Looking ahead to Christmas '26 - Goa?
Discussion
Hi all,
Thinking of Christmas this year and fancy a holiday again (went to Koh Lipe for Xmas '24 and really missed it this year!).
Anyone have experience of Goa? Will be me, the missus and our 2 daughters (who will be 17 and 14).
Was hoping for a similar kind of thing to Thailand/Malaysia but with shorter flights/easier travel?
Thanks in advance!
Thinking of Christmas this year and fancy a holiday again (went to Koh Lipe for Xmas '24 and really missed it this year!).
Anyone have experience of Goa? Will be me, the missus and our 2 daughters (who will be 17 and 14).
Was hoping for a similar kind of thing to Thailand/Malaysia but with shorter flights/easier travel?
Thanks in advance!
scot_aln]I was watching and hoping you'd get a stack of responses on this as we were considering warm festive 2026 ideas and someone had mentioned Goa. Travel agents at the more sensible prices [for that time of year said:
seem to be calling out Canaries or Egypt.
We’ve been to Essaouira a couple of times around Xmas, not baking hot, but very pleasant and quaintWhen I was 19-20 I lived out there for 10ish months. Living in a shack 
Been out a couple of times since but last time was 8 years ago. Seen it as a hippy and staying in a Taj.
I remember it as Great place not sure my experience is recent enough to be of use other than to say I have loved every trip there.
Been out a couple of times since but last time was 8 years ago. Seen it as a hippy and staying in a Taj.
I remember it as Great place not sure my experience is recent enough to be of use other than to say I have loved every trip there.
Well, lucky for you we went this year! :-) - we went for 10 days last year and liked it enough to return. We went this year in mid Nov to Dec 15th - 3 weeks. It was lovely, and cheap as hell!
We stayed on Patnem beach (literally, in an AC room on the beach nestled between the accomodations' bar, and another restuarant. Patnem is a good compromise between the overrun Palolem and the too-quiet Talpona. Palolem attracts the more mature crowd, lots of Brits, French and a smattering of Russians, plus some younger ones at the far end, and a lot of (very) young Israelis too.
The restaurants and bars are low-key, great food, no EDM/Techno / Heavy bass. One bar has a good band on once a week, every bar goes quiet at exactly 11pm - which you value when living on the beach).
Palolem is lovely to scoot/tuk tuk up to for dinner here and there - bigger choice of eateries and a very cool "Art resort" restaurant bar with great food and music, plus a very strange and wonderful hill top bar that the local Israelis go to and play traditional music all evening - a jamming session - captivating stuff. The beach is less attractive and teeming with Indian tourists at sunset which gets a little busy. I'd not choose to stay there.
The sea is lovely but often with waves that you have to leap up to let pass under you - not dead calm like Thailand.
Beers are cold and plentiful at 100 rupees (80p). An amazing curry or Tandoori with naan is usually around £3. I rented a scooter off one of our bar staff for 3 weeks, for... £53
It's not Thailand. It does not have the intense beauty TH has , the sea isn't calm, and its no where near as developed - don't expect to see a 7-11 or Maccy Ds, just local bazars and shops. We wanted for nothing.
We flew via Bahrain. Was 6.5 hours to Bahrain, which was on the limit for me in economy, and then its 3.2 hours to Goa INternational which is nothing really, so all in all an easy enough Eco flight. Gulf air was "fine" the service was appallingly indifferent.
If you want fly and flop, good weather, AMAZING food, lovely locals (though you'll be conversing largely with workers from Tibet in restaurants) and spend next to nothing, then you'll love it. Plenty of parents with kids there, yet, it never felt overrun with them as there are a lot of older travellers with none.
We'd get up on the morning, have two lattes brought to our verranda, then walk 10 yards to some well spaced sun loungers net door, where Ripin would greet us with a pair of reserved loungers (they will reserve the same one for you every single day if you keep coming back), bring us water and coke, and at exactly 11.30 every day he brought me a cold beer, repear at 1pm, and 2.30 , then 4 :-) The sevice everywhere was cheery and efficient. It was never crowded either - we'd rarely have anyone near us on our loungers.
I did start to get bored by week 3, its not Thailand. I love Thailand, which has a lot more to do and the ability to island hop with ease, but, it's way way cheaper, lovely, and easier to get to. (plus a LOT less Russians - who can be hard to share space with on holiday)
p.s. and everyone asks this, everyone!... no we did not get Dehli belly not on our tour of India over 5 weeks, not our 10 days in Goa last year, nor this year's 3 weeks. We don't eat salads, and we dodge anythng not cooked and hot.
Below - that's about as busy as it ever got.
We stayed on Patnem beach (literally, in an AC room on the beach nestled between the accomodations' bar, and another restuarant. Patnem is a good compromise between the overrun Palolem and the too-quiet Talpona. Palolem attracts the more mature crowd, lots of Brits, French and a smattering of Russians, plus some younger ones at the far end, and a lot of (very) young Israelis too.
The restaurants and bars are low-key, great food, no EDM/Techno / Heavy bass. One bar has a good band on once a week, every bar goes quiet at exactly 11pm - which you value when living on the beach).
Palolem is lovely to scoot/tuk tuk up to for dinner here and there - bigger choice of eateries and a very cool "Art resort" restaurant bar with great food and music, plus a very strange and wonderful hill top bar that the local Israelis go to and play traditional music all evening - a jamming session - captivating stuff. The beach is less attractive and teeming with Indian tourists at sunset which gets a little busy. I'd not choose to stay there.
The sea is lovely but often with waves that you have to leap up to let pass under you - not dead calm like Thailand.
Beers are cold and plentiful at 100 rupees (80p). An amazing curry or Tandoori with naan is usually around £3. I rented a scooter off one of our bar staff for 3 weeks, for... £53
It's not Thailand. It does not have the intense beauty TH has , the sea isn't calm, and its no where near as developed - don't expect to see a 7-11 or Maccy Ds, just local bazars and shops. We wanted for nothing.
We flew via Bahrain. Was 6.5 hours to Bahrain, which was on the limit for me in economy, and then its 3.2 hours to Goa INternational which is nothing really, so all in all an easy enough Eco flight. Gulf air was "fine" the service was appallingly indifferent.
If you want fly and flop, good weather, AMAZING food, lovely locals (though you'll be conversing largely with workers from Tibet in restaurants) and spend next to nothing, then you'll love it. Plenty of parents with kids there, yet, it never felt overrun with them as there are a lot of older travellers with none.
We'd get up on the morning, have two lattes brought to our verranda, then walk 10 yards to some well spaced sun loungers net door, where Ripin would greet us with a pair of reserved loungers (they will reserve the same one for you every single day if you keep coming back), bring us water and coke, and at exactly 11.30 every day he brought me a cold beer, repear at 1pm, and 2.30 , then 4 :-) The sevice everywhere was cheery and efficient. It was never crowded either - we'd rarely have anyone near us on our loungers.
I did start to get bored by week 3, its not Thailand. I love Thailand, which has a lot more to do and the ability to island hop with ease, but, it's way way cheaper, lovely, and easier to get to. (plus a LOT less Russians - who can be hard to share space with on holiday)
p.s. and everyone asks this, everyone!... no we did not get Dehli belly not on our tour of India over 5 weeks, not our 10 days in Goa last year, nor this year's 3 weeks. We don't eat salads, and we dodge anythng not cooked and hot.
Below - that's about as busy as it ever got.
Edited by Griffith4ever on Friday 9th January 14:38
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