Gay Friendly Andaman and Kerala Holiday

Cochin International Airport lies around forty kilometers from the old town, and our Kerala team waits for you as you come out of customs, whatever the hour. Expect about ninety minutes in a private air-conditioned car to Fort Kochi, crossing the backwater islands that make up greater Kochi on a series of bridges. Your hotel in the old quarter has been chosen partly because it is used to international guests and is entirely relaxed about a same-sex couple in a double room. Rooms are ready from early afternoon, and for a dawn arrival we can hold yours from the previous night.

Once you have rested, your driver can drop you near the waterfront at Vasco da Gama Square, the best place to start a first wander. The point here faces the busy harbor mouth, where container ships, fishing trawlers and the small public ferry to Vypeen Island all pass within a few hundred meters of the shore. Kerala as a state is more open than many parts of India, and Fort Kochi in particular has a long-established crowd of artists, café owners and long-stay foreigners, so a gay couple walking the seafront here is part of the scenery.

Kerala's queer community is active and visible by Indian standards, and the state has held its own Queer Pride for more than a decade, hosted by a different city most years (dates confirmed each year). If it falls during your trip, we can work a flexible evening around it. For tonight, keep it simple: dinner in one of the restaurants set in old Dutch-era bungalows on Princess Street or Burgher Street, where the menus run from fresh seafood to Syrian Christian beef fry and appam. Your guide meets you after breakfast tomorrow. Overnight in Kochi.

Spice built this city, and today's guided tour follows that thread. You begin in Mattancherry, the warehouse district on the harbor's eastern side, where pepper, ginger and turmeric were traded long before the Portuguese arrived in 1500. Some godowns still work as they did a century ago, with laborers sieving and bagging spice by hand under high wooden roofs, and your guide can usually get you inside one for a few minutes. Others have become galleries and design stores, a change sped up by the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, which brought contemporary art into these old buildings.

From the warehouses you walk to Mattancherry Palace, a two-story building with a Kerala-style roof whose upper rooms hold some of the most detailed temple-style murals in the state, including a whole wall given to scenes from the Ramayana. A few minutes away, past the antique dealers, is the Paradesi Synagogue, put up in 1568 and still paved with blue-and-white tiles shipped from Canton, no two painted quite alike. Both have weekly closing days (the palace on Fridays; the synagogue on Fridays and Saturdays plus Jewish holidays), so the sightseeing may move to another day.

Lunch can be at a small courtyard café in Jew Town before a free afternoon. Some guests take a nap; others ride the cheap government ferry from Fort Kochi to Ernakulam and back simply for the view of the harbor from the water, a ride that costs very little and gives a sense of how locals cross the city. At dusk, the cantilevered fishing nets are lowered against an orange sky along the shore; then try a Kerala prawn curry or karimeen fry at a seafront kitchen. Tomorrow you head south to the backwaters. Overnight in Kochi.

After a late breakfast you head an hour and a half south to Alleppey, the canal town that serves as the main harbor for Kerala's houseboat fleet. You board around noon, the usual start time, and your private houseboat is yours alone: a double cabin with its own bathroom, an open-sided deck and three crew: the captain who steers, the cook and a helper who handles the ropes. We use operators we know personally and tell them ahead of time that they are hosting a couple, so the welcome is simple and warm. On a boat where you share space for almost a day, that small preparation makes a real difference.

Lunch comes as soon as the boat pulls away: matta rice, a fish or vegetable curry, a dry stir-fry of beans with coconut and a crunchy papadam. You cruise through Kuttanad, the low-lying farm belt where rice is grown up to two meters below sea level, protected by earthen walls. Along the banks you pass tiny chapels, schools with children waving from the windows, and ducks herded in their hundreds by a single boatman with a long stick. Bring binoculars if you have them, as purple herons, cormorants and several kinds of kingfisher are common along the quieter side channels.

Houseboats are required to stop and anchor in the early evening, which gives the trip its rhythm: a slow afternoon on the water, then a still evening tied to the bank. Tea and banana chips arrive around five, and the cook will gladly show you how he prepares dinner in the tiny galley if you are curious. When the light fades, the village sounds take over, from temple music drifting across the paddy to frogs in the canal. Dinner is served on deck, and the crew retire to their own cabin at the stern so the evening is entirely yours. Overnight on the houseboat.

You eat breakfast on deck while the crew turn the boat for home, stepping ashore around nine. From there the car heads straight to Cochin International Airport and your flight to Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, recently renamed Sri Vijaya Puram although most people still use the old name. There is no nonstop service between the two cities, so the route runs with one change in Chennai or Bangalore and takes most of the day. We book connections with a comfortable layover and keep your bags checked through where the airlines allow it.

On landing, our island staff are at the exit to drive you to the hotel. A word on paperwork: rules for foreign visitors to the Andamans have been relaxed in recent years and many nationalities can now visit the main tourist islands on an ordinary Indian e-Visa, but citizens of some countries still need prior permission, and requirements change from time to time. We confirm what applies to your passport when you book and handle any registration on arrival. If your flight lands early enough, a quiet seafront drive along Marine Drive ends the day. Overnight in Port Blair.

An early transfer brings you to Haddo Wharf in Port Blair for the morning catamaran to Havelock Island, officially Swaraj Dweep. The crossing takes roughly two hours on the faster private boats, which have air-conditioned cabins and assigned seats, and a bit longer on government ferries. On a calm day you can see flying fish skimming away from the bow and the dark green outline of uninhabited islands on the horizon. Ferry timings depend on weather and season, so we confirm them a day ahead and keep a backup plan if the sea is rough.

On arrival at Havelock jetty your driver takes you to a beach resort that has been booked for a same-sex couple and confirmed in writing. Havelock has a mix of laid-back cottage resorts and more polished properties, with a steady flow of foreign divers and young Indian couples, and resort staff are used to all sorts of guests. Away from the resorts, Havelock is a set of small villages settled mostly by Bengali families after Partition and later migration, and the roads have a rural, conservative feel. Hand-holding is best kept for the beach and your resort grounds.

Late in the day the car crosses Havelock to Radhanagar Beach (Beach No. 7), a long curve of fine pale sand backed by tall forest. It often appears on lists of the best beaches in Asia, and in the hour before sunset it is easy to see why, as the sea turns silver and families and couples line up along the waterline to watch the sun go down. Swim only in the flagged zone where lifeguards are posted, and leave the beach before dark, when it closes to visitors. Dinner tonight is at your resort or a seafood shack near the market. Overnight in Havelock.

Today is about the reef. Small boats leave the Havelock jetty for Elephant Beach, a narrow strip of sand on the island's north-west side, where the reef starts just a few meters from the shore. You can also reach it on foot through the forest on a muddy trail, but the boat is easier and quicker. Snorkel gear and a short briefing are included, and a local guide swims with you to point out parrotfish, clownfish in their anemones, giant clams and the brain and table corals that cover the shallows. Many guests who have never snorkeled before feel confident after half an hour.

If the water whets your appetite, the afternoon can bring an optional introductory scuba dive, usually called a try-dive, with one of Havelock's PADI-certified dive centers. You do not need to have dived before: an instructor goes through the basics in shallow water, then takes you down to around eight to twelve meters, holding on to you the whole time. You will need to fill in a short medical form beforehand, and certain conditions mean a doctor's note is required, so we send the form to you in advance. Certified divers can book two boat dives instead.

Back on land, the afternoon slows down. Elephant Beach gets busy with day-trippers around midday, so we time the visit for the morning, leaving the afternoon for a nap or a swim at your resort. Havelock's small market at Govind Nagar has fruit stalls, a few souvenir shops and simple restaurants serving fish thali and fried squid. In the evening, many resorts set out tables on the sand, and a dinner of grilled lobster or reef fish under the stars is easy to arrange. Remember to drink plenty of water after a day in the sun. Overnight in Havelock.

With a full free day on Havelock, you choose the pace. Certified divers often leave at dawn for well-known sites like Johnny's Gorge and Dixon's Pinnacle, where the reef drops into deeper water and schools of barracuda, batfish and sometimes reef sharks pass by. If yesterday's try-dive went well and you have three or four days to spare on another trip, ask the dive center about the Open Water course, although on this itinerary a second fun dive or a snorkeling boat trip fits better. Visibility tends to be best between December and April.

Not everyone wants to spend the whole day underwater, of course. An optional sea-kayak trip through the mangrove creeks on the island's eastern side is a gentle alternative, paddling under arching roots where crabs scuttle and kingfishers wait for small fish. On moonless nights some outfitters also run evening kayak trips to see bioluminescent plankton glowing in the water as your paddle moves. Others prefer to stay put, reading on a sun lounger, getting a massage at the resort spa, or strolling Kalapathar, a quiet east-coast beach shaded by leaning trees.

The Andamans have a small local community and no visible queer scene, so the social side of the trip happens at your resort and among the international dive crowd, where friendly conversations over a drink are common and nobody cares who is traveling with whom. Alcohol is sold only in a few licensed places on the island, so it is worth asking what your resort serves before you arrive. End the day with a slow dinner, perhaps a Bengali-style fish curry, one of the island's best local dishes. Overnight in Havelock.

Mid-morning you check out for the short ferry ride to Neil Island, officially Shaheed Dweep, around an hour away. Neil is smaller and even quieter than Havelock, with a single market, a few dozen guesthouses and resorts, and farmland where bananas, coconuts and vegetables are grown for the other islands. Many people call it the vegetable bowl of the Andamans. The whole island is only about five kilometers long, so distances are short and you can see most of it in a day, either with your driver or on a rented bicycle.

Your resort on Neil, like the others on this trip, has confirmed a double bed for you, and the staff are used to hosting couples from all over the world. In the afternoon you drive to Laxmanpur Beach, on the island's western side, where a coral-strewn shoreline curves around a wide bay. At low tide the reef is exposed and you can walk out carefully with a guide to see sea cucumbers, starfish and small fish trapped in rock pools; wear reef shoes, as the coral is sharp and should never be stepped on where it is alive.

Close by is the natural rock bridge, an arch of old coral shaped by waves and reachable only at low tide, which your guide will check before you set out. Sunset at Laxmanpur is quiet and wide, with fishermen pulling boats up the sand and only a handful of other visitors around. For dinner, Neil's small restaurants serve fresh fish curry, crab and simple vegetarian thalis, and your resort can set a table near the water. Electricity and Wi-Fi are less reliable on Neil than elsewhere, so it is a good place to switch off. Overnight in Neil.

If you can manage an early start, drive to Sitapur Beach on the island's eastern tip to watch the sunrise over open sea, a quiet scene with limestone outcrops and only the sound of waves. Later, after breakfast back at the resort, head to Bharatpur Beach, next to the jetty, where the water is shallow and calm and the reef is easy to reach. Snorkeling here is included, with a local guide who knows where the turtles sometimes feed, and glass-bottom boat rides are available for anyone who prefers to stay dry.

Neil is made for cycling, with flat roads, very little traffic and paddy fields lining the way. Rent bicycles from the market area for an hour or two, ride past village houses with tin roofs and gardens full of banana trees, and stop for a fresh coconut at one of the roadside stalls. The islanders are welcoming but shy, and dress in conservative clothing; outside the beaches, covering shoulders and knees is polite. For lunch, try one of the small family restaurants near the market, where a fish thali comes with rice, dal, a vegetable and a piece of fried fish.

The afternoon is unplanned. Perhaps a second snorkel session, a nap in a hammock or a walk along the shore at Ram Nagar Beach, a longer, almost empty stretch on the north coast. This is also the right moment to talk with our team about any last-minute changes to the Port Blair plan, for example if you would like to swap the light and sound show for a quieter evening. Dinner tonight is at your resort, and the stars over Neil, far from city lights, are worth staying up for. Overnight in Neil.

A morning ferry takes you back to Port Blair in around an hour and a half, and your driver meets you at the wharf. After check-in, the first stop is the Cellular Jail, a national memorial completed by the colonial government in 1906 to isolate political prisoners from India's independence movement. Only three of its original seven wings still stand, radiating from a central watchtower, and the narrow single cells explain the name. A museum on site tells the stories of the men imprisoned here. Opening days and hours can change around national holidays, so we confirm them a day ahead and arrange the order of visits accordingly.

After lunch a small boat carries you across to Ross Island, now formally called after the freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, which served as the British seat of government until a 1941 earthquake, and then wartime Japanese occupation, left it abandoned. Today the ruined church, bakery and chief commissioner's residence are gripped by the roots of huge banyan and fig trees, and tame spotted deer and peacocks wander among them, used to visitors after decades of daily boats. The boats run on a set schedule, and the island is closed on one weekday, which we plan around.

Back at the jail after dark, you watch the light and sound show, held in the courtyard in the evening, which tells the story of the prison and its inmates through narration, music and lighting effects on the old walls. The English show is usually staged once in the evening, after a Hindi show. Your last dinner in the islands can be at a fish restaurant in town, perhaps fried pomfret or a Burmese-influenced noodle dish, a reminder of the many communities that have shaped the islands. Overnight in Port Blair.

Following breakfast, the car takes you to Veer Savarkar International Airport in good time for your flight to Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi or Kolkata, where you connect to your international flight home. The airport is small and security checks can be slow, so we plan to have you there at least two hours before departure. If your flight leaves later, you can fit in the Samudrika naval museum of marine life or a swim at Corbyn's Cove, both close to town, or a last coffee at the hotel while you sort out your photos.

From Kochi's spice lanes to the coral reefs of Havelock and Neil, this holiday has shown you two very different sides of India, both from a private, relaxed perspective that lets you travel as yourselves. Our team stays reachable on the 24/7 line until you are safely home. For a return trip, Goa, Pondicherry and the hill stations of Kerala and Tamil Nadu all fit well with the same gay-friendly, private style. Thank you for choosing to travel with us; have a safe trip home.