Goa Travel Guide

Goa has beautiful beaches,reasonable hotels and friendly people and fabulous weather. They work very hard for little money and as a lady of 64, I felt very safe on my own. A week in January 2013 was not enough, there were lots of British people in Candolim, who stay for weeks, sometime months. Not recommended for people who are crippled or have problems walking or children. The main drag could be difficult to walk down as there was not much of a pavement and what there was was high and uneven. There was lots of dusty roads and the noisiest continual honking of horns of the traffic that you ... More had to avoid. After three days you get used to it. I stayed at the Aldeia Santa Rita Hotel, which I would recommend. Some of the food, especially the a la carte was great and some was reasonable. If the service was good, I would leave 30 or 40 rupees to my waiter, which was greatly appreciated. Some sort of entertainment every night. There are so many restaurants to try, very reasonable for us British, lovely prawn curries for £3. Most main dishes are £3 but wine was expensive, same as England. Smirnoff vodka was about 50p, so cheap as were most spirits. 200 JPS cigarettes were 1500 rupees, about £15 in the local shops. The beach shacks were bigger than I had anticipated and Calamari was a good one. If you intend to eat or drink then you pay nothing, otherwise 100 rupees. The restaurant was very good, lovely food, good service and the cocktail, quite strong for 250 rupees. Outside toilet sit down, as were all of them, clean and there was a shower, if you didn't want to swim in the sea. There was an overnight jungle trip, waterfalls, spice plantation and elephant washing. Can't comment as I did none, being only there for a short time. It's the only place that I've ever wanted to revisit and I felt at ease and at home there. Maybe I'd go to South Goa next time, better beaches or go back to Sants Rita hotel. I felt quite sad to leave. Getting through customs on arrival took about 30 mins and was easy. Bags ready for pick up and taxi driver waiting with a placard with my name on it. Leaving Goa was a little more difficult and took about an hour. Two police with guns outside Dabolim airport, taking their time and checking you passport and ticket. When inside you MUST have your suitcase taped with a plastic strap in a machine, then to departure desk; Pay the extra £40 for extra legroom, it's well worth it for a 10 and 1/2 hour journey home to Gatwick, not near the toilets though, because that's where people congregate and exercise their legs. Monarch flight was much better than I had expected having read reviews, food not bad but take sandwiches if you like to eat a lot. Take good condition sterling notes, which changed in the local shop gives a better rate than the hotel, for your rupees. Bring a safe deposit lock and only take out enough for what you need for the day. It's common sense!! No need to put temptation in anyone's way. Be prepared for a power failure once a day, but for no more than 5 mins. Do go, you will love the experience. Try not to be too upset about the dogs, don't try to befriend them. They are not used to that. They would be suspicious and may go for you. Have a good time. Jane

Goa is a beautiful place with a mixture of different cultures. People from all over the world reside there, from Russians to Japenese! Pick a country and you will find someone from there in Goa. If you visit Goa, don't forget to visit all the historic places like Bom Jesus and Old Fort Aguada :)

Friendly people, cheap and beautiful beaches. Fell in love with the place - so much so that I bought a place there.

Nice Place to visit with friends. Go on season time so u can enjoy water ride games, Baaga beach is the best.

GOA - means Get on Alcohol, Green ocean Alcohol, Ground of Amsterdam, Gods Own Area..

Nothing if you are aware at right time. Go and enjoy Goa, a beautiful place especially in rainy season.

Beautiful scenery, beaches, food etc. People are really friendly, relaxing holiday, child free

Awesome place, loved it