Goa (MarkB?)

A

Angie24

Active Member
Just looking for a bit of advice on Goa. Looking to skip the summer holiday and maybe book up for January. Have been trawling the internet but getting a big bogged down in travel agent sites and would welcome some human advice!

Will be flying from Manchester, but just a bit unsure of best places to stay etc.

Think MarkB was there recently :idea: would welcome any stories!

Thanks :p
 
Goa is :p

The South and the North have the best beaches, but a lot of of places have little else.

For your first time i would reccomend staying Baga/ Candolim / Calangute which are central. A taxi in Goa to one end of the state will cost you £15 so getting around won't be a problem.

Things to do:

Ingo's Saturday Night Market - a huge open air market with loads of DJs live music, wierd hippyh dudes etc.

Stay overnight at Morjim Beach in a Rhajastani Tent - about £15-(there's a Bora Bora there too :lol: ) It's beautiful.

Stay at Arambol for a night in North Goa - Hippy paradise. We stayed for a £5 in a little shck by the sea.

Anjuna Market - Open air market / rave/ party

There are loads of bars, restaurants, etc that i can reccomend too.

I stayed last time at the Marinha Dourada in Arpora - just outside Baga. fantastic place. I'm going again next February!

We stayed previously at the Taj Fort Aguada which was 5 star and three times the price. The MARINHA is much better. It's down as a 3 star, but it's a bit of a secret which was reccomended to us.


If you like shopping :lol: you'll love it too. My wife bought loads of hand made silk print hippy dresses from this woman at the market woho had a shop in Ibiza. You get a lot of the same people and faces on his circuit.

If you want to PM me or if you want some photos of the hotel send me your email.

Hope this helped!
 
Angie24 said:
Just looking for a bit of advice on Goa. Looking to skip the summer holiday and maybe book up for January. Have been trawling the internet but getting a big bogged down in travel agent sites and would welcome some human advice!

Will be flying from Manchester, but just a bit unsure of best places to stay etc.

Think MarkB was there recently :idea: would welcome any stories!

Thanks :p
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never been, going next year jan/feb hopefully, with the wifes family, who go every year. They always stay Majorda Beach area, meant to be lovley
 
MARKB said:
Goa is :p

The South and the North have the best beaches, but a lot of of places have little else.

For your first time i would reccomend staying Baga/ Candolim / Calangute which are central. A taxi in Goa to one end of the state will cost you £15 so getting around won't be a problem.

I stayed last time at the Marinha Dourada in Arpora - just outside Baga. fantastic place. I'm going again next February!
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Sounds fantastic :p Spoke to a colleague about going over and said I was looking at buses etc, but she told me taxis were cheap......now I understand :lol:

It was Baga and Calangute that I was looking at - and strangely enough Marinha Dourada :lol: I was not so sure of it though being right on the salt pans and wanted to be close to the beach - is it?

Thank you so much for all of the info, much appreciated. Do you find that booking in advance is the best way?
 
Yes,book in advance.

marinha dourada will fill up quickly!

It's next to it's own lake (two of them!) which are surrounded by beautifully manicured grounds. It isn't on the beach but there is a 24hr taxi rank outside and a free bus on the hour every hour to baga beach (the nearest beach).

But although baga has a good atmosphere it is more like Playa den bossa than anything in terms of being a quality beach. once you're there you'll find other beaches like Morjim, Anjuna, Ashvrem, Arambol, which are definately worth the extra few miles as they are amazing.

To be honest i reckon you may struggle to find any realy nice accomodation right on the beach. But once you're there you won't notice it, as the taxi are so cheap about £2 to the beach. And the taxi jourbey's are definately part of the experience.
 
MARKB said:
Yes,book in advance.

marinha dourada will fill up quickly!

It's next to it's own lake (two of them!) which are surrounded by beautifully manicured grounds. It isn't on the beach but there is a 24hr taxi rank outside and a free bus on the hour every hour to baga beach (the nearest beach).

But although baga has a good atmosphere it is more like Playa den bossa than anything in terms of being a quality beach. once you're there you'll find other beaches like Morjim, Anjuna, Ashvrem, Arambol, which are definately worth the extra few miles as they are amazing.

To be honest i reckon you may struggle to find any realy nice accomodation right on the beach. But once you're there you won't notice it, as the taxi are so cheap about £2 to the beach. And the taxi jourbey's are definately part of the experience.
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The taxis sound great and the hotel looks lovely - just off to see what deals I can find! Definitely not intending to stay every night in the hotel we book as you don't go all that way to lie by the pool, I want to see the amazing beaches and sleep in a hut :lol:

I had also found this hotel http://www.csmgoa.com/ but was unsure of what standard it would be. Not looking for luxury, but somewhere I know our things will be safe if we head off for a couple of days!
 
That hotel is really nice, we passed it a few times and one we considered previously. I'd still defo go to MD but that's just because I love the place.:lol:

When you book let me know and i'll email you loads of info.
 
MARKB said:
That hotel is really nice, we passed it a few times and one we considered previously. I'd still defo go to MD but that's just because I love the place.:lol:

When you book let me know and i'll email you loads of info.
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Thanks Mark, you have been really helpful :p I will keep you posted on my progress.
 
All booked :p

Were ready to book the MD, but the flight times didn't work for us so we have ended up booking The Osborne, Calangute, flying out for a fortnight on 24th November - can't wait :D

Looking up info from the tips above, but if anyone has any others, feel free to post!!
 
I wouldnt stay in the Calangute Baga area but thats a matter of taste. Like Mark said Arambol is really a cool place, if you go there, follow the beach to the right, over the rocks to the sweet water lake, really nice trip. Another nice beach is Palolem down south, maybe the most postcardesk beach, I really recommand atleast going a day there its beautiful. Then ofcourse the typical things, like anjuna hippie market, the fort near Vagator. Goa can easily be done on scooters, the roads are really good, and its such a fun way to see the countryside. For sunsets I recommand going to 9-BAR at Vagator beach, such a cool vibe there, and lots of sunset dancing ! The place looks a bit like the old Space terrace ! For real parties Hilltop is the place to be, but only if psytrance is your thing. Then for the real Goa hippie anjuna experience spend an afternoon at the northest of Anjuna beach (you have to cross the rocks) its the place where all the freaks hippies party gurus gather at Curlies, infamous beachrestaurant aka partyplace. Goa is magic !
 
Yep I didn't really like Calangute, it's probably the most tourist-orientated beach out of all of Goa, lots of cheesey bars and Brits Abroad kind of feel. Having said that it is very central so you will easily be able to hire a car/bike and go out and explore other areas of Goa. My favourites were Vagator, Benaulim and Aswem.
Definately go out as much as you can and explore Goa, its such a beautiful place. I'd also recommend going on a day's trek to a waterfall (cant remember the name but it's the highest one in Goa), you trek there for about an hour then you can swim in the pool at the bottom of the falls, its freezing but an amazing experience.
 
Yes and you can feed the monkeys on your way to the falls. Its a long drive but I think its well worth it. Near the waterfalls are some spice plantation farms, you can do that if you still have time left.
Also a trip to old Goa for some real portuguese culture, churches etc. is intresting.

Beckiboo said:
Yep I didn't really like Calangute, it's probably the most tourist-orientated beach out of all of Goa, lots of cheesey bars and Brits Abroad kind of feel. Having said that it is very central so you will easily be able to hire a car/bike and go out and explore other areas of Goa. My favourites were Vagator, Benaulim and Aswem.
Definately go out as much as you can and explore Goa, its such a beautiful place. I'd also recommend going on a day's trek to a waterfall (cant remember the name but it's the highest one in Goa), you trek there for about an hour then you can swim in the pool at the bottom of the falls, its freezing but an amazing experience.
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It's called Dhugadscar Water Fall.

I remember swimming in the water and despite the heat it was arctic:lol:

Calangute is the most touristy place, but as Becki says it is very central and a good base from which to explore.

I've stayed at Candolim in the Fort Aguada and when i walked through Calangute on an evening it had a great hustle and bustle atmosphere about it. And it's not a big place either.

I also got a boat from baga (next to calangute) to drop me off at Arambol and found a room on the beach for about a fiver and had one of the most memorable nights of my life.8)
 
All sounds so fantastic :D

I am aware of Calangute being a bit like Goa's Blackpool, but hotel seems to be set back from the main road and on the border with Candolim so will be central and sounds like a good base for a first timer :lol:

So many places we want to see, so no intention of spending all of our time around the hotel, so boat trips, beach huts and crazy hippy spots sound amazing :lol:

Thank you all for things mentioned, it gives us a good starting place - a lot of sites on the web are populated by the over 40s and our plans will be somewhat different!! Need to get a hold of a good guide book - any recommendations or just the trusty Lonely Planet?

No doubt will be back here closer to the time with more questions!!
 
Angie24 said:
All sounds so fantastic :D

I am aware of Calangute being a bit like Goa's Blackpool, but hotel seems to be set back from the main road and on the border with Candolim so will be central and sounds like a good base for a first timer :lol:

So many places we want to see, so no intention of spending all of our time around the hotel, so boat trips, beach huts and crazy hippy spots sound amazing :lol:

Thank you all for things mentioned, it gives us a good starting place - a lot of sites on the web are populated by the over 40s and our plans will be somewhat different!! Need to get a hold of a good guide book - any recommendations or just the trusty Lonely Planet?

No doubt will be back here closer to the time with more questions!!
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I'd say the Lonely Planet everytime... you cant beat it for a travel guide IMO.

Definately have some seafood in one of the beachfront restaurants in Benaulim... it's divine!! :p
 
Angie24 said:
All sounds so fantastic :D

I am aware of Calangute being a bit like Goa's Blackpool, but hotel seems to be set back from the main road and on the border with Candolim so will be central and sounds like a good base for a first timer :lol:

So many places we want to see, so no intention of spending all of our time around the hotel, so boat trips, beach huts and crazy hippy spots sound amazing :lol:

Thank you all for things mentioned, it gives us a good starting place - a lot of sites on the web are populated by the over 40s and our plans will be somewhat different!! Need to get a hold of a good guide book - any recommendations or just the trusty Lonely Planet?

No doubt will be back here closer to the time with more questions!!
Click to expand...

If you want boat trips go to St Anthony's beach Shack at Baga beach (ask a taxi driver) there's a bar man there called Johnny (he's there every year). He can arrange it for you with Nicholas his mate with a boat. He dropped us off on any beach we wanted then picked us up the following morning, and took us to see the dolphins on the way! It was dead convenient and really good fun.

The time out guide was good for goa too. The Lonely planet guides are better if you're going to trek across the state but i found the time out guide was better and more up to date for the restaurants and bars scattered about the place.
 
Eeek 2 weeks to go :D

Can't wait, starting to really get the excitement butterflies :lol: Think I started to read too much, panicking about what to see, how to dress etc etc etc :roll:, but think I am just going to go and chill and take things as they come. Finding this thread has reminded me of a few key things I want to do!

One wee question - have read some scary stories of the police, are they really that bad :?:
 
Angie24 said:
Eeek 2 weeks to go :D

Can't wait, starting to really get the excitement butterflies :lol: Think I started to read too much, panicking about what to see, how to dress etc etc etc :roll:, but think I am just going to go and chill and take things as they come. Finding this thread has reminded me of a few key things I want to do!

One wee question - have read some scary stories of the police, are they really that bad :?:
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Police are usually well behind the scenes. You probably won't notice them.

At the risk of sounding boring. Stay away from drugs. zero tolerance for minor offenses and long sentences. And i mean a spliff not a suitcase full.

I met a local lad who had spent several years in the hell hole prison on the coast for what you would consider a "minor" drugs offense.

But if you do get into trouble, hand over whatever rupees they ask and extract yourself from the situation. Even if you are innocent. You can then report this later at the consulate.

If you going to indulge - be very wary and make sure you're on one of the remote beaches. The local prison is full of brits.

But cliched as it sounds, the locals are very friendly and helpful. I was invited to a village for a meal with a local family. It was unforgettable.

.
 
we spent a bit of time travelling Goa and only realy noticed Polica presene at peak time, xmas period, on the main beaches. Saying that I thought the main places like Baga were pure tack

it is all about Vagator, amazing beach, wiched bar (I say bar but imagine HUGE outside terrace) playing trance from 6 til about 11.. good Food etc etc - and this is the place you'll find out about parties anthow - there was a hugh rave on a hill when we were there but I was not allowed to go lol (shame cos it lasted 3 days)
 
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