Lots of questions re holidaying in Goa

ferns002

Just back from 2 weeks in Candolim, used trip adviser a lot. Flew with First Choice, stayed at the Highlands Beach resort, took the uk pharmacy recommended malaria tablets, used my nationwide card for rupees (average 80+ to the pound) plenty of atms in resort. Used recommended restaurants and beach shacks from trip advisor/goaforums. Same with taxi drivers (Mr Sagar on side of cab). Cannot complain about a thing. Far exceeded our expectations.

cundall

been a number of times (14+) and i own a house in South Goa...

Take your nationwide card as you can always find an ATM as long as you ask the correct people. Monsoon will be coming at the end in mid Oct though each year it's getting longer and longer..... You will still get some rain...

Monsoon is great in Goa as everything is green and lush. I would take malaria tablets as its starting to become a malaria area (next door neighbor got malaria last year). I would avoid North Goa unless you want a Malaga version of Goa though still worth a trip every now and then....

http://www.theleela.com/hotel-goa.html - Not cheap, a bit remote though you can always get taxis...
Or
http://www.tajhotels.com/Leisure/Taj%20Exotica,GOA/default.htm - This is where the english cricket team stays in when they tour Goa.

Benaulim - is where i stay though no big hotels on the beach road.

Voyager2002

Saint_Chris wrote: »

Nowhere is safe in this world nowadays.

On the sky new yesterday morning they were reporting an incident about a young girl found dead on the beach. It also said that last year 40 British citizens died in Goa, with 4 more dying already in 2008 under strange circumstances

Do remember that Goa attracts a fair number of long-term drifters, many of whom are involved in drugs. Most of the unfortunate people mentioned above were probably in situations very different from those of a honeymooner or short-term tourist.

novelli

most hotels and beach shacks wont open until november.
not sure where u are intending to go for shacks to sleep in there, but dont think theres any in the calangute/baga/candolim areas, not to actually rent for sleeping in.

Navigatng Mumbai airport can be a nightmare, especially if you havent been somewhere like that before, so you are prob better going for the charter flights straight to goa. Also it usually works out much cheaper to book a package than just flights.

The lemon tree hotel in candolim is supposed to be ultra luxurious, not sure of the prices tho and as mentioned before the Taj.

If u do go to Goa be sure to look in at https://www.childrenwalkingtall.com
:beer:

BubbleFrogette

Hi there,

I have not been to Goa, but I have travelled in India and lived and worked in other poor parts of S.Asia so I hope I can offer some advice. Regarding Malaria tablets, yes you should take them. Better to be safe than sorry. You normally need to start them before you leave this country and continue for around 4 weeks when you return. I have taken Larium in the past with no probs (although it is known to cause strong side-effects) and also Doxycycline, which you may be able to get at normal prescription price as it's also an antibiotic (ask your GP about this). It's important to note that there are different types of Malaria parasite and some are more dangerous than others. Some are also resistant to anti-malarial drugs. Look here for more info http://www.malariahotspots.co.uk/

Regarding beach shacks, well, as I said I have not stayed in Goa but I have stayed in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam etc and I can say that the standard is usually quite low. More likely than not there will be cold showers (although it's not like the cold tap here of course!). This is not so much of a problem for me but what I can't stand are insects (and there are some huge ones in the tropics!). Beach huts normally do a poor job of keeping them out! If you are not accustomed to this kind of accommodation, especially in a developing country then I think it would maybe be safer to find a reasonable hotel or hostel (after all, you dont want to ruin your honeymoon!). As a previous poster said, look on the trip advisor website. Otherwise you could try hostelworld.com. I have used them to stay in hostels (in private ensuite rooms) all over Asia and some are as good as boutique hotels at the fraction of the cost. Be guided by the feedback of others and use the additional search options function to find something meeting your needs. Look here; http://www.hostelworld.com/countries/indiahostels.html

Hope it all helps - best of luck!

cundall

BubbleFrogette wrote: »

Hi there,

I have not been to Goa, but I have travelled in India and lived and worked in other poor parts of S.Asia so I hope I can offer some advice. Regarding Malaria tablets, yes you should take them. Better to be safe than sorry. You normally need to start them before you leave this country and continue for around 4 weeks when you return. I have taken Larium in the past with no probs (although it is known to cause strong side-effects) and also Doxycycline, which you may be able to get at normal prescription price as it's also an antibiotic (ask your GP about this). It's important to note that there are different types of Malaria parasite and some are more dangerous than others. Some are also resistant to anti-malarial drugs. Look here for more info http://www.malariahotspots.co.uk/

Regarding beach shacks, well, as I said I have not stayed in Goa but I have stayed in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam etc and I can say that the standard is usually quite low. More likely than not there will be cold showers (although it's not like the cold tap here of course!). This is not so much of a problem for me but what I can't stand are insects (and there are some huge ones in the tropics!). Beach huts normally do a poor job of keeping them out! If you are not accustomed to this kind of accommodation, especially in a developing country then I think it would maybe be safer to find a reasonable hotel or hostel (after all, you dont want to ruin your honeymoon!). As a previous poster said, look on the trip advisor website. Otherwise you could try hostelworld.com. I have used them to stay in hostels (in private ensuite rooms) all over Asia and some are as good as boutique hotels at the fraction of the cost. Be guided by the feedback of others and use the additional search options function to find something meeting your needs. Look here; http://www.hostelworld.com/countries/indiahostels.html

Hope it all helps - best of luck!

They are going away for their honeymoon so i think beach shacks will be out... when the other posted beach shack they were referring to bars... not hostels...

On a side note you said you have been to the Philippines, i stayed in a shanty town for a few days and i found it not bad at all... a bit of a shock but that was it... It was fun being the only white person that had been to the village... Shots of brandy and water with KTV O'what a night ... A bit stupid as i had more than a local's annual wage on me..

What did you think of PI as i fly on Sunday to PI for 2 weeks again.

BubbleFrogette

Philippines? Well to be honest I had a great time there, but I always felt a bit guilty at the back of my mind about how much I had in comparison to them. I lived there for 7 months in a town called Los Banos in Laguna province (I worked at the International rice research institute (IRRI). I had a cleaner for my house while I was there and I paid her 200 pesos a day (about 2 quid). Apparently this was a decent amount, but I couldn't believe it! Her small son had a heart problem and she asked me to give her the cash for the operation - which was nearly 10,000 US dollars. I told her I didn't have that kind of money but she didn't believe me. I think because I had a laptop, camera etc she thought I was super-rich. It still upsets me to think of that conversation.

Anyway, other than the poverty divide I think Phils is a place of amazing natural beauty. The beaches are pristine, fantastic diving, rainforests, volcanos etc. If you have time then some of the best places to go are; the banaue rice terraces, Taal volcano, bohol chocolate hills, boracay island and malapascua. Oh and I had tagalog language lessons while I was there - it's such a hard one to learn but I can offer you this to help you on your way;
'Salamat Po (pronounced sa-laaamat po) = thank-you. Goes a long way!

Have a fab holiday :beer:

albalad

I would recommend you take a package deal then just leave your hotel for the time you wish to spend in the shack , it works well for the convenience , transfers , first nights accomodation etc....... that's what we did a few years ago.
hired a moped from one of our waiters , then set off to explore ... spent the most relaxing /amazing three days in a very very basic beach shack , then headed north to an old portugese fort , which involved a couple of short ferry rides . But it was stunning , well worth the travel - there was a beach there , roughly 1-1.5 miles long and we were the only 2 people on it....sheer bliss

Would also recommend the Taj

we were booked to go on the backwater trip , but the 2 of us ended up seriously ill , after going too far off the beaten track and eating what we thought was chicken !

walks

:j
Hi
The best place to find out about goa is the holidaytruths .co.uk I am going to goa in two wks time, and i have found out from there Goa forum everything there is to know they are brill come and join us there is daily info on there.
hope this is of some help.


Pip

x:T

candygirl

I have been to Goa 7 times, and would highly recommend it, although admittedly it is a bit of a culture shock at first.For me the sun, sea, food, beaches and people are the reason I keep returning:D .
The hotels are usually quite basic, but clean.For more details about Goa in general, plus reviews on specific hotels go to www.holidaytruths.co.uk

ps we saw an English couple get married at a shack on the beach last year, and they had it all decked out with lovely drapes, tables etc.:Dhttp://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=60
specific goa forum on holiday truths