GOA: Best Honeymoon Place in India

About GOA

Variously known as "Pearl of the Orient" and a "Tourist Paradise", the state of Goa is located on the western coast of India in the coastal belt known as Konkan.

The magnificent scenic beauty and the architectural splendours of its temples, churches and old houses have made Goa a firm favourite with travellers around the world.

Demographics and language:
Area 3700 sq. km
Language English, Hindi, Marathi, Konkani
Best time to visit October to May

How to reach GOA



The location of Goa makes it easily accessible. Travelling to Goa, the best tourist place for India is comfortable. Situated on the western coastline of India, the Union Territory of Goa is sandwiched between the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The capital Panaji is at a distance of 592 km from Bangalore and 593 km from Mumbai. The waters of the Arabian Sea wash the coastline of Goa. It is split into two districts-North Goa (STD Code: 0832) and South Goa (STD Code: 0834). North Goa includes the capital city of Panjim, the former capital of Old Goa, Fort Aguada and Candolim, Chapora, Vagator, and the beaches Calangute, Anjuna, and Baga. South Goa includes Vasco da Gama Bogmalo, Margao, Colva and Benolem. Being near to the sea, Goa enjoys a maritime climate, with April and May being very hot. The Goa Beach Resorts sitauted on the beach sides are the best way to enjoy Goa. Christian Pilgrimage tours to Goa are usually taken up around the Christmas and New Year.


Attractions

Anjuna Flea Market

Once just a backpacker and hippy hangout selling kaftans and chillums, the Anjuna Flea Market is now more commercial with a broad range of goods on sale. Traders from all over India come to sell their wares: Lamani women from Karnataka, dressed in their traditional garb, sell colourful, elaborately woven clothes, Kashmiri stalls display silver and papier-mâché boxes and Tibetans preside over orderly rows of sundry Himalayan curios. Even if not planning to haggle for anything the market is a great place to watch the world go by and mingle with bands of musicians, snake charmers, beggars and the inevitable juggling hippies. The market takes place every Wednesday

Panaji

For most Panaji is simply a busy bus terminal, however it is worth spending a few hours exploring this most sedate of State Capitals. Situated on the southern banks of the Mandovi River, Panaji only became the capital of Goa in 1843 when the harbour at Old Goa had silted up and disease had driven its inhabitants out. The best way to explore the town is by foot, wandering around the old cobbled alleyways, colonial villas, red-roofed houses, taverns and cafes, much like any small Portuguese town. There are some wonderful old government buildings, some dating to before colonisation and some elegant churches. Most memorable is the Church of the Immaculate Conception, which was built in 1541; it is topped with a huge bell that sits between two delicate Baroque-style towers.
Old Goa


Old Goa was the State Capital until 1843 when it moved down river to Panaji. Once a byword for splendour, with a population of several hundred thousand, Old Goa was virtually abandoned from the 17th century as the river silted up and a series of malaria and cholera epidemics drove out the inhabitants. It takes some imagination to picture the once-great capital as it used to be. The maze of twisting streets, piazzas and grand Portuguese villas have long gone; all that remains are a score of extraordinarily grandiose churches and convents. Old Goa has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and today is the state's main cultural attraction. Tourists come here from the beach resorts to admire the massive facades and beautiful interiors of the well-preserved churches. The Tuscan St Catherine's Cathedral is the largest church in India and took eighty years to build, finally being consecrated in 1640. The scale and detail of the Corinthian-style interior is overwhelming; huge pillars divide the central nave from the side aisles, and no less than fifteen altars are arranged around the walls. An altar to St Anne treasures the relics of the Blessed Martyrs of Cuncolim, whose failed mission to convert the Moghul emperor Akbar culminated in their murder, while a chapel behind a highly detailed screen holds the Miraculous Cross, which stood in a Goan village until a vision of Christ appeared on it. Said to heal the sick, it is now kept in a box; a small opening on the side allows devotees to touch it. Other sights worth seeing include the Arch of the Viceroys, built in 1597 to commemorate Vasco da Gama's arrival in India, and the distinctive domed Church of St Cajetan (1651), modelled on St Peter's in Rome. Old Goa is a major draw for Christian pilgrims from all over India who come to visit the tomb of St Francis Xavier, the renowned sixteenth-century missionary whose remains are enshrined in the Basilica of Bom Jesus.
Famous Waterfalls in Goa
Dudhsagar Waterfall

The Dudhsagar Waterfall that is located at the high peaks of Western Ghats is one of the sightseeing places in Goa. Witness this stunning waterfall that appears as milk rushing down the mountain. To be very exact, the Dudhsagar waterfall is located in the Sanguem Taluka. This mighty waterfall measures 600m from head to foot.

As there is consistent growth in Goa tourism, various hotels and resorts have come into existence. They are putting their maximum efforts to cater to the lodging needs of visitors. You will be provided with five star beach resorts that encompass special luxurious honeymoon suites to budget hotels that feature all the basic amenities.

If you are looking for luxurious hotels in Goa then there is no need to bother. Goa features a few famous luxurious hotels, such as Holiday Inn Resort, The Leela Palace, Bogmallo Beach Resort, Taj Exotica, Goa Marriott Resort, Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa, Cidade De Goa Resort, Fort Aguada Beach resort, Intercontinental The Grand Resort, Radisson White Sands Resort, Renaissance Goa Resort, Majorda Beach Resort, Kenilworth Beach Resort etc. These hotels would cost you approximately 10,000 to 20,000 for three nights.

Semi luxurious hotels such as Coconut Grove Hotel, Sun Village, Taj Holiday village, The Aguada Hermitage, Dona Sylvia and Club Mahindra Beach Resort are known for offering luxurious accommodation at lower prices. For Instance, these semi luxurious hotels will cost you around 9,000 to 12,000 for three nights. Simultaneously, Goa also features deluxe hotels and economy hotels.

So, there is no need to bother about the accommodation, as Goa offers great lodging options.


If you want to enjoy your vacation at fullest then simply plan for Goa, India. Although, nightlife is not a part of Indian culture, still Goa is famous for it, as it is influenced a lot by Portuguese tradition and culture. Goa is the ideal place to spend some rocking time with your family members, as it is the place of fun and festivity.

GOA Nightlife

Nightlife is quite exciting in Goa, as Goan people are usually fun lovers. One can easily make the evening lively and entertaining at Goa. You can easily find families going out at night to enjoy. You can easily find bar-cum-restaurant at Goa, India. Although, these places might not be very special, still you will find excellent atmosphere. If you want to get rid of stress then these bars-cum-restaurants are ideal.

These restaurants also offer mouthwatering Goan as well as continental delicacies. One of the most popular places at Goa is Titos. Titos is located on the beach and is one of the hottest places of Goa, India. If you are looking for a rocking discotheque then you may go for 'The Beachotheque'. Lidos in Dona Paula is also one of the most rocking places for party animals.

You can also make your beloved smile by planning a romantic candlelight dinner at the beach. This is another way to enliven up the nightlife. Another popular place for a rocking night is Ozone. Ozone is positioned in Miramar in Goa, India. So, make your nightlife rocking by planning a trip to Goa, India.

Maldives named “World’s Most Romantic Destination”

About Maldives

The Maldives was largely terra incognita for tourists until the early seventies. Strewn across the equator in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives archipelago possesses an exceptionally unique geography as a small island country. Nature has fragmented the archipelago into 1,190 tiny islands that occupy a mere one per cent of its 90,000 sq km territory. Only 185 islands are home to its 300,000 population, while the other islands are used entirely for economic purposes of which tourism and agriculture are the most dominant. The emergence of tourism in 1972 transformed the economy of the Maldives, moving rapidly from the dependence on the fisheries sector to the tourism sector. Just in three and a half decades, the industry has become the main source of income and livelihood of the people of the Maldives. Tourism is also the country’s biggest foreign currency earner and the single largest contributor to the GDP. Today, there are 89 resorts in the Maldives with a bed capacity of over 17,000, providing world class facilities for tourists whose annual arrival figure exceeds 600,000.

Location: Indian Ocean, about 500 Km from Sri Lanka and India.
Political Status: Independent Republic
Population: 250,000 (approx.)
Religion: Islam
Geography: Coral islands grouped into atolls with fringing reefs
Climate: Tropical, Average temp. 30 deg. C
Access: Scheduled and charter flights from Europe, Middle East, Asia, US and S. Africa
Visa: 30-day tourist visa on arrival
Customs: No illicit drugs, pornography, firearms, alcohol, dangerous animals

People and Language

The Maldivians are not a race. The average Maldivian would never look into his neighbor’s face to see if he resembled someone from Kinshasa, Kabul or Kuala Lumpur. If you tried to persuade him to do so anyway, he would probably smile and consider the exercise a total waste of time.

If you do stop to consider, and want to find out more, a rather interesting case study begins to emerge.

One of the most interesting facets of the Maldives it its language – Dhivehi.

The languages spoken by our immediate neighbors in the Indian subcontinent are Dravidian, the major languages in this region being Tamil, Malayalam, Kannado and Telugu. Singhalese, spoken by the Singhalese community in Sri Lanka, and Dhivehi are Sanskrit-based.
If you care to listen to the ordinary Dhivehi spoken on the streets today, you will still find that it is much closer linguistically to Hindi, Urdu and Singhalese than the Dravidian tongues. It is however, not a pidgin or a creole. It is a language with its own grammar, its own culture and even its own script.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

Generally, the year is divided into two monsoon periods: the northeast monsoon or Iruvai lasts from December to March, which are the drier months; the southwest monsoon or Hulhangu lasts from April to November, which are wetter, with more storms and occasional strong winds. Daytime temperatures are about 28°C throughout the year. The humidity is slightly lower in the dry season but on most days, there is a cool sea breeze.

HOW TO REACH

BY AIR - Almost all visitors to the Maldives arrive by air. Malé International Airport, situated in Hulhule Island, is just over a kilometer or about ten minutes by boat from Malé, the capital. There are regular flights to Colombo (Sri Lanka), Thiruvananthapuram (southwest India), Dubai, and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), as well as many chartered flights from European centers.

The tourist resort islands have their own transfer boats to carry their clients. Visitors with confirmed reservations are normally met on arrival at the airport and transferred by boat, helicopter or seaplane to the resort island of their choice. Transport and communication services provided for tourists are generally of a high standard. There is no regular inter-island transportation system between inhabited islands. The ad hoc transportation system is serviced mainly by the local boats, which average a speed of about 8 miles per hour. A larger number of dhonis ply between the Malé International Airport and Malé route as ferries. Dhonis and even modern speedboats are also available for hire. Air Maldives, the national carrier, operates regular flights to the domestic airports at Hanimaadhoo, Kadhdhoo, Kaadedhdhoo and Gan.

BY WATER - Cruising among the islands may be an exciting alternative. Yachts and yacht-dhonis with bunk beds or private cabins are available for hire. These boats can accommodate between eight to twenty passengers on cruises that sail for ten to fifteen days. Some of the larger vessels have scuba diving and windsurfing facilities with qualified instructors on board. Food prepared by the crew using the day's fresh catch of fish may be modest, but a tourist is never too far to stop for a sumptuous meal or a drink. On a cruise, dining under a clear sky in the Maldives can be an experience in itself. With the equator running through the Maldives, it is an astronomer's dream too.