The Andaman Islands no doubt have always been my dream scuba diving destination in southeast India. The Islands offer tranquil natural beauty and a diverse marine population enough to lure a scuba diving enthusiast. I completed my open water certification on 18th May 2024 in the Maldives and planned to visit the tropical Islands in September to experience the best scuba diving in the Andaman Islands.
I planned my 4 days travel itinerary to Andaman out of which 2 days were reserved for underwater exploration. Since Swaraj Dweep also known as Havelock Island is the most promising place to experience the best scuba diving in Andaman. Havelock Island offers over 25 dive sites blessed with multiple species of marine animals and coral reefs.
After a little internet research, I found Seahawks Scuba, a prominent and trusted scuba dive shop in Havelock, Andaman Islands. They provide multiple dive options at the best prices that ultimately match my budget. The dive professionals at Seahawks Scuba are skilled and experienced in making my underwater expedition a success. On arrival in Havelock, I visited their office and finalized my scuba dive plans with them for the next three days.
On day 1 (Scuba diving at Tribe Gate and Juvis dive site)
I reported to the dive shop at 8 am for my first day of fun dives. We were supposed to dive at Tribe Gate and Juvis coral reefs. It was going to be a double dive so I carried packed food to eat during surface interval after 1 one dive. We rushed to the beach at 8.30 am after changing clothes and scuba dive equipment settlement. Mr ABY was my dive instructor on day one who will lead the dive and take me to different parts of the reef.
We rushed to the Tribe Gate dive site via a speed boat. It was roughly a 5-minute boat ride away. Tribe Gate is an oval-shaped reef popular for witnessing colorful fish species and multiple points of sea anemones. The maximum depth of the reef was 14 meters and mild currents and good underwater visibility were ideal to have a wonderful dive at this site. Popular sightings of the reef include schools of snappers, trevallies, pipefish, batfish, groupers, sea anemones, staghorn corals, clownfish, and many more.
After scuba diving, I was asked for a surface interval for the next 40 minutes. I had my packaged food during the surface interval and discussed the plan for the next dive with my Instructor.
We rushed 1 kilometer ahead and anchored the boat close to John Lawerence Island after the surface interval. Juvis coral reef is located at this point and is popular for spacious species of potato corals. The site's maximum depth is 12 meters, while the reef starts from 4 meters. Reef sharks are occasionally prominent sightings at the site.
On Day 2 (Scuba diving at the Wall and Slope dive site)
The next day, we started early in the morning, at 5.30 am, diving to the wall and slope. I reported at 5 am to the dive shop for the required paperwork and to sort out my scuba dive equipment. Both of these dive sites are located southeast of Havelock Island and 7 kilometers away from beach-03, Havelock Island.
My first scuba dive was at the Slope dive site, it's a gentle slope laying between 5 to 18 meters. Popular sightings of the reef include Angelfish, Sweetlips, Lionfish, sea cucumber, Bannerfish, Triggerfish, Parrotfish, Trumpetfish, Barracuda, Grouper, Surgeonfish, starfish, and many more.
After the surface interval, we moved to the Wall dive site lying 1.5 kilometers from the slope. The wall is the deepest site in Havelock which starts from 10.2 meters and drops to 55 meters or more. A big rock is lying vertically on its side consisting of a wall-like structure. The reef offers a wide variety of multi-colored soft and hard corals. The Wall also works as a cleaning station for groups of fish species such as barracudas, jackfish, snappers, bannerfish, and fusiliers.
Both Wall and Slope are suitable for certified divers and open water students. Scuba diving at these sites was extremely fun, as well as much more underwater exploration. I strongly recommend Seahawks Scuba to have wonderful sessions for scuba diving in Havelock for certified and non-certified divers.
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