Goa: A Beach Lovers Paradise and Best Weekend Getaway Destination
Goa is world-famous for its enchanting beaches, gorgeous landscapes, heritage, architecture, its festive spirit and cuisine specialties. Goa is a unique blend of Indian & Portuguese culture. Goa’s irrefutable appeal lies in its 105 km long coastline divided by headlands, rivers, estuaries and bays into 40 plus beautiful beaches.
Places to see in Goa:
Goa Beaches:
Beaches in Goa offer something for everyone, from luxury resorts to makeshift huts, and trance parties to tranquilities. Here is a glimpse of the best Goa beaches you should explore and experience in your Goa vacation.
Palolem, this crescent-shaped beach is among Goa’s most beautiful beaches offer stunning views of the surrounding landscape. Just relax on the beach, take a boat trip along the backwater canals, or try your hand at fishing or participate in adventure activities. Shop at a market just behind the beach for items like jewellery, clothes and souvenirs.
Places to see in Goa:
Goa Beaches:
Beaches in Goa offer something for everyone, from luxury resorts to makeshift huts, and trance parties to tranquilities. Here is a glimpse of the best Goa beaches you should explore and experience in your Goa vacation.
Palolem, this crescent-shaped beach is among Goa’s most beautiful beaches offer stunning views of the surrounding landscape. Just relax on the beach, take a boat trip along the backwater canals, or try your hand at fishing or participate in adventure activities. Shop at a market just behind the beach for items like jewellery, clothes and souvenirs.
Palolem Beach, Goa. Photo by Ronan Crowley / CC by ND 2.0
Agonda beach: Just 10 minutes north of the Palolem beach is the long and isolated stretch of Agonda beach, an ideal place for relaxation, sunbathing. Stay in simple hut right on the beach, and enjoy the stillness and nature.
Anjuna beach is famous for its trance parties and colourful flea markets. Curlies, right at the southern end of the beach is the most happening spot. The Wednesday flea market held here features well over 500 stalls that selling a huge variety of things ranging from clothes, jewellery to fruits and electronic devices to name a few.
Arambol: On Goa’s far northern stretch of coastline is Arambol, once a small fishing village, has become new hippie haven and is full of long-term travelers. Here plenty of alternative therapies like meditation, yoga, tai chi, and reiki are available for travelers. Participate in water sports and dolphin sight seeing trips. The nightlife in Arambol is relaxed, with live music and jam sessions happening.
Calangute Beach is the busiest and most commercial beach in Goa. Its filled with foreigner’s tanning themselves on the endless rows of side-by-side sun lounges.
Baga beach: Located in North Goa, the Baga beach is an ideal place for parasailing, water sports, dolphin cruises and well known for its nightlife. If you feel like indulging yourself with some fine food and wine, there are many up market restaurants.
Benaulim is a beautiful and laid-back stretch of beach also known for its fishing industry. Participate in activities like water sports, dolphin sightseeing trips etc.
Candolim, a lively, clean and peaceful beach, lined with shacks and bars, which back onto scrub covered sand dunes.
Vagator beach is the center of Goa’s trance party scene. The Vagator beach is located at the bottom of a steep cliff. Beach is divided into three parts – Big Vagator (the main stretch of beach, overrun by Indian tourists, Little Vagator (past the rocks, known as Tel Aviv Beach due to the number of Israelis there) and Ozran (Spaghetti beach in the far south, dominated by Italians). More about Vagator beach...
Colva beach is a favourite amongst domestic Indian tourists, and day-trippers. The beach also gets busy in the month of October, when hoards of pilgrims come and visit Colva Church. Here you can find many budget hotels, beach shacks, food stalls and small restaurants and bars.
Churches & Cathedrals:
In Old Goa, located 10 km east of Panjim, you will find beautiful churches and cathedrals that show Goa’s culture & history.
Visit the late 16th century Basilica of Bom Jesus with its richly gilded altars is the venue for a pilgrimage for both Christians and Hindus who come to pay homage to the embalmed mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier enshrined in a silver casket since 1553.
Also worth seeing, up on Holy Hill, are the Church of our Lady of the Rosary, one of the oldest church in Goa, and Church and Convent of Santa Monica reputed to be amongst the largest convents in Portuguese empire.
The Se Cathedral - one of Asia’s largest churches; the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Church of St. Francis of Assisi are among must visit churches in Goa.
History and culture:
Visit to Ancestral Goa Museum (Big Foot) in Loutolim approx. 10 km from Margao that displays large life size statutes and structures depicting culture and tradition of rural Goa.
Visit Chapora Fort perched atop a rock hill offers you an amazing bird’s eye view of the surrounding ocean and its shoreline. Chapora fort is aporox. 12-13 km away from Mapusa and is easily accessible from Vagator over the hill leading to the fort.
22 km from Bardez is the grand Fort Aguada built in 1612 to prevent the entry of ships into the river Mandovi thus protecting old Goa from enemy attacks.
Fort Aguada boasts of the first ever lighthouse in Asia. Equipped with ammunition rooms and barracks, Fort Aguada was the first line of defense as far as the Portuguese control over the region of Goa concerned. Now serving as the Central Jail, Fort Aguada has witnessed many historical battles and moments some of which have had a direct impact on the fort itself.
Spice plantations:
Spice plantations around Ponda are yet another highlight of a vacation to Goa. As Goa’s tropical climate and dense forests makes it a perfect place to grow spices.
Most acclaimed spice plantations in Goa is the Savoi Plantation. Others include the Sahakari Spice Farm, Pascol Spice Village, Abyss, and the tropical Spice Plantation. Take a guided tour, enjoy the picturesque scenery, and a spicy lunch.
Wildlife Sanctuaries:
Goa is famous among wildlife enthusiasts. Goa’s location along the Western Ghats makes it home to several wildlife sanctuaries. Around 20% of Goa consists of wildlife sanctuaries.
The Bhagwan Mahavir Sanctuary at Mollem is the largest wildlife preserve in Goa. The sanctuary houses deer’s, bison’s, monkeys, pythons and great variety of birds and is approx. 53 km away from Panaji.
Cotigao wildlife sanctuary, another wonderful place in Goa, with sloth bears, deers, wild boars, hyenas and rare species of bird like the Rufous Woodpecker, the white-eyed eagle and the Malabar crested eagle being some of its major attractions.
Also, think about visiting other sanctuaries like The Bondia Wildlife sanctuary, the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, the Mahadeyi wildlife Sanctuary and the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary.
Best time to visit Goa is from mid-November to mid-February as the weather is quite pleasant and dry during these months.
Food to taste:
The staple dish of Goa is fish, curry and rice. Goan cuisine has many flavours and tastes with its vast treasure trove of culinary delicacies.
Goa offers plentiful and fresh seafood. Some of the popular seafood’s, which you can taste here, are Prawns, Ladyfish, Mussles, Lobsters, Oysters, crabs, tiger prawns.
If you like non-veg dishes, Goa offers a variety of pork specialties like the Pork Vindaloo, Goan Sausage Chourisoo and the pig’s liver dish known as Sorpotel.
If you like sweets then taste Bebinca, Dodol and Doce that you will relish to the last morsel.
Where to stay in Goa:
Goa offers all types of hotel properties be it 5-star hotels, beachfront hotels, luxury hotels, budget hotels, heritage properties and villas. So you will get Goa hotel according to your need, taste and budget.
For budget travelers, Goa has several affordable hotel options to stay in such as Ginger Hotels, the Calangute Grande Hotel, and Anjuna Beach Resort.
Ramada Caravela Beach Resort, Whispering Palms Beach Resort and Resort Rio are some of the deluxe luxury resorts offering world-class stay in Goa.
Cidade de Goa located on Vainguinim Beach which looks like a self contained Portuguese hill hamlet, surrounded by 40 acres of lush greenery, overlooking the spectacular Arabian Sea, and decked up with bright statues and murals of Vasco de Gama, this beach resort is one of the best places to stay in Goa.
The Vivanta by Taj situated at the Sinquerim beach, is yet another great luxury resort offering impressive views of the surrounding sea and landscape.
How to Reach:
By Air: The Goa International Airport ( Dabolim Airport) located in the village of Dabolim is 30 km from Panjim, 23 km from Margao and 4 km from the city of Vasco Da Gama. The Airport has two terminal buildings. Terminal one caters to domestic airlines and Terminal 2 serves international flights.
Major international airlines such as Air India, Lufthansa, American Airlines, Qatar Airways, British Airways and Jet Airways have regular flights to Goa from popular international destinations in UK, UAE, USA, and Africa.
Domestic airlines such as GO Air, IndiGo and Jet Airways, Spice Jet has regular flights to Goa from major Indian cities like Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Delhi.
By Road: Number of public and private bus operators in Goa, offer options for inter-city and intra-city conveyance. KSRTC, MSRTC AND KTC are some of the Govt. undertakings that operate from Panaji, Madgaon and Vasco Da Gama. Private bus operators include Neeta Tour and Travels, Paulo Travels.
By Rail: Madgaon and Thivim are the two major railheads in Goa, which are well connected by trains from all over the country.
To get around Goa, hiring a car or motorcycle on self drive basis is popular option among independent travelers. Submit your ID proof and set off to explore Goa.
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