First trip to Goa, - lots of advice needed please!

Hiya

Mine and my husbands first trip to Goa, we are going with another couple as well. We leave on 13th April from Gatwick for two weeks, cannot wait!

Staying at the Dona Sylvia in Cavelossim for a week, then down to the Chattai beach huts on Agonda beach, with a night in a tent on Cola beach, finishing off for two nights in the Wildernest resort before going home.

Few questions if anyone can help, we will be travelling by taxi wherever we go so does anyone know rough prices for our travels? So Dabolim airport to Cavellosim beach? Cavellosim to Agonda/Palolem? And then Agonda to Dabolim? As we have transfers from Dabolim to Wildernest. Excuse the spelling prob got them all wrong! Also does anyone know if we have gone a bit mad on travelling all over the place, I don’t really have much idea about the distances between these resorts/beaches, is it going to be too much ?

Would welcome any advice as to must see places/events? I know there must be absolutely loads of things! We are going to try to do as much as possible

Fave restaraunts will also be appreciated!

Only five weeks to go!

Thanks

The Hollies

First trip to Goa, - lots of advice needed please!

couldn,t give you prices for all but from airport to calangute/candolim is 700 rps no more than that myself when from calangute to palolem beach 2hrs to get there from calangute he stayed and waited nearly 8 hrs and got me back for 1500rps £20 do ever go for the 1st best u r quoted always haggle if they will always ask if u been to goa b4 say yes 3rd time they wont try and rip u off find a taxi driver u totally trust and stick with him he will totally look after u

First trip to Goa, - lots of advice needed please!

The trick as said above is to say you have been before but say you were up north so they dont catch you out with questions...lol

Agonda is about 30 mins if you go direct but ask to go over the ferry and coastal road and to see the fort and he will take you a pretty way and you can get out and look round the fort too. It will take longer though but worth it.

Wildernest...you will love it..can you find out what the rice stuff is called that they have for breakfast up there ...I loved it but cant remember what it was called..ta..lol

Thanks guys, I will def remember to ask about the rice!

Any recomendations on sightseeing?

Hollie

Hi - if by sightseeing you mean trips, Dudhsagar Waterfalls are great, a visit to a spice plantation where you can wash/ride an elephant and the markets are all good. Depends how far you want to travel. When we stayed south on our first visit we done the falls and spice plantation and when we went north, another spice plantation, churches, cathedrals and temples of old Goa, Anjuna market and a crocodile trip. This year we%26#39;re doing overnight beach huts at Palolem and a sunset cruise and definitely Anjuna market again - I love it!

Afraid I do not know about what you should pay for transfers but last month we paid from airport to Calangute 700 Rupees taxi and air conditioned car to airport in the early hours of the morning we paid 1000 Rupees a tip of 100 Rupees each way got smiles.However, I really hope you can help me. I have been trying to book for the Wildernest for next January. How did you pay them? They want a full payment now; which is a bit unusual but I am keen enough to stay there that I do not mind . They have sent me three lots of instructions for SWIFT transfers that my bank say are invalid.Wildernest want me to pay SWIFT to an English bank for forwarding to their bank in India and my bank say they can only do SWIFT straight to India. I have emailed Wildernest offering to do a bank transfer(even though that will cost me more) but got no reply. Do you know of any way of booking into the hotel other than dealing with them direct? It really looks like a super place and after many trips to the coast we are keen to go inland but the frustration of trying to confirm the booking is about to drive us back to a lounger in Calangute!(not there is anything wrong with that!)

As to whether you are doing too much I guess if you are savvy enough to have found all the places you have you must be seasoned travellers and more interested in seeing things than in chilling out; so probably not but do be aware that Goa has an appalling record of road safety and you may find the journeys a bit hair raising.Be prepared to be firm with your drivers that you wish them to go slowly and carefully

Cacaj

In reply to your question re wildernest payment. I am kind of in the same situation as you, they asked for all payment up front, and sent me an email with three different types of payments, none of which were clear to me that I could just pay through my internet banking, so I mailed back again asking for more details, the reply I received back just said dont worry pay when you get here! Which unsettles me somewhat as I am very much a control freak and have to have everything booked and paid for to guarantee no mistakes! I replied again saying please confirm that this is ok and we will definantely have accomodation, as yet i have had no reply to this mail. hhmmm i will keep you posted via this thread as to how this proceeds. I am not overly worried, i think they just need to sort out their banking systems.

Thanks for the other info guys, will def be firm with the taxi drivers and speed!

A problem shared is a problem halved! Somehow I feel much better knowing it is not something I am being stupid about but a problem at their end! I will await news.