Let me start with a question. Which is the one place where you have planned the maximum trips to and have had cancelled an equal number of times? Oh yes, Goa it is.
My story is no different. However, an impromptu trip, while watching the sunset through the plane window along the western coast, landed me in India’s smallest state – Goa. Surrounded by the Arabian sea in the west, by Maharashtra in North and Karnataka in East and South, the place is a colorful blend of Portuguese and Indian culture, beaches, greenery, seafood, and serenity. While Goa is famous for its golden sunrises and sunsets, white sand beaches and happening night life, it has much more to offer and you would need a longer time to explore the true essence of Goa.
The most scenic way to reach Goa is by road or rail. Due to covid the rail service is suspended and so I opted for a late-night flight. I took a prepaid cab at the airport and reached South Goa around mid-night.
Post checking in at my Airbnb in Benaulim, I decided to hit the beach right away as I was starving. Thankfully some of the places were still open and I had a midnight dinner at Johncy. After enjoying the ambience for a while, I headed back to my flat for the night.
Next morning, I rented a bike and set out to explore South Goa beaches. I had to pay more than the regular price, but I was in no mood to hunt for another rental shop.
I had my route charted out –
Mormugao Fort -> Arossim Beach -> Colva Beach -> Benaulim Beach -> Cavelossim beach -> Cabo de Rama Beach and Fort -> Kakolem Beach -> Agonda Beach -> Butterfly Beach -> Palolem Beach -> Patnem Beach -> Talpona Beach -> Galgibaga Beach
The ride is the best part of the whole journey, with coconut trees on both side and greenery everywhere. It was lovely to see locals go about their daily life, kids wave at you and people helping me find the petrol pumps.
While I can go on about all the places I visited, here is my pick of top Beaches, Experiences and Places to Eat in South Goa –
Cabo de Rama – By far the best beach in Goa. The color of the water, the shoreline and the coconut trees make the place stunning. I had lunch at The Cape Goa, it has amazing view of the beach and the seafood was quite good.
P.S. the place is expensive
Butterfly Beach – I took a scooty to this place and parked as suggested by Google maps. Big Mistake!! The beach is quite some distance from the parking, so keep riding till you can. If you drive a car there, you will have to walk a lot more, so not recommended. I walked for about 30 mins through a forest area. The path is quite rocky but enjoyable with the chirping birds all around. Just when I was wondering if I was lost, I walked right out onto the beach. It’s one of the tiniest beaches, but secluded and beautiful.
Palolem Beach – The perfect crescent shape of the beach is a beauty. You can see the whole beach standing at either ends of the crescent. Since it is well known, there was some crowd here. I decided to spend my time at one of the shacks. I was pleasantly surprised when an aged person walked over to me, introduced himself as the person who makes coffee there and asked me if I know how to make Irish coffee. We got chatting for a while and I suggested he could YouTube anything he wants, but he didn’t have a smart phone. Something about this conversation struck a chord, and I shall cherish it for long.
Colva Beach – Watching sunset at Colva is a must. I had an amazing dinner at the Pinacolada Beach Shack. The warmth of the person serving me, someone I chatted with for a while, was icing on the cake.
Benaulim Beach – I am in love with this beach. The early morning walks on the beach and the amazing food at Roger’s are memorable. But best of all was that there were no tourists, I had the whole beach to myself. Benaulim felt like home.
South Goa is also a paradise for trekkers. If you have an extra day, you could visit a national reserve like the Bhagwan Mahavir Sanctuary or the Tropical Spice Plantation in Ponda.
After a couple of days in South Goa, I decided to explore North Goa. I started with Fontainhas. The ride took me about an hour.
Fontainhas is the new Instagram favorite. However, it’s the history that attracted me to this place. This place shows the perfect amalgamation of Portuguese and Indian culture. The narrow-cobbled streets are named after important Portuguese days, like Rua 31 de Janeira and 18th June Street. The houses here are painted every year after monsoons in line with the rule laid out by Portuguese people. Fontainhas is best explored by foot. The streets are lined with quaint cafes and boutique shops. One of the houses still has the wishing well. The Chapel of St. Sebastian in its pristine white is standout amongst all the green, blue, red, and yellow houses. I spent a day here exploring the narrow lanes and sipping coffee and feasting in the bakeries here.
This was my North Goa plan –
Tiracol Fort -> Arambol Beach and Sweet Water Lake -> Mandrem beach -> Ashwem beach -> Morjim beach -> Chapora Fort -> Vagator Beach -> Ozran Beach -> Anjuna Beach -> Baga Beach -> Calangute Beach -> Candolim Beach -> Sinquerim Beach -> Agauda Fort -> Reis Magos Fort -> The Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception -> Corjuem Fort -> Basilica of Bom Jesus -> Se Cathedral
North Goa is crowded. I went to Candolim in the morning, there was hardly any place to set foot and people were not wearing masks. I left the place within 5 mins as covid protocols were violated and I felt unsafe.
Fortunately, Anjuna beach hardly had anyone, so I spent a lot of time there and ended the evening with a beautiful sunset. Of course, I had the mandatory seafood at Curlies. The Anjuna Flea market on Wednesday nights is not to be missed.
While riding around, I suddenly faced a roadblock by a number of people posing on the road for pics. I realized this is the Parra road, made famous by movies like Love You Zindagi and Malang. As you would have guessed by now, I made the quickest exit possible from here. Goa has so many more roads which are way more beautiful than Parra that I loved riding there more.
If you have an additional day, do visit the Dudhsagar falls.
Travel Information –
How to reach Goa
Goa is well connected with the rest of India.
By Air: Dabolim (GOI) is the domestic airport. There are direct flights from all major cities. Prepaid taxis are available outside the airport to head into Goa.
By Train: Goa has 2 important railway stations – Madgaon (MAO) and Vasco Da Gama (VSG). The train journey by Konkan Railways is highly recommended for its scenic beauty.
By Road: You can take an overnight bus from neighboring states, the journey can take between 8 to 12 hours. You can get off at Panaji and then head off to North or South Goa.
Drive to Goa: This is one of the best options to reach Goa. The drive is picturesque and passes through the Western coast of Indian peninsula. For people staying in Mumbai or Pune, an early afternoon drive on a Friday will take you to Goa by night for the much-needed weekend trip.
Traveling within Goa: Renting bikes is the best option here. I paid INR 400 per day + fuel at South Goa. You can also hire cars; I got a quote of INR 1500 per day. You would be required a give a copy of your license at the rental shop. This was higher than the usual fare.
Best time to Visit Goa
Goa has tropical weather. It is best to go between October and March. Post that it gets extremely hot and humid. Most places in South Goa are shutting down now (April 2021) as there are no tourist. North Goa is still lively and crowded but should slow down later in the month.
Goa brims with tourists during Christmas and New Year’s eve.
North Goa or South Goa?
That’s the first question anyone asks when you announce Goa trip. Well, it largely depends on what you like doing. I enjoy South Goa more.
North Goa has some beautiful beaches, amazing places to eat, great pubs, lively crowd, and lots of shopping options.
South Goa is more secluded, calm, beautiful beaches, fewer tourists, and pubs. If your preference is to have a peaceful time by yourself, South Goa is the place to be.
I stayed at South Goa and rode the scooty all the way to the North, that’s not easy as the distance is quite a bit but the ride through South Goa made it worthwhile.
Accommodation in Goa
Goa has a lot of hotels, hostels, Airbnb, homestays, and beach shacks. The budget starts at INR 500 a night.
I chose Airbnb, a place that was very close to Benaulim beach in South Goa.
How Many Days are Good for Goa?
Now that’s a tricky one. It completely depends on what you want to do. Goa can be seen in 3 days and then you can spend 3 months there too. I have listed the best possible path to take to complete the main beaches, this should take about 3-5 days.
What to do in Goa
Beach Hopping – Goa is most famous for its golden beaches and pristine water. There are countless number of beaches. Take time out to explore some of the lesser known ones, you will be surprised by the beauty they hold. One such beach is the Butterfly Beach.
Most beaches in North Goa have water activities as well.
Café Hopping and exploring Beach Shacks – this is my favorite thing in any trip. Trying the local food is a must. Some of my favorites from this trip were – Roger’s in Benaulim. The English breakfast and the coffee are to die for. Dinner on the beach with candlelight is a lovely experience there. Curlies and Pinacolada were great too.
Night Life – Goa has a lot of pubs and party places. There is silent disco too. The Casinos are a good experience as well, take a note of the dress code before going there.
Shopping – The beach shops and the flea markets have the best beach wear you can find anywhere, and I mean it. Beautiful designs and colors, they are quite difficult to find on ecommerce sites too.
Responsible Travel Tips for Goa
Respect locals and follow covid protocols for their and your safety.
Don’t throw plastic bottles, beer bottles and litter the place. It was sad to see secluded beaches like Butterfly have plastic bottles lying all around the way.
To get those Instagram pics at Fontainhas, many people were stepping on the painted walls. The owners don’t like it, one of them expressed it too. In fact, some houses have boards saying “No Photography”. They invest quite a lot to keep those vibrant colors, don’t spoil them with your foot marks.
Don’t negotiate on price. Tourism is one of the largest revenue sources for Goans, which was impacted due to Covid. So, if they are charging a little more now, be gracious and pay it.
Goa is an experience, not just a place.
