Goa Travel Blog | Tourist Place In India

My Solo Trip To GOA 

Every trip have some expectations, some plans, some goals in mind. Some trips we go to see the places, some trips we go to feel the adventure, some trips we go to relax. But, this time it was really a very different and a great experience for me because this was my first Solo Trip and finally, I decided to travel india and visit popular destination in India. The planning of this trip happened in a very comic way. It was 1st October morning i woke up with a phone call, one of my friend called me and asked me to join him on a Goa Trip. I asked him when is the plan and he told, Friday this week, I immediately agreed and later evening he said that they are doing a prank with me. My mood was all setup for Goa and I don't want to ruin it at any cost. So, I decided to Travel Goa alone to feel the vibes of Solo Travelling. When there is no one known people around us, believe me friends I enjoyed a lot. It's also important for everyone to spend some time with yourself. It helps us release our stress. 

It was around 10 pm (same day of prank), I booked my flight of Goa for the next morning. Ticket price was around 4500 for one-side from Delhi to Goa but I booked round-trip ticket so I paid around Rs 9200.

You can also reach Goa from Delhi by train, it will take about 24 hours to reach there and it will cost around Rs 2200 for 3AC. I booked my hotel online and tariff is around 800 per night for AC room along with breakfast. The location of hotel is very perfect, it is nearby Tito's Lane and the pride of Goa the famous Baga Beach is only 1min walk from the hotel. I have added all the details regarding hotel booking at the end of this blog. I had packed my bag with all the important stuffs and went to sleep. I have also mentioned some important points at the end of this blog which you have to take care of before going to Goa.

               

Sunset at Baga Beach

Here Crazy Journey Starts....

Journey started from IGI Airport T3, I boarded the flight from Delhi at 10:40 am which was due at Goa around 1:00pm. But due to some technical issues, I finally landed at Goa around 1:20 pm. 

After a cancelled plan, i managed to reach goa alone!!! Finally! But then, which Indian has not faced any problem in their Goa plan?😜😜

I came outside the airport after collecting my luggage and took a bus for Calangute, bus fare is around Rs 150 and it is an AC bus. It take around 1:30 hour to reach calangute, One thing i would like to mention Bus is the cheapest way to reach North Goa from Airport. In case if you hire a taxi, it will charge you Rs 1200-1500. After reading the above line the first thing which comes in your mind, Is about ola and uber. But friends here the story starts, there is no ola and uber services in Goa. Nowadays, one cab service named Goa miles has started you can also check for that. But personally,  I will suggest you to take a bus if you are going to North Goa. First bus is at 8 am and last bus is at 6 pm, I have mentioned the bus timing at the end of this blog.

Day 1:

I check in my hotel by 4:00 pm and I relax for one hour After getting up, I went for a walk on the baga beach. Nothing can be more relaxing and refreshing than morning and evening beach walk. It just washes out all the negative things from the mind. This is the most divine feeling to be wherever I am in any of beach places. After walking for some time I take out my camera and capture the beautiful sight of sunset . 

After doing all these stuffs, I decided to eat some seafood. So I went to the hut like restaurant on the beach side and ordered some King Prawns with french fries and coke. Prawns are literally very tasty and well cooked I enjoyed the meal. Now it's around 9 pm and I am feeling sleepy so, I went to hotel to sleep.

   Prawns and Fries in dinner at baga beach

About Baga Beach

Baga Beach is the one of the most famous beach in North Goa and a very popular place which attracts tourism in india. This beach is named after the Baga Creek which is located at the end of the beach. Like Calangute beach, this place is also famous for different water sports, local stuff. This place also had a variety of restaurant serving awesome seafood. This beach was also very very crowded but either it was better than Calangute. Various water sports are going around like parasailing, jet skiing, banana ride, snorkelling, speed boating etc. Also there are lots of night club at baga beach named titto's and mambos. Baga beach is basically famous for it's night life.

Parasailing at baga beach

Day 2:

After getting up in the morning, I had my breakfast in my room and started for the sightseeing by 10 am by a scooty which I rented for Rs 350 for a day from my hotel. You can also go for bike like Royal enfield  (charge 600-700) and car like Thar and Jeepsy (charge 1200). You can also hire taxi, it will charge you around 1500-2000 for a day. 

The first Place I visited on the 2nd day is Fort Aguada and its lighthouse. This Portuguese fort which was constructed in 1612. This was the most prized and crucial fort for Portuguese. Built on the mouth of river Mandovi, it was strategically located and was the chief defense of Portuguese against the Dutch and Marathas. A freshwater spring within the fort provided water supply to the ships that used to stop by. This is how the fort got its name: Aguada, meaning Water. Later during the Salazar Administration, Fort Aguada was repurposed for use as a prison primarily. There is no entry fee at this fort, fort timing is 10 am to 5 pm. Also some Popular bollywood movies are shooted here:- Baaghi 2, Dil chahta hai etc. The view from the top of aguada fort is Incredible. It feels like you are seating in the lap of nature, there is water all around, the view of Arabian sea is really awesome from this location. 

   Lighthouse at Aguada Fort

After that I headed toward Calangute beach, it is the largest beach in North Goa and lots of tourist from different location travel india to visit this place. During the peak season, this beach gets really crowded. This beach offers different kind of water sports like parasailing, banana boat, water skiing and many more. Also, outside the beach, there are lots of stores for buying local Goa t-shirts, junk jewelry, and other stuff. You can also walk from calangute to baga beach both beach are connected with each other. This beach is same as Baga beach so, i spend a very little time here and move toward Anjuna Beach, Even I will recommend Baga over calangute.

                                                                                          

Rocky Anjuna Beach

Anjuna Beach is really awesome and very different from all these beaches, this beach is more rocky than sandy. Anjuna beach is also famous for its trance parties held during the peak tourist seasons mainly during new year, lots of people across the world travel india and visit goa during new year to enjoy these parties and sunburn festival. Every Wednesday the famous flea market is held in Anjuna where you can purchase products from all over India, as well as from foreigners, ranging from fruits to jewelry, clothes, hashish and electronic devices. I had my lunch at a small dhaba like restaurant here I ordered my all time favourite chicken kolhapuri with laccha paratha. After finishing my lunch i went back to hotel and went to sleep.

finally, I woke up around 8 pm and went outside the hotel to see the glamour of titto's lane. In many of these pubs, couple entry is free and just charged on what ever they drink/eat. And all ladies gets a free drinks till midnight 12, But Stags (With out Pair) have to pay an entry fee. So, I paid around Rs 1200

and entered the pub. After that I enjoyed snacks, drinks and danced for few hours. By 1 pm, I come out from the pub and went back to hotel and without changing my clothes quickly went to the deep sleep.

Day 3:

Umm, with so much fun packed days, I finally reached last day of my trip. Today I woke up early around 8 am and had my breakfast. I had packed my all the belongings and ready to checkout the hotel. I checkout the hotel and took a bus from calangute to panjim. It took around 1 hour to reach panjim,  After that I rent a scooty from Panjim bus stop and setup my google map destination to old goa church. old goa is a hub of ancient church, here I went to only one church named  

Basilica of Bom Jesus Church.

Basilica of Bom Jesus is the one of the famous church. It is located in Old Goa, the capital of Goa during Portuguese days. Construction of this basilica started during 1594 and the church was consecrated in May 1605. In current days this places is can be considered as one of one of the most famous churches in Goa or perhaps in India. One more interesting fact about this church is, the body of St. Francis Xavier is kept inside the basilica. After death, the body of Francis Xavier was first taken to Portuguese Malacca and two years later shipped back to Goa. It is said that the saint's body was as fresh as the day it was buried. Every ten years, the remains of the saint are kept for public viewing during his death anniversary and still attract a huge number of tourists to travel india from all over the world. The saint is said to have miraculous powers of healing and many believe that his nails grow till now. Apart from the exhibition days of saint’s body, it is kept in a silver casket on top of a mausoleum. Basilica closes at 6 pm. 

   Famous old goa church :- Basilica of Bom Jesus

There is one more church beside Basilica of Bom Jesus named The Sé Catedral de Santa Catarina but  I didn't visit that one because i have to cover some more important place in panjim and also I have limited time as my flight is on the same day.

After Visiting church, I directly headed toward Dona Paula, Dona Paula beach is situated at the Sangam of the Arabian Sea and Goan rivers Mandovi and Zuari. There are lots of local legends about the place Dona Paula beach. One of the most famous is, Dona was married to Paulo, a lowly fisherman. He ventured into deep seas for fishing and is said to have never returned. His dutiful wife Dona supposedly waited for him at the jetty, for so many years that she finally turned into stone, which is the famous statue we can see at the jetty. However, the truth is, Paula Amaral Antonio de Souto Maior. She was married to a Fidalgo from Spain, Dom Antonio Souto Maior. South Maiors was an extremely affluent family, and the entire property from the present day Cabo Raj Nivas all the way to Caranzalem belonged to the Souto Maior’s. Dona Paula was a woman of charity and is known to have helped the villagers and worked a lot for their betterment, so after her death, the villagers decided to rename the village as Dona Paula. Another famous local legend goes that Dona Paula is supposed to be seen emerging from the moonlit waves wearing only a pearl necklace. Several tourists, as well as locals guided by this myth, visit the beach for a glimpse of Dona Paula.

Dona Paula

While listening all the legends and stories about Dona Paula, I enjoyed the enriching sunset. Oh yes, how can I miss the Bollywood value of this place! This is the place where famous scenes of the movie Singham was shot. One can witness lots of nimbupani, tea stalls are named as Singham.

The next place was Miramar Beach. But I had had enough of my beach darshan and extremely tired and also I am running late. So, I decided to skip miramar beach  and I came back to panjim bus stop were I returned the scooty and take the bus for Dabolim airport, Goa. My flight is around 10 pm so before boarding the flight, I went to KFC for my dinner. After that I board my flight to delhi and reached around 1 pm.

And here end of my Solo Trip.

NOTE :- From my experience below are the few tips I want to share.

1. Always carry a suncream, if you are going to goa.

2. Take a pair of slippers or sandals for beach walk, Don't wear shoes on beach.

3. Shorts and T-shirts are perfect kind of dress for exploring Goa.

4. Beware of Pimps on beach side and titto's lane.

5. Don't drink and drive in Goa.

6. Don't visit in the month from June to August, due to monsoon water activities are closed.

7. You can do shopping in Goa, Dresses are available on cheap rate.

• Bus timings from Airport to Calangute:

             8 am, 1 pm, 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm, 5:30 pm, 6:00 pm

• Bus timings from Calangute to Airport:

           10:30 am, 11:00 am, 3:00 pm, 3:30 pm, 5:30 pm, 7:15 pm

• Hotel where I stay : Hotel Sai Residency

Thanks for Reading 💚💚....

Written By : Abhijeet Shrivastav