The Financial Equations
Now to all important financial aspects..... As mentioned in the beginning, we did a wise thing by going for a local travel operator. In addition to experience and local knowledge of the dealing staff, Experience Andamans turned out to be very competitive in its pricing too. Yes, it is not a cheap destination and for people flying down all the way from the lap of Himalayas, cost is an issue to some extent. Point to note is that max expenditure would be incurred on conveyance, both on land and sea. Premium will have to be paid for private, rather than solo, taxis and smaller boats too!
We paid about 77K for all three of us for the land part. AI tickets costed us about 85K though private airlines were cheaper but not available on those dates. This 77K included pick up and drop from airport, all stays and breakfasts, all ferries and taxi and all entrance tickets and passes. They had also offered complimentary snorkeling at Elephanta but that had to be cancelled at the last minute due to some back end issues. Our protest was natural since they had not informed us about the change (and that is the only mistake, if I may say so, they did during the entire trip) and they offered us a deal wherein we could do it wherever we wanted and they would pay us for that. In the hindsight, that did well for us because that enabled us to do that activity at a better place, ie North Bay. In addition, the other expenditures were as under:-
Sea Walk @3600 per pax
Dolphin Boat Ride @ 3600 per pax.
Snorkeling @1000 for full mask and 700 for half mask per pax (we got 700x3 back, as promised)
Meals other than breakfast. The cheap and best meals were at Dolphin Resort, Havelock. 100-150 per head per meal as per choice!
Liquor - alas, the duty free clause was removed a few days befor our arrival. Earlier, every person could carry one bottle out at duty free rates. Now, it is as good or as bad. A peg of Talisker costed us 600 bucks.
Nothing worth shopping beyond a memento or two (did not pick up any; memories are the best mementos)
Though not included in the trip cost, they gave us free pick up and drop to/fro the local market where the only souvenir shop is located. It was so crowded that we entered and exit without spending a minute inside.
We had five hours break at Chennai during our return. They have a locker room adjacent to the International Terminal. Take a complimentary battery cart ride to the International terminal and deposit the baggage in the locker room that is inside the parking area. Then you can take a taxi to the place you want to.....we picked up Phoenix Market City Mall where we did what one does after a full week amidst nature and water!!
We paid about 77K for all three of us for the land part. AI tickets costed us about 85K though private airlines were cheaper but not available on those dates. This 77K included pick up and drop from airport, all stays and breakfasts, all ferries and taxi and all entrance tickets and passes. They had also offered complimentary snorkeling at Elephanta but that had to be cancelled at the last minute due to some back end issues. Our protest was natural since they had not informed us about the change (and that is the only mistake, if I may say so, they did during the entire trip) and they offered us a deal wherein we could do it wherever we wanted and they would pay us for that. In the hindsight, that did well for us because that enabled us to do that activity at a better place, ie North Bay. In addition, the other expenditures were as under:-
Sea Walk @3600 per pax
Dolphin Boat Ride @ 3600 per pax.
Snorkeling @1000 for full mask and 700 for half mask per pax (we got 700x3 back, as promised)
Meals other than breakfast. The cheap and best meals were at Dolphin Resort, Havelock. 100-150 per head per meal as per choice!
Liquor - alas, the duty free clause was removed a few days befor our arrival. Earlier, every person could carry one bottle out at duty free rates. Now, it is as good or as bad. A peg of Talisker costed us 600 bucks.
Nothing worth shopping beyond a memento or two (did not pick up any; memories are the best mementos)
Though not included in the trip cost, they gave us free pick up and drop to/fro the local market where the only souvenir shop is located. It was so crowded that we entered and exit without spending a minute inside.
We had five hours break at Chennai during our return. They have a locker room adjacent to the International Terminal. Take a complimentary battery cart ride to the International terminal and deposit the baggage in the locker room that is inside the parking area. Then you can take a taxi to the place you want to.....we picked up Phoenix Market City Mall where we did what one does after a full week amidst nature and water!!
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