Old Portuguese fortresses or professional yoga classes? Crowded beaches or alone? Luxury hotels or palm-roofed cabins? Whatever you prefer, you will find a favorite beach in Goa.
Calangute, Baga and Candolim – The family beaches in Goa
At Calangute Beach there is room for the whole family, with 3 miles of pure entertainment. The little ones can play beach volleyball while the older ones can relax in the shade, while enjoying a Mango lassi, the sweet drink based on yogurt with Mango. For those who want to party when the kids have gone to bed, there’s Baga Beach in the north, where beer flows freely along with western pop music around the little palm tree huts on the beach. For the more adventurous, there are dolphin and crocodile safaris that leave from Candolim beach to the south.
Calangute, Baga and Candolim beaches are located south of Anjuna, about 12 miles from Panaji and 40 miles from Dabolim airport.
Benaulim – Beautiful views and colorful entertainment in Goa
According to Hindu myth, Goa was created when the god Vishnu in his sixth incarnation shot an arrow from the southern mountains and asked the god of the seas to retreat to where the arrow fell. Banali means “where the arrow landed”, but the Portuguese found it easier to pronounce it as Benaulim. On this beautiful beach, melon sellers mingle with the sacred cows, fishing boats and unauthorized masseuses, and if the show gets too colorful, you can also rent a scooter and take a trip past the old mansions. Portuguese that line the beach.
Benaulim beach is located 3 miles from Margao in South Goa
Anjuna & Vagator – the birthplace of Goa Trance
Where the rhythm reigns! It seeps through every pore and makes you move to the beat of hundreds of people on the beach, all dancing, alone or in company, but almost never to impress anyone. It still happens that a group gets together on some remote beach and dances the night away about chemicals and love. But if you want trance parties that haven’t been banned by local authorities, you have to go to the legendary Nine Bar on Vagator Beach, or Paradiso on Anjuna Beach.
Anjuna Beach is located just north of Baga Beach, about 15 miles from Panaji and 45 miles from Dabolim Airport.
Arambol – Yoga and Goan style brown bread
When tourists took over Goa, hippies moved north to Arambol beach, establishing yoga institutes, health care shops and paragliding schools. A little further south, you can visit Morjim Beach, where sea turtles lay their eggs in the sand and are watched by Indian guards until they hatch exactly 54 days later. Stay in the old Fort Tiracol north of Arambol, which has been transformed into a tasteful hotel, or in one of the palm-roofed huts along the beach.
Arambol Beach is at the northern tip of Goa
Palolem – The postcard beach in Goa
Beautiful Palolem Bay is refreshingly free of concrete constructions, as the local authorities demolished all illegal buildings in 2006. In their place are palm tree shacks, great food and plenty of places nearby where one can find a secluded spot. It doesn’t matter if your partner is your boyfriend or girlfriend, a good book, your iPod or just silence, you’re sure to have a lower heart rate when you get back from here!
Palolem Beach is located at the southern tip of Goa
