Maldives resorts charge $250 per night minimum. Seaplanes cost $400 round-trip. A week runs $3,000 before activities. Twenty hours southeast, Andaman Islands deliver identical turquoise shallows, powdery beaches, and world-class coral reefs for $12 hostel beds. Same postcard. One-fifth the price.
The difference shows at dawn. Maldives guests wake to resort breakfast buffets at $40 per person. Havelock Island visitors walk to the beach at 6am where fishermen sort fresh catches beside wooden boats. No spa menus. No seaplane noise. Just waves and morning light on sand that rivals any atoll.
Why Maldives became unsustainable for most travelers
Maldives tourism operates on a luxury-only model. Budget guesthouses exist but average $100 per night in 2026. Mid-range resorts start at $800. All-inclusive packages push $1,500 daily for couples. Meals cost $20 minimum. Diving runs $150 per day. Speedboat transfers add $200.
The math breaks fast. Five days for two people: $4,000 for rooms, $600 for food, $750 for activities, $400 for transport. Total exceeds $5,750 before flights. Resort isolation limits cultural access. Most islands ban non-guest visitors. You see staff, not communities.
Environmental costs compound financial ones. Seaplanes burn fuel for 20-minute hops. Resorts import 90% of supplies. Waste management struggles on remote atolls. The 1,200 islands span 298 square kilometers with maximum elevation of 16 feet. Climate vulnerability shows in eroding beaches and coral bleaching.
Andaman Islands deliver the same paradise at budget prices
The landscape that matches Maldives
Radhanagar Beach on Havelock Island stretches 1.5 kilometers of white sand meeting turquoise shallows. Water clarity rivals South Male Atoll. Elephant Beach coral gardens sit in 5-15 meter depths with visibility exceeding 20 meters. The 572 islands span 8,249 square kilometers across the Bay of Bengal.
Andaman adds what Maldives cannot. Saddle Peak rises 737 meters through rainforest. Trek routes wind past endemic birds and butterflies. Cellular Jail in Port Blair preserves colonial history from 1906. Ross Island ruins show Victorian architecture overtaken by jungle. Maldives offers zero elevation, zero history, zero hiking.
The price difference that changes everything
Hostels in Havelock and Neil Island charge $12 per night for clean dorms. Guesthouses run $30-85 for private rooms with AC. Luxury properties like Barefoot Resort cost $240, still 70% below Maldives equivalents. Total accommodation for five nights: $150-420 versus $4,000-6,000.
Meals at local spots cost $4-6 for seafood thali with rice, curry, and fresh fish. Resort restaurants charge $10-24. Street vendors sell grilled prawns for $8 per kilogram. Compare to Maldives where basic meals start at $20. Diving packages run $40-60 per day including equipment and boat. Maldives operators charge $150-250.
Five-day budget breakdown for two people: $390-900 in Andaman versus $1,980-7,380 in Maldives. Savings exceed 75%. The difference buys flights, extends trips, or funds other destinations like Panama’s affordable island escapes.
The experiences Maldives cannot offer
What you actually do here
Morning ferries from Port Blair to Havelock cost $12 and take two hours. No seaplane required. Snorkel Elephant Beach reefs where parrotfish and angelfish swarm shallow coral. Kayak through bioluminescent plankton at night for $25. Trek Saddle Peak through rainforest to ocean views. Maldives has no forests, no mountains, no wildlife beyond marine life.
Cellular Jail tours run 2-3 hours through colonial prison cells where Indian freedom fighters were held. The architecture and history create emotional weight. Ross Island ruins let you photograph Victorian buildings consumed by banyan roots. Maldives offers resort spas and water sports. Nothing cultural. Nothing historical.
The authentic communities Maldives hides
Neil Island fishing villages wake at 5am when boats return with catches. Watch net mending and fish auctions at the harbor. Fresh prawns sell for $6 per kilogram. Curry shops serve breakfast for $4. Family guesthouses offer cooking demonstrations and local stories. This access does not exist in Maldives where 90% of tourism confines to resort islands.
Port Blair markets sell tropical fruits, spices, and shell jewelry. Aberdeen Bazaar operates daily with vendors who have run stalls for decades. The Jarawa tribal areas remain restricted to protect indigenous populations living here for 60,000 years. Maldives converted from fishing villages to luxury tourism. Andaman preserves both, similar to Mediterranean islands that maintain fishing traditions.
Practical realities of choosing Andaman
US flights route through Chennai or Kolkata with total travel time of 22-25 hours. Round-trip costs run $1,200-1,800, comparable to Maldives at $1,000-1,500 for 18-20 hours. India e-visa costs $25 with quick processing. Permits issue on arrival in Port Blair. No resort booking required before travel.
November through April offers dry weather with air temperatures around 82°F and calm seas. January 2026 sits in peak season with minimal rainfall and excellent diving visibility. Monsoon season from June-September brings heavy rain. Avoid July-August entirely. Ferry schedules increase in winter with multiple daily departures between major islands.
Andaman receives 500,000 annual visitors versus Maldives’ 1.5 million. Beaches stay less crowded. Radhanagar sees under 1,000 daily visitors even in peak season. Resort islands in Maldives concentrate tourists in smaller areas despite higher overall numbers. The experience feels more open, less managed, closer to places like Honduras’ remote sandbars.
Your questions about Andaman versus Maldives answered
How does diving quality actually compare?
Andaman coral reefs support high biodiversity with healthy hard and soft corals. Elephant Beach and North Bay offer accessible sites for beginners. Barren Island near the volcano provides advanced diving. Maldives has stronger reputation among professional divers for deep channels and pelagic species. For recreational divers and snorkelers, Andaman delivers comparable experience at one-third the cost. Water clarity and marine life density match well.
What about safety and infrastructure?
Port Blair has hospitals and medical facilities. Ferry services maintain safety records with life jackets and modern boats. Guesthouses meet basic standards with hot water and WiFi. Roads on main islands are paved. Cell service works in populated areas. Infrastructure is simpler than Maldives resorts but functional. Budget accommodations are clean. Food safety is good at established restaurants. Solo travelers and families visit without issues.
Can you island hop as easily as Maldives?
Government ferries connect Port Blair, Havelock, and Neil Island multiple times daily for $10-14 per trip. Private speedboats cost more but run frequently. Travel between islands takes 1-3 hours depending on distance. Maldives uses expensive speedboats at $200-500 or seaplanes. Andaman ferry system is cheaper and more accessible. You can visit multiple islands in one week without resort packages, similar to Belize’s island-hopping flexibility.
The ferry back to Port Blair leaves at 4pm. Most visitors make it with time to spare. I missed it once because a fisherman started talking about the 1941 earthquake that destroyed Ross Island. His grandfather survived it. That story does not exist in any Maldives resort.