Goa

Goa is a coast of long sandy beaches on the Arabian Sea, and for most visitors the beach is the reason to come. From November to March the sea sits around 27-29°C, the sky is reliably clear and the surf is mostly gentle. From June to September the monsoon brings rough water and strong currents, and swimming stops.

The character changes along the coast. The north, from Calangute and Baga to Anjuna, is crowded and lined with shacks and sunbeds. Further up, Morjim, Ashwem and Mandrem are wider and calmer. The south is quieter: Colva, Benaulim and Varca run for kilometres, and the palm-backed coves at Palolem, Agonda and Patnem are the prettiest swimming in the state. The water is warm but rarely clear, and lifeguards fly flags on the busier beaches for a reason.

Goan cooking is its own cuisine, built from Konkan coastal food and four centuries of Portuguese influence. It shows in dishes such as fish curry rice, prawn balchão, pork vindaloo, chicken xacuti and cafreal, in sorpotel and chouriço sausage, and in bebinca, the layered coconut dessert. Local bakeries sell soft poi bread every morning. Feni, distilled from cashew or coconut, is the local spirit.

The best eating is in the family-run Goan restaurants in Panjim, Margao and the inland villages, and in the more ambitious kitchens around Assagao. Fish is grilled straight from the boats at the beach shacks. Mapusa and Margao markets show the produce and spices. In the busiest beach strips, a lot of menus are generic tourist food, so it pays to choose.

Goa's heritage comes from four and a half centuries of Portuguese rule laid over Hindu Konkan culture. The highlight is Old Goa, the abandoned colonial capital, where the Basilica of Bom Jesus holds the relics of St Francis Xavier and the Sé Cathedral and the Church of St Cajetan stand on wide lawns. Together they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Panjim, the Fontainhas quarter has narrow lanes of ochre and blue houses, and the whitewashed Church of the Immaculate Conception rises above the town.

Inland, the villages of Chandor and Loutolim keep grand old family mansions, some of which can be visited. Around Ponda, the Mangueshi and Shanta Durga temples show the Hindu side of Goa. The coast is dotted with laterite forts such as Aguada, Chapora and Cabo de Rama. It is worth several days, but the sites are spread out rather than gathered in one historic centre.

Goa has been known for nights out since the trance parties of Anjuna and Vagator, and the north coast is still where people go out. Baga and Calangute have packed club strips and bars of every kind, from karaoke to dance floors that fill after midnight. Anjuna and Vagator have hilltop and clifftop venues for electronic music. Beach shacks run sunset sessions, and the inland villages around Assagao have quieter cocktail bars. Rules on outdoor amplified music mean that many parties move indoors or start and end earlier than the legend suggests.

The season runs from November to March. It peaks between Christmas and New Year, when crowds from across India arrive and the north stays loud every night, with beach parties, packed clubs and countdowns on the sand. The rest of the year is much quieter, and many venues close for the monsoon. South Goa is a different place, where evenings mean a drink on the sand and an early night.

Behind the beaches, Goa rises into the forested foothills of the Western Ghats. The Bhagwan Mahaveer, Cotigao and Netravali sanctuaries have jungle trails, and Dudhsagar Falls drops in white tiers down the hillside. It is at its fullest just after the monsoon. The Mandovi and Zuari rivers wind through mangroves and paddy fields that suit kayaking and boat trips, and birdwatching is excellent in the dry months, with kingfishers, hornbills and migrant waders.

On the coast, dolphin-spotting boats leave from Sinquerim and Palolem, and there is parasailing, jet-skiing and some surfing at Arambol and Ashwem. The landscape is green and pleasant rather than grand, and the heat limits serious hiking to early mornings.

Most outings stay inside Goa itself. From the beaches people go to Panjim for an afternoon in the old quarters, to Mapusa or Margao for market day, to the spice plantations around Ponda, and to the mansions of Chandor. A small ferry crosses to Divar island, a place of village churches and paddy fields.

Just beyond the state, the temple town and quieter beaches of Gokarna in Karnataka are about two hours south of Palolem. To the north, the sea fort at Sindhudurg and the Malvan coast in Maharashtra are a similar distance away. The ruins of Hampi, the obvious great sight of the region, are too far for a day and need an overnight stay.

For families, Goa means a beach vacation and little else. The long, flat sands of South Goa, at Benaulim, Varca, Cavelossim and Majorda, are lined with resort hotels that have pools, and in the winter season the shallow, warm water is good for small children. Indian culture is warm towards children, and staff fuss over them everywhere.

There is very little made specially for children: no zoo or aquarium of note, and only a small water park or two. The busy northern beaches, strong currents on some days, chaotic roads, stray dogs and the care needed with food and water all take some managing. It suits families who want sand and a pool rather than a full programme.

Goa is spread along about 100km of coast. Each beach village is small enough to walk, but anything further means a vehicle. Local buses link the towns and are not much use for reaching beaches. Most visitors rent a scooter, hire a taxi for the day or use a driver. Taxis are not cheap, and ride-hailing is limited.

Roads are narrow, busy and shared with cows, trucks and scooters, so the drive from the north beaches to the south can take two hours. Trains on the Konkan line stop at Thivim and Madgaon and are useful for arriving rather than for touring. It is easiest to choose one area and stay there.

Shopping in Goa revolves around markets. The weekly Anjuna flea market and the Saturday night market near Arpora have stalls of Kashmiri shawls, Rajasthani textiles, silver jewellery and beachwear. Much of it is the same stock repeated, so bargaining is expected. Mapusa's Friday market is more local, with spices, cashews, chouriço and pottery. In Panjim and the villages around Assagao there are a few boutiques for linen clothing, Indian designers and azulejo-style tiles. Beyond that, the beach strips sell sarongs and souvenirs, and there is no serious fashion or luxury shopping.

By international standards Goa is cheap: simple beach huts and guesthouses, fish curry at a shack, a beer on the sand and a rented scooter all cost little. It is not cheap for India, though. Prices are set by the winter season, when rooms in popular villages and boutique resorts cost noticeably more. Over Christmas and New Year they rise steeply, and the best places book out. Taxis cost more than visitors expect. Travellers on a budget do best in the quieter southern and far northern beach villages, staying in huts and getting around by scooter.

Goa has its own music and stage traditions. Tiatr is a Konkani musical theatre, and the mando is a slow, Portuguese-flavoured song, but both are made for local audiences and are rarely seen by visitors. The Kala Academy in Panjim, on the riverfront, puts on concerts, dance and drama. Each December an arts festival brings performances, exhibitions and concerts to Panjim's heritage buildings. Pre-Lenten Carnival fills the towns with parades and music. Otherwise, live music for most visitors means a cover band or an acoustic set in a beach bar.

Goa is one of India's main places for yoga and ayurveda. The quieter villages are the centre of it: Arambol, Mandrem and Ashwem in the far north, and Agonda and Patnem in the south. Shala platforms sit among the palms, there are teacher-training courses and drop-in classes, and treatment centres offer ayurvedic massage and longer cleansing programmes. Resort spas around Cavelossim and Candolim add a more polished option.

The south has the slow pace that suits rest: hammocks, early nights and the sound of the sea. The party belt of Baga and Calangute is not restful. There is no tradition of baths or hammams, so the wellness here is about yoga, massage and stillness.