If you start from Islamabad you can go to Lahore with Daewoo buses. They are very good, and the ride takes about 4,5h (VIP = 340 INR/one way). From Lahore you can either fly to Delhi, or go by train. Check the timings of the flight, because the don´t operate every day in the week. If you choose to go by train, you first have to go by taxi out to the border (200 INR). Cross the border, and then take another taxi to Amritsar railway station (max. 250 INR). We can recomend CC-class on the train. This is a wagon with aeroplanechairs. Very comfortable, and you get a lot of food on the way. Excellent service. The price for two persons was 1290 INR, and the journey took about 5,45 hr. All this you can do in one day, if you start early.
We stayed overnight in YMCA – a plain but clean room for 1550 INR (Use tax exemption letter). The day after, at 10 a´clock in the morning we flew to Goa. In the middle of the day we arrived. So, if you don´t fly all the way, the travelling time is going to be approximately one and a half day in each direction. The flight ticket from Delhi to Goa and return cost around 12.300 INR for one person. (Don’t forget to buy it with tax exemptions!)
Beaches
Candolim – A touristic beach (North area of Goa). Here you meet a lot of english and finnish tourists. There are a lot of shacks on the beach, where you can have everything from toast with ham and cheese to a cold beer and a pina colada. Here you can sit and see the aun disappear in the ocean in the evening. There are quite a lot of salesmen in the beach, so you can get a massage or a hennapainting without leaving the beach. There are a lot of restaurants, shops in Candolim, and a lot of trips start from here. You can also participate in the tours arranged by the english or finnish travel companies.
Calangute – Just north of Candolim. The goal for english and swedish tourists. Very much like Candolim otherwise.
Anjuna – The hippiebeach. It´s a small, but beatiful beach. Here you can visit the big fleemarket every Wednesday (North area of Goa).
Palolem – A small backpackerbeach in the south of Goa. Here you stay in simple huts only 30 meters from the ocean. Some very nice little bars and restaurants right on the beach. Nothing for the person who are use to nice hotels. In the end of the palmfringed beach, there is a little river going inland. It´s a beatiful scenery.
Agonda – A very desolate beach, about 3 km long. It was not far from Palolem. You could easily take a threewheeler there for 125 INR. Here you could only find a couple of small hotels, and they were all situated on the way above the beach. This is a protected beach. Here turtles came and lay there eggs. Every nest were surrounded with barbed wire, to protect them.
What to do
The easiest, and cheapest way to see as much as possible of Goa, is to rent a motorbike. Then you can go around as you like. You normally rent it by the day. (Rent around 250-300 INR for one day)
· Aguada fort – A portugese fort from 1612, just in the outskirts of Candolim. There are guides at the fort, who will guide you around for a small amount of rupiees.
· Old Goa – the ”capital city” from the portugese regency. Here you can find many beautiful, old buildings and of course a lot of white catholic churches. The are all on the world heritage list. The most famous of them is called ”Basilika the Bom Jesus”, and has an interesting history.
· Spice plantation – Take the opportunity to see and learn more about the fruit and spices we eat. Most of them are away from the ocean. The easiest way is to go on a trip there, but you can easily go there by motorbike. You will get a 45 minutes guided tour of the plantation. Afterwards you get to try the fruit and spices in tea, food and dessert. Both fun and instructive.
· Boat-trips up the river – Here you have a lot to choose from. You can go fishing, birdwatcing, go and see dolphins or crocodiles. You can even go snorkelling.
· Trips to other beaches – If you stay up north, you can go for an overnight trip to the south part. If you don´t want to stay overnight it is also possible to make it a daytrip.
· Mayem Lake – It mostly seem to be a place for indian tourists. There is a run-down indian hotel with a lakeview. You can also go out for a boattrip on the lake.
· Anjuna fleemarket – Every Wednesday there is a huge fleemarket here. If you have the time and energy you can really bargin here. It´s a real hippiemarket. You feel like you´ve been trown back to the 70-ties.
Where to stay
We stayed at Magnum resort in Candolim. It was a nice hotel with pool. Prices fluctuate due to the season. We were there in march, and then you could get good off-season discount. We paid 1000 INR/night for a mini-suite with breakfast.
It is not hard to get anywhere to stay, but it´s good to have a place to go to when you arrive. Then you can easily change, when you´ve had the time to look around.
http://www.nic.in/goa
http://www.goatravelinfo.com
http://www.goastate.com
http://www.virtualw.com/goa
http://travel.indiamart.com/goa