Tag: Tourism

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When to go and where to stay in Goa ?

This week, Angela asked the following question: When to go and where to stay in Goa?

When to go to Goa is a real tough choice. People I speak to have different opinions and each person seems to love Goa in a particular season. Basically, when to go to Goa can be divided into 3 different options:

1. Christmas / New Years in Goa: Christmas and New Years is the peak season for Goa. It is when EVERYONE and when I say everyone, I mean everyone, thinks of going to Goa. While most Europeans book their New Years holiday to Goa well in advance, most Indians do it at the last minute. On the negative side, Goa is terribly busy and expensive at this time of the year. But on the positive side, Goa is at its most happening during the New Year’s period. Visitors get to experience Goa in its best avataar with rocking beach parties, dances and live music everywhere. 

2. Goa Monsoon: The monsoon in Goa is not for everyone. Some people love Goa in the monsoon and some people absolutely hate it. And unlike in most other parts of India and of the world, the monsoon in Goa is quite unique. From mid June to the end of September, the rain lashes down on Goa with great fury. Especially in July and August, there seems to be no letdown from the rain as it pours and pours and pours (well, you get the message) the whole day and night. But if you dont mind getting a bit wet, then the monsoon in Goa is also the time when you get to see a different side of Goa – when most of the tourists are away, Goa sort of relaxes and lets its hair down. The scenery and the greenery are absolutely stunning at this time. Do it like the French, wear shorts, take heavy duty umbrellas and you will really learn to enjoy the Goan monsoon. 

3. Rest of the year: Apart from New Years and the Monsoon, Goa is pretty much the same the rest of the year. The prices are more reasonable, there are fewer tourists and getting around Goa is much easier. For those who have the time, I would suggest Jan – April or October – November as great pre-season times to visit Goa. 

As for where to stay in Goa, Goa has loads and loads of places to stay, depending on your budget and your interests. Most people head to North Goa to the Baga-Calangute strip. This is where all the “action” is and most people choose a medium budget hotel in this area. For those who find North Goa too expensive / crowded, they usually head to South Goa which is not yet as developed / popular as North Goa and hence is much cheaper and quieter. 

Many tourists however are looking to experiment and staying in offbeat areas such as Fontainhas, the Latin Quarter of Panjim. Here you find quaint old Portuguese houses, small bye lanes, a baker cycling by, dogs lying in the sun and cats licking themselves in the shade. Fontainhas is the other Goa, where those looking to learn more about Goan culture and history come to visit and stay. Many photographers (hobby and professional) fall in love with Fontainhas as there is so much old world history to capture in their lenses. Many tourists who stay in Fontainhas love to simply walk about for hours, soaking up the Latin atmosphere. Fontainhas is also home to my Mitaroy Heritage Homestay (www.mitaroygoahotel.com) – my mother’s ancestral heritage home that I converted into a Homestay. 

Adventure Tourism Goa, Goa Heritage

Adventure Tourism in Goa: Are you ready?

This blog post might not be for the faint of heart!
After relying successfully on promoting its beaches, Goa is now trying to expand its tourism portfolio to other kinds of tourism including heritage tourism and now adventure tourism. The Goa Tourism Department has now turned to adventure sports like hang-gliding, white water rafting and hot air ballooning to attract the more active minded tourists to Goa. 
“Adventure tourism is an emerging trend across the country. We are trying it to diversify our tourism portfolio,” says Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar. As Mr Parulekar rightly notes, adventure tourism is a huge emerging trend, not only in India but all across the world. While people today spend more and more time sitting at their desks in front of a computer or screen, they are looking to be a bit more active and adventurous when they are on holiday. “We are now considering other adventure sports as well, such as hot air ballooning and setting up a hang-glider base,” Parulekar said.

And for those who find hand gliding or wind surfing too strenuous, there is also a plan to combine adventure tourism and Heritage tourism by offering a ride in a hot air balloon that would provide a birds-eye view of the historic old Goa church complex (a UNESCO Heritage Zone) as well as Fontainhas, the Latin quarter of Panjim. 

So if you do find yourselves in a hot air balloon over my Mitaroy Heritage Homestay in Fontainhas, don’t forget to wave !

Goa Events

The Monsoon in Goa

 

There is something quite majestic about the monsoon in Goa as is batters down in fury on the dry earth.

Im sitting in my upstairs Suite at my Mitaroy Goa Hotel and as I type this, I can hear the rain thundering down on the tiled roof above me. Whenever I stay at my Mitaroy Goa Hotel in the monsoons, I make it a point to stay in the upstairs Suite so that I can hear the rain as it hits the tiles.

There is something in the Indian Monsoon that brings out the writer in one and the Monsoon in Goa has the same effect. Images of hot samosas (homemade by one of the ladies in Fontainhas) and adrak wali Masala chai automatically pop into my mind. It was 7th standard Hindi class, if I remember correctly, where we had this one story about a man who came back home after work and had the hot samosas and masala chai that his wife had prepared for him. And the image has stuck in my mind.

During the day, I love to sit on the my Suite balcony and watch the rain as it cascades incessantly from the rooftops. The coconut trees sway in the background, bowed down by the constant rain that falls on it. Sitting on my Suite balcony and watching the rain pour down, I am both enamoured and awed by the force and fury of the monsoon. I also watch as the small rivulets turn into gushing little streams and how the students from the nearby school walk in these streams on their way back home. Like the cliche, it seems to be the girls who carefully and daintily side step the streams while the boys make it a point to step right into the big puddles!

The advent of the Monsoon in Goa also signifies the end of the tourist season in Goa. On the beach mile in North Goa (read Baga, Calangute, Candolim etc), the shacks are securely shut and covered, to be opened after the monsoon has passed. Surprisingly, there are still tourists in Fontainhas and for some reason known to them alone, they all seem to be French. Although originally the Portuguese Quarter of Panjim, it is now French that can be heard in the streets as the French tourists walk around with their cameras and their umbrellas.

The Panjim riverfront is a popular Monsoon hangout for local and tourist couples alike as they hold hands and walk along the Mandovi river. Unmindful of the pouring rain, it seems that these couples only have eyes for each other.

Another popular Monsoon sightseeing spot is the Dona Paula jetty, a few kilometres drive from Panjim. If you climb to the top of the small outcrop, near the statue of Dona Paula and her lover, you can marvel at the force of the waves as they thrash and pound at the Dona Paula jetty, sending their spray  high into the air.

But the Monsoon is best enjoyed outside the city of Panjim. Driving through the verdant green fields and small villages outside Panjim it seems as if the whole of Goa has been washed clean by an unseen hand!

Mihir Nayak