Monday 4 April 2016

A visit to North Goa- Day 1

Kashe assa ladies?

Well I never knew that Holi 2016 would be so special because I had never thought that I would be celebrating this colourful festival at the city of sun, sand and sea! YES, I played holi with my love in Candolim, North Goa this time. As I had mentioned in my earlier Lavasa trip post, that we wanted to celebrate New Year in Goa which unfortunately couldn't happen. But this time, my hubby pre-planned everything and gave me a surprise trip on this occasion! How sweet of him 😍

Now, I'll share about the best tourist places in North Goa, our journey from Pune to Goa in day-wise posts. In today's Day-1 post, I am sharing with you all how we celebrated Holi fest and what places we visited on our first day in North Goa.

Best places to visit and things to do in North Goa. Candolim beach
Sun...Sand...& Sea

How to Get to Goa? The Journey:


To reach Goa, there are various modes of transportation. You can avail any of the options like Bus, private car, train or flight. We booked Neeta Ac sleeper bus, round trip via Red Bus Travel services from Pune and it took around 10 hours to reach Mapusa, Goa. From Mapusa again we hired a cab and went straight ahead to our resort at Candolim and this took around half an hour.  Total journey was good, Neeta bus provided a good service and their staffs were also co-operative. However the road condition is very poor, couldn’t sleep peacefully.

Cost: Bus fare Rs 10,000 for two persons, round trip from Pune to Goa.


Where to stay in Candolim, Goa? Our Resort Story:


A month ago (2016) my husband booked a four star rated hotel (name doesn’t matter now!) via OYO app. He paid full amount and thus received the confirmation mail also. But the worst thing happened to us when on the day of our journey he called the hotel manager about our check- in details and the manager informed that no room is available for us!OYO customer service said due to technical problems of OYO app, that hotel did not receive any confirmation mail of our trip. After all these dramas, my husband asked them to let him talk to OYO manager directly or else he would lodge a complaint. Then he had a talk with manager and that person assured us to visit Goa peacefully as he will arrange a resort for us till we reach Candolim. All excitements went in vain!!

They say whatever happens, happens for good. So true, before boarding our bus everything sorted out, we got pictures and confirmation message of our new resort. And it was definitely far better than that hotel what we felt. We stayed in Green Concept Eco Huts, Candolim. This has all the basic amenities as well as has the best feature, SEA near the backyard. We got sea facing room, felt like we had a private beach. We loved the serenity of this place wholeheartedly.

Michael is the resort manager and the person who looks after the resort single handed.  He is a gentle and an amiable person to talk to and a young boy is there to help the guests. Any time you people want to stay at this place, please refer our names.

Cost: Rs. 10,000 for 3 days 3 nights. (Price may vary)

Let the pictures speak… 

Green Concept Eco Hut, Candolim. Where to stay in Candolim, Goa
Green Concept Eco Hut 


blogger Anamika With Resort Manager Michael, Candolim, Goa
With  Resort's Manager Michael 



Best Places To Visit In Candolim, North Goa:


After having breakfast at this resort’s restaurant Indiana, we went to the market to hire a bike for roaming around the city. It charged around 1200 bucks for three days. Then we decided to visit the famous places of Goa, started with Aguada Fort first.

The Aguada Fort, Goa. Things to do in Goa
The Aguada Fort, Goa


Specialty about Aguada Fort:

This fort was constructed in 1612 and was the crucial fort of Portuguese. It stands on the beach south of Candolim, at the Shore of Mandovi River. It was strategically located and was the chief defence of Portuguese against Dutch and Marathas. A fresh water spring within the fort provided water supply to the ships that used to stop by, thus got its name Aguada, meaning water.( Wikipedia)

The Aguada Fort Light House. Things to do in Candolim, Goa
The light house, Aguada Fort

Down The Stairs...Aguada Fort. Things to do and see in candolim Goa
Down The Stairs...

Information Plaque , Aguada Fort. Things to do in Candolim


From the peak point of the fort, you can have a glimpse of the Arabian Sea. However our advice to you would be while reaching this point please prefer the right hand side way since the left side path is much narrow and dangerous as well.


Sea view from Aguada Fort. Things to do in Candolim, Goa
View from Fort Peak point

Arabian Sea - view from Aguada fort peak point
 Arabian Sea- View from Aguada Fort Peak point

Blogger Anamika At the Peak point, Aguada fort
At the Peak point, Aguada fort

Candolim Beach:


After spending 45 minutes at the fort, we decided to go back to our resort and visit our own beach Candolim. The hot and humid weather made us very tired, but as soon as we reached the beach side we got charged from within. What a beautiful place this is, I was amazed by its serenity. And this is why after Calangute and Baga, Candolim is the most sought after beaches in North Goa.

Things to do in Candolim Beach, Goa
Candolim Beach
Specialty about Candolim Beach:

Candolim beach is one of the longest beaches in Goa and is situated south of the Calangute Beach. This is located in the Bardez taluka of Goa. A fascinating feature about the Candolim beach is the ship River Princess, which has been stuck at the shores of the beach since 2000 and ever since become a tourist attraction.(Wikipedia)

The scrub - covered dunes at the back of the beach adds beauty to it. 

blogger Anamika at Candolim Beach, Goa. What are the best things to do in candolim beach
Strolling around the beach

My husband Nabendu Chattopadhyaya at Candolim Beach, Goa
Hubby dearest at last giving few poses for my blog :P

Things to do in Candolim Beach, Goa
The wave...

This is a wide beach with clear water and the sands are soft to walk. There are lots of beach shacks and sun beds around the beach side. We had our lunch in Pete’s Shack; the food quality was really awesome there.

blogger Anamika at Pete's Shack,Candolim beach, Goa
At Pete's Shack, Candolim Beach

Pete's Shack,Candolim beach, Goa
My mango shake & lassi...

blogger Anamika Chattopadhyaya at Candolim beach, North Goa
Sun beds & Me 


After that we moved to our resort. One of the area manager of OYO service, Goa whom we had earlier talked to, came to visit us personally and gifted us a Holi colour box. We thanked him and started playing holi :D

Holi  celebration in Candolim, North Goa
Colours, Chocolates & Love


There is less traffic on the main road. On the way to the beach, there are plenty of small shops selling clothes, jewelleries and leathers. On the main road, there are supermarkets from where you can purchase your essential items. 

blogger Anamika Chattopadhyaya at North Goa
Princess look with floral headband :P 


We ended the day having dinner at Fisherman’s Cove restaurant, in Candolim only. Here also the food was tasty enough to relish and thus we spent our first day in Goa beautifully. I must say, if someone is looking for peace and calmness, then this beach is PERFECT.

blogger Anamika at Candolim Beach specialty Scrub-covered Dunes
Candolim specialty Scrub-covered DUNES at the back

[N.B= Please do not commit the same mistake what we did here while booking hotels. Kindly ensure yourself by a straight talk with the hotel service if you are booking via any app.]

See you soon 😊

Have You Ever Been To Goa? If Yes, please Share Your Travel Experience With Us In The Comment Section Below.


21 comments:

  1. I haven't visited Goa yet and this is such a saddened fact. I wish to visit after your post. I know it's mesmerising and beautiful. Great pics :)

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    1. Sonali since my college days I wanted to visit Goa, but happened only recently!! So you never know sweety, just backpack your things and go for a trip. Beautiful place it is:) Thank you so much.

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  2. The resort looks beautiful. Looks like you had a wonderful trip.

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    1. Right Sangeeta, had an amazing trip :) Well the resort has a beautiful garden and the best part is- sea view :) Thank you.

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  3. you look great in the pictures..I have never been to goa..I will plan soon

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  4. The resort where you stayed looks so good! It is not heavy on pockets and you get to have all the fun.:)

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    1. Right Ankita, this resort is so beautiful and the top of it the behaviour of manager Michael. He is so friendly in nature, that man guided us also :) Flower garden & sea view are the best features of this resort.

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  5. Bad experience with the room booking but heyyou got better place with better view :) Loved the pictures and you seemed to have so much fun :)
    http://senseiteve.com
    http://twosomelife.com

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    1. Thank you so much Anubhuti :) Yeah girl that was a pathetic experience but everything sorted later and got fantastic resort also :D Loved the place.

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  6. Hi anamika
    Your trip description reminded my visit at Goa in the year 2004. But really your resort seems awesome. You also looked perfect goanees lady.

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    1. Thank you so much :) Goa has its own charm and if once we have visited Goa we can't forget this place ever! It has certain MAGIC :)

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  7. Your post made me transform into a flashback. I love Goa and cant wait to visit yet again. u had great fun and i loved the detailed and heart felt post.

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  8. Sorry to hear about your OYO experience.
    Those are some great pictures. I just LOVE Goa. Can't wait to go there again <3

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    1. Same here dear, I just can't wait to visit again Goa :) :) Such a great place! Thanks a lot sweetie.

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    2. Same here dear, I just can't wait to visit again Goa :) :) Such a great place! Thanks a lot sweetie.

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  9. Just perfect..I loved the floral band..seriously looking like a princess..and that knee length dress is also beautiful..thank u for this dear..😊

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    1. Thank you so much Soma, yayy,I love this headband <3 :)

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