Vijaynagar Beach Havelock Island – one of the best kept secrets of Andaman

On our recent 7 days trip to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands we stayed in Symphony Palms Resort in Havelock Island. This resort is located on the Vijaynagar Beach (also known as beach no. 5). This beach is located on the eastern coast of the island, as opposed to many other famous beaches including the world famed Radhanagar Beach & Elephant beach which are more towards the western side.

Like all other travellers to Andaman, and particularly the ones visiting Havelock, we sat foot on Havelock Island dreaming about the Radhanagar beach & Elephant beach. And I must say after visiting the Radhanagar beach that all that is said in the honor of the beauty that this beach shows, is not at all exaggeration. And I talk about our experience exploring Radhanagar beach here. The current writeup is all about one of the best kept secrets of Andaman – Vijaynagar Beach, Havelock island, which very less talk about. Definitely these beaches are very different from what we experienced in Port Blair, and on our day trip to Ross Island & North Bay Island.

Our encounter with Vijaynagar beach, Havlock Island

It was a complete chance encounter. We arrived in our resort in Havelock Island by 11:00am. Post this, we were thinking to take rest. And then head out to the Elephant beach & Radhanagar beach towards the evening. But somehow, the restless soul that I am, I couldn’t rest. Rather, it felt like a sin to be in such a beautiful setup and yet rest in a hotel room. ( That’s my perspective..but Abhishek is totally fine with being a couch potato in the resort room from time to time 🙂 ).

Anyways, I pulled him out and we decided to explore the nearest beach. And the first sight of the beach itself rendered me speechless. Emerald blue water was shimmering under the bright sunshine. And as I neared the beach, I couldn’t help marvel on the scene in front. As we passed through the pathway hidden in the middle of lush green tropical plantations, our feet touched fine white sand spread above the white corals. And beyond that stretched the beautiful blue water – in different shades – emerald blue, ocean blue, light blue…you name it.

The water was totally clear at this point of the day. And the sun shone brightly as it was exactly midday. But that didn’t stop any of us from stepping ahead and touching the water. The beach extended far in both directions. And in front was another island, far off in the sea – another slice of tropical paradise.

Lazying around : the best activity to do on Vijaynagar beach

Aashi summoned for her father to bring her swimming dress. And then the dad daughter duo enjoyed playing in the water for a long time. While I simply sat & enjoyed the blue green sceneries in front of my eyes. And also observed the gentle soft waves crashing at the shore. I just couldn’t take my eyes off it. And thanked my stars for having stumbled upon this gem of a beach. Slowly, dark clouds covered the sky & the weather became cooler. After much pursuation Aashi agreed to get out of the water & head back to the resort. While I silently promised myself to return back to this beach the next morning to watch the sun rise over the horizon.

If you like to enjoy the sea for it’s beauty, either by taking a stroll on the beach or by simply sitting on the shore & watching the waves, then Vijaynagar beach, Havelock Island is a great option for you. However, if you want to swim, it might not be an ideal place for that. Since the sand layer on this beach is very thin. And the rocky underbed & rich coral presence makes the surface feel really rough. Again, if you want to enjoy a great sunrise on Havelock, then Vijaynagar beach, Havelock Island will be your ideal place to go. Sit by the shore, have a picnic with your group, watch some corals without scuba diving or just read a book, or maybe do nothing. Vijaynagar beach, Havelock Island would be a perfect place for all of these. It is a great alternative to the much more crowded and highly famous Radhanagar beach or Elephant beach.

Stunning sunrise on Vijaynagar beach, Havelock Island

As promised to myself, the next morning, I visited Vijaynagar beach once again, to watch the sunrise. And of course dragged Abhishek along. At 5 in the morning, we sneaked out from our cottages in the resort. And walked towards the beach. We had expected that we will be the only wandering souls on the beach, like our experience in Goa previously. But to our delight and surprise, there were so many people like us already walking on the beach, awaiting the sunrise. We walked towards the eastern side, enjoying the slowly rising sun. And finally came to a halt on one of the several sun beds. Abhishek decided to sit here and do his yoga.

While I kept watching and snapping the rising sun. Only busy city dwellers like us know what a luxury it is to watch an uninterrupted sunrise. And if it is in a scenic place like the Vijaynagar beach, it is simply a bliss. Finally, as the sun rose higher into the sky and it started getting hotter, we decided to return back to our cottage. Since, we had to pack our bags to checkout from our hotel now. And catch our cruise with makruzz to head to yet another beautiful destination – Neil Island.

Tips on visiting Havelock Island

Here’s our complete guide to the Andaman Islands .

• Havelock island is reachable from Port Blair through ferries. Different ferries operate. While the ones like Makruzz can be booked online well in advance, for the government ferries one needs to start early in the morning and get into a queue at their office to book.
• When staying at Havelock island, better to stay near one of the beaches. After all, everyone heads here to enjoy the beaches. There are several resorts along the Vijaynagar beach as well, including the Symphony Palms resort . You can also book one of the resorts via booking.com or, Agoda. We would suggest to compare the prices on both these websites and check the resort reviews on tripadvisor.com before finalizing.
• When visiting any of the beaches, carry a spare set of cloths & a quick drying towel. Also a ziplock pouch to put your valuables & electronics like watches in.
• The network connectivity in general is weak all through this island. So, rely on the older means of communication – face to face.
• For commuting to farther beaches, talk to a taxi driver in advance and pre set a time to call him to your resort. When we landed on the port in Havelock, there were several taxi drivers present there. We negotiated a drop to our hotel with one of them. And then before departing, asked him to return in the evening around 3 to take us to Radhanagar beach which was around 11km from our hotel.
• Pre book the hotels in advance, particularly if you are visiting in peak season. And don’t delay booking your ferry tickets at all.

Details of booking done

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