First time in Goa? Must visit these places!!!

Points to remember:

Must visit beaches:

Anjuna

Vagator

Candolim

Must eat:

Goan Curry

Sea food

Eat from local shacks

Must carry comfortable clothes and footwear

Best to hire two/four whhelers if you can drive

Local conveyance like cab/auto too expensive

Auto not avaialble everywhere

Bargain while shopping

After a failed attempt to visit Goa in 2012 and again in 2020, I finally stepped onto the sands of Goa in 2021.

It was our first time so we were confused about which beaches to visit. But after research and people’s personal experience, decided to mostly visit the popular beaches of North Goa only as we only had 4 days in hand. So, here’s a guide for you all for your next Goa visit.

We had our stay booked in Michèle's Garden at Anjuna Beach. It is a beautiful bed and breakfast surrounded by nature and 10 minutes’ walk from the beach. If you are a cat or dog lover then this place is best for you as there are about 7 cats and 5 dogs at the resort.

After having our breakfast, we left for the beach. The beach was clean and also less crowded. In winters you might find it more crowded.

We had a refreshing bathe in the water and enjoyed fresh pineapple at the beach. There are plenty of shacks available for lunch on the beach with various veg and non veg options. We had a great lunch and headed back to our hotel. As we were tired, we had a good afternoon nap.

We again left in the evening but it was already quite dark by then. We missed the sunset. Anjuna Beach is famous for the serene sunset views. A lot of shacks and restaurants were having Bollywood theme parties. We enjoyed the crowd, the music along with the waves and the salty wind across our faces and hair.

We ended our day with some Goan chicken curry with rice and pasta.

On the second day we woke up early in the morning and went to the beach. It was completely deserted and looked just astounding. After that we came back and after breakfast decided to visit another popular beach, Vagator Beach.

Everyone knows that it is best to explore Goa by scooters or bikes but we can’t drive either so we had to hire cabs which are way too over-priced. Autos are a very rare sight in Goa. Ola or Uber don’t work in Goa but you can install the app Goa Miles for booking cabs. But the app is too slow.

We reached Chapora Fort by a local cab. This is that famous Fort from Dil Chahta Hai. The view from the Fort is mesmerising. Spend some time to explore the place. It’s a long hike but once you reach there everything is worth it. Wear comfortable footwear because the hike and the sharp rocks might give your foot an ache.

After spending about hour and a half at the fort, we started walking towards the Vagator Beach. The market on the way is also worth exploring to pick up souvenirs.

The Vagator Beach is another one of the most beautiful beaches of Goa. The waves are huge and it was great fun and refreshing.

After bathing in the amazing water of the beach we had lunch and left for Bagha Beach. Other than cabs another way of transport there is bike taxi. As I told earlier, autos are rare in Goa so you might find bike taxis at some places like we did at Vagator. They will quote you a very high rate but you have to bargain and settle for a lesser price. It’s always the best to rent your own two or four wheelers if you can drive.

As we reached Bagha Beach, it felt like the whole of India was there. Yes, that’s an exaggerated expression but still it was so damn crowded that we could hardly be there. Personally, I didn’t like the crowd there. The tourists were staring lecherously, passing lewd comments and what not. So, we left the beach as soon as we could.

Even though Bagha Beach is recommended for all the party and music scenes till late night right after the sunsets, we didn’t want to be there as we were just two girls and did not want to get stuck there with bad crowd. So, we immediately took a cab back to Anjuna Beach. We reached Anjuna right on time for the most amazing sunset I have ever seen in my life. The cafes around were all crowded. Especially Purple Martini is recommended for best sunset views. But according to me the best sunset views can be only experienced from the beaches itself. After the sunset the skies kept changing colours. And we witnessed some amazing scenes one cannot even imagine. You will just feel like taking pictures till the last ray of the sun. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

We then walked down to our hotel. But we were dead tired. After freshening up we again tried out a place right across our hotel that served nice baked burgers and fries. We ended our day with some chit chat at the terrace of our tree house room. And the slept like babies.

It was again a new day and a day to visit another amazing beach. We took a cab to Candolim Beach. Another serene and beautiful beach. It was also less crowded as compared to Bagha Beach. After spending a couple of hours there we had lunch at a restaurant nearby. Try to have local cuisines when in Goa. Try sea food if you love them. After a lunch we shopped a bit at the local shops and again came back to Anjuna by a cab booked through GoaMiles.

Another mesmerising evening at Anjuna was so much needed. That was our last night so we spent it at the beach looking at the sun go down and the waves crashing at the rocks and our feet. After millions of photos sessions, we headed back to our hotel for a bit rest.

But after a bath again towards the Anjuna market for the last hour shoppings and to pick up some more souvenirs and gifts. Then we entered a less crowded place for dinner. We mostly preferred less crowded and popular places as they were mostly peaceful and the food was also in budget and delicious.

Even after dinner we strolled down to the beach and spent talking for hours. We didn’t feel like leaving at all. But at some point, we had to. So walked down back to our hotel.

Next morning, we woke up with a heavy heart as that was our last day in Goa. After breakfast we again went to the beach. The sun was very hard so we hired an umbrella and beach seats from a shack. It is free for the whole day if you buy food/drinks from the shack for at least Rs. 500/-

Pretty great offer! Don’t you think?

After lunch we came back and quickly packed. We checked out from the hotel. But before leaving we picked up some savouries from the German Bakery right behind our hotel. We had an amazing experience. Can’t wait to make my second visit very soon.