A beautiful beach hut resort on Palolem Beach. Great huts with en suite bathrooms and hot water, amazing beach, lovely staff.

www.alessandra-resort.com

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How many of you know that Goa was a part of Portugal until 1961? To get a true flavour of Portuguese Goa head to the state capital of Panjim. Apart from the Portuguese promenade, the churches and the ruins in Old Goa, you can savour the true taste of Portuguese colonial India in Venite reataurant. Set on a balcony overlooking 31 Janeiro Street, I had the crab and the Goan sausages.

My family hails from the Konkan coast and I grew up eating this blend of European and Indian food. When in Goa make sure you sample the region's true cuisines - my personal favourites are pork vindaloo, a dish flavoured with vin (red wine vinegar) and alho (garlic) and the xacuti.

Venite's is on 31 Janeiro Street, all the cabbies know it. It's in Panjim's Sao Tome neighbourhood. I don't have a phone number I'm afraid, but it's easy to find in a taxi and you don't need reservation

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Go for a couple of days - it's worth the visit. We stayed at the Afonso guest house, it's nice although the prices double over Christmas. There are some nice walks around this area.

Afonso guest house
nr St. Sebastian's church
Panjim

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This is the most beautiful beach I have ever been to. A palm tree lined, white sandy beach with beach huts overlooking. A spectacular sunset every evening. Beach shared with fishermen with small boats, crabs, pigs, monkeys and dolphins!

Take train (amazing journey) from Mumbai to Goa. Then by taxi (about £8) or bus (20p) to Palolem. Find a beach hut on arrival (about £5 a night)

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I came across this lovely completely rebuilt heritage Portuguese house, not too far from Vagator and Anjuna beach, in a superb setting in a coconut grove overlooking rice paddies.

Huge garden, expat owner. I'll give his web address so you can check it out.

www.assagaogoadreamhouse.com

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Please ensure that ladies and men are tatooed all over and make sure that you have an abundance of England football regalia, hats, shirts, shorts and the omnipresent towel with Wayne Rooney's ugly mug on.

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Baga Beach in Goa has a shack where, between 1300 and 1600 hrs, you can get a fresh fish tali for around 60p, accommodation is on the beach in the form of apartments, which are unbeatable in price with a fridge, tv and above all friendly advice.

Ask for Raymond who also has scooters for hire, this busy family concern caters for all walks of life and a stress free enviroment is ensured.

Tel: 0091 9822384032

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This is how left luggage offices are indicated on railway stations in south India. If you have time between trains or need a cheap and secure place to leave your bags after checking out of your accommodation look for the 'Cloakroom'.

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This brand new mid-range accomodation is excellent. It is closely situated to the nicest section of Calangute's beach, and some good eating places. It is family run by Ruena and Stanley who are perfect hosts and will provide you with any information or help that you need.
Rooms have TV, A/C, fridge, private bathroom with hot water.

Holiday Street, South Calangute
Tel: 0091 832 2275120

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I’m just about to take my fifth trip in two years back to sunny beautiful Goa. I absolutely love everything about this place. The people are fantastic..the food..especially in Fiestas Restaurant..The beaches..Well where do I begin...The beach huts Mandrim..Wow what a place to chill and just forget about everything. The Shanti village elephant camp I’m sure to head for again. Or a crocodile trip up the Mandovi River (but be careful with the pasties they give you - ex boyf was very ill after eating these - although he did have 5 of them!)

Goa is my favourite place on earth and hey I gota say I’ve done fair bit of travelling in my time guys .. Peace and love to all. Go see for yourself the uniqueness of this paradise.

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Agonda is the definition of tranquility though on certain days, the loneliness has a David Lynch creepiness to it, with big beautiful boulders that mark out one end.

Palolem, the next beach along, has come a long way over the years and the strip is now lined with beach huts from the Cozy Nook to the Bridge and Tunnel. The Dream Catcher (behind the Banyan Tree) is great for morning Yoga or breakfast with the buffalo.

This beach was made famous by Matt Damon in The Bourne Supremacy with his (very sexy) run sequence.

If you follow the NH17 you'll first hit Agonda and eventually hit Palolem

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This market-cum-entertainment place is a must for all you shopaholics. Here the Anjuna nightlife crowd mixes in a setting with crafts and art; Rajastani dancing, hip hop music and fire-juggling; and cocktails and cappuccinos.

Once you've maxed the credit card (or rather bartered, bashed and slashed your original prices in half), why not head out to Cubana's: for 800 rupees a couple you get an open bar, a good mix of Hindi and hip hop, R'n'B tunes, a view from the hills all lit by the moonlight and a massage to boot.

Midway between Baga and Anjuna, just ask the Tuk Tuk driver to take you to Ingo's

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Mind blowing years worth of history on a river bank in south Goa.

The drive towards Rivona is itself a spectacular green profusion. Keep following the green and red tourist signs, then follow the mud track past the turquoise quarry et voila.

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When you hit the needle - like rocks don't stop - follow the path round, this hidden gem is trapped between two hills, one bearing a Jesus graffiti for the purest Catholic within. Just avoid the mud bath.

North of Arambol Beach along the cliffside

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This is the Goan Latin Quarter, tucked behind Pato Bridge. January sees an annual festival where the Portuguese Mansions throw open their doors to local artists and their work for a week-long celebration of music and culture.

Splash out and book yourself into the Panjim Inn where you will step back in time and style, and fulfill all your Rani and Raj dreams. The art work in the gallery will blow you away.

Panjim Inn
31st January Road
Fontainhas, Panaji
Goa 403 001
Telephone: 91-832-2226523
www.panjiminn.com

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The climb is truly worth it, it's one of the best sunset spots with a 360 degree perfect view from the kites soaring up above you to the Buena Vista of the surrounding waters.

Meditate in the silent ruins on a hill and you may even be lucky enough to spot a peacock.

Take a motorcycle taxi or bus to from Panjim or Mapusa to Chapora beach.

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The whole south coast of Goa is a string of spectacular beaches and lovely towns, such as Udupi on the Karnataka coast. Inland is the historical site Hampi (railway station at Hospet). The main transport hub for south Goa is Margao (also known as Marmagao) which is called Madgoan by the railway.

Take a train to Hampi or Madgoan but be aware that most trains leave early in the morning (e.g. to Hospet - Hampi at 7 am) so it’s good to stay somewhere close to the station. We found the best place was Kovolam Beach which has lots of guesthouses and restaurants and a nice beach, and it’s cheap.

Some advice: Don't catch the state bus from Goa to Hampi - it's 10 hours of sheer hell.

south Goa

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Although "Goa trance" isn't really my music scene, I enjoyed Anjuna immensely. There are a whole lot of freaks out there and most of them travel into Anjuna at some point. There's a good choice of places to eat ranging from Tibetan, Indian and Chinese to Western.

Lots of bars abound on and around the beach areas and there's plenty of cheap accommodation for those on a tight budget.

The local nightclub is pretty impressive, even if it's all bang-gnab trance all night long.
The beach is medium sizee but really nice (just expect a lot of hawkers) and locals are as friendly as the tourists.

This is a really good place to relax on the beach by day and party by night. You also have a lot of options for exlporing the rest of Goa once you get there.

Anjuna beach, north Goa

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A 300 year old town house, complete with four-poster beds and antique tea-planters' chairs to lounge in after a hard day of pottering around.

In the heart of Panjim's Latin quarter
www.panjiminn.com

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We spent a couple of days wandering around Panjim (Panaji) and Old Goa - for a bit of culture to break up the days soaking up the sun on the beach. The streets of Panjim were full of character without being hectic like other Indian towns. The brightly painted churches, empty streets and perfectly mowed green lawns of Old Goa seemed like another world from the tie-dyed-tourist traps on the coast, and helped explain Goa's distinct character within India.

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