Goa is one of the most popular and sought after tourist places in India. Apart from the beautiful beaches, sea, sand and surf, Goa is famous for it’s exquisite Colonial architecture and heritage. Whether you are an adventure junkie, a honeymoon couple, group of friends and family, a photographer, or simply a traveler, Goa is the place to be. No matter how many times you been to Goa, you just cannot get bored of it. My husband and I went to Goa in August. Oh, let me confess that I have always been under this impression that Goa shuts down during monsoon season. Oh how wrong I was. Ok, true but only to some extent.Wink Wink. So, do you want to know what it’s like going to Goa during monsoon, then read Trip to Goa in Monsoon.
Calangute Beach
The first place we explored in Goa was Calangute. Calangute is a town in North Goa. It has all basic facilities like hotels, resorts, eateries, ATM’s, internet cafes, post office, banks and foreign exchange offices. Calangute is at a distance of 42 Kms from Dabolim Airport. It will take you around one hour to reach there. From Thivim railway station, Calangute is 19.4 kms away and it will take you half an hour to reach there.
After our lunch, we went to Calangute beach around 2 pm and stayed there till midnight. See, you can now imagine how much I like beaches. One thing which took me by surprise was that even in off-season, Calangute beach was very crowded. We rented a sun lounger and relaxed. We also took photos, and enjoyed a lot. The whole aura was a laidback one. While young people were swimming and playing in water, kids were busy making sand castles, and others were simply lazying around.
Food in Goa
There are numerous small and cute shacks in Calangute Beach which serves sumptuous sea food, alcohol and other cocktails. We tried lip smacking snacks like Stuffed Masala crab, Goan fried kingfish, Crab Xacuti, mix seafood platter and drinks at Souza Lobo restaurant on the Calangute beach. This restaurant is a beach facing restaurant. It looks simple and has both indoor and outdoor seating arrangements and serves Indian,Goan seafood,European and Chinese food. Since we liked the food, so I would definitely recommend you to try this one.
Since it was monsoon season, so the sea was rough and people were not allowed to swim. But we noticed that there were still so many people who despite the announcements by the life guards were getting deep into water.
It was off season, so there was nothing much to do. But during peak seasons, you can enjoy water sports activities like parasailing, wind surfing, water skiing, snorkeling. water scooter, jet skiing, banana ride, speed boat ride, dolphin and crocodile spotting trips on Calangute beach.
I must say evening time at Calangute beach is perfect for glimpse of the sunset and clicking amazing photos.
We then checked out the flea market near the beach area. The main road from the town towards the beach has numerous shops lined up. These shops sell exquisite handicrafts from Kashmir, Tibet, and Rajasthan. You can also find vibrant clothes, scarfs, hats, beach clothing, jewelry, handbags, trinkets, accessories like sunglasses, belts, key chains, articrafts from there. Calangute has a lively market to shop around.
In case, if you are confused about where to stay in Calangute, then let me tell you that there are plethora of accommodations available in this area ranging from budget hotels to 5 star hotels like Hard Rock Hotel, Casa De Goa, Citrus Goa, The Park, Estrela Do Mar Beach Resort, Fahrenheit Hotels and Resorts,Casa Severina, Azzure by Spree Hotels as well as beach huts.
Ok, let me tell you where we stayed in Goa. We spent 7 days in Goa and chose to stay at two different resorts. First three days, we stayed at Resort Rio. In case you missed that post, you can read it here – Our Stay at Resort Rio in Goa. And next four days, we stayed at North 16 which is now re branded as Hard Rock Hotel. In case, you want to know about my experience of staying at North 16 then read it here- Our Stay at North 16 | Hard Rock Hotel.
One thing I noticed that there is a hotel right in front of the beach named as Hotel Calangute Residency of Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC). This hotel is really at a prime location on the beach. I can’t comment on the rooms and the facilities inside the hotel. But one thing is for sure that you can sit in the balcony and enjoy beautiful sunset in the Arabian Sea from there.
Most of the time we took a stroll on the beach because I love walking barefoot on sand and the sound of waves.
After some shopping, around 9’o clock, we decided to have our dinner. We dined at a good shack on the beach.
Now you know why Calangute beach is so famous. Calangute Beach boasts of some very good shacks on the beach like Chelsea Beach Shack which is at the Southern end of the beach, Aggie’s Shack, Dommat Beach Shack.We ordered lots of sea food, fried prawns and fish and yes my favorite chicken biryani. Remember, I told you before that I’m obsessed with Chicken Biryani.
After having our dinner and spending some awesome time on the beach we left for our hotel since it was already quite late and there was so much to explore in Goa the next day.
Much Love, Neha
* Post is written by me and all the photos belong to me, kindly don’t reproduce without explicit written permission from me
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