear belongs on the beach. 112 IS THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY NUMBER, with 100 for police, 108 for an ambulance and 1091 the women's helpline. THE FCDO'S INDIAN PROHIBITIONS DO NOT REACH THE ANDAMANS. THE THREE THINGS THAT MATTER HERE ARE LEGAL, BIOLOGICAL AND LOGISTICAL. THE LEGAL ONE FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT: the Jarawa are a protected indigenous people living in a closed reserve crossed by the Andaman Trunk Road, and photographing, feeding or attempting to interact with them is a criminal offence that has been prosecuted. Any operator offering a sighting is breaking the law and trading on people's vulnerability; decline it, stay in the vehicle if your route uses that road, and keep the camera away. THE BIOLOGICAL ONE: saltwater crocodiles live in mangrove creeks and inlets in these islands and there have been fatal attacks, so swim at recognised beaches, read the signs, and ask a local rather than assuming a pretty creek is safe. Dengue and malaria are both present, which makes repellent and permethrin daily items rather than optional. THE LOGISTICAL ONE IS THE MOST LIKELY TO AFFECT YOU: everything in the Andamans runs on ferries, the weather cancels them, and the single hospital for the entire archipelago is here in Port Blair, so an injury on Havelock means a boat or a plane back. Book ahead, leave a buffer day before your flight, and carry insurance that covers air evacuation.
Reading On
Port Blair is the gateway to the Andamans. The Andaman Islands packing list covers the archipelago as a whole, including Havelock and Neil, and the Chennai packing list and Kolkata packing list the mainland cities the flights come from. For other Indian coasts the Goa packing list, Gokarna packing list, Varkala packing list and Kovalam packing list cover the west and south, with the Puri packing list on the Bay of Bengal. In the north east the Shillong packing list, Kaziranga packing list and Gangtok packing list cover the hills and the grasslands. For the country the India travel guide for women and the India packing list carry the transport, the dress expectations and the practical material in full. For why wool works in humidity, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
