Rangat Island is located in the Middle and South Andaman Islands. The approximate distance from Port Blair by road is 180 Kms and it is 50 nautical miles (around 90kms) by sea. Rangat is having an area of about 1070 sq. km. Even though the population of this island comprises of people belonging to various linguistic groups, the residents of this island can be majorly noticed speaking Bengali or Tamil. The people in Rangat island are mainly engaged in Fishing and cultivation as their primary occupation.
To visit any island, you have to enter through Port Blair (VSI Airport). So the origin to start through any of the modes of transfers that we are mentioning below is from Port Blair only.
You can reach Rangat by Government operated Bus that departs from Port Blair at different timings. The preferred one is around 4:30 AM. It takes around 8 hours to reach Rangat from Port Blair on a bus. This bus will pass through Andaman Grand Trunk Road to reach the Public Bus stand at Rangat. From there you’ll have to hire public transport to reach your accommodation place and to do the sightseeing. These buses are not Air-conditioned. The tickets for these buses can be purchased from the government Bus depot, Port Blair. Due to the cheap cost, there is a huge demand for government bus tickets because most of the local public use this mode of transport as their lifeline to stay connected between Rangat & Port Blair. The boarding point of these buses is at the Aberdeen Bus Depot. It has multiple other picks up points on the ATR. However, you need to enquire at the ticket counter for your nearest pick-up point.
Just like the government Buses, there are buses run by the private sector as well. These Buses also depart from Port Blair at different times. The preferred/ suggested slot of departure is around 4:30 AM or the earlier possible so that one gets most of his/her time there in Rangat once they reach. It takes 8 hours to reach by these buses as well. They are available in Air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned segments.
The second way to reach Rangat from Port Blair is in a Privately hired vehicle from Port Blair and since the driver is accompanying you from Port Blair, neither you need to look for a return option, nor you would have to hire any other public transport for going in and out of your accommodation and seeing the places of attraction which are accessible by the road. By choosing this mode of reaching Rangat and exploring it, you get a local person from Port Blair in the face of your driver who is experienced and has been there before. So he can suggest for good places to eat, make sure you visit the places you have planned to visit, and return on time to Port Blair for your other due schedules.
The road to Rangat is the same for Baratang Island. Basically, Rangat lies ahead of Baratang. So after visiting Baratang, you can move to Rangat for an overnight stay. If time permits you can explore some of the places at Rangat on Day 1 of your arrival.
The third way is to take Government Ferry to move directly from Port Blair to Rangat. This voyage will be a 5-6 hour long journey. The ferry follows the following route: Port Blair – Neil Island – Havelock Island – Rangat. So the voyage time tends to change depending upon the number of passengers boarding and getting down at each stops.
The con here in this option is that the sailing of this ferry is not there every day and the ticket bookings open only 1-2 days before the departure. The tickets are issued from the STAR ticket counters in Port Blair and the return ticket has to be booked from Rangat itself. The Harbor for Rangat is the Yerrata Jetty. Those who come on an extended vacation to Andaman can consider the government ferry as an option to reach Rangat.
However, this mode could be unpredictable and may not work for travelers who are planning to visit Andaman for around 4 – 10 days. Considering, there are so many things to do in Andamans and the other schedules will get affected if in case this option of reaching Rangat doesn’t work.
Private Ferries
Several private ferry operators provide tickets to move from one island to the other. The main sector these ferry sail is Port Blair, Havelock and Neil Island. Private ferries are most preferred by the tourists because it is convenient and the booking is process is easy.
These ferries are faster and more comfortable compared to government ferries and the cruise tickets can be easily booked online.
Fact: Private cruises are priced compared to the Government ferry.
