Scuba diving in Havelock and Neil Islands

Havelock is the most visited of the Andaman Islands. The closest international airport is Veer Savarkar, from there you got to take a ferry to Havelock Island. Havelock is undoubtedly the Paradise in the blue Havens of the Andaman seas. It's becoming increasingly popular among tourists who come to enjoy its very beautiful white sandy beaches (the Radhanagar Beach, Elephant Beach and Vijaynagar Beach), coral reefs and great scuba diving. The scuba diving activities are run by certified operators who offer instructions as well as equipment. Here parrotfish, groupers, scorpionfish, sweetlips, seahorses, barracudas, giant napoleon wrasse, turtles, sharks, mantas, eagle rays and other species can be found. The underwater world has plenty to offer to divers of all skill levels. For advanced divers, such dive sites as Johnny's Gorge, Jackson's Bar and Dixon's Pinnacle are recommended, with their average depth ranging between 20-35m/65-114ft. Other sites that are worth visiting for divers of all levels include Lighthouse, The Wall, Aquarium, Minerva Ledge, Inket Wreck and some others. Johnny's Gorge is one of the most popular sites. It is a small rocky outcrop in the open sea surrounded by sand in every direction. These rocks have become an oasis of security and food for everything from small angelfish and anemone fish to spectacular schools of mackerel, barracuda, trevally, surgeonfish and snapper. Dolphins, white and black-tip sharks, giant grouper, rays and eels are also found here. Compared to Havelock, Neil island is quite smaller. The waters of Neil Island are virtually unexplored and have been dived by only a handful of divers. Rays, barracudas, turtles, sea snakes, wrasses, clown fish, moray eels, jacks, blennies and other species can be seen here. Neil island is especially famous for snorkeling and it's said to have the loveliest corals in the whole of Andamans, which can be seen from glass bottom boats. There are beautiful, healthy hard and soft corals in a spectacular array of colors. The island is also one of the very few places in the world where corals and mangroves co-exist, adding to the unique bio-diversity of the marine life. The dive sites offered here are Bus Stop, Margarita's Mischief, One Bottle, Roycetons Oasis, Rockies and Junction. The last two sites may have some strong currents that make them more suitable for experienced divers. The underwater visibility around these islands ranges between 10-40m/30-14ft.