Best time to visit ooty is in between april to june and October and November but i made a trip to ooty in February and it was great and less crowded for more information checkout my travel story of ooty
Dec and Jan are coldest months , there are many locations here which would give perfect snow covered views. Do carry warm clothes on your visit. Also confirm the route is not closed at very high altitude spots because of snowfall before travelling.
Some place recommendations:
Chitkul
Reckongpeo
Barot valley
Prahshar lake
Hatu Peak
Manali
Shimla
Thank you
There are so many good hostels in Goa, you can choose according to your location preferences. Zostel/ Happy panda (arambol), the crazy hostel (anjuna), summer by thehostelcrowd (palolem), backpackers panda (candolim) and many more.
Zostel, Moustache, Backpacker panda, are well known and nice hostels, other than this if you check out places and streets around Zostel you'll come across a lot of cafe/stays