Getting here · fares as of July 2026
How to reach the Andaman Islands
The short version: you fly to Port Blair. There is no road or rail to the mainland, so every visitor arrives by air at Veer Savarkar International Airport (code IXZ) — or, rarely, by a slow passenger ship. Below is exactly how the flights work, what they cost by city, when to book, the ship option told honestly, and one arrival rule we ask every guest to follow so a delayed flight never costs them a beach.
Fly to
Port Blair (IXZ)
Veer Savarkar International Airport — the one gateway to the islands.
Direct from
Chennai · Kolkata
~2 h and ~2.5 h. Other cities connect through these two.
From abroad
Via a mainland metro
No international flights land here — connect via an Indian city first.
Step one: fly to Port Blair
The Andamans sit about 1,200 km off India's east coast, so there is no driving and no train. Every arriving traveller lands at Veer Savarkar International Airport (IXZ) in Port Blair, and from there the islands open up by ferry. The airport's name carries "international", but no flights operate from outside India — that word is the airport's designation, not a route. International visitors fly into a mainland metro first — Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai or Hyderabad — and connect onward to Port Blair from there.
Direct flights mainly leave from Chennai (around 2 hours) and Kolkata (around 2.5 hours). From the other big cities you almost always route through one of those two, so the practical question is not "is there a flight from my city" but "which hub do I connect through". The table below has the typical fares and times.
Flights to Port Blair by city (typical 2026 fares)
| Route | Return fare range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chennai → Port Blair | ₹4,500 – ₹13,500 | 2 h · most direct flights |
| Kolkata → Port Blair | ₹5,500 – ₹16,500 | 2.5 h · direct |
| Bangalore → Port Blair | ₹6,600 – ₹20,000 | ~2.5 h direct in season · else 4–5 h via Chennai |
| Mumbai → Port Blair | ₹7,800 – ₹22,000 | 5–6 h · via Chennai |
| Delhi → Port Blair | ₹9,000 – ₹27,000 | 5–7 h · via Chennai/Kolkata |
Return fares as of July 2026 — market ranges, not quotes. Chennai and Kolkata fly direct; the rest connect through them, which is why the longer routes cost and take more. Full trip costing sits on our Andaman trip cost page.
When to book, to pay less
- Book 45–60 days out
That window usually lands the fair fares in our tables. Leaving it to the last few weeks is where the top of each range comes from.
- Peak fares run 2–3×
December–January flights can cost two to three times the normal fare. For Christmas and New Year travel, book by September — the seats and the sane prices both go early.
- Fly mid-week
Tuesday and Wednesday departures usually price lower than weekends, on the same route. If your dates flex by a day, it can move the fare more than any coupon.
- One airport, one runway
Port Blair has a single airport (IXZ) with limited daily slots. Flights fill; they do not add capacity on demand. Book the flight before the hotel.
The ship option, told straight
There is a sea route, and people ask about it, so here it is honestly. Government passenger ships sail to Port Blair from Chennai, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam. The fare is low — roughly ₹3,500 to ₹9,000 depending on class — but the trade-offs are real: the crossing takes about 60 hours, sailings are infrequent (a few a month, on a schedule that moves), and tickets are limited and slow to book.
| Sea route | Time at sea | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chennai → Port Blair | ~60 hours | The most common sailing; still only a few a month. |
| Kolkata → Port Blair | ~60 hours | Runs on a rolling schedule, not daily. |
| Visakhapatnam → Port Blair | ~56–60 hours | The least frequent of the three. |
Our honest take: unless the voyage itself is the trip you want, fly — you would spend five days at sea on the round trip to save on a two-hour flight. We are writing this up in full on our Andaman by ship guide.
Landing at Port Blair, and the one rule we ask you to follow
IXZ sits right inside Port Blair, so getting to your hotel is quick — most town hotels are a 10 to 20 minute drive, and it is a small single-terminal airport, so you are through and out fast. For our guests, a driver is waiting at the gate, so your first Andaman moment is a calm transfer rather than a haggle for a taxi.
The buffer rule · from experience
Do not plan a same-day flight-to-ferry connection. Land in Port Blair, spend Day 1 in Port Blair — Cellular Jail, Corbyn's Cove, a settled first night — and travel on to Havelock on Day 2. We learned this the hard way: a recent guest missed his Havelock ferry because his flight in was delayed by weather, and there was no later boat that day. Flights to Port Blair can slip, ferries leave on time and often sell out, and the two do not wait for each other. A buffer of a few hours is not enough — give it the night.
The same logic applies going home: keep a buffer night back in Port Blair before your flight out, so a disrupted return ferry from Havelock or Neil never puts your flight at risk. We build both buffers into every itinerary we plan — it is not padding, it is the difference between catching your boat and losing a day.
Onward: ferries between the islands
Once you have landed and had your Port Blair day, the islands are linked by ferry. Port Blair to Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) runs both government and private cruise services; Neil (Shaheed Dweep) is reached the same way. Private cruises are faster and bookable in advance; government ferries are cheaper but harder to time — which is another reason we sequence the ferries for our guests rather than leave them to chance at the jetty. The day-by-day flow is laid out on our Andaman itinerary guide, and for standalone ferry tickets our team also runs bookyourferry.com.
Ferries between the islands, live
Andaman ferry schedule · BookYourFerry.com — our founders' ferry-booking platform.
Getting-here questions, answered straight
How do you reach the Andaman Islands?
You fly. The only practical way to reach the Andamans is a flight to Port Blair — Veer Savarkar International Airport, airport code IXZ. There is no road or rail link to the mainland, and while passenger ships do run, they take about 60 hours and sail only a few times a month. For almost everyone, a flight is the answer, and Port Blair is the single gateway you arrive through.
Is there a direct flight to the Andaman Islands?
Yes, from a few cities. Chennai is the most direct at around 2 hours, and Kolkata at around 2.5 hours also flies direct year-round. Bengaluru has direct flights in season — the schedule changes between season and off-season, so check your dates. From the other metros — Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad — you connect through Chennai or Kolkata rather than fly straight through. There are no direct flights from a smaller city, and none from outside India.
Which cities have flights to Port Blair?
Chennai and Kolkata are the year-round direct-flight hubs, and Bengaluru adds direct flights in season. Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad connect through Chennai or Kolkata. So wherever you start, the practical route is: get yourself onto a direct-flight city, then fly on to Port Blair. Our fare table above shows typical return prices and flight times from the main departure cities.
Can you reach the Andamans by ship?
You can, but most people should not. Passenger ships run from Chennai, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam. They are cheap — roughly ₹3,500 to ₹9,000 — but slow, at about 60 hours at sea, and infrequent, with only a few sailings a month and a schedule that shifts. Tickets are limited and the booking process is its own small adventure. Unless the voyage itself is the point of your trip, fly.
Do you have to connect through Chennai or Kolkata?
From most cities, yes. Chennai and Kolkata are the year-round direct gateways to Port Blair — Bengaluru joins them in season — so a flight from Delhi, Mumbai or Hyderabad routes through one of them. International visitors do the same thing one step earlier: fly into an Indian metro — Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai or Hyderabad — and connect onward to Port Blair from there. No flight reaches the Andamans from outside India.
How far is the airport from Port Blair town?
Very close. Veer Savarkar Airport (IXZ) sits right inside Port Blair — most town hotels are a 10 to 20 minute drive, and even the far side of town is under half an hour. It is a small, single-terminal airport, so arrivals move quickly. For our guests we have a driver waiting at the gate, so the first thing that happens is a calm transfer, not a scramble for a cab.
Planning the rest of the trip? See what it all costs, the day-by-day itinerary, the entry permits and requirements, the weather, and the best time to visit.
How this page stays true
Written by the Tropical Andamans editorial team from our own experience moving guests to and around the islands · flight fares are market ranges verified by our Port Blair operations team, as of July 2026, rechecked quarterly and before each peak season. Fares, flight times and ship schedules move — they are guides, not guarantees. The day-1 buffer rule comes from a real guest who missed his ferry after a weather delay; it is the one piece of advice on this page we will not soften.
Let us plan the whole route.
Tell us your city and dates — we'll advise the best flights to Port Blair, build in the buffer days, and sequence your ferries so nothing is left to chance. No obligation.