Port Blair is the capital of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. If you wish to travel to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, you must arrive at Port Blair. There are 2 ways by which you can reach Port Blair either by boarding a flight or an ocean-going ship.
Reach Port Blair by air:
The Veer Savarkar International airport at Port Blair connects to major cities. There are direct flights from Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, and Visakhapatnam. While the availability of direct flights depends on the airline companies, you can be assured of year-round direct flight availability from Chennai and Kolkata.
You can go to the website of your preferred airline and check for ticket availability. Depending on your location, you might have to board multiple connecting flights to reach Port Blair.
Flight tickets to Port Blair can cost you anywhere from INR 5000 to 20,000 or more, depending on when and from where you are looking for a flight.
A travel hack is to book tickets with a travel agent, as they have pre-booked flight tickets from major cities, which will cost you a fraction of what the flight companies will charge if you book directly from them.
Reach Port Blair by ship:
You can reach Port Blair by ship from either Chennai, Kolkata or Visakhapatnam. It will take you 2 to 3 days and sometimes more (in case of bad weather) to reach Port Blair.
There are majorly 3 ships namely MV Swaraj Dweep, MV Nicobar and MV Campbell Bay sailing to Port Blair (MV here stands for motor vessel). You can find a schedule on the website of the Andaman and Nicobar administration.
How to book ship tickets to Port Blair?
You can buy a ship ticket to Port Blair from the STARS counter located at Kolkata, Chennai and Visakhapatnam. There is no online reservation system available. You can book tickets 2 days in advance. The location of these counters is linked below:
Ship ticket counter at Chennai:
You can book tickets from Chennai to Port Blair at the office of The Shipping Corporation of India located in Jawahar Building, Rajaji Salai, 17, Rajaji Rd, Chennai Port Trust. This counter accepts cash and you must book tickets at least 2 days in advance.
Ship ticket counter at Kolkata:
Book your tickets in advance.
Ship ticket counter at Visakhapatnam:
They are an agency responsible for facilitating ship ticket reservations to Port Blair.
Ship ticket counter at Port Blair
This office deals with ships travelling out of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the mainland of India. If you wish to book ferries to islands inside Andaman like Havelock Island and Neil Island, you must book tickets from the STARS ticketing counter at Pheonix Bay.
Cost of ship tickets to Port Blair:
The tickets will cost you between INR 2000 to 10000, depending upon the class of ticket you book.
