There’s always a desire of every millennial in our country to visit Goa, but what usually happens is 'Abba nahi maanege!’ and alas! the plan drops even before the execution. Fortunately, me and my three friends from college somehow managed to convince our families and save enough money to have that one hell of a college trip to Goa. We were lucky enough to visit there during early March this year before the onset of Covid-19. The excitement was real and our luggage to our playlist, everything was ready before a day or two along with a pre-planned itinerary. If you’re a big group travelling there, Airbnb is the best option to go and we opted for the same in Arpora, Goa by the name 'Dom Carlos Resort'. But, if you’re a solo traveler, there are many hostels available throughout the year on the go. An overnight bus journey from Chandigarh to Delhi and then a flight to Goa, we were exhausted from all the long travel. As we were staying in North Goa, we decided to explore 'Baga Beach' by the night and happened to visit the famous 'Tito's Club'.
We had our dream itinerary in place but as you know, things usually don't work out as planned. We had decided to visit Dudhsagar falls but all the tiredness from the travel previous day made us get up late so the plan had to be dropped. We had heard tales of the South ever since and there was some driving force calling us south. We asked the local manager from our Airbnb for guidance and got the awesome advice to visit one of the hidden gems of Goa. ‘The Butterfly Beach’ in South Goa is nothing less than a hidden paradise. It surely requires some research from your end to reach. It has a mile long trek before you set your feet on this jaw dropping paradise. The visitors are usually foreigners and the beach is still in its pristine form. The adjoining hilltop blossoms during the season and you can do all kinds of cliff jumping here. After spending our entire afternoon swimming in the beautiful waters, we headed to our next destination. 'Agonda Beach’ definitely offers the best sunset in entire Goa with chill music tripping in your ears, the sea washing by the shore and lovely aura of the shacks. A walk by the beach feels heavenly as the sky changes color from blue to orange to a hundred shades of pink. It seems as if God himself is trying to paint you. A beautiful drive by the night brought us back to North Goa. There are all kinds of party places open throughout the night but if you plan on partying by yourself, remember to get your booze before 10 because that’s when the shops close.
Our plan for the following day was to explore North Goa beaches. So, we started by the beautiful stretch of 'Morjim Beach', clicking pictures, diving in the sea and then drinking the cocunut water. There after we started with short drive by the sea to reach 'Arambol Beach'. Now, Arambol beach is famous for its fun activities like parasailing, paragliding but what most people miss out on is the hidden ‘Sweet Water Lake’. It isn’t that crowded and offers a beautiful swim which is rare to find in Goa, as you end up sipping some saline water when bathing in the sea. We spent the evening in the must-visit ‘Thalassa Greek Tavern’ followed by our dinner. This deck by the sea offers amazing views during night, setting up a mellow party mood the continues till late in the night.
The plan for the next day was to explore something other than the mainstream places, so we ended up visiting Old Goa. 'Chorao Islands' are diver's heaven and offer a beautiful ride along a bird sanctuary. You can reach there through a ferry that starts from Old Goa. Spending a good couple of hours there, we then headed to the famous forts of Goa. Starting with the 'Aguada Fort', it remains mostly crowded and offers a 360 view of the nearby area. The fort preserves some iconic pieces from history. It was almost sunset time by then so we headed to the iconic Dil Chahta Hai - 'Chapora Fort'. Watching the sunset with my friends and listening the to the songs from the movie itself was a feeling that's hard for me to describe. The view was out of this world which we all will remember forever. Aura of positivity and happy thoughts surrounded us as we waved the sun a goodbye. The night was young as we had to experience the mainstream party culture of Goa. We headed for the 'Curlies Lodge' which is recommended by everyone to visit at least once. The 'Shiva Valley Cafe' lies next to Curlies and you can listen to some great trance/ trap music there. The ambiance is really nice and it’s a fun place to be at by the night.
We bought a package for fun activities including parasailing, scuba diving and all but it turned out to be a huge disappointment. Trust me, Goa is not the place to do this as places like Andaman offer a better experience. It’s not as much fun as it sounds. The activities are far off and consume your entire day. It’s all about taking a chance if you like but in my opinion, it’s not worth it. A tiring day ended with a house party at our resort. Arpora has some amazing places to grab food, watch live football and drink your favorite beer. We called it a night as we had our return flight the next day.
That was a wrap for our Goa trip. In my opinion, Goa has two different sides to it. The North one being the party hub with music blasting all night and people high on energy. On the other hand, the South one is pretty laid back, chill experience with spiritual touch for travelers like me. Try visiting both sides of Goa and decide for yourself which one do you like better. I hope my itinerary helps you out and here are some points to remember: The average round trip cost via air is round 9k, you can rent a four wheeler/ two wheeler for your entire duration of trip for about 600-1200 rs per day, there are many stay options available throughout the year and the months from December to March is the best time to visit Goa. Make sure to check out my Instagram handle @travelwithshivam.
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