In the previous post, I wrote about the rocky beach of our hotel, which was completely unswimmable. This beach kind of ruined our imagination of the paradise like beaches of the Andaman Islands. However, we were told to check out other beaches of the island and luckily we did.
Laxmanpur beach (Sunset beach)
We went for a walk to the famous sunset beach. There were not many people walking on the beach; I think we only passed like 2 people who probably were some hotel staff members. The Sunset beach was indeed much more beautiful than the beach at our hotel because it was wider, and because it was “sandier”. Other that that, it was not good for swimming, because there were still too many rocks in the water. Because of the waves, it would have been rather dangerous. We did not go to this beach during sunset, but I am sure it must be beautiful! There were also a few food stalls on the beach for those who are into street food. We personally preferred to eat at the Dugong restaurant in our hotel, which was amazing (see my previous post)! The walk to Sunset Beach was quite far from the hotel, and we decided to walk back using the road. The road goes through the jungle, so the scenery is really beautiful. It was kind of annoying, however, how all the cars passing were honking at us, but I guess this really is a part of the Indian culture. They were even honking at us after they had already passed us, like “hey, I forgot to honk so I have to make up for it”. One thing I missed a bit was seeing some exotic animals (other than cows, goats and dogs!). We were warned about crocodiles near the beach, but I am starting to think that is all a myth.
Bharatpur beach
We were told that the Bharatpur beach was the best beach of Neil Island, and we visited this beach on the second and third day of our stay. On our second day, we planned to wake up early and go to the beach as early as possible, however, we did not succeed. We were so jet-lagged that we ended up sleeping in.
We took a rickshaw from the hotel to the beach. The beach was by the jetty and the ride costed us 100 INR. From the jetty, we walked to the nicest part of the beach. There were lots of souvenir stalls here selling jewellery made of shells and pearl, and other stalls selling snacks, coconuts (40 INR) and fruit. There were a few water activities organised, such as Jet ski and Banana boats. The Indian tourists seemed to really enjoy the Jet ski, but what I found quite interesting was that you could not rent your own Jet Ski, but you had to ride it with a driver, and the ride only took like 2 minutes maximum! Well, the most important thing is that it seemed like they really enjoyed it.
We were a bit disappointed by the beach, because there was a low tide and the beach did not look too inviting. However, there were indeed no rocks in this area.There were no sun loungers or chairs to rent, so we walked quite far, away from all the fishing boats, to find the best spot to lie down on our towels. As already mentioned, this is the beach by the jetty, so you can see all the ferries coming in and out. Because of the low tide, the walk to the water was pretty long, and we were too afraid to leave our things behind on the beach to go swimming. Going one by one would not have been fun either, as the walk to get to the water would take like 30 minutes! It would have especially not been fun for me who was wearing a bikini. Bikinis are not completely uncommon on the Andaman Islands, but most people would still stare. So basically, we did not go swimming that day. We shortly understood that this island is not yet well prepared for western tourists who want to tan and go swimming. Regardless, I must admit that the water itself was very crystal clear and the color of the water was beautiful.
We decided to have some lunch on the beach. There were lots of restaurants on the beach, so we opted for the restaurant all the way at the end, because it played music. And guess what! They had internet! Or basically it seemed like one of the guys just sold us his own cell phone internet that we connected to. We had to pay 100 INR (1.50 USD) for 30 minutes, but it was quite nice to connect to the world again. And there was nothing wrong with the internet, it was good enough to post some snapchats and make a Whatsapp call to my mom to inform her that we were alive. The restaurant was directly on the beach, and we had a great time eating chilli prawns and chilli paneer, while playing with the cutest small puppies and kittens that kept approaching us.
The next day, we decided to fulfil yesterday’s plan and wake up early to give the Bharatpur beach another chance. We took the rickshaw to the beach again, and the time was somewhere around 8 in the morning when we left. Upon arrival, we were happy to see a beautiful beach with high tide! The beach looked completely different: the water was so beautiful and transparent. We finally found the type of beach that we had associated the Andaman Islands with, at least to some degree. The later it got, the more turquoise did the water turn and it really felt like paradise. The ferries coming in and out did no longer bother us. We walked very far from shore because it was very shallow for a long time. We were a bit worried about leaving our things behind on the beach, but everyone we talked to assured us that nothing would happen because the people of Andaman Islands are extremely good and honest and very little crime exists on the islands. In fact, we met two police officers in the water who told us the exact same thing. The further we walked the more beautiful and more transparent the water became and the sand was as soft as flour. Absolutely amazing. After staying in the water for hours, it was already low tide again. We then decided to go on a snorkeling trip. We were the only ones signing up for the trip so we had a private trip on a glass-bottom boat. The snorkeling was quite good although I am a little spoiled after my last trip to Cambodia. Regardless, there was definitely a lot to see; plenty of fish of all sizes and beautiful corals.
Although most beaches on Neil Island were not as beautiful as expected, in the end we were extremely satisfied with the Bharatpur beach, and we were really regretting not going swimming the day before, and not waking up in time for the high tide. We were now curious about the beaches of Havelock island where we were going next!
Is it worth going to Neil Island?
Whether it is worth going to Neil Island or not can be discussed. I personally loved to have the opportunity to visit two completely different islands: Neil Island and Havelock. Neil island may not have the best beaches, I personally only enjoyed the Bharatpur beach, but only in the morning hours! However, the Island is very tiny and has a very beautiful nature, which makes up for it. I do not recommend staying here for longer than 3 days, because there is not much to do. I can imagine it is perfect for Indian tourists who want to escape all the crowds and enjoy the calmness of this island, but for western tourists, I can imagine that 2-3 days is enough. In a later post, I will make a comparison between the two islands and explain the cons and pros of both islands.
Anyah Mroz 
Great post 😁
LikeLike