Red Skin Island

Overview

Red Skin Island sits in Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park off Wandoor, and functions as the other half of a pair with Jolly Buoy. The two are opened in rotation — never both at once — so that whichever is shut spends months closed to visitors while its reef recovers.

For visitors this arrangement matters more than any difference between the islands themselves. They are comparable places: uninhabited, protected, reached by the same boats from the same jetty, with the same rules and the same shallow coral. Which one you end up on depends entirely on the month you travel.

The alternating season

Only one of the two is open at a time. Red Skin generally takes the wetter half of the year, broadly May or June through October, with Jolly Buoy open across the drier months.

Those months shift. The Forest Department sets the changeover and does not always announce it far ahead, so confirm locally — in Port Blair, or at Wandoor — within a day or two of going. Turning up to find the other island is the open one is a common and avoidable wasted morning.

Because Red Skin’s season overlaps the south-west monsoon, cancellations are more likely here than during Jolly Buoy’s window. Rough seas stop the boats entirely, and a booked seat is no guarantee of sailing.

Getting there

Take a taxi or the government bus to Wandoor, roughly 30 km and an hour south-west of Port Blair. Boats leave Wandoor jetty in the morning; the crossing is 20–30 minutes.

A Forest Department permit is required and is issued at Wandoor — bring photo ID and cash. Numbers are capped, so go early.

What there is to do

• Glass-bottom boat — normally part of the trip, and the easiest way to see the reef.
• Snorkelling — coral starts near the shore; hire gear at the jetty or bring your own.
• The beach and shade — a short forested shoreline to sit out of the sun.

As at Jolly Buoy there is no scuba, no jet-ski and no banana boat, and nothing sold on the island.

Practical notes

• Plastic is banned and checked for at the jetty. Carry water in a reusable bottle.
• Whatever you bring, you carry out — there are no bins.
• No toilets, food or drinking water on the island.
• Skip the sunscreen in favour of a rash guard; it does not wash off onto the coral.
• Coral, shells and sand are protected — leave all of it where it is.
• Visibility drops after heavy rain, which in Red Skin’s season is common. Mornings are usually clearer than afternoons.
• Confirm the return sailing time before you leave the jetty.

Nearby

• Jolly Buoy Island — the other island in the rotation.
• Scuba diving and coral reefs — for actual diving, which is not permitted here.
• North Bay Island — open year-round and far quicker to reach from Port Blair.