Last month we have went to Goa for a 3 day trip. We have taken a train from Bangalore to Vasco Da Gama and returned from train itself. The train is actually the best way to reach bamgalore, but the problem is the availability. Since we have booked 3 months back thats why we have got the confirmed ticket otherwise we had to take a bus from Bangalore. Though train takes more time, but it is economical as well as comfortable than the bus itself.
So we have started on Friday around 3 PM from the Bangalore and reached Vasco in the morning 5 AM in Saturday. The best part of Goa is that you get scooty on rent everywhere throughout Goa. So we have taken Scooty from Vasco railway station itself and started our journey for exploring Goa. Goa is actually divided into two parts, North Goa and South Goa. Both the parts have great beaches, it all depends on how you want to explore Goa. If you like crowded place but happening place then North Goa is for you. If you like calm and want to enjoy the holidays by just relaxing on the beaches than South Goa is for you.
This was my 3rd Visit, but with family it was my first. So I wanted them to see all the places in North Goa and wanted to show the real Goa to them. It takes around 2 hours from Vasco to North Goa. We have taken the hotel near Baga Beach so around 7 in the morning we have reached our destination. One problem you will face which we also faced is the checking timing. If we book online, like how we did the check in time is around 12 in the noon, whereas if you go and book directly then you can directly go in. This we have learned the hard way.
So we had 5 hours before we can get into our hotel room so we decided to explore the beach itself.
The sea was calm and the water was warm. There were some people bathing but most of them.were just walking on the beach as it was morning time. We have spent around 2-3 hours on the beach and then went to have breakfast and then went to hotel. Luckily we got the checking at 10:30. So we freshned up and started our journey for exploring the Goa.
Our first stop was Chapora firt which is famous because of the movie "Dil Chahta Hai". And also it is a great place to get great view. It gives a good 270 degree view of Vagator Beach, Morjim Beach as well as Chapora River. A great place to do photography too, but since we visited around 2, it was really hot. The good part is that you can get the fort view, hill view as well as sea view in the same frame.
Even though it was sunny people were clicking a lot of photos, we too tried to get glimpse of the old fort as well as the surrounding area.
Next we went to Vagator Beach which is famous for sunset. Here we spent time watching sunset and spending quality time with the family as the atmosphere was calm.
After that we went towards our hotel, had dinner and then again went to Baga Beach at night to see the lighting. Actually Goa beaches light up in the night itself and thus people who want to patty and booze whole night usually comes to Goa. Goa's night life is awesome, and you will not feel like it's night because you will see people all around even at night. We stayed on the beach till 12 at night and then called a day.
Our next day in Goa started with visiting Parra Road in Goa which is famous for Reels and Photos. People usually go there to click their awesome photos and put it in their social media. It is like the trademark shot while being on the Goa.and for this tradition we also went to see the Parra Road. On both sides of the road there is coconut trees which makes is picturesque. Parra Road is around 1 km long and you will see people all around the road. It's quite hard to get good shots because everyone goes to the Parra Road. We were lucky to get clear roads for around 10 minutes.
Then we have started our journey towards the Aguada fort, which is again yhe most visited place in Goa. It is built in the 17th centuries by the Portuguese and still hold strong. It is quite big and beautifully built. It is mainly used by Portuguese to defend themselves from the dutchess. There was an entry fee of Rs 25. We spent around 2 hours inside the fort as it was quite big and we were clicking a lot of pictures on the way.
After that we went again to the beach to do the water activities. We have done the boat ride and the parasailing. Last time when we went to Andaman, we could not do the parasailing and wanted to do. So we have not missed it this time and completed the activity.
And then we have went to the hotel to freshen up and then straight went to the cruise. The cruise will run for 3 hours and it will have activities as well as the dinner. Though we did not liked it because it was too crowded. The cruise was on the Mandovi river in the Panaji.
We reached the hotel at 12 midnight and the slept. On the third day we had to checkout the hotel, so we started our Day 3 little late. On the third day we have visited some of the churches in Goa.
At first we have visited the the church of St. Augustine which is a ruined church, said to be ruined by the Arabs. It was completed in 1602 and it is now the part of World Heritage Center. Even though it was ruined it looked awesome, now think if it wouldn't have ruined how marvelous it would have been.
Next we went to the Basilica of Bom Jesus which is a Catholic basilica. Again it is a World Heritage Site. The significance of Basilica of Bom Jesus is that, it still have the mortal remains of St Francis Xavier. The church is around 450 years old and it is one of the pilgrimage place in Goa.
That was our last point on that day. And then we have started our journey towards the Vasco Da Gama Railway Station. We reached around 8 in the night, given our scooty back and then took the train to Bangalore. Since in Goa it is very easy to take a scooty for rent, so travelling becomes quite easy and thus all the places which we have traveled is buy the scooty itself.
So yeah it was a memorable trip for my family as for them it was first time experiencing the culture of Goa. We were on a budget travel so yeah it was not an expensive trip. In Goa usually even of you are on a Budget, you will able to find a good hotel very near to the beach. Our hotel was around 700 meters from the beach so for us it was just a 10 minutes walk to the beach. We also took bath in the sea and thus quickly went to the hotel and freshned up.
