Goa - you have to see it!!! (Goa)

Member Name: cwld17

Product:	Goa
Date:	26/03/09 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Price, people

Disadvantages: Respect

Goa was a fantastic place we stayed at the heritage village, it's a first choice hotel but I booked through winter sunshine holidays. The hotel cost £189.00 all inclusive for both me and my partner. I booked the flights with Thomson fly as a late deal they cost around £130.00 for both of us. This was back in April 2007, we soon realised why the flight was so cheap, the flight out had 39 people on board. It was great we all used the rows of four to lie across and got a great nights sleep.

The hotel itself was great, nice food lovely staff and a fantastic pool area. It was very quiet when we went as it was the last week out for flights from England. We ended up talking to a couple who were from the same village as us and they gave us lots of tips on where to go as it was out first time. They had been out for two weeks and had paid £1800 for their holiday and were not impressed when we told them how much we had paid.

The temperatures were reaching 42 degrees C around the pool so a dip in the pool/bath was a great idea. The temperature of the pool in the morning was about 15-18 in the afternoon it was reaching the 20's!! It was nice though in the shade of the shim up bar.

We did a few excursions one was a trip to the local church on a hill to watch the sunset it cost about £5 each and they supplied beer and soft drink while up there it really was beautiful we got some great pictures. The people from the hotel were telling us stories about the church as religion is a big part of Goan life.

We also went on a private island trip where you sail to a deserted island and get a chance to fish form the boat. We started fishing and litrally as soon as I put my hook in the water I had a fish, then another, then another, it was great. There was about 5 of us fising and the colours of the fish coming up were great. Although my partner did catch a rock fish which had massive spines so be careful if you do go. They also took beer and soft drinks, they supplied a BBQ with the biggest fish I have ever seen, potatos, salad, pasta you name it they had brought it. It was so relaxing the beech was powder white and if you enjoy swimming it's great because it is one of the only beaches without an undercurrent.

A trip to the spice plantation is a must, you are greeted with a red spot on your head and a flower garland by the dancing ladies. You are shown round the plantation and shown the different spices growing (during which I passed out). You then have lunch and can buy anything from their shop and can go and ride and wash with the elephants. They have great fun in the water, a camera is a must!

Overall we had a fantastic holiday and would love to go back. However the poverty did put me off a bit. The visit we had to Panjim was horrendous I had a rock thrown at me by a young boy because he had been following is around trying to sell us wallets and belts and we didn't want one. The taxi driver then punched him in the face making his nose bleed and explained to us that we are the most important visitors to the country and we bring a lot of money to the country so they need to protect that. Taking into account the boy was about 11 I didn't agree with this treatment but didn't dare say anything. That was the only bad part of the holiday so I would still go to the country just stick to the tourist trail!!!

Summary: All in all a crazy busy place but out of the city, amazing.