Colva Beach

Colva is by far the most popular of South Goa beaches, famous for its white sands and is to South Goa what Calangute is to the North Goa. For those who like to be where the action is Colva is the place in South Goa, with lots of resorts, shops and activity. For those who prefer more tranquil surroundings, there are smaller places to stay at within 20 minutes walking distance on either side of Colva. There are a number of restaurants on either side of the road leading up to the beach and the numerous shacks on the beach provide less variety but equally good quality of food. Colva is only a 20 minute ride by bus from the town of Margao.

Bogmalo Beach

Bogmalo beach is only eight kms from Vasco and four km from the airport at Dabolim. The small beach became famous when the Oberoi Group decided to put up a 5 star hotel here. There are a few shacks on the beach next to the village.

Benaulim

According to legend as described in the Skanda Purana, Vishnu, in his sixth incarnation as Parsurama shot an arrow to mark the limit where Samudra, the Indian Neptune should withdraw. Defeated, Samudra receded when the arrow fell in Bannali (Bann: arrow, ali: village). This is how the village of Banali got its name. It was later corrupted by the Portuguese to Benaulim. Banaulim lies 2 kms away from Colva Beach.

Ever since backpackers started patronising the place, this fishing and rice-farming village with coconut groves and paddy fields, has turned into a tourist haven with small guest houses and souvenir stalls. Most visitors to Benaulim are transient budget travellers from Colva.

The gently shelving sands are increasingly being haunted by hawkers, masseurs and fruit-vendors. Otherwise, Benaulim is a relatively quieter beach than many, friendly and warm. The neighbouring beach of Varca, is more peaceful as tourism has not reared its head enough to change the lifestyle of the locals. There are a few bars and restaurants and basic accommodation is available here.

Palolem

Palolem, 2 km west of Chaudi, is one of Goa's most idyllic beaches. It has a crescent shaped bay lined with swaying coconut palms hemmed by a pair of rocky crags. The white sand beach in an arc is picture perfect.

The village has several cafes and souvenir stalls catering to day-trippers who arrive in droves on sight-seeing tours of the beaches. Despite the commercialisation, Palolem remains a traditional village, where the easy pace of life is dictated by the three daily rounds of todi-tapping.

South Goa Churches:

Church of Holy Spirit, Margao
Church of St. Alex, Curtorim
Rachol Seminary, Rachol

South Goa Temples :

Shree Damodar Temple, Zambaulim
Shree Chandranath Temple, Paroda
Shree Navdurga Temple, Borim
Shree Shantadurga Temple, Fatorpa
Shree Mahadeva Temple, Tambdi Surla
Shree Mallikarjun Temple, Canacona
Shree Sanusthan Parthagali, Parthagali
Shree Damodar Temple, Vasco Da Gama

South Goa Masjids:

Jama Masjid, Sanguem
Madina Masjid, Vasco da Gama

Aguada Fort

18 kms. Built by the Portuguese in 1609-1612, to command the entry into the river Mandovi, in order to protect Old Goa from potential enemy attacks. A spring within the fort provided water supply to the ships that called there. The fort houses presently the central jail. A lighthouse is situated nearby, the visiting hours for it being 16.00 to 17.00 hrs.

Arvalem Caves:

The celebrated caves of Arvalem, belonging to a remote era, are in a westerly direction not far away from the temple of Rudreshwar and are of archaeological interest. A mythical background is attached to these caves. Some are of the opinion that these caves have been carved by the travelling Buddhist monks. An inscription is noticed on a Shivalinga with a circular top in cave No.2 Its is in Sanskrit and in Brahmi characters of the 7th century A.D. It reads as Sambalura-vasi Ravih.

Arvalem Waterfalls:

Leaving the temple of Rudreshwar, one can descend the staircase to look at a majestic waterfall shedding its exuberant silvery showers. The beautiful fall, with a head of about 70ft., forms a sizeable lake at the bottom which offers a temptation to seasoned swimmers. The fall is best seen when in full flux, just after the copious monsoon, when it presents a raptures, ravishing and riotous aspect.

South Goa Museums , Monuments and Landmarks:
Naval Aviation Museum, Dabolim
Buddhist caves, Rivona
Cabo de Rama

Usually the climatic conditions of Goa are temperate, except during the monsoon, which lasts from June to September. Thanks to the coastal Konkan region and the backdrop of Western Ghats, weather of Goa is pleasant and sunny. There are no extremes in temperature and no clear demarcations from one season to the other except for the monsoon.

The average temperature varies between 25°C - 30°C (67.96F - 81.56F Approx). The average rainfall is approximately 325cms, the average daily hours of sunshine is nine to ten hours in summer and three to five hours during the monsoon.

Rainfall

July To End September (26 inches)
 
Winter

Late November To Mid-February (Min. 3° C - Max. 11° C)
 
Summer

Mid-March To End Of June (Min. 25° C - Max. 45° C)

Goa can be reached by its lone airport (Dabolim), by train, and by the many buses connecting the state with cities in India (primarily Mumbai Mangalore and Bangalore). If you are travelling from Mumbai or Pune, car travel would provide you a journey through he breathtaking scenery of Konkan area. Travel from Mangalore to Goa is through konkan rail and you can see its breath taking scenary and doodh sagar.

Distance from Goa to various cities:

Mangalore (305 km)
Bangalore (592 km)
Delhi (1912 km)
Hyderabad (747 km)
Mumbai (593 km)
Mysore (643 km)
Pune (450 km)

By bus

There are several bus routes from various cities, but most traffic is from mainly Mumbai and Pune, but with increasing demand from the south, there has been an increase in buses and trains from Mangalore,Bangalore and New Delhi. Overnight buses from Mumbai to Goa are one alternative to trains and flying. Note that while many of the coaches are newer Volvo models, you will share your sleeper bunk with one other person. (2 Person bunk)

By train

Indian Railways [2] connects Goa with direct train services from Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Kochi, Kolkata, Thiruvanantapuram, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. The destination station is usually Madgaon in South Goa. Travelling to Goa by train is a real pleasure as the route passes through greenery and many tunnels.
A railway station which most tourists tend to miss is Thivim, which is served by most trains and is just 20 minutes away from Calangute beach by taxi.

By air

Goa has one airport at Dabolim in Vasco.

Some airlines fly directly to Goa, but most international flights arrive via Mumbai.

Many domestic airlines have daily flights to and from Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kozhikode (Calicut).

Domestic Airlines flying into Goa include Kingfisher airlines, spicejet, Jet Airways, Indian Airlines, Air Deccan, Indigo, GoAir, Paramount Airways and MDLR Airways.

Air India has international flights to Kuwait and UAE twice a week. Air arabia has discount flights to sharjah, UAE Qatar airlines has flights to Doha, and has convenient connections to western Europe, Africa and USA

Flights are chartered to the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia and Switzerland.