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A woman walking along a wide sandy beach lined with coconut palms
A beach lined with coconut palms (illustrative)

Asia · India

Goa

Coconut palms to the horizon, Portuguese churches and a winter that costs almost nothing.

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Goa was Portuguese for 450 years, and it shows: whitewashed churches, Latin surnames, pork vindaloo and a relaxed relationship with the rest of India. The coast is a hundred kilometres of beaches between river mouths, backed by coconut plantations. The north parties, the south sleeps, and the season runs from November to February when the air is dry and the evenings need a shirt.

The palm: Coconut palm

Goa without coconut palms is not Goa: they run from the beach to the paddy fields and up into the hills. Coconut feni, distilled from palm sap, is the state’s own spirit, and the palm leaf is woven into everything from roofs to the baskets that hold the fish at the market in Margao.

When to go

°Crainsea January: 32°C by day, 0 rainy days, sea 28°C32°February: 32°C by day, 0 rainy days, sea 28°C32°March: 32°C by day, 0 rainy days, sea 29°C32°April: 33°C by day, 1 rainy days, sea 30°C33°May: 33°C by day, 4 rainy days, sea 30°C33°June: 31°C by day, 22 rainy days, sea 29°C31°July: 29°C by day, 27 rainy days, sea 28°C29°August: 29°C by day, 24 rainy days, sea 28°C29°September: 30°C by day, 14 rainy days, sea 28°C30°October: 32°C by day, 6 rainy days, sea 29°C32°November: 33°C by day, 2 rainy days, sea 29°C33°December: 33°C by day, 0 rainy days, sea 28°C33°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Typical daytime highs, rainy days per month (one drop is about four days) and sea temperature. Green bars are comfortable months, amber bars are hot or wet or cool, and the darker bars mark the best time to go.

Sights

Old Goa

The basilica of Bom Jesus and the Sé cathedral, the largest church in Asia, in the abandoned Portuguese capital.

Fontainhas, Panaji

The Latin quarter of the capital, painted houses and tiled bakeries.

Spice plantations

Walks under pepper vines and cardamom in the hills around Ponda.

Dudhsagar Falls

A four-tiered waterfall on the Karnataka border, reached by jeep.

Beaches

  • Palolem

    A crescent bay in the south with beach huts, calm water and kayaks.

  • Ashwem and Mandrem

    The quieter north, wide sand and a river to cross by footbridge.

  • Agonda

    Long, empty and backed by palms, with turtle nesting in winter.

Events

  • Feb

    Goa Carnival

    Four days of floats and King Momo in Panaji before Lent.

  • Dec

    Sunburn Festival

    India’s biggest electronic music festival, at the end of December.

  • Dec

    Feast of St Francis Xavier

    Pilgrims fill Old Goa on 3 December for the saint whose body lies in the basilica.

For remote workers

Internet4/5

A comfortable month: about €900

North Goa has had a winter community of remote workers for a decade around Anjuna, Assagao and Vagator, with coworkings, yoga schools and cafés that understand oat milk. Fibre is decent, mobile data is almost free, and a house by the month is cheap. Most passports use the e-visa; check the current stay limits.

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For families

Calm water3/5
Shade4/5
Medical care3/5

The Arabian Sea has currents; swim where the Drishti lifeguards are and prefer the calm south beaches like Palolem and Patnem. Children like the spice plantations, the dolphin boats and the old churches of Old Goa. Private hospitals in Panaji and Margao are good.

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Three things to know

  1. Fly to Dabolim or the new Mopa airport in the north; rent a scooter, and wear the helmet.
  2. The monsoon from June to September closes most beach shacks; November to February is the season.
  3. Fish thali at lunch and a feni with lime at sunset are the two local rituals worth adopting.