Goa In Monsoons - September 2011 - Trip Report

Hi Ronak
Thanks for sharing such nice pictures of Goa. I have never been to Goa and planning to visit Goa with my family,purpose is to enjoy and take a lot of pictures with my D 90. I am very much confused between North Goa, South Goa, Anjuna, Calangute, Baga, Colva, Mojorim beaches, can not decide where to stay, I want to keep away from crowd, stay at moderately priced hotels and prefer to eat at Dhabas or simple neat and clean hotels, I am a budget traveller, so can not stay at costly resorts.

Please suggest me a nice beach, a guest house nearby, so that we can enjoy there.

Please also inform me about the best time to visit Goa, I do not drink, and not intersted in Night Parties.

Thanks
Alok

I have been at some places in South Goa and I really liked 'Palolem' and 'Patnem' beaches. I would love to stay there for longer some day. beaches were nice and clean. And area was lush green and not crowded at all. I'm leaving to Goa again on Monday. This time I will be staying for several months.

May-September is off-season for Goa though. Monsoon arrives in June and monsoon is very strong in Goa. I have observed that Goa is not much warm for us Indians, but it can be very humid.

Best time to be in Goa is October to March, as most of people advise.

(I will stay around Benaulim this time. I still don't know what would be condition of power supply in monsoon.)

@Alok, Good you liked my pictures. Your preferences are very much similar to that of mine. Even I don't drink & am not at all interested in night parties & prefer budget hotels to stay.

If you want to enjoy beach then winter months are the best for Goa. Otherwise Goa has become an all season destination. Every season has it's own charm. My personal favorite is Palolem beach & staying in one of the beach huts is the ultimate thing to do in Goa. Although it becomes crowded during season time but still you will find it more attractive as compared to Calangute & other North Goa beaches. If you want more seclusion then Agonda beach is a good option. Accommodation is not a problem at this beaches & it starts from Rs. 500 onwards. You can have your meals at one of the many shacks & they are not expensive. For activities you can go for dolphin watching ride, backwater ride for birdwatching or hire a kayak & venture in to the sea. Palolem beach is very safe for swimming as the depth is very less even if you venture deep in to the sea. You can also go to Fort Cabo De Rama by hiring a taxi. Hope this helps.

Ronak.

@ Ronak-- Thanks for your reply, I will try to stay at Palolem beach, do you have address and email id of some of the cheap and better guest houses there ? Please let me know.

@sais- as you are going to Goa for staying long, it is requested to send me address and e mail id of some of the cheap and best hotels/guest houses where you stay. Have a nice trip

Thanks
Alok

@Alok, many of the beach huts are listed on this website. You can go through the list & google for beach hut specific website.

Ronak.

Guest House on Calangute Beach

On my business trips I have stayed at different hotels & cities in Goa. Initially I used to stay in Tourist Hotel Panjim (Now known as Panjim Residency) but after some time the tariff became quite high for my liking so I shifted to other hotels in Panjim then I started staying in Mapusa (mainly Hotel Satya Heera) . I have also stayed at a guest house on very secluded Benaulim beach. Let me clarify that if on a leisure trip I will prefer beach huts at Palolem beach.

Off late I prefer staying at guest houses in Gauravaddo (also known as Holiday street) in Calangute. Hotel Goan Heritage is the famous neighbour of this guest houses. There are many reasons for my preference to this guest houses.
* First of all they are cheaper as compared to hotels & in off season you get very good bargain.
* Beach is just few meters away. The opening leads you to less frequented area of Calangute beach.
* It is closer to an industrial area which I frequently need to visit.
* Lots of Pure Veg. restaurants in this area.

This time I stayed at Dona Cristalina Guest House. I have stayed at this place 3 - 4 times on earlier occasions. The room I stayed was on the first floor with attached bath, cable T.V., hot running water (solar geyser) & had a small balcony. Since it was off season I got a good bargain. I did check out 2 - 3 other guest houses before zeroing on this one mainly because of the rate.

First Floor Room At Dona Cristalina Guest House


Washroom of First Floor Room At Dona Cristalina Guest House


Contact Details:-
Dona Cristalina Guest House
Gauravaddo, Calangute, Goa.
Tel: 0832 - 2279012
Mob: 09822686575 / 09822154561.

To be continued.....

Sand Mining

On the way from one customer to another I witnessed sand mining from a bridge on Mandovi river. I don't know if this is legal or not, but off late there have been lot of issues about sand mining in Goa. There are different opinions on sand mining in this tiny coastal state some in favour & some against. Will not get in to the details (since it is political issue) but you can check out Sand mining threatening three Goan rivers article for details.

Boats Used For Sand Mining



Sand Being Off-Loaded From Boats



Boat Carrying Sand Approaching The Shore For Offloading



Bridge On River Mandovi From Where I Clicked Sand Mining Pictures



To be continued......

Carambolim Lake

Carambolim Lake is a stone's throw away from Karmali railway station. The tracks are located near the edge of the lake & you get to see an eye pleasing view from the train window. It is a birding hot spot during winter months but when I visited during monsoon it was over flowing with water & not a single bird was in sight. Still the lake side was worth spending some quiet moments admiring beauty nature offers. As soon as the water level recedes the birds start coming here in huge numbers. A visit in the winter months to this lake is on my mind for birding.

Carambolim Lake Full Of Water



Carambolim Lake - Closer View



Lush Green Fields Near Carambolim Lake



Farmers Active On Their Fields Near Carambolim Lake


To be continued......

Monsoons are an amazing time to visit the West Coast. Great pictures! But you have to be there to smell the air and the earth during these months, and to feel the water.

Adiyogi

Thanks DaisyL & Naveena.

@Adiyogi, Thanks for liking my pictures. Monsoons & immediately after it is the best season to visit west coast & enjoy nature at it's best.

Ronak.

Temple at Savlem, Pilerne

While going to Calangute from Porvorim there is a beautiful temple named Shri Maharudra Amrekarnath Devasthan. I think the temple gets illuminated in the night, must be great to watch & photograph. May be during my next trip. While searching internet for more information on the temple I did not find any useful information on the temple but found an article The Savlem Pilerne Walk.

Landscape View Of The Temple



Close Up View Of The Temple Entrance



Ganeshji On Top Of The Temple Entrance


To be continued.....

Ronak, that temple looks so different - I mean the color combination for a temple! It's like one of the Murugan Temple in Neyveli (TN). Nice photographs.

Thanks Naveena. Yes the temple looked very different from other temples of Goa. I just took photos from outside & did not go inside. May be during my next trip will go inside.

Ronak.

Hey Ronak!
I really loved your pictures. It reminded me of my latest Goa trip. I lived in Siolim for ten months and got back to Sweden in april. I will go through my photos and post some soon. The sea is so powerful in the monsoon and I took quite a few pictures at Morjim beach. I will go back to Goa in october since I have some things I have to fix in Sweden first. Here is one picture that is really nice.
Bholenath

@Bholenath, Good you liked my pictures. Yes the sea is really rough during monsoons. Would love to see more of your Goa monsoon pictures. Even I will be heading to Goa (for work) probably end of June or start of July. Goa in monsoons trip report is still incomplete, which I am trying to finish.

Ronak.