Hailing from God’s own country - Kerala, beaches have never fascinated me like my fellow beings. However, when we were planning for a vacation in 2022, especially for the last few days of the year. Goa came as a choice coz, we as a family wanted to spend some quality time together without much travel. So, it was basically a tossup b/w beach and a hill station. Finally, our preference came to Goa considering the cold weather in hill stations can be a problem for kids. Being a teetotaler all along, this was my first trip to Goa as i had a feeling that Goa is not meant for people like me :).
Travel to Goa
we travelled in a Toyota Etios as a family to Goa, started at 11 pm from Bangalore, reached North Goa at 11 am in the morning the very next day. The drive until Hubli was awesome, from there to Goa was a bit of a drag but let me assure you it is not that bad.
Stay
Alcove Resorts was our destination, this was chosen primarily due to 2 factors, one is economics and the second one is beach access from the property. Let me tell you it was an awesome experience for my family here. Though it’s not out of the world, the management tried to accommodate all our requests without much hesitation. We stayed there for 7 nights and 8 days and let me tell you my kids enjoyed this place especially the restaurant was top notch.
Beaches
we explored 9 beaches on this stay namely Palolem Beach , Butterfly Beach , Honeymoon Beach , Arrossim Beach Majorda Beach ,Baga Beach ,Candolim Beach ,Calangute Beach Vagator Beach out of which the first 5 beaches are in South and the subsequent are in North goa. Just to sum it up i would say go to South goa as a family and go to North goa as a bachelor. If you are going for a leisurely time South Goa is the place, if you are there to party North Goa is the place which gives you the oomph.
Forts
Additionally, we explored 2 forts namely Aguada Fort and Chapora Fort in our trip, Agauda is my favorite as it doesn’t need much of a climb but you need to pay. Chapora was a dampener as you need to climb a lot of steps and from the top you can see the sea. I would suggest visiting Chapora in the evening as it can be quiet hot in the afternoon. If you are with family, please be careful with Aguada fort as there are so many open spaces .
Food
Me being a foodie explored the Goan seafood cuisine in length and breadth and i really loved it . Having Crab cooked in various fashion (butter garlic and Tandoor) was really worth the try. Would like to call out Alcove Resorts - Google Maps, Copperleaf Porvorim - Google MapsAdlem Goi - Google Maps as the clear standouts in my opinion. Copperleaf being the best out of this. The Fisherman’s Wharf Panjim - Google Maps was a big letdown to say the least.
Snacks
if you are exploring some snacks and bakery items, i would like to suggest Joseph Bakery - Google Maps
as the best bakery to explore in Goa. The kind of snacks we get there is unparalleled. Mr Baker 1922 - Google Maps and Nadia Bakers And Confectioners - Google Maps also gives you a good choice of Goan delicacies.
To sum it up i really enjoyed the 8 days in Goa and what i really liked is the hospitality and guest first attitude shown by the various restaurents and shops in goa. This was a real standout. Please follow me @bonnythomas and you can read about my experiences at the various outlets.