The Andaman Islands. India's best-kept secret. Stunning beaches, aquamarine coral lagoons, lush green rainforest, active volcanoes, swimming elephants, and giant fish.

Experience the unexplored beauty of these islands at the Barefoot Group's first luxury eco-retreat, 'barefoot at havelock'. Located exclusively on what TIME Magazine rated as the best beach in Asia, the resort is set in tropical rainforest and fruit trees behind a pristine 2 km stretch of white sand at the quirkily named Beach No. 7 on Havelock Island.

The resort consists of 18 beautifully designed and environmentally sensitive cottages hidden in the tropical foliage. The resort and cottages are spread over 8 acres, thus giving you an uninterrupted feeling of nature and privacy. The barefoot philosophy propagates the use of only natural indigenous materials in the living and recreational spaces.

Getting to Barefoot at Havelock

Havelock Island, in the Bay of Bengal, is about 3 hours north-east of Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman Islands, which is easily accessible by air or sea. Fly direct from Europe to Chennai or Kolkata in India and then take one of the daily domestic flights from these cities to Port Blair, with Indian Airlines and Jet Airways (about 2 hrs). Our Barefoot boat will transfer you directly from Port Blair to Beach no. 7 on Havelock Island.

for an alternative and more leisurely experience, ships are also available on fixed schedules, to travel from Chennai and Kolkota to Port Blair. (2-3 days.) There is a daily ferry from Port Blair (3-4 hours) to Havelock Island where we will meet you at the jetty (a 7 km transfer) or if you prefer, you can rent a taxi, auto rickshaw or a bicycle and make your own way to the resort.

Savour the delicious vegetarian and seafood dishes created by our chef at the main resort restaurant. Continental and Indian food are our forte and you can chose from the set menu or dine a la carte. We also have a choice of spirits and a small selection of Indian wines, to enhance your meal. Whatever you eat, you can take comfort in the knowledge that our vegetables are organically grown and fertilizer free, sea food is fresh from the sea and the chicken (and eggs) are “free range.”

Next to the main restaurant is the Lounge. Furnished in the Indian and Oriental style, with divans and bolsters, low-level tables and aromatic candles, it is a place to sit back and relax, swap stories with other guests or catch up on the 15-day old news (yes, it can take that long…). Or alternatively, have a drink, breathe in the sea air and listen to one of the finest collections of jazz and lounge music to be found anywhere in the Andaman Islands.

The Andaman Islands are considered the final undiscovered frontier for scuba diving and the waters around Havelock Island are pristine and unexplored. The diving is exciting - easy dives filled with colourful reef fish, sea turtles, the occasional dugong and plenty of coral.

Barefoot Scuba, our own full-service dive centre, is located at Beach No. 3 and offers PADI dive courses and recreational dive trips in and around Havelock. Dive trips further afield can be organized with a little advance planning. Barefoot Diving has acquired brand new Mares dive equipment and uses state-of-art Bauer compressors. The dive centre is operated by European dive instructors.

There is no shortage of activities to while away your time with us…For most the highlight is meeting Rajan, our male tusker elephant whom we rescued from a life of hard labour. He is one of the amazing ocean-swimming elephants of the Andaman Islands and lives at our resort. Join Rajan for a swim in the waters at Beach No. 7 or catch him early in the morning and help him get his breakfast.

For a more spiritual alternative, we run yoga courses between January and April every year. Practice is held at the resort in a hilltop pavilion overlooking the cottages and cove.
Or borrow kayak or snorkeling equipment from our dive centre and explore the lovely mangrove creeks or shallow reefs close to the resort. Night and day fishing is also available and for the land-lovers amongst you, we can organize jungle treks and bird watching trips.