March 2006 was our 3rd visit to Goa. We usually stay in Calangute It's a nice bustling resort with lots of choice of good inexpensive restaurants and a long sandy stretch of beach .We stay in the cheapest accommodation that has a pool on a B & B basis as staying all inclusive in Goa is a total waste of money as it really is SO easy to find good food and inexpensive drink anywhere.
Food and Drink Its not all curries either there is a good range of food but no fast food outlets apart from Dominos Pizza and a Baskin Robbins! We have never had a problem with "Delhi Belly "as we only use bottled water especially for cleaning teeth and rinsing toothbrush. Just be sensible and eat food that is fresh cooked even at markets. Beach shacks are excellent and look after "their guests "royally and offer excellent service and you can eat and drink to your hearts content for very little. A meal in a local restaurant can start from anything for £1 for a main course for one person. A large beer will cost you 70p! A large beer is enough for two people to share. They have an excellent selection of seafood in Goa and this is also very reasonably priced - for a large Kingfish it cost us £3 and this is more than enough for 2 people to share. We found a lovely restaurant called Souza Lobos which is right on the seafront. This is one of the more expensive restaurants, still very reasonably priced - you would look to pay about £1.20 for a main meal. Everybody in Goa knows where this restaurant is.
Beaches and About Goa has fantastic beaches and the sea is warm, however, there are undercurrents which can sweep you off your feet in seconds so you need to be aware of this. Our favourite beach is Coco beach as it is a nice bay and it is safe for swimming. There are a couple of dozen beach shacks all with terrific food. We spent around a tenner a day for 2 of us and we ate and drank from 9 in the morning till 5 at nite. You can even get a proper cup of English tea in a mug which was divine and always welcome around 4pm. (that's the only English thing I love). Also on the beach, you can help the local fishermen haul their nets in. There are a few local people selling sarongs, T-shirts and jewellery and they sometimes approach you on the beach to see if you are interested in buying and to ask if you would like to look at their stalls.
Beach Huts Beach huts are available on many beaches around Goa. They are basically huts on stilts, usually with very basic amenities. Inside the beach hut we stated in, we had a mattress on the floor with clean bedding, a ceiling fan (needed in Goa!) and a key for the padlock to secure the hut while you are not there. The bathrooms are shared, a bit like campsites back in England. The washrooms consisted of a shower and toilet which were fairly clean. There are usually a few huts or restaurants to get food, again these are all reasonably priced. The hut we stayed in on Palolem beach (which is about 2 hours from Callangute) and cost us £2.50 for one nights stay for both us.
Massages There are massage huts which offer massages for around £4 for a full massage of 40 mins.You can do dolphin trips for about £3.
Getting Around Goa Tuk tuk drivers will drop you off and pick you up at any given time. Tuk tuks are little yellow trikes with a cab on that takes a driver and 2 people around Goa. These are cheap and great fun. Drivers are happy to let you shop and either wait for you or come back later. Calangute to Coco Beach cost is £3 for a return trip.
Markets The Saturday nite market at Baga is a must. Full of atmosphere, stalls, bands from various countries, fantastic food stalls from every place imaginable serving hot, cheap food. Usually lots of scummy cakes on sale too! Stalls get a bit repetitive and the Kashmir traders are a bit of a pain but just walk on by unless you are seriously interested. Prices are always cheaper near the back of the market. We like to turn up around 7.30 have a quick look round then watch the bands. There are lots of seats but these fill up quickly so just sit where you can. It's a very hippy feel to the whole thing. The market ends in the small hours. Get a tuk tuk driver to drop you off and arrange a time to be collected. Make sure you know exactly where to meet him as there are hundreds of Tuc tucs there. There is also Anjuna market on a Wednesday bur personally I prefer the Baga market as Anjuna market is held during the day and can be very hot to walk around. It also doesn't have the same atmosphere as Baga market and I found that the traders were pushier at this market. Another market is Mapsa market on a Friday during the day and is mainly for the locals, it is still nice to while a coupe of hours here. They sell general household items, lots of fruit and veg, spices, and the usual Kashmir traders.
Scuba Diving in Goa Not many people realise that you can scuba dive in Goa. My husband and I passed our open water PADI diving course while we were first in Goa. The dive school is a 5 star IDC centre, based in Miramar near Panjim and are well recommended for their customer service for which they have won awards. Equipment is very well maintained and safety is paramount as it should be. Diving is very reasonably priced and many people return from all over the world regularly to dive with this school. Visibility is not first class but still a lot to see, and there are many diving sites to explore. We also visited Karnataka with this dive school and stayed in a hotel next to a magnificent 100 foot high statue of Shiva (one of the Hindu gods). The diving here is superb. You will look to pay about £200 per person for 2 nights, 3 days there. This price includes diving equipment etc, transport and meals.
Visas For us there is no downside to Goa (apart from coughing up £30 each for visa which last 6 months! A visa form can be downloaded online. Fill out the form and send it to The Visa Office in London. This can take anything from a couple of weeks onwards depending on time of year you are going. The fee for the visa is only payable by postal order which is a bit of a pain. Leave plenty of time to get your Visa as you can not travel without one.
Locals The locals in Goa are the friendliest people and usually genuine. They are always happy to help and are very interesting to talk to. The service in resturants is excellent and they genuinely want you to have the best possible experience while in Goa.
General Goa Goa is different things to different people. We now have friends who live there and spend a lot of our time with them diving off the Grande Islands and at Netrani. There are churches, waterfalls, many beaches complete with cheap beach huts to stay in, lots of towns, and local markets to visit or simply chill on a stunning beach. ). If you have never travelled to a third world country first appearances when you are dropped off by coach leave you a bit shell shocked as the hotels are usually set down a back street. Give yourself 24 hrs and you will love it. Everyone I know always returns to Goa so it must have something. If you are a first timer get yourself a lonely planet Goa book and enjoy
very helpful
very helpful
very helpful
