GOA Beaches

Anjuna Beach
With its fluorescent painted palm trees and full moon parties, Anjuna Beach, 8-km west of Mapusa, is one of the most popular beaches of Goa. Most people's reasons for coming to Anjuna are the same as they were in the 1970s: dancing and lying on the beach slurping tropical fruit. While browsing in the area have a day trip to the famous flea market of Anjuna, a major shopping hangout, beside the beach.
Anjuna attracts a variety of tourists touring Goa, and the crowd includes from the happy go lucky kinds to overlanders, monks, defiant ex-hippies, gentle lunatics, artists, artisans, seers, searchers etc. Even those particular kinds of tourists who prefer to travel within the limit of their tour itinerary, cannot resist visiting this charming beach site.
Tropical Sights Of Anjuna Beach
Bathing is generally safer at Anjuna than at most of the nearby resorts, especially at the more peaceful southern end of the beach, where a rocky headland keeps the sea calm and the undertow to a minimum. Taking long walks under the moon on the silver sands of this beach is something that any visitor would love to do at Anjuna, beside the favourite pastime of watching the sun going down.At the north of the Anjuna Flea market ground, the beach area broadens, running in an uninterrupted kilometre long stretch of steeply shelving sand to a low red cliff. The village bus park lies on top of this high ground, where small cafes, bars and Kashmiri handicraft stalls are lined, making a perfect hangout zone near the beach site. Every lunch hour, tour parties from Panjim also pull-up in here for a beer, before heading home again, leaving the localities and tired tourists to watch the sunset peacefully and relax a bit.
Visiting Time
The tourist season in Anjuna starts in early November, when most of the long staying regulars show up. During the Christmas and New Year rush, the village and beach site is busy with a mixed crowd of round the world backpackers and tourists from all over India, attracted by the promise of the big beach parties. In off-season however, Anjuna has a surprisingly simple unhurried atmosphere. Visitors can also opt to stay at the large package tour hotels and beach resorts that have appeared over the past couple of years near the Anjuna beach site.
Entertainment & Amusements At Anjuna
Thanks to the kill-joy attitude reputation, Anjuna is a rave-venue for big parties that take place over here from time to time, especially around the Christmas-New Year full moon period. At other times, Anjuna's nightlife centres on the Shore Bar, in the middle of the beach, which has a pounding sound system and play some real funky music that always keep the atmosphere alive. The biggest crowds show up accompanied by the latest ambient trance mixes from London. The music gains pace as the evening wears on winding up before midnight, when there's an exodus over to the Guru Bar, further up the beach, or to the Primrose Café in Vagator, both of which stay open until after midnight.The Alcove, over looking Ozran Vagator Beach, is another worthwhile nightspot to hangout near Anjuna. More mainstream musical entertainment is on offer at Temptations, in the Red Cab Inn just below Starco's crossroads, where Indian classical recitals and guitar based cover bands feature with fire dancers on Mondays.
Eating Out Places At Anjuna
Both the beachfront and village at Anjuna are flooded with good places to eat and drink. Most are simple semi open-air, thatched palm leaf affairs, specializing in fish and western food. All serve cold beer, invariably with thumping techno music in the background. On the beach, tourists can buy fresh fruits, including watermelons, pineapples and locally grown coconuts from the local vendors.

Baga Beach
Baga Beach is part of a 30-km stretch of beach coastline along the west coast of Goa by the Arabian Sea, 10-km west of Mapusa, is basically an extension of Calangute beach. The beach begins at Fort Aguada continues as Sinquerim beach, then as Candolim Beach and merges into Calangute beach and then to Baga beach and then Anjuna Beach and then to Vagator Beach finally ending at Chapora Beach and Fort.
Exotic Locales Around Baga
Lying in the rocky, wooded headland, the only difference between this far northern end of the Baga beach and its more congested center of Calangute Beach is that the scenery of this beach site is more varied, unspoiled and scenic.
Water Sports At Baga
The quiet atmosphere and isolated location of Baga, beside the scenic beauty that surrounds it, with the creek, the Retreat House perched on the hill and the lack of local tourist buses all have contributed to the beach being a favourite of the beach lovers. Baga beach is more popular with western tourists who love to use it as a base for water sports and fishing in the area.
Eating Out Places At Baga Beach
Baga has arguably the best range of restaurants in Goa, from standard beach shacks to swish pizzerias and terrace cafes serving real espresso coffee. Tourists can opt for a candlelit dinner at the beachside, or a traditional Goan meal at the shacks and restaurants offering continental as well as tempting seafood.
Entertainment & Leisure At Baga Beach
Thanks to the droves of predominantly British package tourists who stay here, Baga's nightlife is the liveliest in the area. Most of the travellers end up at Tito's, which has the only dance floor and hefty sound system outside a big hotel for miles. Women are allowed in for free, but men and couples have to pay.

Calangute Beach
A 45 minute bus ride up to the coast from the city of Panjim bring one to Calangute, Goa's busiest and most commercialized resort, and the flagship of the state government's bid for a bigger slice of India's package-tourist pie. This peaceful fishing village was a favourite hideout of the hippies in the 70's and 80's. Today, Calangute beach symbolise Goa's reputation as a haven for beach and coastal splendour
Shopping At Calangute Beach
The road from the town to the beach is lined with Kashmiri-run handicraft boutiques and Tibetan stalls selling Himalayan curios and jewellery. The quality of the goods - mainly Rajasthani, Gujarati and Karnatakan textiles - is generally high. Haggle hard and don't be afraid to walk away from a heavy sales pitch - the same stuff crops up every Wednesday at Anjuna's flea market.
Leisure Activities At Calnagute Beach
The beach itself is nothing special, with steeply shelving sand, but is more than large enough to accommodate the huge numbers of high-season visitors.
Head fifteen minutes or so south of the main beachfront area, towards the rows of old wooden boats moored below the dunes. In this virtually hawker-free zone, one' will only come across teams of villagers hauling in hand nets at high tide or fishermen fixing their tack under bamboo sun shakes.
Water Sports At Calangute
Calangute also makes a perfect beach site if you want to indulge in some water sports activities. Parasailing, water skiing and wind surfing at the Calangute beach starts in the afternoon when the wind is blowing just in the right direction and it goes on till sunset.Eating Out Joints & RestaurantsCalangute's bars and restaurants are mainly grouped around the entrance to the beach and along the Baga road. As with most Goan resorts, the accent is firmly on tempting seafood, though many places also serve vegetarian dishes. Western breakfasts also feature prominently at some of the restaurants in Calangute.
Nightlife & Entertainment At Calangute
Calangute's nightlife is surprisingly tamed and provide a nice break from the wild parties at Anjuna. All but a handful of the bars wind up by 10.00 pm. One notable exception is Tito's at the Baga end of the beach, which stays open until after midnight in the off-season and into the small hours in late December and January. The other places that consistently stay open through the night at Calangute are a couple of hippy hang-outs in the woods to the south of the beach road. Pete's Bar, a perennial favourite next door to Angela P. Fernandes, is generally the liveliest, offering affordable drinks, backgammon sets and relentless reggae. Further afield, Bob's Inn, between Calangute and Candolim beaches, is another popular bar.Attractions Around Calangute BeachKerkar Art Gallery: Located at close proximity is the Kerkar Art Gallery, displaying the paintings and sculptures of various talented, upcoming artists of Goa. The gallery also hosts a night of Indian music and dance, once every week.Church Of St. Alex: As the vast tourist traffic on the CHOGM road reaches the village site of Calangute, the Church of St Alex greets the visitors with its two towers and a magnificent dome gracing the façade. The inside of the church is a display of the line and beauty of its architectural style and attractive altars.

Dona Paula Beach
At the place where two of Goa's famous rivers meet the Arabian Sea is the secluded bay of Dona Paula with a fine view of the Marmagoa Harbour. This beach of Goa carries with it an aura of both romance and myth - haunted by Dona Paula de Menezes; tourists throng the Dona Paula beach not only in search of the deceased beloved, but also to indulge in water sports on the clear waters. The Dona Paula Beach offers an opportunity to the tourists to have a sunbath and enjoy water scootering and motar boat rides.
Exotic Locales Surrounding Dona Paula
7-km from Panjim, nestled on the south side of the rocky, hammer-shaped headland that divides the Zuari and Mandovi estuaries, this former fishing village of has now become a commercialized beach resort. Beside the beach water sports attractions, do visit the official residence of the Governor of Goa, known as Cabo Raj Bhavan, situated on the westernmost tip of Dona Paula. Along the road leading to this place lies the ruins of the small military cemetery the British built at their brief occupation of the Cabo, to deter the French from invading Goa.
The Legend Of Dona Paula
Named after Dona Paula de Menezes, the Dona Paula beach is popularly known as the "Lovers Paradise" due to a myth that has been attached to this place. According one legend the Viceroy's daughter after facing objections from her family about her love affair with a poor fisherman jumped of the cliff. Another legend says that punished for captivating Francisco de Tavora, the Count of Alvor with her charm the Viceroy's daughter was pushed off a cliff to drown in the waters below. Her irrepressible spirit still continues to haunt every visitor with legends of her lovers. She is even supposed to have been seen emerging from moonlit waves wearing only a pearl necklace.
Attractions Around Dona Paula Beach
The Reis Magos Church:
Among the places of interest at the Dona Paula beachside, there's the Reis Magos Church considered to be one of the oldest churches built in Goa. It is dedicated to the three Magi (the wise men of the East)-Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar who, according to a legend, were guided by a star to Bethlehem to greet the newborn Jesus.
Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary:
The Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary is situated on the western tip of the island of Choro, along the Mandovi River, about 9-km from Dona Paula beach. Spread over 2-sq-kms, this sanctuary is a mangrove forest. Local and migratory birds are found here throughout the year, making it a bird watcher's paradise.
National Oceanography Institute:
Another nearby attraction of the Dona Paula beach site is the National Oceanography Institute. Set up in the 1960s, the National Oceanography Institute delves not only upon marine biology, but incorporates almost all the major branches of coastal and marine oceanography. The major attraction of the institute is its Marine Biology Museum and Taxonomy Reference Center.
Nearby Beach Sites
Two more beaches are also located within the proximity of the Dona Paula Beach. These are the Miramir beach, which lies 4-km north of Dona Paula, and the Vainguinim Beach, which is situated 1-km west of the beach side. Shopping At Dona Paula
Shopping can become a much more enjoyable experience at the beaches of Goa. Dona Paula is one such place where several shops are located along the beachside, selling variety of goods ranging from eatables to clothes. Fishermen-turned-local vendors also sell straw hats, lace handkerchiefs, and spices in these shops. Feni and port wine, which are the two Goan liquor specialties are a must buy and local liquor is easily available. If you are interested in buying Indian handicrafts and jewellery, then visit the Indian Arts Emporium in Dona Paula.