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Scuba Diving in Havelock IslandIN
The main tourist island of India's remote Andaman archipelago, officially renamed Swaraj Dweep, a thousand kilometres off the mainland in the Bay of Bengal. White-sand beaches, warm clear water, and the best-developed dive scene in South Asia.
Why here
The Andamans are the diving India most people never realize India has: twenty-plus dive sites off Havelock alone, 15-30 metre visibility in season, healthy reef, and a fraction of the boat traffic of comparable Southeast Asian islands. The island hosts India's longest-established dive operations, with both PADI and SSI training up to professional level, so it works equally as a place to earn a first certification and as a serious destination diver's stop. The remoteness that keeps crowds down is the point: this is reef diving at Thailand-level cost with Indian Ocean emptiness, on an island where diving is still the main event rather than one activity on a resort menu.
Best months
The season runs October through May, when seas are calm and visibility sits between 15 and 30 metres; the June-September southwest monsoon brings rough water and most operators wind down. December through April is the most settled stretch. Water is warm year-round, 27-30°C, so a shorty or 3mm suit covers everything.
Getting there & around
Fly to Port Blair (IXZ) via Chennai, Delhi, or Kolkata, then take a government or private ferry about 90 minutes to Havelock; ferry seats sell out in peak season, so book them when you book flights. Indian visitors need no permit; foreign nationals receive a free 30-day Restricted Area Permit on arrival at Port Blair airport. Dive courses are worth reserving a week or two ahead in the December-April peak.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
DIVEIndia
SchoolIndia's largest and one of its oldest dive centers, operating on Havelock since the early days of Andaman diving. An SSI Dive Training Centre running everything from first-time try dives through professional-level courses, with deep house knowledge of the archipelago's sites.
The Dive Master Havelock
SchoolA PADI 5-Star Dive Resort on Havelock offering the full PADI course ladder from beginner through professional levels, plus guided fun diving across the island's reef and open-water sites.