Andaman Islands? Goa? Kerala?

Old Mar 31st, 2011, 10:49 AM
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Andaman Islands? Goa? Kerala?

We want our honeymoon to have a 'beachy' relaxing component, so have been researching areas in India to do this at, we fell in love with Barefoot at Havelock in Andaman Islands but many travel agents we are speaking with keep recommending Goa or Kerala.

What is the best location to travel to for the "relaxing" portion of our honeymoon? We would like a beach with pretty water, few waves, calm water, easy to snorkel right off shore, good weather in late October/early November, opportunities for my fiance to do some easy scuba dives. This will be a portion of our honeymoon to India, altogether 14 days starting October 25, have about $2500 pp to spend plus extra for international airfare.
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Old Mar 31st, 2011, 06:09 PM
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October and November are actually the rainy season in the Andamans, as the east coast of India (west coast of Thailand) is at the end of the monsoon then. See weather websites and guidebooks for info. I would not recco that area for a beach holiday in those months and more so for scuba as the winds and waves will affect water clarity. I do think you are better off in Goa. I can’t speak to scuba right off shore, you may have to take a boat out, but it should not be too complicated. Otherwise Goa is relaxing, great food, lovely people, pretty beaches, some historic things to see and is quite relaxed. Esp as you are there pre- Christmas which is when the high season starts and crowds arrive. Kerala would also be another thought; again don’t know much about scuba there, but otherwise lots to see and do, you can hire a houseboat for a few days, go to Periyar national park; lots of options. Sri Lanka could also work, they have some rain issues in parts.

The main tourist parts of India are also in quite nice, dry, generally temperate weather at that time, so all in all, those are good months to travel. With only 14 days, you will have to pick your itin carefully, don’t rush and try to fit everything in. Bear in mind that you can fly into one city (say Delhi) and out of another (say Mumbai) which should not cost more than into and out of the same city. This will save you time on a short trip.

Deepavali/Dilwali, a major Indian holiday will be celebrated on October 26, and the build up to that day is about 2 weeks. This can be a great time to be in India, as special foods are on offer and homes and business are lit up (it’s the festival of lights, celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains). It’s a happy time. You may find trains and planes more crowded as people travel home to be with family, but overall should be manageable. Book ahead for trains and planes.
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Old Apr 2nd, 2011, 03:18 PM
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Thanks, this is all extremely helpful information. We have 'narrowed' down places we would like to see (if you can call it narrowing because it seems like you could do a trip to any by itself!)...could you perhaps suggest what combination of places you think would work best for us? Again, 14 days, around $2500-3000 per person.

- Golden Triangle
- Kerala
- Lakshadweep OR Andaman Islands OR Maldives (or Goa as you mentioned, we had not considered Goa much)
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Old Apr 3rd, 2011, 02:15 AM
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www.booking.com/region/in/goa.en.html

Usually can pick up the Marriott Goa bidding priceline.com

from $40/nt or so awesome deal for a 5*

Very HM worthy head there or similar as late in Nov

as you can for best weather as you are trying to go

in the tail end of monsoon season.

Congrats!
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Old Apr 3rd, 2011, 06:21 PM
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I agree that you have to be careful with only 14 days and what you have on your list. Not sure what you mean by “Golden Triangle” is that Agra, Jaipur and Jodhpur? Or does it include Udaipur and/or Jaisalmer? Watch travel time between these places, or you may find you only have a day in each, which is a waste, IMO (I personally would pick Udaipur over Jaipur.) What about Delhi? Varanasi may also be of interest to you.

The Maldives are just beautiful, and the snorkeling and diving are superb, but they are actually still in the rainy season in October and November, although the tail end so may be OK, hard to say. The dry seasons starts toward the end of December. See weather websites and see what you think. While the thunderstorms in the Maldives are magnificent, IMO, they may not be what you want if you intend to snorkel and dive. (There are several monsoons moving around SE Asia in the fall, so that is why you may have beach issues). The Maldives is reachable from India via a change of planes in Sri Lanka. Be careful with the resort you pick in the Maldives; if it is one which requires a sea plane flight, then you may have a night on either end (or both) at the airport hotel, which will eat into a short period of time. It may not make sense to go all the way to the Maldives as part of a trip to India; as it may turn out that you only have 4 days in the Maldives, which is not going to be relaxing, IMO. It’s quite a long flight back to the US from the Maldives, there are no non-stops as you can get to and from India. Look at flight schedules and see what works. The Maldives has budget places and all inclusives, but even with that, they may not make sense for your budget.

Lakshadweep will involve a good bit of travel time as well, as there are only a limited number of flights and those are not from Delhi or Mumbai (only from Bangalore and Kochi), so this may eat into the 14 days. I have not been, so can’t comment on beaches or snorkeling, although I hear both are good. It is also the end of the rainy seasons there (as these islands are the Maldives geographically, but are part of India politically). Bear in mind that you need a special permit to go to these islands, so be sure to obtain one.

I am not sure it is necessary to go to both Goa and Kerala. While they are different from each other, they both offer beaches and colonial influence in terms of food, architecture and religion. With only 14 days for the trip, and given the fact that this portion is just a beach add-on, I don’t know that going to both would be the best use of your time if it means cutting out other places in north India. However, if you want to have more beach time and just a brief period in north India to hit a few major sights, that is fine, you could go to both Goa and Kerala. In that case, I would limit north India to perhaps Agra and one other place (Jaipur is usually chosen by default because it is the easiest to reach from Agra; getting from Agra to places like Udaipur and Jodhpur involve long travel times).
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