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Dive Centers in India
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Havelock Island
Andaman Scuba Club
info@andamanscubaclub.com
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Andaman Divers
Herbertburri@hotmail.com
Samudra
Manvit@yahoo.com
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Ladshakweep Islands
Bangaram Island
Bangaram Island Resort
Tel. 91-484-668221
fax. 91-484-668001
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Lacadives
Tel. 91-22-4940431
Fax. 91-22-4951644 Lacadives@hotmail.com
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Visit India
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
A short flight from Calcutta by air (it is also connected by flights from Delhi and Madras) is Port Blair, capital of the Andaman Islands. Though travel is restricted here, those islands open to tourism, with their lovely beaches and coral beds, are a traveller’s delight.more...
Lakshadweep Islands
Just off the coast of Kerala are a widely scattered group of coral islands – 36 of them – collectively known as Lakshadweep. They form part of the Union of India and are one of the country’s newest tourist destinations.more...
Goa
Goa: The most comprehensive beach resort in the country, Goa is approachable from Bombay by air. Goa’s coastline provides endless sun drenched crescents of sand. Vagator, Anjuna, Baga, Calangute and Candolim stretch out in an unbroken palm fringed line. more...
Andaman & Nicobar
By air
These islands are located about 1250 km from Calcutta. and about 1200 km from Chennai. The capital, Port Blair, is served via Indian Airlines and Jet Airways. Indian Airlines flies from Calcutta to Port Blair six days a week (except Sundays). Jet Airways has a daily flight from Chennai to Port Blair. Indian Airlines flies four days a week to Port Blair from Chennai. Both inbound and outbound tickets should be booked well in advance.
By sea
It is possible to sail to Port Blair from Calcutta and Chennai every week. The crossing takes about 304 days. All ships plying on this route are under the auspices of the Directorate of Shipping Govt. of India.
Permits
It is advisable to carry a few extra passport photographs and copies of your passport as you would need to submit these to the authorities at Port Blair on arrival for your permit to visit the island.
Lakshadweep
By Air
These islands are located about 400 km from Cohin (in Kerala). Indian Airlines operates daily flights (except Sundays) from Cohin to Agatti. On arrival at Agatiir, you will be transferred to either Bangaram of Kadmat island by private resort boats. It is advisable to book both your inbound and outbound tickets well in advance.
By Sea
There is a ship service that takes about 20 hours to reach Lashadweep from Cochin. Tickets can be obtained on arrival or by your travel agent.
Permits for Bangaram
All foreigners need to send their names, nationality, date of birth, passport number, date of issue and expiry to the resort. The resort at Bangaram will obtain the permits through the Lakshadweep Administration. A minimum of 3 days is required for this.
Permits for Kadmat
6 photographs along with the first and last three pages of your current passport have to be submitted to the office of the dive center. Permission for Kadmat comes from the Home Ministry via Lakswadweep Administration. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for this process.
Goa
Most of scheduled flights from Europe, UK and USA arrive at Mumbai from where there are daily flights to Goa. The flying time from Mumbai to Goa is just under an hour. This sector is served both by Indian Airlines and Jet Airways that have daily flights to this destination. It is advisable to book your inbound and outbound flights well in advance. This visa issued for India is sufficient documentation for your trip to Goa, no individual permit is required here. |
DESTINATIONS » Indian Ocean » India | Maldives | Seychelles
India is a subcontinent of surprises. A cauldron of cultures, of climates, of people. desert and tropical rain forest. Remote villages and restless metropolis. Mysticism and masala dosa, pranic healing and paragliding. But also of diving! There are three main centers of diving in India. Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands in the Bay of Bengal, Lakshadweep group of islands in the Arabian Sea and Goa on the mainland. Every destination is completely unique in its own way and they all have widely different dive conditions and marine life.
While Lakshadweep has the clear blue lagoons of coral atolls, Andaman and Nicobar are volcanic islands surrounding by deep, undisturbed waters that have an astounding bio-diversity. The third destination Goa, has many exiting things to do, on land as in the water.
Your adventure wil begin long before your diving ever does. In fact, it will begin the moment you step into the country. World class diving often lies in out of the world places. Getting there may not always be so easy. Travel routes that run across valleys and plains, through breathtaking landscapes, and at the end of it all, the experience of diving in sites so pristine and untouched, of which you could probably be a pioneer in one of the last remaining diving frontiers, India.
 Andaman & Nicobar
The nearest decompression chamber is at the Naval Base in Port Blair. Foreigners are only allowed to visit certain islands in Middle, Little and South Andamans
Around Port Blair:
Cinque Island
One of the best diving destinations in the island. It has clear emeral water with a visibility of up to 80ft. This deep dive offers a terrific variety of marine life, including black coral and sharks.
Rutland Island
The shallow waters here have a good representation of most smaller fish and coral, and a is a good place for training for open water divers.
Snake Island
Awesome rock formations and the marine life includes Trigger fish, Grunts, Goatfish and rays.
Havelock Island
This island is located approximately 4 hours from the Port Blair airport by inter-island ferry. The dive center located on the island offers a wide range of largely unexplored dive sites rich in underwater marine life.
 Lakshadweep
There are some things hard to find in Lakshadweep. Like fast cars, or tranquilizers. They do have all that water though. Bright and clear and as liquid glass. Fringed by white streches of sand where only throngs you'll ever see are of the sandpipers on the shore. Geographically similar to that other diver's haunt, Lakshadweep is like Maldives without the crowds. 400 kilometers off the coast of Kerala, this group of 36 coral islands and atolls can be reached by a 20 hour sea journey from Cohin or by plane. Of the ten inhabited islands, only two, Bangaram and Kadmat, are open to foreigners and there are dive centers on both these islands. The lagoons are home to a spectacular world of marine life, so unexplored, you may well have a site named after you.
See also our Destination of the Month: Lakshadweep Islands...
Around Kadmat Island
Surrounded on the eastern and western side by the lagoon, Kadmat is the ideal haven of solitute. This little island has an astonishing variety of marine flora and fauna.
The Wall
A wall of soft coral starting at 12m and cascading down to the deep blue. Dive among the turtles as resplendent as their surroundings.
Sting Ray City
A 21-meter dive along the sand dunes, abundant with Sting Rays.
Cross Currents
Located between the islands of Amini and Kadmat, drift dive along with schools of Snapper, Fusillier and Sharks at 15-21 meters.
Jack Point
A drift dive between 21-30m with jacks and King fish.
Garden of Eden
An abundance of table coral at 12-25m along with varieties of small fish and Groupers.
East Channel
Located between 9-20m with a lot of soft coral and tuna.
Around Bangaram Island
A tear-drop shaped island surrounded by a continuous strip of creamy sand. The exquisite black coral formations along with Angel fish, Clown fish, Butterfly, Surgeons, Groupers, Mantas, Sting Rays and wondrous marine life found in the Ladshadweep. Visit the wreck of the Princess Royal at 32 m, sunk in a battle over two hundred years ago, or if luck is on your side, have the pleasure of being escorted by a pod of 10-29 dolphins. Visit the dive sites of Manta Point, Shark Point and the Wall. Dive amidst a submerged reef with shoals of Giant Parrotfish.
 Goa
Goa is a little bit of Rio de Janeiro meets Ibiza. But then Goa is a lot of things. This little seaside state, with an identity that's a seamless blend of Portugese-Latin influence and Indian tradition, was crackling enough to have been one of the Millenium destinations of the world. The waters are safe and temperate, the absence of riptide currents making them ideal for new divers. And when you are not wiggling in and our of your wetsuit, you could be sunbathing of bungee jumping, visiting temples or haunting the flea markets. The three hundred years of Portugese rule has left an indelible imprint on the collective psyche of Goans. It shows in their music, their architecture, their culture. It's also why the Goans make the most wonderful vindaloo this side of the Indian Ocean.
The marine life in Goa is similar to that found in the Maldives. The presence of wrecks in Spanish and Portugese galleons and WWII ships make the the fish life profilic.
Grande Island
Much of the local diving in conducted around this island. Some sites near the island include Suzy's Wreck, Davy Jone's Locker, Sail Rock, Turbo Tunnel, Surge City, Uma Guma Reef and Bounty Bay.
Angria Bank
A four hour, high speed boat ride takes you this world-class dive site 120 miles from Goa. A vast underwater landmass about half the size of the state of Goa, it offers an amazing wealth of coral and fish.
Pigeon Island
This rocky outcrop has an interesting marine life as well as good visibility.
Malvan Shoal
Some interesting shallow sites in the water between Vengura and Malvan, 2 hours away from the capital city of Panaji.
Goa
Baracuda Divers
The best time to go to all the dive destinations in India is between November and May.
 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">India is a place that has always intrigued the outside visitor. With so much to give in terms of experiences, it is likely that you will find yourself overwhelmed about where to go and what to do. You might find Jet Airways destination guides useful. It has the kind of information that you will need when planning your dive vacation. Jet Airways offers service to 44 destinations across India. And with more than 245 flights daily, we can take you where you need to be, when you need to be there.
The famous Chinese fishing nets in Kochi
Visit their site for more information...
Lonely Planet India :: Online | Buy
Indian Tourist Office
Goa Tourism
Goa, a tiny emerald land of 3,702 Sq.Kms. on the west coast of India, with its natural scenic beauty, attractive beaches, churches and temples, famous for it's architecture, feasts and festivals and above all hospitable people with a rich cultural milieu, is a great place to visit.
Kerala Tourism
DESTINATIONS » Indian Ocean » India | Maldives | Seychelles |