Relaxing in Palolem, Goa

We arrived in Margao in Goa, and headed for the nearest beach - a place called Colva. Big disappointment, as it was really tacky. We didn't even get out of the taxi, and instead headed south to a place called Palolem. We'd read about it in the Lonely Planet book and it sounded fantastic - just what we were looking for.

We arrived, and were immediately impressed! Palolem beach is in a half moon shaped bay - beaufiful white sand, and warm water! The beach is surrounded by tall swaying palm trees, with lots of beach huts and mini-resorts hidden among them. After walking along the beach looking for somewhere to stay, we settled on a place called Fernandes, at the northern end of the beach. Our beach hut was basic, but cute. The restaurant served great food, had really friendly staff and was a lovely place to chill out.

The town of Palolem is pretty small, but had everything we needed - restaurants, bars, shops, internet cafes. Palolem is a really relaxed place to be - a far cry from Mumbai!! It's got a nice, easy going atmosphere, and has lots of tourists/travellers.

We spent 8 days in Palolem. The weather was so hot that we couldn't do much in the day - so just sat and chatted, read books, ate and went swimming in the sea! Pretty relaxed! At about 4.30pm each day, as the sun started to cool, we'd head out for a walk or into the town.

We met some fantastic people there, and spent many hours / days chatting away!! We went out on a moped to explore the countryside around, rented a boat for Helen's 40th birthday to check out some nearby beaches and islands, and rented canoos to paddle through the backwaters - the scenery was stunning! We really didn't want to leave - as we had so much fun!!

---

---