You fly into Port Blair's Veer Savarkar airport, where your representative meets you and transfers you to your hotel, the Andamans are reached only by air or sea from the mainland, so most guests arrive from Chennai, Kolkata or Bengaluru.

In the evening you visit the Cellular Jail National Memorial, the colonial-era prison that held India's freedom fighters, for its poignant sound-and-light show that narrates their story after dark.

After breakfast you transfer to Haddo jetty and board a private high-speed catamaran ferry to Havelock (Swaraj Dweep), a crossing of roughly two hours across the turquoise Andaman Sea.

In the late afternoon you head to Radhanagar Beach, regularly rated among Asia's finest, for a spectacular sunset over its wide white sand and clear shallows.

A short boat ride (or a jungle trek) takes you to Elephant Beach, Havelock's best spot for snorkelling over shallow coral gardens teeming with fish, plus optional sea-walking, jet-ski and glass-bottom-boat rides.

Havelock is also India's premier scuba-diving base; certified and try-dive courses can be arranged for the afternoon, or you can simply relax on the beach.

You take a short morning ferry from Havelock to Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep), the smaller, sleepier sister isle about an hour away, known for its farmland and laid-back pace.

The day covers Bharatpur Beach, with its calm coral lagoon and water sports, and Laxmanpur Beach, famed for its long sandbar and a glowing sunset, with the natural coral bridge nearby if the tide allows.

A morning ferry returns you to Port Blair, roughly one-and-a-half to two hours across the water, where you rejoin your Port Blair hotel.

In the afternoon you take a boat to Ross Island (Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep), the atmospheric ruined British administrative capital reclaimed by roots and deer, and North Bay, the coral point known for glass-bottom boats and snorkelling.

A relaxed day exploring Port Blair: the Samudrika Naval Marine Museum, the Anthropological Museum on the islands' indigenous tribes, and Corbyn's Cove Beach for a final swim.

There is time for last-minute shopping, shell craft and Andaman pearls, and an easy evening before your departure, with buffer built in for any ferry or weather changes over the week.

After breakfast your representative transfers you to Veer Savarkar airport for your flight back to the mainland.

Because island flights are limited and often morning departures, we schedule the transfer with time to spare and can store luggage if you have a late slot.