Radhanagar Beach Havelock — Is It Really Worth the Hype?

Last updated on May 26th, 2026 at 05:15 pm

Reading Time: 5 minutes

When I started the online research for the Andaman, one name kept appearing — Radhanagar Beach.

Listed among the top 25 best beaches in Asia by TripAdvisor. Mentioned in every travel guide. Featured in every Andaman reel and blog post. By the time I reached Havelock Island, Radhanagar was the one place I had the highest expectations from.

Thus, I scheduled my complete evening dedicated to Radhanagar Beach.

Radhanagar Beach

Location	Havelock Island (Swaraj Dweep), Andaman
Distance from Havelock jetty	12 km
Travel time	25–30 minutes by scooty or taxi
Entry fee	Free
Timings	Open all day — best visited late afternoon to sunset
Swimming	Excellent — calm water, sandy bottom, generally safe
Crowd level	Moderate to high in peak season (December–February)

How to Reach Radhanagar Beach

By scooty: Most convenient option. Rent near the Havelock jetty — approximately ₹400–600 for the day. I rented the scooty from the resort we stayed.

By taxi/auto: Available from the jetty market area. One-way approximately ₹300–400. Your resort can usually arrange one.

The road to Radhanagar is one of the most scenic drives on Havelock — through thick forest canopy that blocks the sun almost entirely. Take your time on it.

My Experience at Radhanagar Beach

We rode from our resort in the afternoon after spending most of the morning and afternoon at Kalapathar Beach.

By the time we reached Radhanagar the sunset was about to happen, the heat had softened slightly, and the beach was filling up with people. It’s a long, wide beach — the kind that absorbs crowds better.

The water is genuinely beautiful. Pale blue shifting to deeper turquoise. Sandy bottom, relatively calm waves, safe for swimming. I can see exactly why it made the Asia top 25 list — purely on the basis of what the beach looks like, it’s hard to argue with.

I spent time walking the shoreline, watching people swim, and sitting with the camera. The sunset from Radhanagar is worth everything people say about it.

Best Time to Visit Radhanagar Beach

Late afternoon to sunset is the best window — 4 PM onwards. The harsh midday sun softens, the crowd thins slightly, and the sunset light on the water is exceptional.

Note – The beach closes after the sunset.

Early morning is also good if you want the beach quieter — before 8 AM it’s much more peaceful.

Avoid midday — the heat between 11 AM and 3 PM makes it uncomfortable to sit on the beach for long.

Tips

• Carry water — the beach stalls have options but they’re overpriced
• No entry fee — it’s a free public beach
• Lifeguards are present during peak hours — swim within the flagged zone
• Parking is available near the beach entrance for scooties and taxis
• Mobile network is weak or absent — download offline maps before you go
• Carry sunscreen — the Andaman sun is intense even in the late afternoon

I Visited the Radhanagar Beach Twice

I visited the Radhanagar Beach in the evening.

The sunset happened in no-time. I thought that I hadn’t got enough time to explore the Beach and surroundings.

So I visited the beach again the next day in the afternoon and stayed till sunset.

The next day, I reached Radhanagar Beach in the Afternoon after the Scuba Diving—more than sufficient time was there.

Yes, there were branches of trees on the seashore and even in the sea. So, we played with them for some time. But I could feel that it must have sounded silly to you!

Still, we played like nobody was watching.

There exist very few people at Radhanagar seaside in the Afternoon.

You can easily be distinguished, my half-face white and the rest become red. So yeah, my face becomes red when exposed to my maximum limit in the Sun, longer than 3-4 hours continuously.

Nevertheless, I ignored what exposing your skin to the Sun for longer could do. That resulted in tan remained for the following few days.

Is Radhanagar Beach Overhyped?

Honestly — yes and no.

The beach itself is beautiful. The water is clean, the stretch of sand is long, and the sunset is one of the better ones I’ve seen in India. These are real qualities and they deserve the recognition.

But the TripAdvisor ranking and the constant travel blog coverage have created expectations that no beach can fully meet. When you’ve read about a place in fifty different places before you visit, the experience of actually standing there carries a gap — between what you imagined and what’s in front of you.

Radhanagar Beach is stunning. It just doesn’t feel like a top 25 in Asia moment when you’re there. It feels like a beautiful Indian beach with a crowd that matches its reputation.

Compare it to Kalapathar — which I visited the same morning with almost nobody there — and the difference in experience is significant. Not because Radhanagar is worse. But because Kalapathar doesn’t carry the weight of expectation.

My honest take: go to Radhanagar. Just lower your expectations from “one of Asia’s best” to “one of India’s best.” That’s still genuinely impressive — and the experience will be better for it.

Radhanagar Beach vs Kalapathar Beach

If you’re deciding between the two — visit both the beaches.

	Radhanagar	Kalapathar
Best for	Swimming, sunset	Photography, solitude
Crowd	Moderate to high	Very low
Facilities	Basic cafes and stalls outside	Stalls outside
Swimming	Excellent	Can do
Best time	Late afternoon	Early morning
Entry fee	Free	Free

Start your day at Kalapathar Beach in the morning when it’s empty and end at Radhanagar Beach for the sunset and swimming.

That’s the best Havelock day you can plan.

FAQ

What is Radhanagar Beach famous for? It was ranked among the top 25 best beaches in Asia by TripAdvisor. Known for its long sandy stretch, clear turquoise water, and spectacular sunsets.

Is swimming safe at Radhanagar Beach? Yes — it’s one of the safest swimming beaches on Havelock Island. The water is relatively calm with a sandy bottom. Lifeguards are present during peak hours. Swim within the flagged areas.

What time does Radhanagar Beach open? It’s a public beach and open all day. You can visit between sunrise to sunset.

Is Radhanagar Beach crowded? It gets moderately crowded during peak season (December–February). Early mornings and weekdays are quieter. Sunset time draws the largest crowd.

Final Thoughts

I can tell you most honestly — I spent more time at Kalapathar that day than at Radhanagar. And I came back with more photographs from Kalapathar, more memories from Kalapathar beach.

That’s not a criticism of Radhanagar Beach. It’s a reminder that reputation and experience are two different things.

Go to Radhanagar. Swim in it. Stay for the sunset.