The Andaman Islands are a nature lover’s paradise. These idyllic islands have a wealth of natural beauty and astounding biodiversity, especially underwater. The azure seas surrounding the archipelago host relatively pristine coral reefs and dazzling marine life. Indeed, scuba diving at the Andaman Islands is the main attraction for many visitors.
Scuba Diving at the Andaman Islands, India
Recently, I had the pleasure of diving in the Andaman Islands. This opportunity primarily came about due to AirAsia recently launching direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Port Blair, the capital of the Andamans. Otherwise, going to the Andamans would be expensive since I would need to take a circuitous route via mainland India.
This article is a report of my experience diving in the Andamans, written for anyone interested in exploring its underwater treasures.

Introduction to diving at the Andaman Islands
The Andamans are a group of islands straddling the eastern border of the Bay of Bengal and are part of India. Most dive sites are around Havelock Island, accessible by high-speed ferry from Port Blair. These dive sites are often regarded as world-class and offer visitors some of the best diving.
My experience diving at the Andaman Islands
Before I proceed with my diving report, I’ll start with one caveat. Unfortunately, I wasn’t lucky with the weather. During my visit, tropical cyclone Fengal was causing windy weather and choppy waves around the Andamans.
Even though the cyclone didn’t directly hit the islands, it caused rough seas and poor underwater visibility. I couldn’t visit any of the Andaman Island’s world-class dive sites. These sites were all east of Havelock, with the strongest waves. Instead, I was brought to 3 sites to the north, which had calmer conditions.
Diving trip report
Dive operator: Lacadives
I spent three days and two nights at Havelock Island, visiting three dive sites in one day. I went with Lacadives, a Padi 5-star diving operator based primarily on Havelock Island for these dives. Their dive centre was within the Tilar Siro resort, 10 minutes from the jetty. They also have dive centres in Radhanagar Beach and Chidiyatapu (near Port Blair).

The morning started early, and by 6 a.m., I met my Lacadives dive masters at Havelock Island’s main jetty. The person in charge on the day was Dive Instructor Mr Denzil, while I would follow Dive Instructor Mr Ravi for the dives. Our dive boat was large and spacious. There were only 10 people on board (including other divers, staff, and boat crew), so there was plenty of space.
All the diving equipment was already prepared for me, even before we set off from Havelock jetty. In addition to the usual diving gear, I also brought along my trusty Olympus TG-6 underwater camera, which I used to take all the underwater photos in this article.
Dive Site 1: Two Phantoms
The first site was a circular, rocky reef rising from the depths. It’s about 15 km from Havelock jetty and was up to 18 m deep. The dive was somewhat challenging. As soon as I entered the water, a decent current forced me to descend using a guideline. Throughout the dive, the current was relatively strong in parts, which meant more energy and oxygen usage. The underwhelming visibility didn’t help, either.

Nevertheless, I did see various interesting fish, invertebrate species, large barrel sponges, and decent corals. Also, there was a small dropoff of sorts here, where in clearer water might be a good place to watch for large fish passing by. Indeed, I saw a Giant Sweetlips here, a species I’ve not seen before.

Dive site 2: Staghorn Garden
This was my favourite site of the three. There was much less current here, and the visibility was much better. This site has a relatively flat topography, with several clusters of coral rising out from the sand. The maximum depth was about 15 metres, and our dive averaged around 12 metres.

Here, I was able to enjoy the dive a lot more. There was only a mild current, so I had no problems navigating between coral patches. There were plenty of colourful reef fish swimming around. A large Napoleon Wrasse swimming just out of photograph distance was of particular highlight. And amongst the coral crevices, groupers and lionfish lurk while waiting to ambush their prey.

Dive Site 3: I 95
This site is a rocky ridgeline located in a channel between two islands. The depth was quite shallow, averaging less than 10 metres. While the current was manageable, visibility was the poorest of the three sites. This was probably due to the particulate matter being stirred up by the waves and carried over via this channel.
Nevertheless, I immensely enjoyed this dive as well. Marine life was abundant, including angelfish, lionfish, Napoleon wrasse, etc. We even spotted three huge spiny lobsters hiding amongst the coral! Another highlight was the gorgeous gorgonians (sea fans) and sea whips found here. Some of them are huge and in pristine condition. These magnificent soft corals are the main attraction of this dive site.


Returning back
We went back to Havelock Island around noon. Here is a quick summary of my diving experience on the day:
- Fish diversity was good. There were large groupers and even the Napoleon wrasse, which are otherwise often overfished in many places.
- Healthy coral reefs and beautiful soft corals.
- Current was present at all three sites and was somewhat challenging at Two Phantoms.
- The Lacadives staff are all professional and speak perfect English.
- There is no lunch onboard. They did have snacks (biscuits, bananas, juice box) though.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed diving at the aforementioned dive sites despite the less-than-ideal underwater conditions.

Pointers for anyone interested to go diving at the Andaman Islands
- Most dive sites are off Havelock Island (Swaraj Dweep), 50+ km northeast of Port Blair.
- Havelock Island is easily accessible via high-speed ferries from Port Blair. The journey time is about 1.5 hours, and there are multiple departures each day.
- There are many dive operators on the island. However, in the interest of safety, stick to reputable dive centres, for example, Lacadives.
- Lacadives also operate diving trips off Chidiyatapu, which is not far from Port Blair.
- The best dive sites at Havelock all require Advanced Open Water (or equivalent) qualification.
- Johnny’s Gorge, Dixon’s Pinnacles, and Jackson’s Bar are often cited as the top three dive sites in the Havelock Island area.
- Flights to the Andaman Islands operate from Veer Savarkar International Airport (IXZ) at Port Blair. Most flights are from mainland India (e.g., Delhi, Chennai, etc.).
- AirAsia’s thrice-weekly service from Kuala Lumpur is the only international flight to Port Blair at the moment.
- The airport security is thorough, as IXZ is a joint civilian and military facility. Divers should not bring GPS tracking devices, as these are prohibited and will be confiscated. Dive computers are OK.
And if it is your first time heading to this beautiful island, here is an article about the many things to do at the Andaman Islands.
Conclusion
Due to rough seas and suboptimal underwater visibility, I cannot say I’ve genuinely experienced what scuba diving at the Andaman Islands is truly like. Nevertheless, I would lie if I said I didn’t enjoy my experience.
Despite being unable to visit the best sites, the ones I did visit were worthwhile and undoubtedly would only get better during good weather. Indeed, after experiencing a small sample of the dive sites on offer, I’m even more keen to explore the more popular dive sites in the future.