SCUBA Diving in India

Lakshadweep is an archipelago of 36 islands, 200-300 miles off the west coast of India in the Arabian Sea. Only two islands - Bangaram and Kadmat - are open to foreign tourists. Kadmat is more isolated than Bangaram. There is only one resort there: the Kadmat Island Beach Resort. The Lakshadweep Islands has one airport, on Agatti Island. There are Kingfisher flights five times a week from Cochin to Agatti, and from Bombay to Agatti via Bangalore. Indian Airlines also flies to Agatti

Diving at Kadmat is provided by Lacadives and at Bangaram by the Casino Resort. You can get from the airport to Kadmat either by the inter-island boat, or by booking speedboat collection by Lacadives. The journey will take you one to two hours by speedboat, and three and a half hours by the inter-island boat. The cost of both speedboat and inter-island boat is shared by its passengers. Kadmat has no bar or Internet access.

If you plan to learn to dive at Lakshadweep, take a doctor's certificate with you stating that you are fit to dive. Certified divers just need their certification and log books. Average visibility in the Lakshadweep Sea during the season ranges from 25 to 40 meters. The dive centers are closed during the monsoons (May to September).

"The same gorgeous marine life and great visibility as the Maldives, only for much cheaper. I just got back from doing my CMAS 1-star there, and the dive centre (Lacadives) had a great student-to-teacher ratio - I was the only student!"
Trushna, 2006

"The remoteness of the location (Kadmat island) really gives you a feeling of "getting away from it all" - but this comes at a price, either in terms of money or time. Staying at the resort and paying for the dives are not expensive (in fact, comparatively cheap), but getting to Kadmat is.
The only flight (takes about 2 hours) into Lakshadweep is from the city of Cochin (in south India) and there is only one such flight per day (Monday through Saturday). These flights are cancelled every now & then for various reasons. If you do manage to fly to Lakshadweep, you have to take a 3 to 4-hour speedboat transfer to Kadmat. A cheap alternative to the flight-speedboat option is taking an 18 to 24-hour ship journey from Cochin directly to Kadmat, though this is also fairly unreliable since (a) the ship schedule sometimes changes at the last minute and (b) the ships are very old and may be cancelled because of engine failure or things like that. If you do decide to go, build in a few days of delay-time.
On the upside, I faced almost all these problems in my recent trip to Kadmat - and I still think the trip was worth it. The diving was truly spectacular, and Kadmat had a wonderfully comfortable, mellow island feel to it (at one point there were only 3 of us on the whole resort). I only wish I could have stayed there longer! "
Trushna, 2006

"A wall from 6m down to 30m then gradually going out as far as the eye can see, 40m to 60m visibilty. In this dive site you will see at least 20 green turtles, sometimes 50 to 100 in one hour !
Other usual suspects in every dive:- white tip reef sharks, eagle rays, blotched fantail rays, porcupine rays, 4 different types of morays, many types of nudibranches, shrimps, huge napoleon wrasses (sometimes 8 to 15 at a time), great barracudas and jacks. Also I've seen 3 devil rays together, a 5m manta and a squadron of eagle rays. Plus rainbow runners, lionfish dogtooth tunas, skipjacks, shit this list could go on and on.
This divesite is truly amazing the wall is full of crevices with turtles sleeping inside, also turtles sharks and rays sharing the flat sand bottom, superb! One last thing, with a slight current you definitely loose count of turtles after around 100. "
Martin Bailey, 2009

"Diving in the Andamans is slightly more expensive than other places in the world - I guess because its just getting popular and I guess its tough operating in such places. Better than Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka. Not as good as some places in Maldives or Manado. But then as I see it, the islands are still being discovered. My girlfriend and I went diving in February after the tsunami and I am happy to report that the coral reefs in these islands escaped without any harm. "
Mark

Rating:

" Outside the island jetty. Lots of fish action, mid to strong currents. "
Mark

"Saw a Manta, Turtles and napoleon fish all in the same dive! Slight current, but great vis. "
Maria Petrenko, USA, 2005

Rating:

"Saw a rare duging. Fantastic!! "
Will, USA

Rating:

" Unfortunately I did not get to dive this time and even while snorkling the visibility was was very low 8' max thanks to the high winds but I vouch for Wild Orchid and its service. I just snorkled off the Isle of Havelok closer to Peal Isle which are off the mainland of Nicobar (Andaman and Nicobar). However the waters were clearer on the west coast of Havelok in Radhanagar beach. You need to watch out for the one rougue current here which kind of at times take you a bit too deep if you are not a reasonably good swimmer and hits at its own whim and fancy. "
Rajesh Wahal, 2007

Rating:

"Simply superb - nearly 5-6 different dives possible. Offshore and lots of pelagics. "
Mark

"Very good diving: plenty of fish. I'd like to dive the site called Minerva Ledge again, better than the Similan Islands in Thailand. It is cheaper to stay on the island of Havelock - the diving is superb if you manage to go to the right sites. Beware of inexperienced people though. "
Deep

"Worthy of multiple dives "
Will, USA

"A massive garden of beautiful coral teeming with fish life. It was surreal! "
Maria Petrenko, USA, 2005

Rating:

"Fabulous coral gardens - have not seen such diversity in hard coral elsewhere. Gin-clear water and great for snorkelling also. The Button Islands are part of a protected marine national park. "
Mark

"Amazing coral diversity. lots of fish life. saw turtles and a nurse shark as well "
Will, USA

"I have just completed my open water diver course in Goa, south India with the Goa Diving School. The dives all focused on an area called Grande Island, where there is a shipwreck called the SS Mary. The site is abundant with beautiful fish, corals, large rock formations and the visibility is great. The dive school also organises trips to Pigeon Island off the coast of Kanartaka, where you'll see Manta Rays, Grouper and much more. Goa is a great location, cheap, fabulous weather, lots of interesting places to visit and great food...highly recommended - I'll be returning next year!
Celeste

"Wreck: visibilty is about 7 meters and depth about 12 meters
Orin, 2009

India Diving Operators

Lakshadweep
India
Tel: +91 22 66627381/2
E-mail: lacadives@gmail.com
http://www.lacadives.com/

"I'd like to recommend the company Lacadives in the Lakshadweep and Andaman islands. They are the nicest guys I've ever dived with, very professional and hospitable, I have made alot of friends out there.
The diving is up there with the best I've done and I've been alot of places. From big stuff in just about every dive to small stuff and great corals on alot of the dive sites. Plus it's paradise on earth, like the Maldives without the hoards.
Check out lacadives.com, Email Siddharth he's very very helpful. "
Martin Bailey, 2009

A luxury liveaboard that small groups can charter. Departs from Thailand and cruises to the Andaman Islands.
123 Meyer Road #22-04
The Makena Apartments
Singapore 437934
Tel: (65) 97303945
Fax: +66 (0) 76 420 209,
info@seimoa.com,
http://www.mvseimoa.com/,
http://www.divingburma.com/

Rating:

Barefoot at Havelock Resort
Beach No. 7
Havelock Island
Tel: +91-3192-220191
Fax: +91-3192-237656
E-mail: info@barefootindia.com

"Diving Costs: US $80 for 2 dives inclusive of all equipment (2005). Barefoot Diving is run by Herbert Burri, a Swiss dive instructor with over 10 years of dive experience in the Andaman Islands alone. He runs a very smooth, well organised, and efficient dive operation with the help of a few sturdy Karen (Burmese) assistants.
We went diving with Barefoot at a few sites around Havelock Island, at Minerva Ledge and at a couple of sites in the Button Islands. All the dives were made using the local dunghis (long-tail boats) which were adventurous by themselves. We also got to dive with Barefoot Resort's own swimming elephant called Rajan, which is unique to the Andaman Islands! The diving was moderate to excellent - visibility varied a bit at the sites around Havelock (good by European standards!) but the outer sites were superb.
The equipment was all Mares and brand new! Yes, we would definitely recommend Barefoot Diving. "
Mark

"Swiss dive instructor, very meticulous. Three boats ranging from local fishing boat to fast motor launches. Good value for money and better than anything in Thailand, by far! "
Will, USA

Rating:

No 1, Havelock Island
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
India
Tel: +91-3192-282002
E-mail: info@andamandiveclub.com

London Office
135 Saunders Ness Road
London E14 3EB
UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7538 4643,
E-mail: marketing@andamandiveclub.com

"Andaman Dive Club have a fairly good boat, a fishing trawler converted to a dive boat with an inboard engine which can do 12 knots. A lot of room for divers. Excellent value for money. "
Deep

Rating:

Wild Orchid resort
Havelock Island
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
India
E-mail: info@diveindia.com

"Friends and I went diving in the Andamans last December. It was incredible. We dived with DiveIndia, a PADI centre located on Havelock Island at The Wild Orchid Resort. They definitely gave us an incredible diving expreience with their knowledge of the local waters, very friendly and experienced staff (both locals from the Karen tribe and Europeans) and superb customer service. (Not once did I feel rushed during my OW course. My friend took over a week for her OW course and they did not rush her or charge her extra.) I definitely recommend them: we made some good friends at diveIndia.
DiveIndia offers both, mid range and luxury accommodation through The Wild Orchid and The Emerald Gecko. We stayed at Emerald Gecko in very romantic stilted bamboo huts with sea views and private toilets. Excellent value for money. Although diving in Thailand is cheaper, the quality of diving in the Andamans is much better and that makes it worth those few extra $$. "
Maria, USA, 2005

Rating:

Sun Village Resort
Baga - Arpora
Goa - 403518
India
Tel: 91 (832) 2279409 - 14
Fax: 91 (832) 2279409
Mobile: 9822182402
E-mail: info@barracudadiving.com

"The cost is around 2000 ruppess for two dives and lunch and I would dive with them all the time if possible. There are loads of hotels around the dive center to stay in. The second best place I have dived."
Orin

Planet Scuba India Pvt Ltd --inland training centre
Indiranager
Bangalore
India
E-mail: info@planetscubaindia.com

"I am safe with this group that conduct my dive trips. I save my time going with this group by not spending time and money at the sea. I learn in city and then I am off recreating my knowledge at the sea without any distractions."
Pulla, 2009

O Pescador Beach Resort
Dona Paula
Panjim
Goa
India
Tel: :+91 09325030109 / 110
E-mail:divegoa@gmail.com

"I just finished my advanced course with divegoa and recommend them to everybody."
Aravind, 2010

"I had the absolute best experience learning how to dive with Ajey and Dive Goa! He is professional, enthusiastic and patient! A great teacher with the perfect balance of information, confidence, and experience!
I will never forget the small bits of wisdom Ajey taught me during each dive! "Every problem can be solved underwater!" Thanks Ajey! You�re the best!"
Stepanie Wandke

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