white negro resort anjuna - Goa

soma1972

Has anyone stayed at this resort in Goa and if so can you recommend it for two india first timers, I've tried to contact them by e-mail since 20 oct as i'm wanting to book accomodation in anjuna from 19 dec to 27 dec but have had no reply.

Can anone recommend other places in goa that can be reached by e-mail for under £10 per double room.

The dates are flexible as our other plans have not been finalised yet.

kenny

-m2-

Kenny

I haven't stayed there and am not really familiar with it but I will make a comment or two for what its worth.

1. Most of the smaller guest-houses in Goa don't like making advance reservations, particularly during the high-high season -- for one thing, they really don't know if they will have space as they are loath to boot out someone who has been there for a while and would like to continue through the holidays. Doesn't surprise me that your e-mail has gone unanswered.

2. Anjuna is 'party central' over the holidays -- is this really what you are looking for?

3. In most of the Goan coastal villages there will be space of some kind for you even arriving shortly before Christmas. Renting spare rooms, and even purpose-built rooms to tourists during the busy season is a long tradition in Goa and you only have to arrive in a suitable village with a pack on your back and people will pop up offering 'rooms'. While in many cases, probably not quite what you're looking for, but if you can find a place to safely dump your pack, you can wander around and find the best situation available -- you can always move if you find something better.

4. I'm most familiar with the Arambol area, (north of Anjuna and across the Chapora River) where you can find a variety of accommodations either in and around Arambol itself (from the cliff-side rooms north of town which are very nicely situated, some guest-houses in the village, and many of the 'rooms' previously mentioned. Further south along the beautiful stretch of beach to the river some 10-12 km away, you have smaller villages like Mandrem and Morjim with both regular rooms available and a couple of 'seasonal' resorts with bamboo huts facing the beach. (Note: a couple of these, while within your budget, are a bit overpriced for longer term travellers and would possibly have room available even in your time frame -- they look quite nice, are in a pretty nice location just a couple of clicks south of Arambol and visible from the road (one is named the Dunes, not sure of the other). renting a scooter or bike for sight-seeing and getting around is no problem -- many locals rent their bikes out for extra money and either your landlord can arrange or no doubt you will be approached regularly and asked if you want a bike.

If you will be coming up from the south by train and wish to check out the northern beach towns, get off at Thivim (which is near Mapusa) and take a taxi. The ride from the Chapora river on to Arambol is very scenic and you can see the magnificent palm-lined beach for much of the way.

Hope this helps

mike

soma1972

Cheers mike for your extensive reply,

Everytime i plan some sort of itinary for our trip, it seems a few days later i change it all again...so i guess the new plan is not to make any plans at all and just take it as it comes - probably the sensible and more chilled option.

kenny

-m2-

heh -- yr right, planning a first trip to India is a bit of a challenge as the 'reality' of what you may find might not jibe with expectations from reading guide books, articles, and listening to travellers' tales. Some research and a general outline probably the best, and then just take things as they come.

Further on Goa accommodations, I didn't mean to sound discouraging -- your budget is certainly adequate and finding something suitable on arrival should pose no problem, even if there is a bit of 'gouging' over the holidays. There is always some turn-over and rooms unexpectedly opening up -- reservations are a different matter as they complicates matters so much for the management when they know every room will be rented out anyway. There is another reason for keeping flexibility in that you really should check out a place in person to check out the ambience and situation. A lot people come to Goa in the holidays specifically to party -- this can mean a lot of noise from near-by restaurants, bars, or rude neighbors. Also, there are beaches, and there are beaches....

Anyway kenny, glad to hear you've given up on the rail marathon idea and I'm sure things will work out fine.

cheers,

mike