Right now all of y'all from Delhi NCR and Bangalore are coming down on Dabolim like the Japs came down on Pearly Harbour. Which is great for the Goan economy. It would have been nice if you spread your visits over the year, and stayed longer. But it's been a shit year for tourism, some please come when you can.
There is a lot more to Goa than hanging out at Baga beach, partying into the night at Tito's or Purple Martini, casinos, drinking excessively, and drunk driving rental scooters into canals.
Goa has great natural beauty and a mind boggling syncretic culture. The natural beauty extends well beyond its beaches. I have an evolving document here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1roVO0eY2tDe4hGidgHk4hxe-lfTtVRisSWSTnSzf2dk/ that you can take from and contribute to.
Here is a summary:
- Visit the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary early in the morning, and take a guided boat tour. It is right next to Panjim, on the Mandovi River. Fantastic for kids, super cheap.
- @[142351203011834:274:Soul.travelling] does fantastic guided tours. Fontainhas, Saligao, Chandor, Divar, Chorao - they cover the entire landscape of Goa's history and culture.
- @[1720133658283410:274:The Local Beat] does these fabulous curated nature trips. If you are a water baby, if you like swimming, jumping, waddling in fresh water bodies, these are the guys.
- @[1670391443204877:274:CyclingZens] rent bicycles and do guided tours of Goa. They are expensive, but so was your flight ticket. Requires some physical endurance.
- @[515695505117306:274:Konkan Explorers] does absolutely thrilling must-have experience that combines sailing, swimming in a fast moving river, and kayaking to an island that disappears with the tide. Do it. You cannot regret doing this. This is peak season, so they'll probably charge you your first born, but still do it.
- Learn to surf. Really. You can do it. Three early mornings and you will be surfing. @[100064040290264:2048:Salty Soul surf shack] is in Mandrem and Swapnil will do a great job irrespective of age, gender and your physical fitness.
- Visit a Manos. Aldona's Tin Manos is super nice. Ask your local cab guy what this means. Just hanging at a manos in the evening, doing nothing at all, will staring into the water, will teach you what susegad really means.
Now, stay options. Finding a good place to stay is hard in peak season. But I was at Arambol yesterday and some shacks have space. If you're adventurous like me, just show up in the morning and walk around, you'll find a place by the afternoon.
Which area to stay in? If you are into EDM and late night partying, stay in Morjim. If you love beautiful natural views, Mandrem is the place. I strongly recommend Junos Waddo. It has great budget options like Ketan's Place and Dunes. If you want to do fun stuff like drum circles, dancing on the beach, TT and chess tournaments, and are into vega food and yoga, then Arambol is the only place to be. I recommend staying at @[1375930536039591:274:Jungle Dance] and renting a scooter, but I don't know if @[1174755906:2048:Lucie] has any space left.
Cabs are very hard to find right now so I recommend renting a car or scooter as soon as you land and holding on to it till you head out of Goa. If you are stuck somewhere, message me and I will send you Keshav's number. He seems capable of conjuring cabs even on Christmas Eve.
Party scene: I only know of places along the Chapora river. @[1142154689146954:274:Thalassa] is nice for intense dancing to Bollywood music. Chapora Main Street has Darling's Bar and Paulo's Bar - good food, good music at both places. Nestled in between is secluded C'est la vie.
There is a lot more to Goa than hanging out at Baga beach, partying into the night at Tito's or Purple Martini, casinos, drinking excessively, and drunk driving rental scooters into canals.
Goa has great natural beauty and a mind boggling syncretic culture. The natural beauty extends well beyond its beaches. I have an evolving document here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1roVO0eY2tDe4hGidgHk4hxe-lfTtVRisSWSTnSzf2dk/ that you can take from and contribute to.
Here is a summary:
- Visit the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary early in the morning, and take a guided boat tour. It is right next to Panjim, on the Mandovi River. Fantastic for kids, super cheap.
- @[142351203011834:274:Soul.travelling] does fantastic guided tours. Fontainhas, Saligao, Chandor, Divar, Chorao - they cover the entire landscape of Goa's history and culture.
- @[1720133658283410:274:The Local Beat] does these fabulous curated nature trips. If you are a water baby, if you like swimming, jumping, waddling in fresh water bodies, these are the guys.
- @[1670391443204877:274:CyclingZens] rent bicycles and do guided tours of Goa. They are expensive, but so was your flight ticket. Requires some physical endurance.
- @[515695505117306:274:Konkan Explorers] does absolutely thrilling must-have experience that combines sailing, swimming in a fast moving river, and kayaking to an island that disappears with the tide. Do it. You cannot regret doing this. This is peak season, so they'll probably charge you your first born, but still do it.
- Learn to surf. Really. You can do it. Three early mornings and you will be surfing. @[100064040290264:2048:Salty Soul surf shack] is in Mandrem and Swapnil will do a great job irrespective of age, gender and your physical fitness.
- Visit a Manos. Aldona's Tin Manos is super nice. Ask your local cab guy what this means. Just hanging at a manos in the evening, doing nothing at all, will staring into the water, will teach you what susegad really means.
Now, stay options. Finding a good place to stay is hard in peak season. But I was at Arambol yesterday and some shacks have space. If you're adventurous like me, just show up in the morning and walk around, you'll find a place by the afternoon.
Which area to stay in? If you are into EDM and late night partying, stay in Morjim. If you love beautiful natural views, Mandrem is the place. I strongly recommend Junos Waddo. It has great budget options like Ketan's Place and Dunes. If you want to do fun stuff like drum circles, dancing on the beach, TT and chess tournaments, and are into vega food and yoga, then Arambol is the only place to be. I recommend staying at @[1375930536039591:274:Jungle Dance] and renting a scooter, but I don't know if @[1174755906:2048:Lucie] has any space left.
Cabs are very hard to find right now so I recommend renting a car or scooter as soon as you land and holding on to it till you head out of Goa. If you are stuck somewhere, message me and I will send you Keshav's number. He seems capable of conjuring cabs even on Christmas Eve.
Party scene: I only know of places along the Chapora river. @[1142154689146954:274:Thalassa] is nice for intense dancing to Bollywood music. Chapora Main Street has Darling's Bar and Paulo's Bar - good food, good music at both places. Nestled in between is secluded C'est la vie.