Agonda Beach holds a very special place in my heart. I have always stood at the shores because I was and still am afraid of water. This is the very first beach where I went a little inside the sea and did a lot of rock to rock hopping. For a person who is scared of depth and water, this was a stepping stone to overcome my fear. The road is long and I am excited to see how I overcome them.
Visiting Agonda Beach was never a part of our original itinerary. We were supposed to stay at Palolem Beach but since we did not get the desired accommodation we picked Agonda. I say 'we' because my husband and I did this trip with two other couples who were his school friends. All three of them grew up in Goa and did their schooling here. So Goa is more of a home than a tourist destination for us.
It is a known fact that the beaches in South Goa are quieter and this beach is no such exception to that. We came to the beach on the evening of the second day of the trip hoping to catch a glimpse of the sunset which we eventually missed.
A little bit about the road to Agonda...
We drove down from Panjim around 3 PM and our first pit stop was two hours later at Navelim, Margao. We ate at a small restaurant called Haji Ali Koastel Kitchen at Navelim (try their shawarmas, veg burger, chickoo-banana and chocolate milkshakes). They had a neat restroom too! After a food and nature's break, we drove to Agonda via the NH-66 highway. This highway runs parallel to the Western Ghats connecting Panvel, Mumbai to Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu passing through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The route by itself is very scenic with a lot of twists and turns. Every now and then we passed through a dense canopy that covered parts of the road. Bonus for pillion riders! Look up through the dense cover and you'll see light through the gaps! I find sheer joy and pleasure in such views because after having lived in cities I hardly get to see such a dense cover of trees. You can also smell the scent of eucalyptus trees along the way.
At Agonda Beach...
We reached Agonda after the sunset but still went to the beach and since it was dark we stayed at the shore. On this side of Goa, the network coverage is either poor or no coverage at all. If you are halting in any of the resorts then you can use their wifi. We stayed at the Orange Sky Agonda Beach Huts which I certainly do not recommend to my fellow travelers (poor service and poor everything!).
There wasn't anyways much to see or do post the sunset, so we freshened ourselves and went in search of a good restaurant. A few metres from our accommodation, we discovered the restaurant The White. It offers a sea view but then that is of no significance at night because it is too dark and you can maximum see the waves frothing at the shore. But hey, the breeze will sweep you off your feet and the gushing sound of the waves lashing the shore calms you down. It was a beautiful restaurant with a very good ambience. They had diverse food and cocktail options to choose from (the first cocktail from their list is really great! It had tabasco sauce. I forgot the name but it was the very first in their cocktail menu. A mix of sweet, sour and spicy! ).
We went back to the room and played a few indoor games and we chit chatted and called it a day pretty late! It was a perfect end to a perfect day. Until now, the only beauty and serenity that we could recollect was that of Old Goa, cliff views and drive through the highway not knowing what lay in front of us.
The next morning we woke up to play frisbee. I stepped out first to catch a quick view of the sea and scenery. Our accommodation was slightly away from the beach (not the typical beach view!) and hence I had to walk a few steps to see the sea. I instantly fell in love with what I saw. A view so blue and tranquil. The entire beach was situated between two cliffs. The sky looked as if it had just been painted with different gradients of blue. We went to the farthest end of the beach to play frisbee. Here, you will also find several rocks- big and small, that you can climb on to. The view from the rocks is as good as the view from the shore. When the idea of climbing the rocks was proposed, I was the first one to say no to it given my fear. But then courage is found in the most unlikely places and I mustered a bit of it. We climbed one rock at the time and as I kept hopping from one to another (with the help of my husband and his friends of course), I could sense my fear fading away. We finally sat on one rock, where the waves crashed high and we fully got drenched. I sometimes shivered more from fear than from the breeze and wetness. It took me a good amount of time to get comfortable on the rock and it slowly grew on me that after sometime I never wanted to get down. I eventually did and we went a little further into the sea and jumped with the waves.
We then headed to The White again for brunch. Now I would like to call this place the Santorini of Goa. Why you ask? The idyllic surroundings of the restaurant and the dash of blue from the sky resemble the white washed walls of houses and blue domes of the Oia village, Santorini. This place is too boho, too dreamy and too good to be true! After clicking a lot of pictures of the views, sea and us we headed to our next stop.
With a little more time in hand, you could also learn surfing at this beach. There are tutors who teach surfing and assist you when you venture into the sea. The surf boards can be rented. You could also take a ferry ride to view the dolphins.
Overall, it was such an amazing trip. If quiet places are more your jam, then you should visit Agonda! You sure will not be disappointed.
Planning a trip to Goa in the middle of a pandemic or otherwise? Please leave your doubts and questions. Will do my best to answer them 🙂
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