ross and smith island

Having seen Havelock in my two previous visits , I decided to visit Andamans a third time. This time to the North Islands and the Middle Straits . Ross & Smith Islands are magnificent .Havelock pales in cpmparision. Pity only day visits are possible . There are no no staying facilities there . Carry all provisions . No vendors or food joints there !

It is a pair of islands which are connected by a sand bar. The sand bar is visible only during low tide other wise the islands are seperated by water. So choose the time of visit. The boat can take 5 people for 2500/- rupees. People can share. The time given at the island is only 3 hours. You can extend the stay by paying 300/- extra per hour. Return has to be latest by 4pm.Peaceful and amazing beach. Very clear blue water and clean white soft sand. Very beautiful. Must see place in Andamans. It is definitely one of the most beautiful sea side sand strip connecting two islands. The islands are covered with a canopy of thick forests.

Smith & Ross Islands make up for the long trip to this part of the Andamans. Boat prices and the time you can spend on the islands are fixed - Rs. 2100 for a boat in Jan 2015 with a max capacity of 6-8 and 2 hrs with a Rs. 300 per extra hour spent. Make sure to interact with the friendly forest officials there as they are friendly and can tell you a lot about the local flora and fauna. When we visited, the A&N Tourism department were just building an eco-park with toilet and drinking water facilities which are currently unavailable in these uninhabited islands. Beautiful, large and colourful shells dot the sand bar connecting the two islands and a 2 min stroll inland will yield a thick, untouched tropical forest that's worth beholding

i would rate this as the highlight of our trip to andamans. extremely clear blue waters, and the best thing the two islands are connected by sand. the island was pristine.

We had visited Andaman Islands as tourists during 24th December 2014 to 2nd January 2015 in a large family and friends group. We had visited the pristine beaches, traveled thru the reserved forests, seen the natural treasures. We felt satisfied that our vacation was spent wisely albeit few boat trips. The short boat trips we had availed to hop islands were filled with adventure, anxiousness and anticipation as well as concerns about our safety.This particular letter, I am writing on behalf of this group of 13 which included senior citizens, children and women, out of concern about the safety culture being followed by the boat operators at different Jetties. I had made a formal hand written complaint to Mr P K Baroi, Department in-charge, Port Control Tower, Aerial Bay Jetty, (attached herewith) hoping that the administration takes up these issues (detailed below) so that lives and safety of tourists in the sea are not compromised. I am reporting this based on the experience we had while going to Ross & Smith Island from Aerial Bay Jetty on 29th December.The incident happened like this:We (family of six, with senior citizens and two Kids) took the necessary permits to visit Ross and Smith. Hurriedly checked by the Home Guard and being helped to board the Boat. We were helped to wear the safety jackets. The weather seemed calm to our eyes, however there was a dark cloud hovering over the horizon. We started and upon reaching the mid distance, Waves started building up, and the boat went in with the same speed forward. The waves lashed with the boats and drenched us completely. Then Rain started pouring heavily and the waves were gaining height. The boat instead of pausing, went in the same speed and was swaying heavily. At this point we were completely drenched. The boat didnt have any hand holds, to keep us from toppling. the boat didnt have adequate cover to protect from rain. We asked the boatman and he looked indifferent and insisted on reaching the destination without uttering any words to calm us down or improve the situation. When the boat started swaying heavily, we felt vulnerable and the boatmen didnt provide the help we wanted. We took a decision to return from mid-sea. We felt our lives were in danger. Now with no prior sea faring experience, this incident had made us nervous and angry. Upon confronting with these appalling conditions the boatmen (private operators) came up with their team of locals and started abusing, ridiculing. They also intimidated us about negative and inadequate consequence to our complaints if made and even threatened us. Upon reaching the jetty, we couldnt find any decent changing room, toilets.At this point we decided to report to the authority and were directed to the In-Charge, Port Control Tower. He confirmed that the weather conditions were not conducive to sail in the first place. Hence, I thought that this needed to be brought to the notice of the authorities. Below are the points of concern and room for improvement for future guests.Pre-boarding:1. Tourists were not briefed about the safety features, including do's and donts.2. Tourists were not briefed about the weather conditions.3. The boatmen didnt wear identification tags/badges4. The boat were not checked prior to boarding.5. Safety checklists were absent and there were no body (government rep) to record each trip.6. Boarding Jetty is not safe in most occasions to embark/disembark.7. Complaint points missing (a tourist do not know where to register complaints)8. Boatmen didnt check/refer the weather forecast or conditions to sail.9. There are no charts on the jetty mentioning the operators for the day or registered operators.10. Weather chart not displayed at the jetty. Port management representative were not present to flag-off the boats.11. The home-guard on duty was not aware of his task.12. The boatmen were not introduced to us and we were not briefed about the journey.Post Boarding:1. The boats are inadequately equipped to handle any emergency situations2. The boats are not safe (there are no safety handrail/holds)3. The boats are not maintained/inspected prior to boarding.4. Safety features of the boat were not displayed. no instructions printed on the boats.5. Identity of the boats are just the name tags of the owners with the phone numbers (In such situations, getting a connection is a miracle). There are no registration number plates.6. The boatmen were not trained and cannot communicate properly in emergent situations.7. There are no way of communication mid-sea to or from the boat.8. There are no law-enforcement personnel visible (the permits were handed over to the tourists and were told that these are just formalities)At the Jetty:1. The facilities (toilets/changing rooms) available are grossly inadequate and are not maintained and in dilapidated conditions.2. There is no grievance redress desk/ complaint register desk.3. there are no security personnel available during emergency situations.4. There are no emergency medical/first aid team available.In light of the above, please regard this letter as a formal complaint and consider the points mentioned above as those of concern and try improving the infrastructure and the system and inculcate the culture of safety in your otherwise wonderful Andamans so that touristic conditions are improved and more tourists are encouraged.

Not the most efficient operation. A boat (private approved operators) is Rs2,500 for two hours, additional waiting time extra. You can hang around and share the cost boats take c.10 passengers. There is a silly Rs2 (two rupee!) docking fee, no other charges despite what is posted nearby. Sandy beach good swimming.Lonely Planet suggests you can sneak over to Ross Island Sanctuary for free...maybe once however now they have staff watching from the other island who hit you with a Rs.500 fine for this (same cost as official foreigner entry fee to Ross). Don't go past the warning sign to avoid a possible charge.

It is a pair of islands which are connected by a sand bar. The sand bar is visible only during low tide other wise the islands are seperated by water. So choose the time of visit. The boat can take 5 people for 2500/- rupees. People can share. The time given at the island is only 3 hours. You can extend the stay by paying 300/- extra per hour. Return has to be latest by 4pm.Peaceful and amazing beach. Very clear blue water and clean white soft sand. Very beautiful. Must see place in Andamans.

We took launch from Aberdeen Jetty in the Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex and reached Ross Island within 15 mins. Ross Island is now mainly ruins. The Japanese bombarded the island and as a result there are only a few buildings left in form of ruins. But the scenic beauty of the island is incomparable. One can see the Blue sea through the series of coconut trees. We saw deer & peacocks there also. The Britishers indeed chose the best place to stay in Andamans.

As the name suggest, these are 2 different islands located in between the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. The approach to these islands is via a small boat which takes you from a common point and brings back to the same place.While approaching this place one might think these are regular islands with pure sand and blue sea but the beauty of this place does not stop here.The two pieces of land mass are connected to each other. During high tide they seem 2 different islands but during the low tide they seem a single island.The sea is a mix of blue and green color, which for first timers like me, seem unbelievable.This is a part of the Andaman itinerary but it for some reason it is not, pls dont forget to pay a visit to one of its kind islands in Andaman..

Due to cyclonic depression, we had to cancel our plans for Havelocks island.and that was really upsetting. One of our friend strongly insisted on going to Ross and Smith island .it was a long journey to reach there. But when I saw that island, I was spellbound. It was the most beautiful sight of my life. That white sand beach surrounded by a lagoon and high seas, it was so mesmerising. We were only four people on that whole island with some of forest department staff for our help. It was the best experience of my life. I would strongly recommend a visit to this heavenly island.