Neil Island tide times

Neil Island — officially Shaheed Dweep since 2018 — is the smallest of the three main Andaman tourist islands, 35 kilometres north of Port Blair and 37 kilometres south of Havelock. At 18 square kilometres, it is easy to circumnavigate by bicycle in a single morning, which is the standard way residents and visitors move between its five named beaches and the small bazaar village at the north jetty. The island's compact scale gives it a distinct character from Havelock: less infrastructure, quieter beaches, more direct access to the reef.

The tidal range at Neil Island is 2.5–3.0 m on spring tides, semidiurnal. The most dramatic tidal feature on the island is the Natural Bridge on the southeast coast — a coral rock arch spanning approximately 4 metres, formed by differential erosion of the ancient raised coral limestone. The arch sits at the low-water mark on spring tides and is fully accessible, dry underfoot, for 2–3 hours centred on low spring water. At mid-tide and above, the arch is surrounded by 0.5–1.5 m of water and requires wading to reach. At high spring water it is not accessible on foot without swimming. The Natural Bridge is the island's signature photograph and draws visitors specifically for the low-tide window.

Bharatpur Beach on the north coast, adjacent to the main jetty, is Neil Island's most-used snorkelling beach. The coral reef here is a shallow fringing reef starting 30–50 metres from the waterline, with coral heads at 1–3 m depth at mid-tide. The snorkelling is accessible to beginners — no strong currents and no navigation required — with a fish community that includes parrotfish, triggerfish, sergeant majors, and occasional sea turtles that feed on the reef vegetation. The best window is 1 hour before to 2 hours after high water on neap tides, when the reef is at its deepest, the current is minimal, and the afternoon light is declining but adequate. During the spring ebb the current runs across Bharatpur's reef fast enough to push snorkellers sideways; beginners should avoid this window.

Laxmanpur Beach on the west coast faces the Andaman Sea directly and is the island's sunset beach. The wide intertidal zone at Laxmanpur is fully sandy — no rock or coral in the intertidal zone — and the low-water flat extends 60–80 m at low spring water. Unlike Radhanagar on Havelock, there is no strong surf here: Laxmanpur faces into the relatively sheltered water between Neil and Havelock to the northwest, and the prevailing wind fetch is limited. The beach is calm enough for children to swim at mid-tide and above. The southwest monsoon (May–September) pushes low swell onto Laxmanpur from the northwest; October through April the beach is at its calmest.

Sitapur Beach on the east coast is the island's sunrise beach. It faces northeast across the passage toward Havelock and catches the first light before any other beach on the island. The reef fronting Sitapur is deeper than Bharatpur — the outer reef edge drops to 5–8 m at mid-tide — and is used for scuba diving and snorkelling by more confident swimmers. Tidal current on the Sitapur reef runs in the northeast–southwest direction of the inter-island passage, reaching 1.5–2.5 knots at peak spring. Snorkelling is best at neap slack water; diving operators from the island plan for the current.

For anglers, Neil Island's compact reef system gives shore-fishing access from the rocky points at the south and southeast coast. The Natural Bridge area at low spring water is a productive location for shallow-reef species — parrotfish, surgeonfish, and goatfish — with the exposed rock platform giving easy casting access to the outer reef edge. The passage between Neil and Havelock sees significant tidal flow and is fished by boat from the Neil jetty for the pelagic species that move through on the current.

For photographers, the Natural Bridge at low spring water on a calm morning is the primary subject. The arch frames the sky and the passage water behind it; the low-water exposure lasts 2–3 hours, giving time to work different angles before the tide covers the approach path. Bharatpur Beach at dawn before the ferry from Port Blair arrives gives undisturbed beach and reef photography. Laxmanpur at sunset with the Havelock silhouette visible to the northwest produces consistent results in the October–April dry season.

All tide predictions for Neil Island come from the Open-Meteo Marine gridded model. Timing accuracy is ±45 minutes; height accuracy is ±0.3 m above Chart Datum.