Shadows of the Raj and Azure Tides: Finding the Best Budget Hotels in the Andaman Islands

When you arrive in Port Blair, you are greeted by a humid stillness that is heavy with salt and seems to carry the collective breath of the thousands of people who were once exiled to these far-flung British Empire outposts. When you walk through the Aberdeen Bazar at dusk, the smell of frying fish mixes with the strong smell of diesel and the sweet, rotting smell of tropical rot. It feels like you're in a world that is both very modern and stuck in a sepia-toned past.

In this maze of narrow streets and sudden, steep hills, looking for a Budget hotel in Port Blair becomes less about luxury and more about finding a place to watch the city's restless energy. You might end up at the Aashiaanaa Residency Inn, where the simple rooms—white-washed walls and the steady, soothing hum of a ceiling fan—offer a much-needed break from the heat of the afternoon. The islands' true character comes out in these simple places, maybe over a cup of lukewarm tea served in a chipped ceramic mug. This is very different from the sterile, air-conditioned bubbles of the high-end resorts that line the more secluded bays.

The ferry to Neil Island, which is now officially called Shaheed Dweep, cuts through a sea of such bright, clear turquoise that it seems almost hallucinogenic. This is a big change from the dark, troubled waters around the Cellular Jail. Neil is a place where people walk around in a daze, and the only way to get around is on a creaking bike. The thick canopy of tropical forests seems to press in on the narrow roads from all sides.

If you want to stay in a budget hotel in Neil Island, you have to be willing to accept a certain level of rustic simplicity. For example, the Jungle Beach Resort has only basic bamboo huts hidden under the shade of tall Mahua trees. The luxury here isn't in the high thread count of the linens or the fact that there is high-speed internet. It's in the fact that you can walk out your door and find Sitapur Beach completely empty, except for the ghost crabs scurrying across the white sand.

People who think that comfort is the enemy of observation often say that this kind of travel has a deep virtue. This is because we can only really see the places we visit when we strip away the layers of artificial convenience. The budget traveler sees the Andamans not as a carefully chosen postcard, but as a living, breathing landscape full of contradictions and quiet, lasting beauty. For example, they can watch the sunrise over Neil's jagged limestone formations or listen to the muezzin's distant call echoing across the rooftops of Port Blair.

Andaman Studio is a group of enthusiast Photographers, Videographers and Editors who have come along to capture moments from your journey in the Andaman Islands. We are stationed at Havelock Island where all the magic is.