Making of the Goa Trip

“When will you share your holiday list? I have been asking for it since 3 months so that we can plan a Goa trip”. Wife’s stern voice made me look at my calendar and realize that we have a 4 day break coming up and its been almost a year since our last holiday.

Goa was an obvious choice but after a bit of research felt that covering both north and south Goa would be too hectic in such a short time. So we finalized on just a north Goa trip. We also planned to cover panjim as most of our preferred destinations were present there.

What follows is an account of our 4 day Goa trip itinerary and recommendations

Day 1 – North Goa

Arrive at airport and travel to hotel

Although its an hour away from the airport, Calangute is the best place to stay in north Goa as it is right in the middle of all tourist attractions, we stayed in Tivai beach cottages which is just a few feet away from the beach. Its a decent place to stay if you don’t mind the minimalist ambience/amenities but we decided to move to another hotel in 2 days

I would recommend paradise village resort which had better amenities at a slightly higher price

Local Transport

We took a scooty(Honda activa) on rent, the vehicle was delivered to our hotel almost immediately. The hotel owner helped us with this

Note: They take your original id proof, so give something other than your driving license

Chapora Fort

We decided to visit Chapora fort which is on the northern part and to move our way down the coast till Aguada fort by evening

After a small hike, you will reach the fort which gives you a beautiful view of the Vagator beach

Vagator Beach

This is right next to the chapora fort and is a relatively lesser crowded beach with black rocks spread all over

Anjuna Beach (Curlies shack)

Next stop is curlies beach shack which gives a good view of the beach and decent food and you can also visit the anjuna flea market which is nearby

Note: The flea market is not open at all times,do check before going

Lunch-Brittos

My cab driver at the airport said that Brittos is the best restaurant in Goa and it definitely felt like it. We ordered prawns curry with rice. The flavors in were amazing.

Calangute traffic police station

This was not a part of our plan. But after coming out of brittos, we realized that our scooty has been towed away by the traffic police, after a few frantic calls we were informed that its not a big deal and you can get it back by paying a small fine

So we went to the police station by cab and got it back in 5 min after paying(bribing?) the guard out front

Note: Always check for no parking signs twice before parking anywhere in Goa

Aguada fort

By evening ,we reached the aguada fort(it closes by 5-30 pm).Again the view was amazing and we could see the sunset

We returned back to the hotel for a short rest before moving out for the night

Tito’s lane(Cafe Mambos)

This is the most happening place in north Goa ,a lane full of pubs and party goers. We danced till Midnight at Mambos

Note: The service at Mambos was terrible and you wont get a seat most of the time but the music and crowd made up for it, also you have to pay upfront for any order

You can walk down to baga beach from here and find several beach shacks giving you a candle light table on the beach side

Day 2- Panjim

Basilica of Bom jesus

The most famous church of Goa is 45 min away from calangute located in old Goa and is the first stop of the day

Our lady of immaculate conception

Head back to panjim for this place,the structure stands right in the middle of a cross roads and you can find benches in the middle of the opposite road,which gives you the best view of the entire church

Note:The drive from Basilica of Bom jesus to Our lady of immaculate conception by mandovi river is beautiful

Lunch at Ritz Classic

This restaurant has the best fish thali I’ve ever had. We were served with 5 seafood curries and everyone of them was delicious.

Miramar Beach

Post lunch, head down to Miramar Beach, This is one of the secluded beaches and is very peaceful

Dona Paula

Be sure to reach this place by sunset as there is a viewpoint from here

Head to casino

Drive back from dona paula to any one of the casinos on the mandovi river, This is one of most picturesque and scenic drive in Goa  

I would recommend the deltin royale, after 7 pm is the right time to enter as the crowd begins to fill up the casino , You can select from any one of their packages that give you few coins to start with

Have met several people coming to Goa just for the gambling tables here

Note: My only knowledge of gambling is the 5 minute reading of Blackjack rules on my boat ride to the casino and still found the experience so addictive that i contemplated coming here again on day 4,glad i didn’t!!!

Day 3 – North Goa Again

We moved from tivai beach cottage to paradise beach village resort on day 3.This too is at walk able distance from calangute beach

Lunch at Burger Factory

Burger factory in anjuna-mapusa road has the best burgers and the ingredients are so fresh that they didn’t need to overuse mayonnaise and cheese all over for taste. Must visit if you like me are a foodie

Beach Walk

Back to the hotel and spent some time at hotel  pool followed by walk from calangute beach to baga beach, its a 2-3 km walk and a perfect way to spend the evening

We planned to visit lower aguada fort today but couldn’t due to time constraints

Titos lane(cafe mambos/cape town cafe).

Tonight, we re-visited Titos lane(cafe mambos/cape town cafe). Cape town cafe is another pub/cafe in the same lane which we found to be ok.

Note: The traffic and crowd is too much/many  at Titos lane on weekends. Better to go by walk if you re nearby

Baga beach

We then headed down to baga beach and spent some time on the candle lit tables on the beach under moonlight.

Back to hotel

Day 4 – The Last day of our Trip

Today was our last day of this Goa trip. We had a bus to catch at panjim main bus station in the evening

Checked out of hotel, returned our scooty and headed to panjim by cab

Walk in Fontainhas

Fontainhas is a colony in panjim with its rich Portuguese culture still intact. It’s small lanes and colorful buildings are a sight to experience. Walk around this area to fully appreciate the Portuguese designs and architecture

Goa state museum

We walked all the way from Fontainhas to the Goa state museum . The museum was closed that day.

Lunch at Caravela cafe

We tried for lunch at the black sheep bistro but had to change our plans as it was full. So we headed down to a small cafe in the bylines opposite the Deltin casinos instead.

Its a family run cafe with very courteous owners who make sure to converse with all customers. The food was delicious, their coffee was rejuvenating. We spent a good 2 hours there savoring food and sipping coffee.

Back to the bus station for our journey home.

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