Just returned after a wonderful and another memorable experience
in Goa. It was a short vacation but nevertheless fell in love with Goa all over
again. Initially, I thought of sharing my planned itinerary just like my other
blog posts but then, Goa is different. The splendid aura and tranquility simply
makes you lose track of time. We’ve spent hours every time, sitting at a beach,
living the music and ambience. It’s altogether a different world.
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| Chapora Fort, Chapora, Goa |
In this post, I would be sharing information based on my
personal experiences that you can use to plan your Goa trip. Reading this would
give you some useful pointers that should help in planning your vacation better.
When to go
November to January is the tourist season. During this time,
the place is flocked by foreigners and locals alike. A good number of beach
cafes and shacks are setup, and Goa is all lively and busy during this time of
the year.
With lush greenery and romantic weather, monsoon is also a
good time to visit Goa. During June-October, it’s less crowded and hotel
bookings are available at off-season rates.
During February to June, the climate in Goa is hot and not
very favorable.
Where to stay
With many amazing beaches and plethora of options, it
becomes a little difficult to decide that perfect location for your stay. However,
you can always plan based on your preferences and/or occasion.
North Goa is where all the party scene happens with a number of vibrant pubs and cafes. South Goa is relatively calm with more peaceful and beautiful beaches.
For a one week vacation, I would spend 3 days in South Goa
and 4 days in North Goa. If the duration is smaller, I would choose the
location based on whether I am more into partying (North Goa) or I would want
some explicit peaceful time with the entire beach just for myself (South Goa).
South Goa boasts of some grand multi star hotels and
resorts with private beaches. The Leela Goa is a wonderful 5-star resort that
doesn’t go very heavy on your pocket also. Palolem and Agoda are the two best
beaches in South Goa, with a plenty of budget lodging options available.
North Goa again has a couple of good locations. Lately,
Baga has become a centre hub with many glitzy shops and pubs. Baga beach hosts
some of the nicest beach shacks and cafes. Staying in Baga is like living just
next to all the party places. Personally, I prefer Anjuna and Ozran/Vagator,
the lesser crowded neighbors of Baga. Here, you can be away from all the hustle
and at the same time, not too far from all the action.
For my recent trip, I was looking for a sea facing accommodation near Anjuna or Vagator. Apparently, I didn't find much options and narrowed down my search to the following two - Alcove Resort and Casa Vagator. The resorts are next to each other facing the Ozran beach. I stayed in Alcove Resort which is at an amazing location with a full view of the sea right from your room. Also, the food, ambience and staff are a complete plus. I would recommend this resort; it's totally worth every penny.
On another trip, I stayed at Orritel Village Square near Vagator. It's a very good budget option that you can consider.
Candolim and Arambol too provides good options with the latter mostly inhabited by foreign crowd.
For my recent trip, I was looking for a sea facing accommodation near Anjuna or Vagator. Apparently, I didn't find much options and narrowed down my search to the following two - Alcove Resort and Casa Vagator. The resorts are next to each other facing the Ozran beach. I stayed in Alcove Resort which is at an amazing location with a full view of the sea right from your room. Also, the food, ambience and staff are a complete plus. I would recommend this resort; it's totally worth every penny.
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| View from room at Alcove Resort, Ozran beach |
On another trip, I stayed at Orritel Village Square near Vagator. It's a very good budget option that you can consider.
Candolim and Arambol too provides good options with the latter mostly inhabited by foreign crowd.
Transport
With no Uber and Ola around, transport in Goa is a little
expensive. Although taxis are easily available and the charges are mostly fixed
(bargaining doesn’t help much), the fares are much higher compared to other
places.
If you are going from South Goa to North Goa or vice versa, you
end up shelling out good number of bucks. Same is true for commute from
airport. At airport, the prepaid taxi counter is on the right just after you
exit. There are fixed rates for drop to different locations, which comes out to
be approximately Rs 27 per km for a non-AC cab, and a little higher for an AC
cab. Also, you pay an extra 35% as night charges when traveling between 11pm
and 5am. I remember the tariff was Rs 1379, for a drop to Vagator which is 52km
from airport.
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| Prepaid Taxi Counter at Goa Airport |
For sightseeing in Goa, renting a two-wheeler or a car is
the best option that goes easy on your pocket as well. Vehicles are easily
available for rent with vendors available in almost every other street. The
price for renting a scooter (Activa) for a day is around Rs 300 which generally
goes up during the peak season.
Where to party
Tito’s lane in Baga is very popular among the party goers
and is alive all night. It has some nice pubs and bars that you can surely give
it a try. Also, there are some nice beach shacks that have earned a good name and
audience due to their carefree and friendly atmosphere and nice mouthwatering food.
St. Anthony’s at Baga, Britto’s at Baga, Café Liliput in Anjuna and Curlies in
Anjuna are some nice places where time just flies like anything.
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| @ St. Anthony's, Baga beach |
Thalasa near Ozran beach and Club Cubana too gets some crazy
parties organized that you can surely give it a try.
Beaches
Goa is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in India.
Beaches cover almost 83% of the total coastline area of Goa. At places, the golden
sand stretches long distances with sea water flowing towards the shore offering
pleasant picturesque views. Palolem beach in south and Arambol beach in north
Goa away from the hurly-burly crowded places are the two most beautiful beaches
in Goa. Arambol beach is at a 20-25-minute drive from Anjuna area and is a must
visit during your Goa vacation.
I plan to write another post about the Goa beaches.
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| Vagator beach. Pic taken from Chapora fort |
Other attractions and things to do
Forts
If you are staying in north Goa, then you should not give a miss
to visit Aguada Fort and Chapora Fort (also populary known as Dil Chahta Hai
fort, from the movie).
Fort Aguada is at around 4.5kms from Candolim beach and is a
small drive away. Chapora Fort near Vagator beach is around 5kms from Anjuna
and resides on a cliff overlooking the Arabian sea. It requires a small trek 5-10
minutes to reach to the fortified walls. There are no monuments left in the
fort area but the views are simply breath taking.
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| @Chapora Fort, Goa |
Dudhsagar waterfalls
Dudhsagar waterfalls is a one day trip from Goa. Located at around
90kms from north goa, it takes around 2:30 – 3 hours to reach the waterfall. Dudhsagar
is one of the highest waterfalls in india with gallons of water roaring down with
utmost commanding force. Visit this place to experience the power of nature.
Dudhsagar is covered in several trekking expeditions and is one of the major attractions of Goa.
Goa casinos
There are several casino cruises on Mandovi river near Panjim
at a 45-minute drive from Anjuna. Generally the cruise has 3-4 decks with 1 or 2 decks housing casinos. If you don’t want to get into gambling still it’s a good
experience with live music, dance performances and a good buffet of food and
drinks.
The entry ticket includes buffet and you get some complimentary
casino chips that you can try your luck with. The buffet and performances are
open till midnight while the casinos remain open whole night. The entry pass is
relatively cheaper on weekdays.
One downside is that the return cab fares from casino to
wherever you are staying would be quite high. So, if you don’t have your own
vehicle, consider planning a pickup in advance
Recommendations - Deltin Jaqk is a new cruise with a good line up of dance and music performances, good food and a splendid ambience.
Recommendations - Deltin Jaqk is a new cruise with a good line up of dance and music performances, good food and a splendid ambience.
Water sports
Water sports are available at all major beaches viz Anjuna, Baga and Candolim. The activities are generally clubbed into a package that costs around Rs 1200 per person and includes Parasailing, water scooter ride or Jet-ski, banana ride, bumper ride and a boat ride. No prior reservation is required and can be booked directly at the beach.
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| Parasailing at Candolim beach |
Shopping
You can find vendors and shops near almost every beach in Goa. There are many shops near Baga where you can purchase things. Anjuna market is also a good place to buy stuff. Bargain well here.Liquor check
Booze is cheap in Goa because of low duty. For people who
want to carry it back outside Goa, there is a permissible limit of 2 bottles
per person. For this, there is a pass that the shopkeeper gives that costs you another
10-20 bucks. However, on multiple occasion, I’ve seen people getting harassed by
police at state border checks. The fine you are asked to pay defeats the entire
purpose of buying cheap liquor in the first place. Personally, I would
recommend avoid getting into such a situation.
Budget
Your expenditure would obviously depend on your preferences.
But a good 4-5 days trip would generally cost you between 10-15k excluding
transportation to/from Goa.
Please do comment if some more things can be added, or if you have some interesting information from your travel to Goa.
Happy traveling!
