Viper Island, Andaman - Entry Fee, Ferry Cost & How to Visit

This page answers exactly what it costs to see Viper Island and how to get there. For the island's full story, its colonial gallows, the penal history that predates the Cellular Jail, and the harbour cruise that passes it, read our Viper Island travel guide & history, or start with the Viper Island overview.

Viper Island Entry Fee at a Glance

There is no gate ticket for Viper Island. Here is what you actually pay and when to go.

Is There an Entry Fee for Viper Island?

No. There is no entry fee to set foot on Viper Island, visitors do not buy a monument or attraction ticket here. The cost people sometimes call an "entry fee" is simply the boat fare to reach the island, which is about INR 75 per person from Port Blair. If you take the wider Port Blair harbour cruise that bundles Viper Island with Ross Island and North Bay, you pay the cruise operator's package fare instead of a separate per-island charge. The island itself is free; you only pay to get there by water.

Viper Island Timings & Visiting Status

Viper Island is open to tourists and can be visited through the year, though boats run during daylight hours, roughly 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. There is no overnight access, and it is best to start early and return before dusk. Because the island is small, 1 to 2 hours is enough to walk the ruins and the gallows point. The most comfortable months to visit are October to May, when the sea is calm and harbour cruises run reliably; during the monsoon, boat schedules can be cut back at short notice.

How to Reach Viper Island

Viper Island sits just off Port Blair and is reached only by water, there is no road or bridge to it. Boats leave from Phoenix Bay Jetty in Port Blair, and the crossing takes about 20 minutes. The most common way to see it is the Port Blair harbour (bay) cruise, which loops past Viper Island and usually pairs it with Ross Island and North Bay in a single half-day outing. You can arrange the boat at the jetty or as part of a guided Port Blair tour.

A Quick Look at Viper Island's History

Viper Island is named after HMS Viper, the vessel that brought Lt. Archibald Blair to the Andamans in 1789. Long before the Cellular Jail was built, the British used this small island as a penal site: a jail was constructed here between 1864 and 1867, and a gallows once stood on the hillock at its summit, where prisoners were flogged and executed. The jail was abandoned after the Cellular Jail opened in 1906, and today the weathered ruins and the gallows point are what visitors come to see. For the complete history, see our Viper Island travel guide.

Things to Do & Nearby

Most visitors combine Viper Island with the other harbour-cruise stops near Port Blair: Ross Island (the old British administrative headquarters, now atmospheric ruins) and North Bay Island (snorkelling, glass-bottom boats and water sports). If you are mapping out ticket costs for the rest of your trip, our Cellular Jail entry fee guide covers Port Blair's best-known monument. To fold all of this into one trip, browse our Andaman tour packages, which can be customised to include the Port Blair harbour cruise.