Goa is the smallest state of India and the most popular among Russian tourists. It is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea in the southwest of the country. Most of those who have been there return to Goa again and again. And for those who have not yet been to Goa, I advise you to definitely go, and I hope that this article will help you with this.

What to choose - north or south

Cavelossima Beach

The capital of Goa is the city of Panaji.
Goa is traditionally divided into 2 parts - northern and southern. In the south there are expensive five-star hotels; in the north there are almost none. The beaches in the north are much more crowded, dirtier, and prices for accommodation and food are considered to be slightly lower. If you want a real party, then welcome to the north. The most famous youth beach, famous for its all-night parties, is Calangute. Not far away is Candolim, which is less noisy and cleaner.

Vagator is popular among fans dance music. It is not as crowded as Calangute, but there are large stones there, including underwater. Morjim beach is popular with tourists from Russia, and if you want to meet your compatriots, then this is the place for you. Although, by the way, our compatriots can be found in large quantities on any beach in North Goa. The cleanest of the northern beaches is Arambol; there is practically no infrastructure on it; the beach is popular among yoga lovers and hippies. Most beaches in north Goa have yellow or dark sand (volcanic origin).

And our path lies to the south. In the south, clean beaches with white sand predominate. Although it can still be called snow-white rather arbitrarily, it is quite light, clean and creaks underfoot. The main contingent of vacationers are retirees from the UK. The beaches closest to the airport are Valsao and Arossim. Ever since someone thought of building a large chemical plant not far from them, they have lost their popularity. The plant is clearly visible and looks really ugly. It's quite clean and deserted here. The beaches are favored mainly by fishermen, from whom you can buy seafood inexpensively.

Kolva is a large village where many locals vacation. Because of this, it is crowded and not very clean. Next is the village of Benaulim, where the 5* hotel Taj Exotica Goa is located.
I haven’t been to Benaulim beach myself, but those who vacationed there praised this place. In addition, just 3 km away is the city of Margao, which has two markets and many shops, as well as a railway station.
Further along the coast, beaches follow each other, smoothly turning into one another: Varca, Carmona, Cavelossim, Mobor, Betul. There are two 5-star hotels in Cavelossim:
Radisson Blu Resort Goa Cavelossim Beach, Dona Sylvia Beach Resort
Apparently, this is why there are so many jewelry stores in the village, whose sellers are actively inviting people to buy gold and diamonds from them. The village itself is quite clean and cozy by Goan standards. The beach strip is not very wide, the sand is clean and light. Mobor is the end point for walks on this coast, as soon after it the Sal River falls into the sea, blocking the path. Here is the most expensive hotel in GOA, The Leela Goa, and another 5-star hotel, Holiday Inn Resort Goa. In my opinion, Mobor is perfect beach, it is from him that photographs are often used for advertising brochures in Goa. This is exactly what I chose for my vacation. Wide coastline, White sand, creaking underfoot, clear sea. Dolphins are frequent guests on the beaches of Cavelossim and Mobor, but during our week of vacation we saw a dolphin only once. The sand is clean, there are no cows. Mobor Beach is ideal for families with children, as its waves are relatively small.

The most beautiful beaches Goa is considered Agonda and Palolem. We haven’t been to Agonda, they say it’s deserted and quiet. The beach is ideal for meditation. Palolem is quite lively, crowded with people and boats that offer excursions to the butterfly beach. The beach is picturesque, framed by mountains, palm trees come quite close to the coastline. The entire perimeter of the beach is built up with shacks, which are also guest houses. The rooms are located above the necks themselves, as if hanging over the beach with picturesque superstructures, which gives Palolem a special flavor. However, I liked Mobor beach more - on Palolem the coastline is narrower, there are an order of magnitude more people, cows walk along the beach.

Weather and tourist season in Goa

Official tourist season in Goa it lasts from mid-October to mid-May. The best months for vacation are December and January. At this time, dry conditions are established here, not very hot weather. Air temperature during the day is 30-32 degrees, at night - 22-25. The water temperature is about 28 degrees, which means you can comfortably swim all day without getting out. In October - early November, rain is still possible; in March - April it becomes very hot. In May, the season in Goa completely ends, the coast is deserted. At this time, it rains very heavily, the sea is stormy, and swimming in it is prohibited, the air temperature is 40-50 degrees.

Flight to Goa

Goa has its own Dabolim airport, which is called Vasco de Gama. It is small in size and does not receive many flights. These are mainly flights from Russia, Great Britain and domestic flights. This is a military airport and tickets are required to enter. From Russia, flights to Goa are arranged by tour operators. In the 2017-2018 season, these are Biblio-Globus (Russia Airlines), Anex Tour (Azur Air), Coral Travel (Royal Flight). These flights are considered regular, and tickets for them can often be seen on sale. In addition to Moscow, there are also flights from other Russian cities. The price of tickets depends on the demand for tours and can fluctuate greatly.

Despite the popular belief that flying to Goa takes too long, this is not entirely true. The flight there lasts only a little over 6 hours, and the flight back takes an hour longer. This is due to the rotation of the earth. Flights from Moscow there, as a rule, depart in the evening and arrive in the morning. Accordingly, planes fly back in the morning and arrive in the afternoon. During the flight, you are fed 2 times - first a hot lunch, and then sandwiches and tea.

Visa to India

Mobor beach

For Russians traveling to India, it is necessary to obtain a visa in advance. Visas on arrival are not currently available. The visa can be regular or electronic. A regular visa for a single entry costs $40 if you apply on your own, and $50 through a tour operator. An electronic visa is currently issued only for a double entry and costs $80. If adults are traveling, then no special documents other than photographs are required for a visa. But if a child is traveling with one of the parents or without parents, then when applying for a regular visa, you will need notarized consent and a notarized copy of the child’s birth certificate. Also, if the child and mother have different surnames, you need a notarized copy of the marriage or divorce certificate. All these documents require uncertified translations into Russian. Samples of filling out documents can be viewed.
The e-visa is much more popular because you don’t have to travel anywhere and no additional documents are required. The e-visa is not pasted into the passport, but rather printed on a separate sheet. At Dabolim airport, upon arrival, people with regular and electronic visas are sent to different queues. The majority of people are queuing with e-visas. But if you are going to group transfer, then this does not matter to you. For example, after going through the queue for about an hour with a regular visa, we waited for even more than an hour for those tourists who had an electronic one. Its production time is from 1 day, for a regular one - from 3 days.

What is the best way to go to Goa - on your own or through a tour operator?

In many ways, the answer to this question depends on how long you are going there. When traveling up to 2 weeks, as a rule, it is more profitable to buy a ready-made tour. Tour operators often include ticket prices in package tours that are lower than when selling them separately. In addition, they often negotiate lower rates with hotels. It also makes sense to buy a ready-made tour if you are going to an expensive hotel. Just order private transfer or take a taxi at the airport, remembering to notify the tour operator representative about this. When traveling to long term it makes sense to fly on your own. Should I book my stay in advance? In my opinion, this is worth doing for the first time, so as not to look for accommodation locally with suitcases and tired from the road. The most popular accommodation options in Goa are guest houses or, as they are called for short, gests. This is an analogue of the private sector in our Russian south. The price depends on the location, distance from the sea and the availability of amenities. In the north, the cost of a room starts from 400 rubles, in the south - from 700. If the price includes breakfast, then, as a rule, it is tea or instant coffee and toast. You can choose a ready-made tour to Goa.
And, as always, I wish you great trips!

Those who love exotic holiday, is interested in the exotic corners of our planet and cannot live without the sun, sea and palm trees, you have probably heard about the “cult” there tourist place like Goa. I went there with the goal of “shake up” my life, to see and experience what I could not do in my homeland or in its environs. Goa is an excellent place not only for relaxation, but also for spiritual “zeroing” and searching for your life vector. We traveled on our own, so I decided to write instructions for travelers just like us.

Goa is a paradise in distant and mysterious India

Goa is the smallest state in India, stretching on its southwestern coast. More than a hundred kilometers of coastline are occupied by countless beaches washed by the waters of the Arabian Sea. Indian Ocean. On the one hand, Goa borders on the state of Maharashtra, the capital of which is the colorful city of Mumbai (formerly called Bombay), on the other, on the state of Karnataka (unofficially considered the homeland of such a nomadic tribe as the gypsies throughout the world). The capital of Goa is the city of Panjim (Pananjim), largest city- Vasco da Gama. It was here, in 1498, that the famous navigator and discoverer of India, Vasco Da Gama, first landed. In 1510, Afon d’Albuquerque “conquered” this area and to this day this family is the “ruling” elite of Goa.

Goa is not like the rest of India and in some ways is even radically different from it. This is probably due to the fact that from 1543 to 1961 this territory was a Portuguese colony, which is reminded by many things: from religion (98% of the population of Goa profess Catholicism) to architecture (houses with high roofs). Despite this, Hindus were able to preserve their identity, culture and customs.

How to get to Goa (direct flights, sightseeing tours, from Delhi and Mumbai to Goa)

There are several ways to get to Goa: direct charter and regular flights from Moscow and other Russian cities such Russian airlines, like “Transaero”, “Aeroflot”. You can use the services of foreign air carriers, such as “Qatar”, “Sultan Air”, “Air Arabia”, “Emirates”, which carry out passenger air transportation with one or two transfers, usually at its international airports in Doha, Sharjah, Dubai or Abu Dhabi. The direct flight lasts approximately 7.5-8 hours and the plane arrives at the recently opened (in 2013) Goa International Airport under the sonorous name “Dabolim”. There is no need to be afraid of flights with a transfer; I personally prefer to fly with Emirates with a transfer, but with awesome service, comfortable planes, than to huddle all day in an old Boeing of some of our airlines.

From Delhi and Mumbai to Goa by domestic flights

Next to the international airport there is an old airport that provides domestic transportation and also serves Indian military air transport.

If you want to take a real trip around India and see its most colorful cities, then you can fly to Mumbai or Delhi airport, and from there take local airlines to Dabolim. The cost of a ticket from Delhi to Goa is around 70 dollars, from Mumbai to Goa about 40-50 dollars. From international airport Both in Delhi and Mumbai to the airport for domestic flights, you can take a “tuk-tuk” (Asian taxi, usually 4 or 2 seats). You can also use by land transport: by train or “sleeper bus” (outwardly it is an ordinary bus, but inside it is made like econom-class train Russian trains, come with 1 or 2 beds).

From Mumbai to Delhi by train

From Mumbai you can travel to Goa by train. You need to sit on central station Victoria or at Dadar station, tickets can be bought at the box office on site to the Tivim station. From this station you can get to the hotel by local bus, taxi or tuk-tuk. The taxi or bus driver will need to tell you the name of the area in North or South Goa, usually the name of the beach or the name of the hotel or guesthouse.

Sleeper bus tickets from Victoria or Dadar stations in an air-conditioned carriage cost approximately 300-350 rupees (about $10). If you are on a limited budget, you can buy a ticket without a seat for 50 rupees, and if you are lucky, you will not have to pay an additional 100-200 rupees for the train fare to the person in charge of the carriage. The travel time is 10-12 hours, the main thing is not to oversleep the Thivim station, because then the train travels without making stops in this state, and you can return from Bangalore or Chenai, at best, in a day. So, either stay awake or set an alarm.

From Delhi it takes about 40 hours by train to the same Thivim station. Train tickets can be purchased in the building railway station Northern Railways Connects to a station called New Delhi, which is located across the road from Delhi's Paharganj district, which is known to all travelers and drivers of the capital. The ticket price is about 1500 thousand rupees (about 50 dollars), for the same price you can buy a ticket for a “slipper bus”, which will take you to the market in Mapsa (the unofficial capital of North Goa) or to Central Bus Station, located in Panjim (the official capital of Goa).

Visa regime

Get a visa to Goa, i.e. to India, quite simply. If you are flying on a tour, the tour operator will do everything on their own (this is included in the price of the tour); you are required to fill out a form at the travel agency office and provide 4 passport-sized photographs. I did so and after 5-7 working days (depending on your tour operator) I received my passport with a visa stamped and flew to Goa on the same day. Getting a visa yourself is also not difficult: to do this, you need to go to the consular section of the Indian Embassy in the country where you live, where you will also need to fill out an application form, pay a visa fee (about 30 USD) and give a photo, via The visa will be ready in 5-7 working days. The difference is that in the first case you will be given tourist visa lasting no more than 60 days, and in the second - a full 6 months (or as long as you need).

Goa: north and south. What are the differences and what to choose?

The state of Goa is conventionally divided into three parts: North, South and center (or old Goa). The Zuari River is considered the conventional border of the beach north and south. Central Goa consists of the metropolitan area of ​​Panjim, with the state capital of the same name, and historical region with waterfalls and Hampi.

Holidays in North and South Goa are different, although they are closely connected with the ocean and the beach. Let's figure out which option is best for you.

South Goa: a well-fed, relaxed beach holiday

If you are a fan of a calm, sedate, measured and expensive all-inclusive holiday, then you definitely need to go to South Goa. On southern beaches(for example, Palolem) there are luxurious 5-star hotel luxury complexes, for example, Raddison White Sands and Hilton, beautiful hotels Cheaper, but also very comfortable. Prices in good hotels in the south start from approximately $150-200 per night, but you can find a cheaper option, try looking at reviews and pictures on booking.com. You can also rent equally comfortable bungalows for 4-6 people, located 100 meters from the surf line, costing from $100 per night.

In the south you can be offered the highest class spa and Ayurvedic procedures, and tour operators will specially select for you individual excursions and tours in Goa. In my opinion, southern Goa will not let you understand the atmosphere of India; the holiday will differ little from similar hotels in any other country in the world.

The most famous beaches here are Aguada, Miramar, Bogmalo, Palolem, Dona Paula, Majorda. A distinctive feature from the “eccentric” northern beaches is their compactness (almost all beaches are divided into bays), and, of course, silence and full service. This is an ideal place for a family holiday.

North Goa: drive, noise, fun and youth

North Goa is a noisy, fun and relatively inexpensive place, a cult place for “hippers”. It is believed that this is where the concept of “downshifting” was born, and there are more downshifters here than tourists. A downshifter is a person who leaves noisy cities and megalopolises, sacrifices some material values ​​and amenities in favor of freedom and spiritual harmony. Such people live either by renting out an apartment (where they lived before), by freelancing, or by taking local part-time jobs. On North Goa A little fewer hotels than in Yuzhny, small budget hotels 2-3* are more popular here. But there is a lot of housing that you can rent on your own - guesthouses, rooms, apartments. In the North, life is boiling and seething - not a single day passes here without parties, or, as they call it here, party, not a single day will you get bored and sit in your hotel room! Another plus (although it depends on everyone): there are many Russian-speaking citizens here, the same downshifters who will gladly help you solve any issue, problem, or give advice.

Hindus - religion, habits, characteristics of the nation, rules of behavior

Hindus (or Indians) are sympathetic, kind, smiling and inquisitive people. Be prepared for the fact that in the market, in a store, in a taxi, in a hotel, they will ask you what your name is, where you came from, how long you are staying, how do you like India, what did you do last night and what is your profession? Everything would be fine, but sometimes it develops into importunity; in such cases, answer evasively, with a smile - they will immediately leave you behind. Indians, unlike Thais, do not dislike tourists - they are always happy to help, give advice or help with deeds.

As a rule, they have large families: up to 10 or even more relatives can live in one house - grandparents, young families with children. This is why in India, surrounded by so many people, you feel safe. Even if some trouble happens to you, a crowd of defenders will immediately appear around you and defend you.

They clearly have a patriarchal structure of society: the head of the family is a man, a woman has no right not to work, even if she sits at home with the children, she is obliged to carry out some kind of activity. The absence of children in families, like divorce, is very rare. A big plus is knowledge of the English language: 90% of residents, young and old, speak quite well English language, they will understand you well, and with fairly good pronunciation they will be able to communicate.

Don’t be surprised by the abundance of cows here, everywhere - on the streets, beaches, sleeping under windows or on the porch, like cats, because a cow in India is a sacred animal, it cannot be harmed, shouted at or, God forbid, beaten. According to Hindu mythology, after creating man, Brahma created the cow, which is why it is sacred. According to other versions, a bull, i.e. The “husband” of the cow is the war animal of the god Shiva, one of the most revered Hindu Gods. By the way, there are also a lot of dogs here, but cats are rare.

Residents of Goa, like all of India, are very religious - they begin their day with prayer to a variety of gods (according to the most common version, there are 33 gods). The most important, supreme gods are Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver) and Shiva (destroyer), who form the trimurti. It is noteworthy that 98% of the population of Goa are Catholics. In every house you can see a crucifix, paintings with scenes from the Bible, portraits of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. But this does not prevent them from combining these two religions - before dinner they thank God for food, saying a prayer, and before making a decision they praise Ganesh, the god of wisdom and prosperity.

All Hindus believe in karma and reincarnation - what is destined must happen. If a person was born poor, he must bear his karma and not complain, work off his sins and be reborn as a rich man in his next life.

An interesting sign of merchants: they do their best to cajole, please the first buyer and are ready to give a huge discount if only you buy the goods from them. In this way, they attract good luck, and trade, they believe, will go briskly. That’s why get ready to go to the market early in the morning, right after it opens – you can buy a lot of interesting things for next to nothing! And, of course, bargain!

Trading in India is an art. Know the real price of the product and boldly stand on it, even if the original price is 10 times higher. Of course, bargain with a smile on your face, make jokes and be friendly to the traders. There is a certain peculiarity - for food products and for goods that have a price tag, i.e. fixed price, no haggling. Hindus are also a quiet nation, leading a measured lifestyle. Being the complete opposite of us, they are not in a hurry, do not fuss, the principle of their life can be considered “come what will be and will be what is.” In their presence, you should not shout or wave your arms - for them this is not only a sign of bad manners, but also a probable threat towards them. There is a separate piece of advice for girls: if possible, do not go to the beaches on your own or to any other places without an accompaniment (boyfriend, girlfriend, parents, husband): for Indians, white-skinned girls are the standards of beauty. Everything would be fine, but in addition to admiring glances and photographing mobile phone furtively, they may come up to you and ask you to touch you; if you allow one Indian, you can be sure that a crowd of such guys will immediately fly up and touch your arms, shoulders and continuously take pictures with you. It will be very, very difficult to get rid of them later. Either don't go alone, or make it clear right away that you don't want any contact.

Of course, there is also the other side of the coin of Hindu hospitality: petty scams, deceit and greed for money, especially large sums. Therefore, do not carry large sums of money with you, and especially never show them in the presence of Indians. They will try to “heat you up”, deceive you even in small things, everywhere, therefore, always be on the alert and do not succumb to financial provocations of this kind. Before you take a photograph of a person, be sure to ask their permission. Do not touch Hindus with your left hand - they consider it “dirty”. Indians have a very unique perception of time and space: “in 10 minutes” turns into 2 hours, and “two steps” turns into a kilometer.

Hotels, guesthouses, houses/apartments for rent

In North Goa, housing is often offered for rent - detached houses (a two-room house with all the conditions will cost you $250), apartments (a one-room apartment in a new building with all the conditions will cost you $150-200), rooms in guesthouses (from 500 rupees per night).

South Goa is full of expensive hotels such as “Raddison” and “Sharaton”, but if you look or know where to go, you can find many nameless guest houses, the price tag for a night’s stay is from 3 to 15 USD. We lived in a bungalow on the beach, costing 300 rupees per night.The conditions were “Spartan”, but being right on the ocean mitigates all these shortcomings.

.

Transport for rent

The main type of transport in Goa is motorbikes (scooters), bikes (more powerful motorcycles), motorcycle and regular taxis. The cost of renting a car will vary depending on its make and duration. As a rule, the prices are as follows: from 500 to 1000 rupees per day and 200-300 dollars per month. Most of the cars are manual. Before you take the car, carefully check all its functions, take a photograph of it, so that when the car is returned, the owner will not have any complaints against you. The cost of renting a scooter or motorbike will cost you from 70 to 130 dollars per month, and higher-class bikes (such as Royal Enfield) will cost you 200-250 dollars. Rental points - any hotels, guesthouses, taxi drivers will also help you with this. To rent a vehicle, you only need to give the required amount of money to the owner a month in advance; they will not require any documents from you (maybe they will ask for a copy of your passport). I would like to note the fact that there are a lot of cows in India and they are everywhere - in courtyards, near cafes, on beaches and, of course, on the roads, which creates considerable inconvenience for drivers. Therefore, be careful when driving and under no circumstances accidentally hit a cow: local residents this could be interpreted as an insult to them and their religion.

Food, cafes, supermarkets, prices, juice, alcohol

There are three large supermarkets in North Goa with good choice goods (relatively good): Savitri (Savitri), Oxford (Oxford), Orchard (Orchard), and one convenience store called Family Supermarket (Family Supermarket). The last three are located in the Anjuna beach area, and the first is at the Chapora-Vagator junction. All of them, except Savitri, accept credit cards.

.

The Domino pizza chain of pizzerias is spread throughout the state and delivers orders to your home. To do this, just call them, list what you need and wait for your order for 15 minutes. The pizza is very tasty and filling, the cost of one large pizza is 600 rupees (about 10 dollars). In addition to it, you may be offered drinks, sweets, etc. at a discount.

The order of prices in stores is approximately as follows: a package of juice - 70 rupees, a loaf of bread - 50 rupees, a package of milk - 10 rupees, eggs (10 pcs) - 70 rupees, 1 kg of tomato - 60 rupees, a package of sausages - 120 rupees. By the way, there is no buckwheat in India - not only does it not grow here, but it is also not imported. So if buckwheat is one of your favorite foods, then we recommend that you take this cereal with you. You can’t ignore the local alcohol, namely the world-famous dark rum “Old Monk”. It is not only very tasty, but also cheap - 1 bottle of 0.7 liters costs 100 rupees. Be sure to take this drink home (you can transfer up to 5 bottles across the border).

There are a lot of cafes in Goa, each of which has its own “trick”. As a rule, these cafes belong to the same family, which runs a guesthouse next to it. For example, the cult place “Mango tree” - classic rock music is always played here and excellent latte is prepared.

There are no large supermarkets in South Goa - everything here is focused on “hotel” holidays. There are small fruit shops and a Coffee Day coffee shop. Tourists eat mostly in hotels, which serve haute Indian and other cuisines.

You can’t ignore the Juice Center or, as Russians are used to calling it, jusnya. This is a small shop where they make and sell freshly squeezed juices, shakes, fruit salads, etc. It is secretly considered the most “delicious” and most “fruity” place in Goa. Here you can order a glass or two of juice, a fresh croissant with chocolate and have a tasty and satisfying snack.

Despite the general belief that India is a dirty country, where a snake can attack you from every corner and you can get infected with a million diseases, this is not the case in Goa. There are no snakes. To avoid getting sick, you must follow basic rules of sanitary hygiene: drink only bottled water, wash your hands, and avoid places with questionable food. The abundance of garbage is due to overpopulation; in general, Indians are quite clean.

Markets

In Goa, there is such an attraction as a fair or market, which is held twice a week: once during the day (Wednesdays) and once at night (from Saturday to Sunday). The daytime fair is called Flea Market, or Flea Market, which attracts everyone from young to old, of all nationalities and social strata of the population: traders, tourists, police officers, bandits, musicians, DJs, artists, film directors, famous and not so famous actors. In short, all those who crave simple and unpretentious communication, purchasing some trinket from local merchants, drinking cold beer, buying smuggled items or jewelry made of precious stones, antiques, up to 3000 years old. There is also a small Tibetan market where they sell unusual jewelry, including silver.

Girls will love the numerous shops with clothes and shoes made of genuine leather, the prices of which will pleasantly surprise you, since you can easily buy yourself a new beautiful sundress for no more than 150 rubles.

The daytime market is held on Wednesdays from early morning until sunset right on the coast in Anjuna. This market is a kind of test of strength - you will not find such a variety of goods and the pressure of sellers anywhere else! If you doubt your strength, do not take a large amount of money with you - here you can spend everything.

The second market is night. This fair is held on Saturdays, starting after sunset and ending just before dawn.

The main venue is an area called Arpora, near the highway, but recently a clone has appeared on Baga Road near the Baga River. Everything here is the same as at the daytime fair, the only difference is that the shopping rows are supplemented by rows of fast food, a karting track, venues with live music or DJ sets, fire shows, and tattoo artists.

The night market has more European sellers and, accordingly, more quality and exclusive goods. In addition, official dealers selling motorcycles under the Royal Endfield and Harley Davidson brands have recently begun to appear. These brands, in addition to participating in night markets, organize their 5-7 day festivals once a season, where fans of a particular brand of bikes gather, participate in motorcycle races, parades and invite those who wish to join their official gang, which is supported local government. Also at these shows you can purchase paraphernalia of the corresponding brands of bikes.

Famous people in Goa

Probably, no place on our planet has had as many creative people as Goa. Of course, you can meet Russian actors, singers, politicians and public figures everywhere here. Some come for a month or two to rest, relax, understand the essence of life, and some even live here seasonally, waiting out the long Moscow winters here. We personally met the famous performer Dolphin, Bogdan Titomir, the leader of the Russian bike movement “Night Wolves” Alexander the Surgeon. In an area called Badem lives a famous Russian actress, Amalia, with whom I also had the opportunity to meet and have a pleasant conversation. In 2010, in Goa, Sergei Solovyov shot the famous film “Odnoklassniki”, where he showed in great detail and beautifully all the delights of the Indian region. The most interesting thing is that anyone could act as an extra; they didn’t have to do anything specific, but just be themselves. On the set of this film, by the way, we met the famous talented Russian actor Mikhail Efremov.

On Arambol beach, in the jungle, behind Kalacha Beach, there is a Banyan tree - a tree under which, according to legend, the members of the great Beatles quartet meditated!

Italian sculptor Jungle, who personally carved the face of Shiva on a piece of stone. This creation can be seen on Vagator beach. Few of them famous people I haven’t been here - the calm, peaceful atmosphere allows you to completely relax, throw off accumulated fatigue and negativity, accept new creative ideas from the Universe and get into a working mood.

To summarize, I want to say that a holiday in Goa for me is a little more than just a trip to the sea. This is getting into a completely different world, the principles of which are very close to me. Freedom, me, Goa! Next I’ll tell you about the beaches and excursions in Goa.

Yes, we thought for a long time and decided for a long time and finally decided on the place. However, as it turned out later, we knew practically nothing not only about the country, but also about vacationing in it, which, however, did not stop us - there is the Internet, where you can find out everything about the intended place of travel, so that there are no unforeseen surprises already on arrival.

India is an amazing country, but practically unknown to us. All we have heard about her is beautiful outfits, dances and songs for any occasion, spices and yoga. Therefore, we had to collect and study a lot of information, which until now was of little interest to us. You can read thousands of books about India and Goa in particular, and still not understand anything; you can visit thousands of forums and websites and form an erroneous opinion, but it’s easier to just go and see for yourself. However, before getting to India you will have to overcome many obstacles that complicate life. To begin with, we simply looked at the world map: all of India, not excluding the state of Goa, is located in the northern hemisphere, which suggests that summer in Russia and summer in India begin at the same time, only the conditions are very different. The high season in Goa is from December to March, many come earlier, since prices in December-January are too steep, sometimes reaching the point of absurdity (under New Year the price of a bike was increased to 1200 rupees per day). For this reason, most winterers live from October to April, but in October it is still stuffy in Goa after the rainy season (Monsun), and in April it is already too hot before it.

From Moscow to Dabolim (the airport in Goa) is more than 5000 km and, although such a distance can theoretically be overcome by land, in fact it is extremely difficult to do this, although experiments similar to the story occur. However, this is an option for those who really like to travel and really don’t like airplanes. I haven't done any research on traveling overland to India, so let's get back to planes.

What you need to do long before your trip to Goa

• Duration of travel and type of visa to India. It is important to decide on the duration of the trip, because it determines what type of visa to India you should apply for: an electronic visa for a month, a one-time visa for three, or maybe you need a multiple visa for 6 months. , not at all difficult and most economical
• Route to Goa. The easiest way to get to Goa is to take a plane ticket to Dabolima, but it is not the most economical, and it is terribly routine, although personally we are for our first visit to India. By the way, if you fly to Delhi and then take a train there, you can save about 25% on tickets, and besides, I fly direct flights to Delhi from many cities. In addition, you can use the airport in Mumbai and again travel to Goa by train. The last two options will allow you to see a non-tourist India, and if you decide to take buses, the immersion will be complete, but we didn’t take risks, especially since we only had a month allotted for the trip.
• Buying a cheap ticket to Goa. With more desire, diligence and a bit of luck, it is possible, especially in cases of timely planning of the trip - here it will help and the price of a round trip ticket is about $250-300 per person. By the way, you can also take advantage of charters and hot packages; the latter will also offer transfer to the hotel along with accommodation at the price of a cheap air ticket.
• Booking accommodation in Goa. Here the simplest solution would be to use any: Agoda, Booking and or use the form at the bottom of the article (and thank me too) It makes sense to book for just a couple of days, because upon arriving at the place and leaving your bags at the hotel, you can easily find a good deal within a day housing, and much cheaper. For example, the cheapest room for our period cost 700 rupees on booking (I do not take into account a bed in a shared room), while in Arombola we stayed in a two-room apartment for 400 rupees, having dropped the price to almost 200 in April
• Travel insurance to India. I haven’t discussed the topic of insurance yet, but I’m thinking of dealing with it in the near future, because... I already have a lot of materials and life instructive situations. In general, it’s up to you to decide whether to take it or not, but once you’ve decided, don’t cheap out by buying a piece of paper for a couple of thousand. Choose reliable and proven companies. Something came over me, and in fear of being refused a visa to India and losing my tickets and all sorts of force majeure, I took out insurance for three days. It included protection against non-departure, loss of luggage and other factors little dependent on me, including various injuries before my check-in in Goa. Looking ahead, I will say that although it was not useful, it warmed my soul greatly.
• Explore forums and join thematic communities. I’ll leave forums, such as the Vinsky forum, up to your discretion; decide for yourself how much you can trust them, ordinary people write there. But joining communities, primarily on Facebook, is an extremely useful action. Don't have a Facebook account yet? If you like to travel, I advise you to start one, it will help you save on travel; according to statistics, this is where the real live audience sits, posting not only useful information, but also advantageous local offers. Of course, I joined, the most popular among Russian-speaking people in Goa. This way I was able to get my bearings on prices and partially immerse myself in the life of this amazing place, as well as create a small reminder about holidays in Goa.
• Finally save money for a vacation. I already wrote, take the average budget for a trip (for a month without travel, excursions, it will be about $400 in Goa in 2016, the rest is as you negotiate), add 50%, and leave NZ for a return ticket

This is probably the end of the list of things to do in advance. Everything else should be done immediately before the trip.

Not long before the trip to India

Of course, I didn’t write about such obvious things as issuing bank cards, buying travel equipment: backpacks, suitcases, or whatever you like to do on vacation, and printing copies of documents and photographs. This minimum is always necessary if you like to travel. Now let's get down to the really necessary steps:

• Applying for a visa to India. My wife has already prepared an article about that. Therefore, I will not dwell on this step in too much detail. The main thing to remember is that a visa to India received at the visa center in person begins to be valid from the moment it is received, and not from the moment you enter the country, so you cannot apply for it too early, at the same time there is always a chance of delaying the application process, so the best time is for in my opinion two weeks before the trip. And for an online visa for 30 days (which you will receive upon arrival), you are given a certain time period (approximately 30 days) within which you must enter the country and from the moment of entry it will begin to be valid.
• If you want to earn extra money or do a good deed. In the Goa People group, there are always a lot of people who want to receive something from their distant homeland, not for free, of course, at least for a plus to karma. We brought Russian delicacies to our friends, and they gave us shelter. You won’t earn much by bringing goods to India (except for professional activities), but you can get a lot of kind words and advice.
• Buying groceries in India. A couple of days before departure, you can buy rare products: buckwheat, sausage, herring, caviar, cigarettes - in a word, everything without which it will be difficult for you in a foreign land. You can safely take a lot, as long as it doesn’t get spoiled, because as a rule, suitcases are brought to India without things. By the way, if you are flying with a low-cost airline, you can also buy food in the cabin in advance, of course not boiled chicken with eggs, but a piece of fried meat or just sandwiches can be brought in.
• Purchasing currency. In fact, with the current unstable exchange rate, it may not be worth gaining much. Cash dollars and euros are good and can always be exchanged in Asia, and in some countries dead presidents are the second currency. However, it is always worth remembering. By the way, in Goa there are banks that issue rupees without commission, and with banks that are quite loyal to clients (I have one of the Tinkoff Black cards), it is more profitable to withdraw here. So, for example, 100 bucks bought for 7080 rubles, I exchanged 6700 rupees here, receiving a rate of 0.94. A couple of days later, having withdrawn 10,000 rupees from the card, I paid 10,246 rubles, receiving a much more favorable rate of 0.98
• Transfer to your accommodation in Goa. We safely missed this point, fortunately we were lucky on the plane, so the taxi ended up being half the price (the total cost of the taxi was 1,500 rupees). Although I’m lying, we wanted to get from the airport on our own using several buses, but we were still lucky to meet Iskander. Always on the road.
• First aid kit for a tourist on the road. It makes sense to take care of your health in advance and buy a minimum set of inexpensive medications. - this is what should be at hand, no matter that India is famous for its medicines. Sometimes herbs alone are not enough, and domestic chemistry comes to the rescue. And peroxide and iodine are essential companions for any tourist

That’s probably all the preparation, in theory it takes a couple of days to do everything, so it’s better not to be lazy. For convenience and simplicity, I have prepared several more advice articles:

• - what to take with you on a trip
• - main points about the holiday that are better to know in advance

Once in Goa, I can say with confidence that you can safely take a step towards one of the most ancient cultures in the world.

Be sure to tell your friends about us

2 comments

1. In order for one to make money online, they’ll typically need an idea. This can be many different things from solution praised that they could create and still provide to program that the able to offer to others. Once you have established this idea, it’s essential to find the best ways to get that idea in order to your potential consumers. This is sometimes a more difficult step than determining actual have offer you.

   For example, when Initially when i first started out, my aim was in order to reach a monthly earning of $5,000 in a very year. So, as the first milestone, I aimed for $1,000 a month. I hit that figure within six months, so I adjusted the target upwards and therefore i finally reached the $5,000 mark after a year approximately. Since then, I have regularly pulled in the five-figure income on a monthly fact.

   There is often a variety of businesses that you can do online. Have yourself involved with one you will find interesting. Don’t go promoting for example Basketball, you despise massive. The more you enjoy it, the less it will feel like work and also the more interested you are typically in making it work.

   In all of the different scenarios above there is one main thing anyone could have to caused by online new earning strategy. Really are a few different measures you would be wise to do to achieve the main thing truly is most critical to simplify things for being to be a success online. A person you remove them you may ask? Take everything you’ve got that isn’t working you on personal computer and either get regarding it or put it in a folder as well as set it somewhere you aren’t going search at the site. I am talking about everything from websites, blogs, domain names, eBay and absolutely whatever gets delivered is no longer working for you at after. This will offer you less to think about.

   Because content directories have so much monthly traffic, they have sponsors that are willing to purchase your advertising space on it. The sites themselves in addition have what’s called contextual ads (i.e. ppc or kontera). The point being is this; these article directories generate a lot of advertising gross sales.

   Are there strong many opportunities making in that niche? Market and keyword research is consequently to finding a profitable niche; try finding a niche with plenty of demand but low number of much completion and plus it really can be on the way to online success.

   I still remember very first sale. Food a $20 affiliate product from Clickbank. In the days that followed, I made another few hundred dollars and needless to say, I was thrilled beyond words. So, to jumpstart your journey, start concentrating on your first sale, together with modest monthly targets. Anyone have closed that first few sales, your brain opens move up. Although there’s still a long way to go, the likelihood of making it and achieving financial freedom suddenly seemed not that far-fetched from now on. That’s the kind of momentum you decide to spur your business further past more milestones - towards your ultimate goal and success.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. .

Hello, friends! Get to Goa without package tour not so easy. There are no direct regular flights from Russia there; crooked tickets are expensive. Other paths are quite difficult. However, if you go to this state of India for a long time, buying a ready-made tour is not an option at all. And there are a lot of such tourists. Today's article is for them.

How to get to Goa without the help of tour operators? Here I will give all the ways you can get to Goa, with the exception of extreme ones. I hope after studying them, you will not have any questions.

During the tourist season there are direct flights from Russia to Goa charter flights. This flight from Moscow to Dabolim Airport takes about 7 hours. Ticket price – from 23,000 rubles. However, the trouble is that it is almost impossible to buy charter tickets during the season. Moreover, if tour operators throw them onto the market, it is by no means at the “charter” price. However, this is the easiest way to get to Goa, so it is worth keeping an eye out for such offers.

There is another way, but it is only suitable for short trips. You can get to Goa by purchasing a last-minute tour. Sometimes the cost of a tour (ticket, accommodation, insurance, transfer) turns out to be lower than the price of crooked air tickets. You can only use a charter flight, forgetting about the hotel and other services included in the tour. But in order to avoid visa problems later, you will have to limit yourself to the time period of such a tour. Therefore, this option is not suitable for everyone, although it is the simplest.

Flight to Delhi or Mumbai

If, nevertheless, you did not manage to become the lucky owner of a ticket for a direct flight, you will have to go to Goa by a roundabout route.
By air, Goa can be reached via Mumbai or Delhi. A direct flight Moscow-Mumbai-Moscow costs approximately 25,000 rubles, a flight Moscow-Delhi-Moscow costs about 30,000 rubles. Check current prices, enter data in the form.

Want a more economical option? No problem. There are flights from Moscow or St. Petersburg via Doha, Zurich, and Istanbul. The final point of arrival is Mumbai.

Tip: There are often promotions on airline websites, so keep an eye on them.

How to get there from Delhi and Mumbai?

Many planes fly to India from Russia, it is a pity that regular flights are made only to other states of the country. As a rule, you buy a ticket to Mumbai or Delhi. The only way to get to Goa from these cities is:

1. By plane - the most expensive option, but the most convenient and fastest.
2. By train - comfortable, although long, average prices.
3. The bus is uncomfortable, long, but inexpensive.

Of course, there are other ways such as renting a car, taxi, hitchhiking. But I won’t consider them. This route is most often chosen by “experienced” travelers to travel around the country, and this is another topic.

To understand how best to get to Goa for you, let's look at each separately.

By plane

Planes from Delhi to Goa fly every hour. The first flight from Delhi is at 11 o'clock. The flight is two hours. Ticket price – 6000 rupees.
If you want to walk around the capital for a couple of days, go to the Pahargani area, there are quite decent inexpensive hotels.

The first flight from Mumbai to Goa departs at 6.20. Flights are every hour, the last one is at 19.00. Price is about 3000 rupees (depending on the airline). Tickets can be purchased online or directly at the airport. The flight lasts 50 minutes.

By train

A good way to get to Goa is by train. The journey from Mumbai to Goa takes around 9-12 hours. Ticket prices depend on the class of carriages - from 450 to 3000 Indian rupees. The option is convenient, cheap and the most optimal. The carriages are a bit like reserved seat cars, but at the same time more exotic. Trains depart from Chhatrapati Shivaji Station and Dadar Station.

The journey from Delhi by train will take 30 hours. Trains from the capital of India depart from Hazrat Nizamuddin and New Delhi Railway stations. Ticket price starts from 800 rupees. You can check the availability of tickets on the website www.indianrail.gov.in. This is important, because if you don’t have tickets, you’ll have to spend the night in a hotel, and the prices are steep; pay at least 1,000 rupees.

The comfort of the trip will not disappoint you; it is very reminiscent of our domestic trains.
Regardless of where you are coming from in Goa, get off at Madgaon or Tivim, Karmali station. It is from here that you can quickly get to any tourist area.

Tip: when purchasing a ticket, check whether the train stops at these stations.

By bus

Want to save money? You can get to Goa by bus. Tickets will cost from 500 rupees (depending on whether there is air conditioning or not, whether the seats are lying down or sitting). Travel time is 11-16 hours, the departure point is indicated on the tickets. Most buses to Goa from Mumbai depart from Mumbai Central station in the evening. I would call the comfort of the trip relative, but the tickets are cheap.

Arrival location: Mapusa. From here it is a stone's throw to any hotel in North Goa.

Goa: what's next?

Congratulations, you are finally in Goa: at the Mapusa bus station, Tivim railway station or Dobalim airport. Go look for a Prepaid Taxi. Ask to be taken to any guest house. Here you can stay for a couple of days, look around, get comfortable and choose better accommodation.

Yes, the crooked path cannot be called easy. You will have to spend a lot of time on the road, in some cases forget about comfort. If you are not ready for this yet, you will have to fork out money by choosing a suitable tour from a tour operator.

Leave comments, I will be grateful if you tell us about your journey. How to publish a review in the “Readers Travel” section, wrote. Share the article on in social networks, subscribe to blog updates, there is still a lot of interesting material ahead. And I wish you a great rest and a lot of positive emotions!

With this I say goodbye, see you again!
Tatiana Solomatina

I always wondered, especially when there was inclement autumn weather outside, whether it was time to succumb to my wife’s persuasion, give up everything, and go to Goa, lie on an exotic beach. And finally, this desire was realized. I managed to organize independent holiday in Goa, and it turned out to be very economically profitable. And it’s certainly more interesting than buying a simple tour package.

Travel to Goa on your own

Goa is a state of India, and to visit Goa you need an Indian visa, which my wife and I received at the airport of arrival, having previously issued it at online mode and taking the printouts with you. I booked the flight with a transfer to Abu Dhabi. The airline was holding a serious sale, and we managed to snag some very cheap tickets.

Independent holidays in South and North Goa

The state of Goa can be roughly divided into two parts. This division was formed historically and is associated with the specifics of recreation. We spent half our time in the south and then moved north. South Goa - is respectable, calm family holiday. Accordingly, the audience is older. There are gorgeous uncrowded beaches and good hotels.

On north it's the other way around. Here people have fun, and life does not stop either day or night. There are beaches where the density of vacationers is simply off the charts. And the level of service is slightly lower than in the south.

In my opinion, in Goa you should:

• see the beaches of North and South Goa;
• visit the capital Goa State;
• go on a couple of excursions to natural attractions;
• attend a couple of beach parties in North Goa.

I chose and booked hotels myself, once directly, through the hotel website, and in other cases, through online services, comparing prices. The cost of living itself in the south is higher than in North Goa. But with food, it sometimes seemed to me that it was even more expensive in the north. It should be noted that food level in Goa very good, and there were no problems here. We had lunch and dinner outside the hotels all day, sometimes on the beach, and sometimes in roadside cafes. In general, the cost of food is low, so it is hardly worth overpaying for hotel packages with inclusive meals.

Traveling independently in Goa

In my opinion, the most acceptable for tourists types of transport in Goa are rented scooter and taxi. We used the scooter to explore the area around the hotel or to get to evening and night activities.

We took a taxi to go to capital of Goa, or to visit various kinds of attractions. However, for this it is quite possible to join group excursions, if it fits within the required time frame. Independent holiday doesn't always mean cost savings. However, in the case of Goa It turned out to be not only interesting, but also economical.