Goa is made up of two very different areas: the North and the South. You could almost compare the difference to somewhere like Benidorm and the Maldives.
South Goa is much calmer and quieter. It’s known for its serene beaches, Portuguese heritage and lush greenery. It is also more upmarket, with luxury resorts scattered along the coastline.
North Goa, however, is the complete opposite. It is livelier and more popular for nightlife, parties and budget travel. Hotels tend to be smaller and more cost-effective, making it a favourite for tourists looking for a vibrant atmosphere.
You can easily visit both areas, although people staying in the south rarely travel north for more than a day. I personally found places such as Baga and Calangute a little more “hard-core” than other parts of India, although they do have their own appeal.
I stayed in North Goa, so most of my experience is based there.
Baga and Calangute
Baga is very much a tourist resort, while nearby Calangute feels more like a local town, although it still caters heavily to visitors.
The town has many small local shops selling everything from chickens and haberdashery to ironmongery, cakes and clothes. There are also countless cafés and restaurants offering anything from KFC to traditional Indian street food.
The town itself can be quite dirty, with rubbish scattered around. Local ladies sweep the roadsides, although it sometimes seems to create more dust than it removes. Traffic is busy, with buses, cars, lorries and scooters weaving along the narrow roads.
Cows wander freely and are definitely the bosses of the place. A Hindu temple stands proudly in the centre of town, so the cows are protected for religious reasons. Locals feed them, often placing food on pieces of newspaper before putting it down, which unfortunately adds to the litter. The cows also leave their mark everywhere, so you do have to watch where you step.
They are fascinating to watch though. One even joined me at a café while I was having a coffee, casually standing beside the tables as if it were perfectly normal. On another occasion, three cows tried to wander into a hotel lobby while staff attempted to gently guide them back outside.
They also seem particularly fond of sitting in the middle of the road, especially on roundabouts, which only adds to the chaos.
The Beaches
The beaches of Baga and Calangute are wide and lined with rows of beach shacks selling drinks, food and sunbeds. Most of them offer similar menus, so choosing one often comes down to picking your favourite spot.
They do have toilets, although they are not for the faint-hearted.
As the sun sets, the beach shacks come alive with bright lights and music.
The sea can be quite dangerous, with lifeguards monitoring swimmers because the currents are strong and the waves powerful.
Calangute also has a working fishing village. I watched as a boat went out about 400 metres from the beach and dropped nets into the water. Men at either end then manually hauled the nets back to shore. A variety of fish were caught and later sold to local restaurants or the fish market.
Shopping and Bargaining
The tourist gift shops sell the usual things — fake clothing brands, handbags, jewellery and shoes.
Bargaining is expected, and it is best to start at around half the price the seller suggests.
One thing about Goa is that it is very cheap. I stayed for ten nights and managed to spend around £200, which covered all my food and drinks, six necklaces and bracelets, three bags, flip-flops, a sports cap and numerous snacks and ice creams.
I also bought a 750ml bottle of port wine for 80p and Old Monk rum for about £3.
Experiencing Holi
With Goa being predominantly Hindu, the region has some amazing festivals, and this was one of the reasons I chose to visit at that time.
Holi, the famous Festival of Colour, took place while I was staying there. On the day before the main celebrations I went to the temple and watched people praying before parading through the streets. They were happy for me to be part of the celebration and applied orange and pink powder to my head.
The following day was the main festival. As I walked along the beach, local people applied coloured powders to me and wished me “Happy Holi”.
It was a wonderful atmosphere with everyone enjoying themselves and no trouble at all. Small cafés had music playing and people were partying until the early hours of the morning.
A week later I still had pink hair and a pink forehead, although it was slowly fading.
The Shigmo Festival
During the Holi period Goa also celebrates a vibrant festival called Shigmo, which marks the end of winter.
It includes traditional folk dances, music and colourful large floats depicting scenes from Hindu mythology. It is extremely noisy and lively, but definitely worth experiencing.
It happened to take place on my last night in Goa, and ending the evening wearing an orange turban while walking with the “Lions” organisers felt like a fitting end to my Holi experience.
A Final Thought
A guest at the hotel pool told me she came to India every year. What she really meant was that she came to Goa every year — the same hotel, the same bars, the same restaurants and the same shops.
If you come to Goa, enjoy it. But India is a huge country with incredibly diverse cultures, and there is so much more to see beyond Goa.
