After having a fantastic stay at Port Blair, we went to Havelock Island. We were eager to visit this island as all our water activities were planned here. Renamed Swaraj Dweep, this island is famous for its sandy beaches, deep blue sea, and tropical trees. Beaches like Kalapathhar and Radhanagar are world-famous.

The hovercraft Makruzz took us to Havelock Island on a gloomy and rainy day. Our destination was Symphony Palms Beach Resort. It had rained so much that the entrance of the resort was submerged underwater. As you can guess, our spirits were dampened a little. Unlike Port Blair, the resort at Havelock was small and less formal.

The resort was spread on both sides of the road with small cottages that housed each family and was full of coconut trees. We got a small cottage for ourselves. It was comfy with all basic amenities. The best part of the resort was the private beach. We used to visit it every day. Since very few people visited this beach, its beauty was unspoiled. It was also very neat and clean. We took several photos here. We visited all the major tourist spots on the island like the Radhanagar and Kala Pathhar beaches.

We couldn’t enjoy Kala Pathhar beach as it was raining heavily. The rain did spoil the fun, but we braved it to watch the huge waves crashing against the black sandy beach. Radhanagar Beach was an absolute wonder. It was just like what we had seen in photos – a white sandy beach with clear blue water that extended to the horizon to meet the sky.

We spent a long time on this beach taking photos and walking barefoot on the sand. The highlight of our Havelock tour was scuba diving. It is an unforgettable experience. We spent several hours getting acquainted with the water and the rules of diving. When the moment came to go undersea, I was a little scared. However, the diver assured me and made me comfortable in the water before going down. The views underneath the sea with all the colourful fish and coral made me forget everything. I never imagined it would be so fun.

I didn’t realize how time flew. We also went snorkelling at Elephant Beach. We went for a submarine ride too. While we planned this trip during the Durga Pujas we were very sad for not being able to watch the idols but finally we were able to catch a glimpse of the Puja before we left the island. We stayed three days at Havelock, and each day was filled with activities. We got tired, but our spirits were high. Havelock being a small island is easily accessible it doesn’t take much time to move around. I fell in love with this island and its beauty.