Best beaches of #NorthGoa

We reached Mapusa (bus stand in Goa) early morning at 6 am.

Since we'd already made bookings for our car rental, all we had to do was pick the car from candolim and leave for Arambol on day 1.

The Car we booked was swift which nearly costed us 4400/-

Candolim - Arambol = 1 h 2 min (27.0 km)

Where to stay - Casa Seasta Beach cottages (parking available)

The hotel we booked in Arambol is only 10 minutes from the beach, located in a remote area, you'll not find it crowded at all!

Around 4ish we left for the beach.

One of the hidden gems of Arambol includes the "fresh water lake" located at the very end of the beach.. One has to trek a little in order to reach the lake.

I'd rate arambol beach 3/5, reason being; as two women travelers (my sister and I) Arambol failed to provide that sense of security with cheap Indian crowd making it ultra uncomfortable for us to go take a dip!

There's also a flea market on the beach, you can visit it while you are on the way to the fresh water lake.

Where to eat: Artjuna Cafe

Must have: hummus and pita bread, chocolate brownie

I'd recommend this place to all those who are interested in having scrumptious food and desserts.. The place is made so artistically which gives you all the more reasons to visit it.

Apart from Arambol beach, North Goa has Ashwem and Morjim beach, a must must visit!!

So the first beach we hit was Ashwem.

6.9 kms from Arambol , hardly a 15 minutes drive, Ashwem is a beach for those who want to spend the day on the beach uninterrupted from excessive crowd, encompassing merely 3 shacks.

The water is great to take a dip in!!!

Ashwem beach: 5/5

We chilled here for about 3 hours and then moved to Morjim Beach..

Morjim is only 6 min (2.8 km) away from Ashwem..

It's majorly known as the nesting sight for Olive Ridley Sea Turtles.

One can get a beach bed if your minimum order is for 200 bucks.

As for the beach it literally defines the word "serene"..

It's not much crowded, the shacks serve good food one can also indulge in adventure activities on the beach..

Morjim beach: 4/5

While leaving from morjim, we spotted an exquisite restaurant right by the sea, it's not overlooking the sea but the ambience is quite appealing.

The name of the place is : Jardin D'ulysse (location available on Google maps).

Hence, day 2 was concluded with great food (dinner) at Jardin D'ulysse..

In vagator our stay was booked at "Pappi Chulo" it's a hostel only 5 minutes from the beach - by HOSTEL WORLD.

We booked a private room for only 1100 a night. Dorms are available as well for 500 a bed.

The staff at pappi chulo is extremely welcoming and we'd recommend everyone to experience it atleast once.

I loved how the ambience was at pappi chulo; as two women traveller's the place didn't make us feel uncomfortable at all!

For lunch we went to "Boom Shankar Cafe" located right on the beach. They served us some yummy pancakes and fresh juices also the cafe is priced quite nominally making it a great place to chill!

Around evening, our plan was to hit CHAPORA Fort to experience the mandatory sunset.

One can easily find a parking near the fort, although it's advisable to reach there atleast one and half our prior to find the perfect spot.

The place is really not the same at used to be for obvious reasons but still hasn't lost its charm!

The guy who was managing pappi chulo (Himanshu) recommended us that for dinner and drinks we must go to "HILLTOP" - what can I say, hilltop is like a mini fest where something or the other is constantly happening, be it music, performances or food fests; the place is bound to bring out the goa vibe in you!

A MUST visit!

As for our last day we drove to Old Goa to visit Bom Basilica - Being a 400 year old church, the church is not only among the oldest churches in Goa, it is also one of the oldest churches in the world.

I honestly found it great to break the pattern and visit old goa!.. The goan houses displaying a mix of neo-Gothic and neo-classical styles made it a visual delight for us as we drove by the streets of old goa!

For lunch where to eat in Panjim - Cafe Basil

This Cafe is too good, surrounded by a number of colleges it usually hosts the young crowd and is the ideal place to satiate oneself with awesome burgers!

While coming back, we came across this famous road in Parra, Goa - known for its appearance in a number of movies we couldn't stop ourselves from clicking pictures!

We made it a point to take a dip in vagator waters before heading for dinner.

Vagator Beach : 4/5

Clean waters, good crowd, yummy pancakes and a sunset to die for - vagator was everything that we needed to complete our trip!

In the evening, our table was booked in - THALASSA-

Perched on a hilltop, overlooking the magnificent Arabian Sea, it's the ideal place where luxury meets the Greek culture!

Overall ambience of Thalassa is so refreshing that it became another must visit place in goa for me!

I've been to South Goa earlier and this time I was keen on exploring North.

It made me realize that the two are greatly different in every aspect, be it the beaches, crowd, cafes or places of monumental value.. Your trip to goa is incomplete if you haven't visited both!