Goa hints / tips and tricks

[HW iaintwoeyes]

You know what it's like. You've never been to a holiday resort before and you spend the first few days just learning the do's and dont's. After all you dont want to be seen getting it wrong!

So with that in mind

Helpful hints most welcome........

Pass on your tips for somene else to benefit from........

Know that clever trick that will help someone during the first few days......

All welcome!

[SCUBA]

I would say when paying something from a shop or street trader or at a market always barter with them like turkey i got some right bargains doing this

[HW iaintwoeyes]

I have picked up a number of great tips so far about Goa and saved them all in a Word document.

Anymore India/Goa tips?

[TriumphNed]

Remember a few rupees here and there can make life a lot easier. You can afford to tip people in your hotel like the cleaner , pool boy , waiters etc a pound or two, and then they will go out of their way to give you good service.
The same goes for beach shacks and restaurants if you think you will be using them again.

[dunc]

Take a little torch with you

[luckylisp1234]

we took �s then exchanged them and got some realy good rates,we were told the exchange rate is better in �s than TC's.we got fleeced for towels as soon as we arrived at the beach hehe but if you keep this in mind 100 rupees is approx �1.20 and you shouldnt be paying much more than this for a main course depending on where you go.the beach shacks are the cheapest places to eat and the food is suprisingly good but be aware there are some shacks which should carry a government health warning as my partner learned to his own cost!I tried lots of different foods whilst there and i was again suprised by what i liked.As for shopping well anjuna market is great fun,i cant remember which day it is on but youre better off being there first thing in the morning but the best market was Mapusa(pronounced Mapsa)market i think that one is on on fridays al day and its a market for the idian people so you dont get that may tourists there and its cheaper and its more real its a great experience and very easy to get lost in there hehe.i could recomend the jungle boook trip to the mud huts and the elephants was an experience of a lifetime words just cant explain.the spice plantations are brilliant we were given so much information about spices i just cant remember it all.there are many many places to exlore and as transport is so cheap your not tied to any one location.Ashim beach is absolutely beautiful,it takes approx 45 mins in a taxi,if you go in the morning the taxi driver will wait there for you all day til your ready to go back to the hotel ad it cost just �10!!Vagator beach is also very nice.I found baga beach far too hectic all the sunbeds squashed together and to many jet-ski's and speed boats in the sea,further up towards calangute/candolim ist much quieter and theres more space to reax.Beware of the prawns! they are so chaep that i ate so many i now look slightly like a prawn hehe.remember to haggle for everything except food unless your buying the food from a beach vendor then its a good idea to haggle but it is advised not to buy food from them.i hope ive been of help.


ben

[HW iaintwoeyes]

Thanks for your reply. Looks like I need to take ��� cash then. I'm thinking about not taking beach towels and just buying them when we arrive. How did you get fleeced? Did you over pay for them?

Really looking forward to the Beach Shacks and the quiet beaches of the north.

Also looking forward to the elephants and waterfalls!

[luckylisp1234]

we paid 200 rupees per towel which is about �2.40 per towel which sounds cheap enough but we could have got them for half that price at a shop round the corner plus at the end of the holiday the girls at the beach shacks love to be given the towels youve been using as they save them for the monsoon for themselves and their families and children etc we met 2 girls on vagator beach who were walking up and down selling things and we promised to give them our towels the following week,well the following week we went to anjuna market and the same 2 girls were running a stall there and instantly recognised us and they were lovely and im told by freinds who go evry year that they will remember us next year when we visit the same beach.wow theres so many bargains to be had you have to be carerful,we wernt and ended bringing a full suitcase of things back that we bought there hehe.

[petertrekker]

Dabolim airport has prepaid sim cards available inside the airport just before the exit doors at the same place there is a pre paid taxi counter us this to get a taxi hassel free.

Dabolim to calangute was 675 rupees april 2008

colva beach has a taxi association booth which has a printed sheet with rates to all other destination so there is no way a taxi can over charge.

The bogmalo taxi fare list is here
http://indiareadyreckoner.blogspot.com/ ... -list.html

All areas seem to have different taxi rates.

Never book a hotel over the phone .The prices will always be higher if you book on the phone or book through an agent.Insist on seeing the room before booking.
http://parkavenuerooms.blogspot.com/

[HW iaintwoeyes]

Always try to have the right money for taxi drivers. They very rarely offer change!