Goa is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Famous for it's attractive beaches, nightlife, churches and history, Goa is a must visit travel spots in India. Here's how I and my two best friends planned a trip to Goa.
How to reach Goa?
You can reach Goa by train,bus or flight. I would say that travelling via train is a better option, since the rail routes are connected to most of the cities in India and the tickets are also cheap. The only caution to take here that you have to book the tickets well in advance or they won't be available. Since I and my friends had an impromptu plan we opted to travel by bus from Pune. The bus trip costed us 1700rs including return.
Where to stay?
If a budget trip is what you are looking for, staying in hostels is a good option. We stayed at a hostel called Pappi Chulo which is close to Vagator beach and costed us 600rs per head, per night. You can also look for zostels.
On day 1, we started by visiting Chapora fort which is 3.1 km from Vagator. We rented mopeds which cost us 300rs per head for 3 days. You will find a lot of shops that rent bikes and it is easier to travel locally with them. On the way to the fort we found some shops with some very interesting items such as jewelry, decorative items.
Though the internal structure of the fort does not exist today, the fort provides a beautiful view of Vagator beach and Chapora river. The fort is said to be held by many rulers in history and is said to be held by the Portuguese in 1717 AD. This fort is also known for it's famous scene from the Hindi film "Dil Chahta Hai", many tourists recreate the famous scene on this fort.
After spending a good amount of time on the fort we then went to Vagator beach which is very close to the fort. We had our lunch there, which cost us 400rs per head. Vagator beach is one of the most beautiful beaches that I have seen till date. It is very clean and beautiful. You can just relax on the shacks, eat and chill. In the evening, you can get to see beautiful sunset view.
We started our day by having breakfast at one of the restaurants nearby. I got to eat the best cheese omelette and banana pancakes there.
We then drove till Old Goa(27 km from Vagator). It was a nice small road trip. We saw Basilica of Bom Jesus which is an old church which holds the mortal remains of St.Francis Xavier. This church is also famous for it’s architecture.
We next went to Panjim which is 12km from Old Goa. We found out that there are boat rides that you can take in Mandovi river and decided to go for one. This is a must have experience in Panjim. There are also many cruises that you can go to. But we found a small boat that charged us 350 per head for a 1hr ride. We got to see a beautiful sunset from the boat, also a flock of slender billed gull, you can also get a view of the bridge, there was music, dance, food and so much fun. If you are lucky enough you can also spot dolphins.
On our last day, we had a bus in the evening from Mapusa, so we decided to spend the rest of the day on Vagator beach and Ozran beach. Both the beaches are close to each other, Ozran beach is also called as the small Vagator beach and is less crowded. You can enjoy some peaceful time there. We also did some water sports at Vagator beach which cost us 350 per head. We relaxed on the shacks, ate some food , returned our bikes and went to the bus station
