Sea Travel India

The beautiful coast of the country can best be experienced while on a sea travel India holiday. If you wish to travel by sea in India, you have many options. You can charter a boat, book a seat on a Shipping Corporation of India passenger vessel, hire a catamaran, private boats, sail boats, row boats, ferry boats ...... the options for a sea farer are truly amazing.

Travelling to offshore islands

The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd or SCI manages and operates sea travel India passenger vessels belonging to the Andaman and Nicobar Administration and the Lakshadweep Administration. The Liner and Passenger Ship Division of SCI also operate two passenger vessels owned by the Shipping Corporation of India in the Andaman and Nicobar Sector.

Regular passenger ship services are available to Port Blair from Chennai, Calcutta and Visakhapatnam. There are three to four sea travel India sailings every month from Calcutta and Chennai to Port Blair and vice-versa. There is one sailing a month from Visakhapatnam. The voyage takes around 50 to 60 hours and the ship normally berths at Port Blair for about two to four days.

Ships to Lakshadweep are available from Kochi. Discounts are available for islanders. Private Cruise Ship companies and travel agencies offer a variety of sea travel India cruises to Lakshadweep and the Andamans. From time to time they have special offers, discounts and tailored packages. Before booking such a trip it is always a good idea to check out the rates and services offered by different tour operators, so that you can get the best bargain.

You can also charter motorboats and ferries from ports of big Indian cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram. These boats come with a captain and are ideal for sea travel India. There is also catamaran services from coastal States like Goa and Andhra Pradesh.

The backwaters of the tropical State of Kerala are best explored through small houseboats. The facility of living in house boats is also available at the lakes of the temperate Himalayan State of Jammu and Kashmir. Other than this, travel by boat is available at all coastal and river side locations in India.