Bangaram Island Resort

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our honeymoon here; not crowded at all, all basic and more.. Not for the party-party type. Go and relax. Ideal for families with small children, or people into very simple watersports (Snorkelling, boating). Simply rest and relax. Not exactly for the budget-India traveller. The most kindest and friendliest staff. Worth every rupee. We will go again as often as possible.

Want a holiday that really disconnects you from everyday life? Go here. No phones, unless you have a BSNL connection, no TV and no newspapers. Just clean white sands and an unbelievably blue green sea and a healthy dose of greenery. The rooms are basic but comfortable and the entire place has a very relaxed, informal air about it. The staff including manager Sam are all helpful and friendly, the barman Jinto good to chat with and the diving instructors Mohammed and Subin absolutely awesome in removing any doubts even from beginners' minds about plunging into the deep. And the hammocks are ever inviting. Do go for a seawalk in the sandbank behind the resort at low tide. You won't forget it.

Not for the lovers of plastic holiday resorts. The lagoons team with fish, the reefs are alive with humpheads, barracuda, morays and even Manta rays. The beach is soft white sand and the bar is just a shack with good conversation and fresh lime sodas, cocktails and beers. The food is freshly caught that day and served on the beach under a perfect moon. The staff do not run around after you looking for tips, they just chat to you and make sure you have what you want. The accommodation is basic but clean and simple. The new water treatment has managed to minmise the sulphuric smell that the volcanic atoll water supply used to have. The rear of the island is where the helipad is and the concrete bollards protect the area, great for yoga but if you walk further along the beach you will see hermit crabs run for shelter and waders picking their way into the glorious sunsets. This is a holiday for only the discerning traveller, the traveller who interacts with the local fishermen, the staff and who does not expect a sanitised, plasticised Disney haven. Stroll along the beach and meet your fellow holidaymakers, Sonia Ghandi, her family, members of the government and the upper eschelons of Indian Society, the people who know the real India and choose Bangaram Island... incidentally turtles graze the very small patches of sea grass on the corner of the island.... the baby ones are the most curious and come right up to you! I am going back next year as I have every year and expect to see a few familiar faces on the diveboat with me

It's rare today to find such a beautiful, pristine place in the world so unspoiled and preserved. If you're a water baby like me - this beach is one you will never forget. The water is different shades of blue and green appearing almost like a gorgeous turquoise-aqua mosaic when seen from above. The resort is lovely. Very basic. Minimal yet comfortable. No a/c or hot water but somehow this adds to the charm of 'island life'. The underwater experience is amazing. If you dive - you'll be in heaven. The instructor Sumer Verma is excellent. He is also an excellent photographer so make sure you see his fantastic collection of underwater pics. If you snorkle like me - you'll have a special treat too. The water is crystal clear so you can feast your eyes on the beautiful coral and colourful fish. The food is great. Chef John is just the best. He whips up a glorious 5-course meal just on 2 wooden fire stoves! It's a great spread every meal. Dinner is outdoors on the beach - sometimes bbq - v romantic and private. The ayurveda center was also fun. V relaxing. As long as you don't mind loads of oil all over your body. (and i mean ALL over!) Overall this is a wonderful experience. Makes you remember how simple the best things in life are.

we arrived to the island expecting a lovely beach and peace ,we got neither,the beach on one side of the island was awash with seaweed turtle grass as the staff said! the sea wasnt calm and the beach always full of local fishermen coming in from other islands and loading the sea buses.On the other side of the island calmer sea but to stop erosion there were huge concrete sea breakers all along the beach and again lots of local fishermen and their families. The chalets were adequate with hardly a sea view ,obscured by a busy walkway for all the staff and locals and very noisy , and certainly no privacy whatsoever. we upgraded at a cost of 500 pounds to a bungalow style hut even then no privacy the walkway in front of all properties was like the M1!!!! On the whole the holiday was very overated and overpriced and we certainly wouldnt advise anyone going if they want beautiful beaches and tranquility.and we never saw a fish !!! go to the Maldives instead of Bangaram !!!!!!

What a great place, it was like the old Maldives before they became chinzy. From arrival on Aggatti ( airport island) to Bangaram took about an hour.The island holds 60 - there were only 12 when we were there & the plane only takes 15! Good food, kind helpful staff. Rooms basic but clean. No hot water.

This was the bit of my holiday I was most looking forward too, so I was dissappointed. This place is very expensive and costs a lot to get too but is marketed as a great eco style place, totally unspolit etc. This is far from true. I got over the fact that the rooms were ugly and basic (and NOT at all the 'huts' that I thought they would be) because the resort was delightful - perfect white sand and turquoise sea (if you dont mind a lot of seeweed) with great food and a good bar. However, we took a stroll around the island - a 45 min walk or so - and what they fail to tell you in all the blurb is that the government put down tide defences two years ago to stop the sand on one side being swept away. This means that there are ugly concrete bloick 2/3 round the island in between the sea and sand so dont bother venturing away from the resort's main beach, or even going for a romantic walk. However, it is a great experience despite this. Snorkelling wasgreat (but all this stuff isnt cheap) and were able to go to an uninhabited island and stay there for a morning. But once again, this island has been leased tby the guy from the Kingfisher beer empire so it wont remain uninhabitable for long. So, great place but manage your expectations - not worth the money, most of the island is ugly and its pricey - but it is a once in a lifetime experience - perfect beaches, the most beautiful sea, unspolit in the tourism sense.

first, a few details about our trip specifically - taken late april (approaching monsoon season in mid-may), cochin to agatti via 15 seater prop plane (90min - $200 return) then boat transfer from agatti to bangaram (90min - $30 return). 6 nights (approx $200/night inc. all meals). the location is undoubtedly exceptional but as this is the only resort in the lakshadweep it has a bit of a monopoly and i think its fair to say they havent exactly pulled out the stops in certain areas. all meals (buffet) were excellent, evening meals taken directly on the beach outside the restaurant - great setting. the diving again excellent, v. professional, with good reef sites. maybe a little limited for advanced divers and expensive ($40 / dive + $20 for kit hire - a $60 dive!). given that the weight restriction on the flight out is 10kg its not like you can even take your own stuff. service was very good - though you'll have to make the walk from your sun lounger up the beach to the bar everytime you fancy a cocktail. unfortunately accommodation was very disappointing. Casino Group took over this place about 18 years ago. originally it was government run and the huts reflect this. they were completely characterless boxes in blocks of 3 or 4. ceiling fan was pretty ineffective. and the water stank of sulphur (if you dont know what sulphur smells like - think about those stink bombs you used to let off in school. its not pleasant showering in this). All fresh drinking water in rooms was an additional cost. they claim no TV, no A/C, no phones was eco-friendly and enabled 'introspection'. so why the staff mobiles going off every 5 minutes?? and the TV in the activity room? and a fridge in every room? dont tell me about eco-friendly introspection. the real reason is just plain lack of investment. i maybe managed a couple of hours sleep each night we were there - heat was pretty unbearable - i certainly didn't look forward to heading back to the room each night. and this was the concensus among the other guests i spoke to. maybe i painted a pretty bleak picture. its fair to say we wont be heading back BUT i would still recommend a vist. you just need to manage your expectations. if you expect backpacker grade accommodation and dirty water for your $200 you wont be disappointed. you can however look forward to fine food and a fantastic lagoon and some fairly good diving. my final word - why do they empty the fridge in your room the night before you leave?? do they really think that after spending the best part of $2000 on a stay i am going to do a runner with a 45 rupee bottle of water!?!? bad form...

I booked a week at the islands hoping to snorkel everyday. When I arrived much to my surprise there were no fish around the boat. I immediately put my snorkel on and went to a place well outside the landing beach and snorkeled for an hour and did not see even one fish. Apparently the nearby island fishermen use the lagoon as a place to catch small fish to use as bait. The place is as near sterile as you can find. I have more fish in my garden pond. I am sure there is some coral on outside reefs but judging by comments made by other guests who had been there it was 'hardly anything'. Apart from this I was greeted by piles of bricks and building rubble on the beach and everywhere were piles of fallen palm leaves in stacks (they had the whole island to disperse them so why leave them on the beach). A nearby building site was unfenced off so ugly. To describe the terraced rooms as basic is being extrely nice as they were similar to a hostel with water that stunk of sulphur. The cost was prohibitive and was the worst value for money of any holiday I have ever had. Hotel management must clean up there act, and the island.

well, bangaram island is like no other place i've been to. it's got it's advantages and disadvantages. it all depends on what you're looking for. there's no pool or a/c. but it's worth giving that stuff up for the amazing water and sand. the water is like a swimming pool, it's so calm becuase of the lagoon. it's 5 different shades of amazing blue. turtles play right near the beach. the sand is white and soft. the island is small and at low tide you can walk around it; it's a lovely walk. the food is a little redundant... but delicious and the service is great. only 60 people are allowed on the island, and when we were there, there were only 2 other couples. so we had dinner on the moonlight beach every night. truly amazing. we dove, but the vis wasn't that great. we fished and they cleaned and cooked what we caught for dinner. that was great. all in all a totally unique experience.