This was a full-week trip, including both weekends. We have been to Goa on a shorter trip earlier, so we wanted to keep it long and relaxing this time. The focus was south Goa, as we visited the north part earlier, and we love less crowded, close to nature places, in which south Goa is clearly the winner.
We went by train from Yashwantpur to Vasco Da Gama. The train was not in excellent condition and took more time to reach than I would have taken to drive to Goa by myself. In any case, my daughter was looking for a train journey for a long, so it was not a bad option. If one decides to drive from Bangalore, it is very much doable, and the road is in good condition.
We booked a self-drive car station-to-station. I got the latest model Baleno for decent rent from Self Drive Car Rental. For the rest of the trip, that was our ride.
Staying at a beach is a must in Goa. So, we chose Anthy’s Guest House & Restaurant at Sarnabatim Beach, in the middle of the south Goa beach range. The resort is excellent, well-maintained, and just on the beach. The restaurant faces the beach, and the cottages are behind the same. So, you might not see the sea from the room, but it is not even 50 meters away. The room was also of decent size, and the staff was helpful.
A small negative side was we had to park the car at the Sarnabatim beach parking and walk around 200 meters through the beach to reach the resort. Initially, it felt slightly painful, but it became a fun walk in a day or two. The resort helped us with their 4-wheel drive when we had to take in/out the luggage. The parking at the beach was safe.
In general, any restaurant on the beach is costly, including the one in the resort where we stayed. If you want tasty seafood in good quantity without going bankrupt, try the local places.
Anthy’s Guest House & Restaurant: The resort’s restaurant where we stayed. This was our regular breakfast place, and we took one lunch, too. The food was good but, as mentioned, it is a fancy restaurant on the beach, so you can guess the rest.
Blue Corner Restaurant: A fancy restaurant on the Benaulim beach. They charged as high as possible, and the quantity was as low as you can imagine. The slice of the kingfish was so thin here that we wondered how it was even possible to cut it. The test was not that great, either. We also tried squid here, which was rubbery.
Johncy Restaurant: A fancy restaurant on the Benaulim beach. They had karaoke there, but I am more interested in having good food than listing amateur singers’ unknown songs in a restaurant. The food was costly, as expected, and the taste was so-so. So, decided not to visit again.
Martin’s Corner: A fancy restaurant but not on the beach. That’s why food was much better and less priced than beachside ones. We visited here twice. Looks to be famous among locals as it was a full house on a weekday lunchtime. You need Google Maps to reach here, by the way.
Balcao Cafe Bar & Restaurant: A nice small cafe on the way to Auada Fort. The food was good, and the price was decent.
Classic Restaurant: It was opposite Our Lady of Merces Church in the Colva area. The best place as per our experience. This is a roadside, very local place, in a small room with two sets of plastic table chairs. You can’t even call it a restaurant. Tourists don’t visit here, generally. But the food they served was wow! That, too, was at the lowest price and in good quantity. Here, we tried local recipes of pomfret, kingfish, prawns, oysters, and mackerel. Once we ended up here, we didn’t go to any other restaurant till we were in Goa.
Everyone has their choice of drinks, but my newfound was the Bro Code beer. It was the best one I had ever tried, and I later learned that this is the strongest beer available in India. The local laggers are also available at most of the liquor stores in south Goa. You must try some of those, too.
We were in no rush, so we stretched the places to visit across multiple days. One can cramp these places on a shorter trip, too. Listing the sites area-wise here from the south towards the north.
South Goa
If you want to feel the natural beauty of Goa beaches peacefully, this is the place for you. These are much less crowded than north Goa. Most parts are villages, and there is no trace of nightlife. South Goa has around 20km long stretch of beaches. Most are very similar, and some are more crowded than others. We visited most and skipped some.
Galgibaga Beach: Skipped, as I didn’t find the reviews much different than other visited beaches.
Palolem Beach: We had to cross a hilly area to reach Palolem Beach, Butterfly Beach, Agonda Beach, and Cola Beach. These four places can be grouped in a day trip. Though crowded, I liked the place. The beach is surrounded by hills on both sides, making this one different from other beaches. There were good food and shopping options.
Butterfly Beach: A boat from Palolem Beach or Agonga Beach can reach you there. We could not go as boat service was unavailable due to the monsoon season. One local mentioned there is a way to trek till there, but with our 5-year-old, that was not an option for us.
Agonda Beach: Other than a few fishermen, we found this place empty. The beach was not clean either. I don’t know if this was because it was not the season. This beach is also surrounded by hills on both sides and should have been beautiful if maintained.
Cola Beach: The road to this place is unsuitable for a regular car. We tried reaching by walking too but could not due to the muddy road. In case you manage to get here, kayaking in the backwater is available here.
Canaguinim Beach: Skipped, as I didn’t find the reviews much different than other visited beaches.
Varca Beach: It is a beautiful, clean, and less crowded beach. The sand dunes are kept intact here, so you can observe the combination of greenery on the sand. This is a perfect place to spend a quiet evening.
Our Lady of Gloria Church: We saw this church on the way. We passed across many beautiful churches in south Goa, including this one, but never found one open. The timings for all the south Goa churches are very limited, supposed to be from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on regular days.
Benaulim Beach: This was part of my morning beach walk route during the trip, as this was at a walkable distance from our resort. It is a clean and well-maintained beach. If you visit early in the morning, you can see the fishermen and different types of fish, squids, and jellyfish in the nets.
Sernabatim Beach: We stayed at this beach. This was the most beautiful beach on this trip. It is clean, well maintained, least crowded, and best to bathe in the sea. The sand is smooth and free from shells.
The beach was best during the sunset. Due to low tide, the sea goes a couple hundred meters inside, and a good part of the sea surface emerges. This area is covered with a thin layer of water, reflecting the sunset’s golden light. We loved spending the evening here.
The only downside of swimming here is that we have seen one or two jellyfish of decent size swimming alongside. I got stung while swimming, possibly by one of these. Though the stung pain, the pain is not more than multiple wood ant bites.
Colva Beach: This is comparatively crowded compared to other South Goa beaches. The beach is nothing different than any other South Goa beach, but too many people and too much bothering by the hawkers made it painful to stay long.
Our Lady of Merces Church: This church is excellent from the outside. We passed crossed this place multiple times, but it was always closed.
Holy spirit church: This church is far from the beaches and on the main road. This one, too, is nice from the outside. Wanted to go inside, but it was closed. The timings for all the south Goa churches look to be very limited.
Betalbatim Beach: It is another beautiful, clean, and less crowded beach. The sand dunes are kept intact here, too. We saw a new type of beach crab here.
Utorda Beach: A lovely, clean beach. We reached here during low tide in a very cloudy weather. The contrast of dark clouds and the long stretch of light brown sand beach made it magnificent.
Velsao Beach: Another nice and less crowded beach. You can see the Vasco da Gama area clearly from here.
Vasco da Gama
Grandmother’s Hole Beach (Japanese Garden): This is one of the most beautiful beaches in Goa and is hardly visited by any tourists. It is surrounded by cliffs from all sides and accessed through a park called Japanese Garden. The park is on the cliff, and the beach is around two hundred steps down from there. Not many beaches in Goa are this type, so we greatly liked it. The sunset from the top of the cliff was fantastic.
Old Goa
Basilica of Bom Jesus: This is where the body of St. Xavier is kept. Everyone visiting Goa visits this place, so there is nothing further to add. The church is beautiful but too crowded.
Se Cathedral: This place is just across the road from the Basilica of Bom Jesus. Another regular tourist destination. No doubt this is also good but too crowded.
St. Cajetan Church: This is another church within walking distance from the Se Cathedral. This one is also nice but less maintained than the other two and less crowded.
Viceroy’s Arch: This is an arch on the road towards the ferry ghat to Diver Island. This is also within walking distance from St. Cajetan Church.
St. Augustine Tower: Only a tiny part of the church is remaining. Still, a nice place to visit. It is also just behind the Basilica of Bom Jesus area.
While every tourist visiting Goa goes to all the above places, the experience of any less crowded South Goa beaches is much better than the above accumulated. So, if you have to choose between either, choose South Goa.
Panaji
Immaculate Conception Church: From the road, the view of the church was great, but it was closed. If you are at Punji, it makes sense to stop here for a minute.
Fontainhas: This is supposed to be the Portuguese colony. It was heavily raining when we were nearby, and we could not find the right place on Google Maps. I think it is very close to the Immaculate church, and ‘Fountainhas Bridge Art’ is the right place to search on the map.
Miramar Beach: We skipped it as it is crowded, and we already visited it on our last trip to Goa.
Dona Paula: Self-drive car parking was not allowed here. The police asked us to park somewhere at least a kilometer away from the place. Given that we visited it earlier, we chose not to take the pain of walking that far.
North Goa
Sinquerim Fort: A must visit in north Goa. Only a little of the fort is there besides the wall, but the view from the wall is excellent.
Aguada Fort: Nothing additional if you have already visited the Sinquerim Fort. It is visited by most tourists, though.
Dolphin Point: It is a boat jetty on the way back from Aguada Fort. They have a boat service to take tourists to the backwater. It’s nothing special, but you can opt for it if you have time.
Calangute Beach: Skipped as already visited earlier and a crowded beach.
Baga Beach: No doubt a crowded beach like other north Goa beaches, but still scenery-wise good. One shouldn’t skip if you are at North Goa. We spent an evening here.
I had very high expectations from this trip, which met the same. The peaceful beauty of South Goa beaches is the one that will be preserved in our memory for quite a long.
