Plan your trip to Goa with this 7-day itinerary

India serves up a continent’s worth of landscapes, from the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas to the humid jungles of the Western Ghats, but for lovers of sea and sand, all eyes are on Goa and the dreamy beaches strewn along India’s sun-sizzled west coast. 

While golden sands take center stage, there’s more to Goa than bullion-colored shores. Inland from the sand lie spice plantations, wildlife-filled sanctuaries, famous markets, buzzing towns and the monsoon-scuffed remains of Portuguese Goa, all accessible via the handy international airport at Panaji (Panjim), midway between Goa’s northern and southern beaches.

Distances are small in Goa – India’s smallest state measures just 105km (65 miles) from north to south and 60km (37 miles) from east to west – so it’s easy to fit in several locations even on a short trip. To point you on the path to beach perfection, try this seven-day itinerary, visiting Goa’s northern and southern beaches. 

When to arrive

India’s west coast is soaked by the summer monsoon from June to September, creating less than ideal beach conditions. Instead, sunseekers gather in Goa in droves from November to March, when the grey days have mostly disappeared and temperatures hover above 30ºC (86ºF), complemented by water temperatures of around 28°C (82°F). 

The best time to visit is before the mid-winter rush (which peaks during the Christmas holidays), with October to November offering lower prices and smaller crowds. Visitor numbers also thin from April to May, as temperatures climb in the build-up to the monsoon. During the rainy summer, many businesses close completely as owners relocate to spots with drier weather, such as Ladakh. 

Consider timing your trip to coincide with a local festival, such as the Feast of St Francis Xavier on December 3, the Feast of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Panaji on December 8, or the International Film Festival of India in Panaji in November. Panaji's Carnival in February or March is also a lively affair.

How to get around

With the handy international airport at Dabolim near Panaji, just a short bus or taxi ride from Goa's northern and southern beaches, many visitors arrive and settle in one spot for the entire length of their trip. But if you’re inclined to explore, it’s easy to get around by public bus, taxi, autorickshaw, hired scooter or motorcycle, or chartered car and driver. 

A popular alternative route to Goa is to fly into Mumbai’s busy Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Airport, before changing to the comfortable Vande Bharat Express train or one of the many other rail services that follow the scenic coast line from Mumbai to Goa.

Explore the stops on this itinerary by autorickshaw, by taxi, or by using the motorcycle taxis known as “pilots.” You may need to agree on fares before the journey starts, as many drivers are reluctant to use the meter. An alternative is to rent a scooter or motorcycle, or charter a car and driver for the day. Uber and Ola are mainly useful for airport transfers. 

What to pack

Goa is one of the more relaxed corners of India when it comes to dress codes, but that doesn’t mean it’s a beachwear free-for-all. Swimsuits are fine on the sand, but bring a sarong or light cotton pants and a shirt or T-shirt to pop on once you leave the beach. 

Bring some sturdier footwear for trips into towns, wildlife sanctuaries and spice plantations, plus sandals or flip-flops to kick off at the water’s edge. You’ll also want a warm layer for the cooler nights at certain times of year, and perhaps some dress-up clothes for dinners in posh restaurants and trips to bars and clubs. 

Other essentials include sunscreen, a sun hat, and plenty of mosquito repellent. A plug-in mosquito killer or mosquito net is a sensible investment in case your accommodation doesn’t provide one. Also bring a refillable water bottle so you can top up from filtered hotel supplies and avoid contributing to India’s growing plastic water bottle waste problem.  

Day 1-2: Soak up Goa’s history in Panaji 

Go to Panaji: With the short distances in Goa, you can stay in Panaji, or bunk down at beach resorts such as Candolim, Calangute and Baga to the north or Colva and Benaulim to the south, and still be just a short bus or taxi ride from Goa’s historic capital.  

How to spend the days: Start your first day with a tropical fruit breakfast before heading out to explore Panaji. The city’s historic streets offer a glimpse of the European influence on Goan architecture, with Portuguese-inspired houses, public buildings and churches. 

Dating back to 1541, the pristine white Portuguese baroque-style Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception stands tall at the top of the hill overlooking the main square. Nearby is the 19th-century Mahalaxmi Temple, the first Hindu temple built in the city after the Portuguese arrived, dedicated to the goddess of wealth. 

Beyond these religious monuments, Panaji’s history lives on in the Adil Shah Palace, the city’s oldest surviving building, which now houses the Goa State Museum, a repository of objects of significant cultural importance to Goan history.

With two days to spare, there’ll be time to visit Panaji’s intriguing bookstores and craft shops and eat in its gourmet restaurants and cozy cafes and bakeries – try Padaria Prazeres for tasty pastéis de nata (Portuguese-style custard tarts). For something a little different, book a class at Azulejos de Goa, where you can learn to create azulejos – the distinctive hand-painted tiles found in many Goan homes.

Get more Portuguese-flavored experiences at the Centre for Indo-Portuguese Arts on the waterfront, where you can buy azulejos, eat Indo-Portuguese snacks in the balcony cafe, buy specialist books on Goa, and attend jazz, fado or mando concerts on weekends.

While you’re in the capital, a visit to nearby Velha Goa, or Old Goa, is a must. This green corner of the state is awash with historical and religious monuments dating back to the first Portuguese settlement in Goa. Start your tour at the majestic baroque church, the Basilica de Bom Jesus, which contains the remains of Goa’s patron saint, St Francis Xavier.

Nearby are the bird-thronged wetlands at Carambolim Lake and the Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, at Chorão, where birders can secure sightings of Indian pond herons, little egrets, common kingfishers, purple swamphens and great cormorants.

Evening: With two evening meals to play with, you can enjoy laid-back local meals at the popular, century-old Cafe Bhonsle (try the bhaji puri – fried puffed flatbread with spiced potatoes) or cute, mural-filled Bombil, and also go upmarket for sophisticated small plates and live music at Petisco or fine Konkan-Portuguese fusion cuisine exquisitely presented at Miguel’s.

Afterward, seek out some of Panaji’s old-style tavernas, where locals gather to imbibe local brews such as cashew-based feni and urrak. Soul Travelling runs Secret Food & Tavern Trail tours, visiting local drinking spots. 

Day 3–4: Soak up the vibe of Goa’s Southern Beaches

Go to the southern beaches: Buses buzz south along the coast from Panaji, or you can get around by taxi or chartered car.

How to spend the days: Devote two days to soaking up the easygoing mood of the beaches to the south of the state capital. Agonda and Palolem are two of the region’s loveliest and most popular beaches, known for their calm waters, sparkling sand, castaway-style beach shacks, quality dining and nightlife. 

Blessed with white sand, Agonda is a turtle-nesting site from October to May, while Palolem is where you will find the most beach shacks and water-sport activities. If you prefer a quieter beach experience, check out underrated Cola Beach and Butterfly Beach for (mostly) uncrowded sand. 

For a break from the beach scene, Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary is a stretch of dense woodland by the Karnataka border, home to sloth bears, white-bellied woodpeckers, black leopards, painted bats, Indian pangolins and more. Explore with a chartered car, follow the hiking trails, or have a picnic and river swim on an eco-tour with Local Beat.

Alternatively, head to the inland town of Margao (Madgaon), with its finely decorated Church of the Holy Spirit, and admire the antique Portuguese mansions in nearby Chandor. Begin your tour at the 17th-century Menezes Braganca House, containing a relic of St Francis Xavier, and the Fernandes Heritage House, which dates back more than 500 years (with a newer section tacked on in 1821).

The Portuguese were drawn to Goa by the spice trade, and spices and cashew nuts are still harvested here today. Visit Cazulo Premium Feni, where you can sit by a natural spring as owner Hansel Vaz teaches you how to appreciate the beloved cashew-based liquor known as feni. Alternatively, sample feni alongside a seven-course Goan menu at C’est L’Avi, set on the family cashew farm of chef Avinash Martins inland from Betul. 

Goa’s spice heritage is best explored by visiting the spice plantations inland from the coast. The organic Tanshikar Spice Farm inland from Agonda at Neturlim specializes in nutmeg, while the 200-year-old Savoi Plantation at Ponda grows betel nut, varied spices and tropical fruits. Nearby in Curti, the Sahakari Spice Farm offers tours of its spice, coffee and cacao plantations, while the Kushavati Spice Plantation close to Chandor produces everything from coffee to pepper and cardamom. 

Evening: Spend one of your overnight stops in Margao, where the Goan Kitchen Restaurant and Longuinhos Bar, Restaurant & Confectioners serve quality Goan cuisine. Further south on the coast at Mobor near Cavelossim is legendary seafood spot Fisherman’s Wharf, while Colva’s Juju elevates contemporary Indian dishes into artworks.  

Day 5: Discover Goan nature in the hinterland

Go to Mollem or Kulem: The gateway to Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary is the village of Mollem, while Kulem is the starting point for trips to Dudhsagar Falls. Allow around two hours to reach either location from the coast by chartered car.

How to spend the day: With a chartered vehicle, you can take in both the falls and sanctuary in one day. Start at Dudhsagar Falls (literally, “River of Milk”) – a magnificent four-tiered waterfall cascading 305m (1000ft) into thick forest. You can walk to the falls from Kulem via a three-hour trek, but a quicker option is to hire a 4WD – you’ll be taken to the foot of the waterfalls, where you can swim below the thundering curtain of water. 

Use the rest of the day to explore the temples and natural wonders inside Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary. Here, you can find Goa’s state tree (the matti, or crocodile bark tree), the state bird (the flame-throated bulbul) and the state animal (the gaur, or Indian bison), alongside myriad other birds and animals. 

See what you spot on a guided hike or 4WD tour in the forest, and check out the revered Mahadev Temple of Tambdi Surla, Goa’s oldest Hindu temple, which survived both the Inquisition and Islamic raiding parties because of its remote forest location.

Evening: Return to the coast for the evening and enjoy the varied culinary offerings of Benaulim, such as bar bites at Beno, pizzas at Goodfellas or delicious contemporary Goan cuisine at Cavatina Cucina. 

Day 6–7: Live it up on Goa’s northern beaches

Go to the northern beaches: Connect through Panaji to reach Goa’s northern beach strip. 

How to spend the days: With two days, you can see several sides to the beach scene in Northern Goa. Spend time in laid-back Arambol, basking on the sand and joining a yoga class at Himalayan Iyengar Yoga Centre, Yoga Village or Raj Yoga School, or an ecstatic dance session at Jungle Dance Double Dutch or Shunya Wellness.

Consider a trip to Morjim Beach, a nesting site for endangered olive ridley turtles from October to April. The local Forest Department monitors the whole process, and visitors are welcome to watch – from a safe distance for the turtles’ wellbeing. 

The waters off Sinquerim and Candolim beaches are good places to spot dolphins. Numerous operators offer boat trips where you have a good chance of seeing Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins – try at the jetty at Dolphin Point in Sinquerim, on the road to Fort Aguada and the disused Aguada Jail. 

To fully dive into Goan beach life, reliable surf waves break at Morjim, Mandrem and Ashwem beaches – all well-served by surf schools offering board rentals, beginner classes and immersive courses for children and adults. Try Octopus Surf School in Morjim, Surf Samudra in Ashwem, or Swell Cats Surf Club in Mandrem. 

For a busy, buzzy beach scene, head to the Bardez region, centered on the town of Mapusa and the legendary beaches at Vagator, Anjuna, Chapora, Calangute and Baga. Part of the fun here, on top of yoga, beach bars and water sports, is haggling for Goan crafts at the high-season markets that dot the shoreline. 

On Fridays, the focus is the Goa Collective Bazaar at Vagator – a weekly open-air night market with handmade products, a global food court and bar, plus live entertainment, music and poetry, fire shows and dance workshops. Before hitting the market, take a hike up to the atmospherically ruined Chapora Fort. 

Other memorable markets include Mapusa’s public market (good for Goan foodstuffs and thronged by local villagers on Fridays) and Anjuna’s busy flea market every Wednesday, selling everything from sarongs to sandalwood deity carvings. 

Evening: Vegans and vegetarians eat well in Arambol. Try inexpensive Shantaram, a raw vegan cafe with an open rooftop space, or eat healthily by the pool at Garden of Dreams. For nutritious Buddha bowls, thalis (plate meals) and vegan sushi, head to vegan-oriented Bodhi Greens.

Alternatively, take a foodie safari to the beaches south of Arambol, for exceptional eating at Rice Mill, an old rice mill turned into a cozy cafe and jazz bar in Morjim, and Verandah, a graceful hillside restaurant in Mandrem serving globally inspired cuisine and artisan gin. 

In Bardez, it’s all about the bars and clubs. Top nightspots for people craving a bop include Cafe Mambo close to Baga Beach, SinQ in Candolim, beachside House of Chapora and Bollywood-style LPK Waterfront Club at Nerul. For something more relaxed, grab a sunset drink at funky Cafe Lilliput in Anjuna, or some local spirits and bites at Peter Tavern in Ucassaim. 

This article was adapted from Lonely Planet’s India guidebook, published in November 2024.