Где лучше остановиться на гоа: куда лучше ехать отдыхать, север или юг

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North or South Goa — where is it better?

Before going to Goa, everyone asks the question, «Where is better: North or South Goa?»

To help comes the Internet with a lot of information. So at one time we have made subjective conclusions:

North Goa — the local Indian flavor
South Goa — more expensive, but a relaxing resort with palm trees and monkeys
Every beach in Goa is different

It was decided to visit North Goa for a week, to explore the local culture and flavor that everyone is ranting about, and then on to South Goa.

All the beaches in North Goa are shown on the map below. We visited what is highlighted with a square. Not a single beach enthralled us, so then we decided to leave North Goa.

Are the roads in India bad? — With a fairly good quality roadway, it is very tiring to drive in the country.

There are no holes in the roads. Not to say the roads are too narrow, no. But the culture of driving and the constant honking, overtaking, driving into the wrong lane, stopping and turning without warning. .. At the crossroads, the first to get out or the one who honked the horn more is right! A cab ride is certainly more comfortable than a bus ride, but not 100%.

Our route was as follows. From the airport in Dabolim we went for an adventure to Anjuna (to be North Goa, but not too far to go). Then we moved to Arambol. From Arambol went to Colva and waited for the day of the train departure from Margao to Hampi. That is, we divided the route into roughly equal sections so that we wouldn’t get tired. The road in India is very exhausting. From Hampi we returned to Margao, from where we went to Palolem (South Goa). From Palolem we went back to the airport in Dabolim.

Карта пляжей Северного Гоа

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Anjuna Beach — the beach of junkies and partygoers

This beach was chosen as the most beautiful and popular in northern Goa. It so happened that when we arrived on the beach, we arrived in the evening when it got dark. Honestly — an inexpressible experience! From the bus stop the road to the beach goes through the night market. The market sells the usual things, like all over Goa. But all the sellers for some reason then offer to buy pot and cocaine! On the evening beach only «stoned» local and loud, very loud trance music. It so happened that even on the shore saw a dead sea snake, a huge size. As we learned later, it’s fishermen throw them out of the nets. But on other, more civilized beaches, it is cleared from the eyes of holidaymakers. On the beach at Anjuna, however, there was a truly local atmosphere. In the morning there was not even a desire to return to this beach. It was decided to visit the neighboring beaches of Vagator and Chapora. We took a bus to Vagator beach from the stop in Anjuna.

Vagator beach — the beach of cows and locals

By nature, the beach can be called beautiful. It is rounded like a bay, with a semblance of a mountain on the side — a hill on which the fort of Chapora is located. The beach of Chapora is located on the opposite side of the hill. But… There are only locals and cows on the beach. There are no visitors. The locals «hang out» here. The first line of housing on the beach no, or rather it is somewhere far away. In general, suitable only for a walk and as an addition to the local attraction — Chapora Fort. Attractive in India — that’s a big word! Chapora Fort is an almost completely destroyed structure. Suitable only as a place to enjoy the local sunsets, which the locals successfully do. After visiting the above places, again turned to the internet, which ranted: Aramabol cool beach, Morjim beach of the Russians, etc. So the next day we went to the extreme beach of North Goa — Arambol.

North Goa Beach Package #1: Anjuna, Vagator, Chapora — can be reached by bus Mapusa — Vagator

Северный Гоа: Анджуна — Вагатор — Чапора — 1-2 дня на изучение

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Вагатор пляж (Северный Гоа)

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North Goa beach package #2: Arambol, Mandrem, Ashwem, Morjim — can be reached by bus Mapusa — Arambol

Северный Гоа: Арамболь, Мандрем, Ашвем, Морджим — 2-3 дня на изучение

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Arambol beach is a beach of peaceful hippies, suitable for commuters

Arambol is one of the few beaches in North Goa that is suitable for commuters, thanks to:

The tranquil atmosphere of the beach
The beauty of the beach
Wide choice of accommodations that can be found in the street parallel to the beach.
Quite a number of beachside cafes that equip the beach with sun loungers and umbrellas
Big choice of ripe and cheap fruit
The presence of the «minimum attractions.

Yoga in Arambola — the lure for the visiting «yogis.

The main contingent is the «creative hippies» and «yogis. Which are the very white-skinned visitors themselves. Arambol is considered a gathering place for meditation centers and yoga. But for some reason it’s only for outsiders, and the classes are taught by white masters. After a month in India, we didn’t see a single local yogi! And the visitors all try to sit in a lotus pose in the middle of the beach and «meditate» on the sunset.

Arambol — Mandrem — Ashwem — Morjim are successive beaches (pointed in the direction of Panaji). In other words, it is a continuous coastline, from Arambol hill to the bay behind Morjim, before Vagator beach. We walked the whole coastline, got on the road at Morjim beach and took a bus from Mapusa to Arambol. The walking route came out to about 15 km, which took about 5 hours. In February, the sun is not aggressive at all. Closed clothes, a bit of sunscreen and the walk was excellent. On the way we periodically took a bottle of water in shakes and rested a couple of minutes on a chaise lounge. Throughout Goa, it is customary, if you buy something in a cafe, you take a deck chair for free.

Arambol attractions are harmless tourist bait

«Sweet Lake» — beautiful, but no more
Baba and Banyan — marketing and business «pure water»

What I particularly liked about Arambol was the street parallel to the beach. It is lined with market stalls. It’s very entertaining to take an evening stroll down it. There are a lot of «questionable quality» clothes, great ripe and not expensive fruits, a lot of souvenirs and incense.

Арамболь пляж (Северный Гоа)

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Is Mandrem a beach?

Mandrem is a short beach, with a wide shoreline. It looks very uncomfortable. There is a river flowing next to it. According to pictures from the Internet very much falls into the category of «expectation — reality. Lodging is somewhere out there in the distance… There are no shakes on the beach.

Мандрем пляж (Северный Гоа)

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Ashwem beach is considered to be the most expensive beach in North Goa.

The information on prices is from the Internet, we have not checked it ourselves. But there is a logical explanation. On the majority of beaches in Goa in general the accommodation is either somewhere over the road or on the beach, but the «palm trees», without any conveniences. From here, the formation of prices and all the myths about cheap housing in India. On the beach Ashwem is quite decent accommodation, in appearance so sure. The beach is not exactly cozy, as again the same wide strip of hard sand. But the cabins on the beach are pretty nice and look cozy. Also lots of sun loungers and umbrellas, relative to other beaches.

Ашвем пляж (Северный Гоа)

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Morjim beach — the beach of «Russians

Beach from the category of «find 10 differences» from the other beaches of North Goa. All the same wide strip of hard sand. There is no dwelling on the shore. According to information from the Internet, the beach Morjim a lot of «white» owners of hostels. Therefore, the Slavs choose this beach, that they will be native speech and food. This beach is also called the turtle beach. But there are no turtles here.

Морджим пляж (Северный Гоа)

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On the Internet there is no unequivocal opinion as to whether North or South Goa is better. In fact, it turned out the following.
Kansolim, Colva, Benalim, Kavelossim beaches — South Goa, no different from North Goa

The only thing to note is that there are no stoners (like in Anjuna), hippies (Arambol), loud music (Anjuna), etc. Cows, dogs and crows are everywhere without exception.

Карта пляжей Южного Гоа (Кансолим, Колва, Беналим, Кавелоссим)

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Kansolim beach is the beach of light-skinned «package tourists».

This is due to the fact that the «hotels» with package tours are concentrated in that area.

Kansolim and Benalim are less lively beaches. The accommodation is somewhere over the road. The beaches are a wide strip of hard sand. When it’s windy on a day, the beach becomes very uncomfortable.

Colva beach is the central beach for locals.

The most interesting thing is that most of the people on Colva Beach are locals! The bus from Margao comes to Colva under the beach. So by evening, all the locals flock to relax. And at the weekend, the beach turns into a cluster of locals. They mostly stand or jump in the water, fully clothed at that. And of course, they are incessantly photographed and try to take pictures with the rare guests of this beach — whites.

Benalim beach is a copy of Colva beach.

Only with fewer people and less developed infrastructure.

Kavelossim beach — it’s hard to call it a beach.

May be it will appear there one day, now it’s the same strip of hard sand, without cafes and accommodation is not visible at all.

Колва пляж (Южный гоа)

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Беналим пляж (Южный Гоа)

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Кавелоссим пляж (Южный Гоа)

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Palolem Beach (South Goa) — the pearl of Goa

However, even here people’s opinions are divided. Someone writes that the beach is overcrowded and there is no place to «drop an apple». But still the majority, like us, find this beach the best in all of Goa. You can get to the beach from Margao. It takes 40 minutes by cab. The price of a cab is 1100 rupees, but can be arranged for 900 rupees.

The beach is rounded. Still the same hard sand. But the beach is like a cove and immediately forms a sense of coziness. Walking along the beach and meeting the sunset is an everyday activity you look forward to all day!

There is no preponderance of locals or any others. What caught my eye was the number of Yakuts. Palolem is their favorite place to winter. There are representatives of many nationalities here. There is a quiet peaceful atmosphere. In the evening, the music plays softly in the shacks, people sit at tables and enjoy their leisure.

To tell the truth, Palolem is not so beautiful, but after all the other beaches, it seems delightful.

Putnam beach (South Goa) is a pale copy of Palolem beach

You can walk along the shore to Putnam Beach. There is a trail on the maps. But there is not much to see there. The accommodation there is quite miserable.

Палолем пляж (Южный Гоа)

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Карта пляжей Палолем и Патнем

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Патнем пляж (Южный Гоа)

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We can say unambiguously — you should not go to India as a package tour, India must be explored. So go on your own and make your own conclusions! To summarize the above, our opinion is as follows:

Most beaches in Goa are similar to each other.
If you do choose where to stay, you can choose North Goa — Arambol beach, South Goa — Palolem beach.
There are no special attractions in Goa. They should look for them in other states of India, such as Hampi (Karnataka state).
You have to try hard to find monkeys in Goa. There are none on the waterfront in the North or South. Monkeys can be found in the interior of the state, among the places where the locals live. But cows, dogs, and crows are everywhere.