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Lakshadweep Cruise: Insider Tips for Offbeat Indian Island Adventure
The first thing I should start this post with is, by thanking the head of the family aka my these-days-way-too-irritating yet lovely father. This trip was thought of by him and it was made possible all because of him. We had this plan made for the year 2020. But we all know 2020 wasn’t the year of travel due to the pandemic which froze our pace of life. But then.. by the end of last year, he once again tried putting this plan into action. we were very clear from the beginning that we would be going to Lakshadweep by cruise, and ships were not operating from Dec 23- Feb 24 due to some technical reason. And then..
On 1st March 2024, the booking windows opened and I somehow managed my leaves (& I did save some leave till the financial year end.. God’s plan, I must say this here) overnight and we were done booking the day next. We were truly lucky enough for this. As the inventory runs out very fast for this cruise, we got the booking on the exact date and the rest of the arrangements went smoothly & within a week we were ready for our very very awaited and most looked-up to Holiday. ** Cause we were not excited for the holiday we were going for, it was for the destination we were going to.. We were excited beyond our knowledge.
SO Lakshadweep it was.. one of the interior travel destinations of India, it’s not that you book a ticket and you can end up here.. No no no.. to travel to Lakshadweep, if you are going on your own, you need to get a permission for the government (most likely you get to apply it on Lakshadweep Sports Tourism’ website). If the permission is approved only then you can enter this union territory of India. There are about 36 islands in this territory, out of them 10 islands are inhabited by locals and among them, only 6 islands are open for tourists. They are Kavaratti, Kalpeni, Minicoy, Agatti, Bangaram and Kadmath.
As much as I got to know, Agatti is mainly a transit point for travel to other islands. Bangaram is said to have a resort there where per night cost is about 18k-24k per room with all meals. Then there is Kadmath which is currently closed.. I will tell you why a bit later. Then there are the other 3 islands.. I am a little overloaded about this trip, in a very positive way.. so please don’t crease your brows.. I am just not able to figure out what to tell you first or maybe I am trying to tell you all in one go.. whoo.. (breath in.. breath out..) Let’s begin..
How to Go:
Let’s do it like this.. rather than telling you more about what I got to know, let me give you complete details of what or how we did this trip.. our hands-on experience part only.. that’s more sorted, right?
So we took the Samudram package managed by the India Government. To take this cruise we had to go to Cochin city.. this is one of the prime cities of Kerala. If you follow my blogs, you know how much I love Kerala, so we actually arrived in Cochin a few days earlier and then started the cruise. So to board the cruise one has to go to Willingdon Port. Uber is well available to connect to the port and it’s very close to MG road, Ernakulam city. (** In case you have a doubt, Cochin city is called Ernakulam so it’s not some other place and did you know Willingdon island is manmade!!) Willingdon port is veryyyy big but there are clear signposts so that, you can reach your Lakshadweep check-in centre quite easily. You have time to report between 9-10 am.. but I will say come early. They start the check-in process before 9, and the sooner you come the easier and faster the check-in to the cruise. As you go later, it may get a bit chaotic though I found their entire check-in process quite in order. Actually, I had read on the internet that the check-in process is chaotic but I didn’t face anything as such and we were the early birds checked in to the cruise.
There is security available, who very politely guide you with the check-in process. From the check-in point, your luggage goes by truck to ship and passengers go by bus. Don’t worry at all, your luggage is safe.. you are the one putting them on the truck and you only collect them and again deposit them to the ship authority. I have to tell you this.. and it’s a spoiler but trust me.. things are very well organized here. Just have your trust on and things will go smoothly.
So moving on, the bus dropped us in front of the ship. The luggage was well taken care of and once the ship crew gave us the go-ahead, we were ready to move up the stairs.
About the Cruise & Samudram Package:
The sailing dates of the cruise are available on the website. You also get the itinerary there and after choosing your suitable date, either contact your preferred travel agent who can book this cruise for you or you may try booking online.
For us, again the credit to my father.. he had contacted the ITDC office in our city and he used to regularly check with them on the booking availability. We booked through the ITDC office, and they charge the exact amount shown on the website, nothing more at all. The booking process was quite smooth for us. As the cruise has limited capacity and doesn’t run throughout the year, the demand is quite high among tourists. Okay, I am again going too haphazard..
So.. at the moment this ship is not completely dedicated to tourists. It’s a passenger ship with a capacity of 700 passengers. Locals use this ship to commute between islands or Cochin City. Among these 192 tourists with about 96 1st class cabins (completely dedicated to 4th and 5th decks for the diamond package and a few at the 3rd deck with lower package price/ gold package) are reserved for tourists. There is a dedicated dining room for the tourists and a dedicated team to look after the tourists.
The cruise runs from SEP till APR for tourists and there is a break of 4 months in between. The Samudram package is for 4 nights and 5 days on full board basis. The cabins have a capacity to accommodate 2 passengers and have basic facilities. The rooms or the entire cruise is very clean and maintained throughout. The amenities are basic, please do not expect anything luxury but everything is well organized and properly planned. MV Kavaratti is the ship that sails across the sea and it’s a beauty.
So this 4 night 5 days trip, covers 3 major islands of Lakshadweep; starting and ending at Cochin. So your flight/ train ticket is to be booked to/from Cochin. Day 1 is all about boarding the cruise.. after checking all 700 odd passengers in, it takes about 3-4 pm for the cruise to start sailing. & day 5 is about coming back to Cochin, checking out, and then heading to your next destination or back home. The tour manager of the cruise conducts a briefing session on the very first day post evening tea and gives you all tour details/ rules/ dos-don’t etc. Hence you are sorted and the manager is well available to reach out for any issue.
That’s Part I.. wait for the main now.. 2 more to go
TurtleGotWings 
This Lakshadweep travel blog wonderfully captures the beauty of its pristine islands and culture.
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