Indian Ocean · India
Andaman Islands
Barracuda schools circle Barren Island, home to India's only active volcano
Photo: Ritiks · CC BY-SA 3.0
Havelock and Neil Islands anchor the Andaman dive scene with coral reef pinnacles, swim-throughs, and macro life over volcanic sand, while day trips to Barren Island — India's only active volcano — put divers in open water with big schools of barracuda, jacks, and the occasional manta ray. Reefs here recovered well after the 2004 tsunami and remain far less dived than Southeast Asia's better-known destinations. The islands sit remote in the Bay of Bengal, reachable only by flight or ferry from the Indian mainland.
About diving in Andaman Islands
The scene is small and land-based. Most divers stay on Havelock, with Neil as the quieter alternative, and centres run a two-tank morning off boats launched from the beach or the jetty, adding an afternoon dive or a course session after lunch. Boats are open and the crossings to the island sites are short. The pace is unhurried, and the usual pattern is a few days of diving folded into a beach trip rather than a dedicated week of three tanks a day.
Depths are modest, with most of the diving between about 5 and 30 m, and current is usually manageable, so the same pinnacle runs as a gentle drift one day and a static circuit the next. Visibility swings with the season and the rain, from around 10 m in the shoulder months to 30 m on the best days. The sand between the reefs is where the small life sits, and several sites are dived slowly for that alone rather than for any wide-angle view.
Barren Island is the outlier: a long open-sea crossing east of the main group to black sand slopes and steep volcanic rock, run as a full day or an overnight and only in settled weather, with landing on the island itself generally off limits. The season governs the rest. The southwest monsoon from June through September brings rough seas and rain and most operators simply stop, while December through March is the calm, clear stretch and April into May tails off. It suits divers who want quiet reefs and do not mind modest infrastructure.
Best time to dive Andaman Islands
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Prime |
| Sea surface | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F |
| Daytime high | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 32°C90°F | 32°C90°F | 32°C90°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F |
| Rain | 34 mm1.3 in | 15 mm0.6 in | 26 mm1.0 in | 47 mm1.9 in | 327 mm12.9 in | 391 mm15.4 in | 431 mm17.0 in | 374 mm14.7 in | 431 mm17.0 in | 217 mm8.5 in | 182 mm7.2 in | 96 mm3.8 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 32°C90°F | 32°C90°F | 32°C90°F | 30°C86°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 34 mm1.3 in | 15 mm0.6 in | 26 mm1.0 in | 47 mm1.9 in | 327 mm12.9 in | 391 mm15.4 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Prime |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 431 mm17.0 in | 374 mm14.7 in | 431 mm17.0 in | 217 mm8.5 in | 182 mm7.2 in | 96 mm3.8 in |
2011–2025 averages. Sea surface: NOAA Coral Reef Watch, measured at the surface, so deeper water can run colder. Daytime high and rain: NASA POWER.
SW monsoon (Jun-Sep) brings rough seas and heavy rain that close most operators; the Dec-Apr dry season gives the best visibility and calmest boat rides.
Best months: January, February, March, December
Andaman Islands water temperature and weather by month
The sea surface stays between 28 and 30 °C (82–86 °F) all year. Most rain falls from May to October, peaking at about 430 mm (17 in) in July; it stays largely dry from December to April. Daytime highs sit around 30 °C (86 °F) all year. The coldest water here is about 26 °C (79 °F), so pack a 3 mm full suit.
Dive types & marine life
Whitetip and grey reef sharks patrol the pinnacles, with turtles, napoleon wrasse and schooling jacks and barracuda over the rock, and nudibranchs, shrimps and cuttlefish on the sand between them. Eagle rays cross the deeper sites. Mantas are a possibility rather than a plan, and come mainly on the Barren Island run, which needs the settled December-to-April weather.
- Reef
- Wall
- Drift
- Muck & macro
- Pelagic & blue water
- Reef sharks
- Sea turtles
- Manta rays
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Eagle rays
- Napoleon wrasse
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
- Pristine corals
Best dive sites in Andaman Islands
Coral reef below the Indian subcontinent's only active volcano
Pinnacle
Three soft-coral pinnacles that work as a cleaning station
Johnny's Gorge
Havelock swim-through gorge with reef sharks and bumphead parrotfish
Seduction Point
Havelock's gentle sloping reef, a favorite for newer divers
How to get to Andaman Islands
Flights and passenger ships from the Indian mainland arrive at Port Blair, and ferries continue from there to Havelock (officially Swaraj Dweep) and Neil (Shaheed Dweep), where the beach strips hold the dive centres and most of the beds. Diving is boat-based. Foreign visitors should check the current permit rules before booking, as they have changed more than once.
Photos from Andaman Islands
Jaydasadia0345 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ana Raquel S. Hernandes from Sao Paulo, Brazil · CC BY-SA 2.0
Ritu Kulshrestha · CC BY-SA 4.0
RAMITBAR · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Diving the Andamans | Marine Life, Storms & Barren Island · Dive Travel on YouTube
Scuba Diving in Andaman Islands. 4k. Havelock Island. Coral Reef. · Hemanth R on YouTube
Photo credits
- Colorful coral reef with schooling orange anthias off Havelock Island in the Andaman Islands by Ritiks, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A banded sea krait winds across coral rubble on a reef in the Andaman Islands by Jaydasadia0345, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Shallow turquoise lagoon and white sand beach on Havelock Island in the Andaman Islands by Ana Raquel S. Hernandes from Sao Paulo, Brazil, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Turquoise shallows and forested shoreline at Jolly Buoy Island in the Andaman Islands by Ritu Kulshrestha, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Visitors wading in calm turquoise water off a white sand beach on Havelock Island by RAMITBAR, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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