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Beaches of Goa Travel Guide

Travel to Beaches of Goa - Relax on Goa's Golden Sands

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105 kms of Goan coast stretch along the Konkan coast with beaches aplenty lining the whole lench of this beautiful region. There are beaches for all kinds of people, from those that seek peace and solitude to the ose looking to party.

The northern beaches begins at the headland of Fort Aguada just outside Panaji and moves towards the border with Maharashtra. Calangute, Baga, Anjuna, Vagator, Morjim and Arambol are the beaches that lie in this direction.

From Margao, south of Panaji lies Colva, Benaulim, Varca and in the far south Palolem.

Calangute was once a peaceful fishing village, then metamorphisised into a haven for hedonistic hippies, today it is now Goa's busiest and best-known beach. Run the gauntlet of Kashmiri salesmen on the road to the beach, which in itself is not Goa's best. There are plenty of hawkers - avoid them by walking 15 minutes or so south of the main beach area towards the rows of old fishing boats that sit below the dunes. Calangute's many bars and restaurants are by enlarge grouped around the entrance to the beach and along Baga road. Recent police raids mean Calangute's nightlife is now surprisingly tame with most bars closing by 10pm.

Baga lies a few miles north of Calangute and is almost connected to it. It sits below a rocky, wooded promontory. It has a great range of restaurants and some of the liveliest nightlife in Goa.

Anjuna is notoriously famed as a hippy hangout, but has a great beach of lovely white sand. The south end of the beach is quieter and is protected by rocks, while head north and the beach widens heading almost 2 km past bars, cafes and shops. It has a vibrant club scene and beach parties are popular. Anjuna's name is most synonymous today because of its famous Anjuna flea market, a weekly event each Wednesday.

South of Panaji and you come to Margao and, closeby, the first of the main southern beaches, Colva. This is the oldest and consequently most-developed of Goa's southern beaches. Colva itself has a few Portuguese-influenced villas but down by the beach the concrete hotel rules. Don't be afraid to head away from the central beach area and you'll soon escape the crowds.

Benaulim is just 30-minutes walk to the south of Colva and has a reputation for a 'better class' of tourist. There are several upmarket resorts along this stretch of beach and hawkers are ever present, but easily dissuaded from hassling you. Hiring a bike is popular at Colva and Benaulim and allows you to discover quieter spots easily.

Right down in the far south Palolem was always quiet and remote and its crescent-shaped bay has a beautiful white-sand beach, backed with plantations of groves of coconut trees. Either side of the bay is a rocky headland covered in forest, while offshore is a tiny island . This is a peaceful spot at most times, except of course Christmas and New Year.