Looking ahead to Christmas '26 - Goa?
Discussion
Hi all,
Thinking of Christmas this year and fancy a holiday again (went to Koh Lipe for Xmas '24 and really missed it this year!).
Anyone have experience of Goa? Will be me, the missus and our 2 daughters (who will be 17 and 14).
Was hoping for a similar kind of thing to Thailand/Malaysia but with shorter flights/easier travel?
Thanks in advance!
Thinking of Christmas this year and fancy a holiday again (went to Koh Lipe for Xmas '24 and really missed it this year!).
Anyone have experience of Goa? Will be me, the missus and our 2 daughters (who will be 17 and 14).
Was hoping for a similar kind of thing to Thailand/Malaysia but with shorter flights/easier travel?
Thanks in advance!
scot_aln]I was watching and hoping you'd get a stack of responses on this as we were considering warm festive 2026 ideas and someone had mentioned Goa. Travel agents at the more sensible prices [for that time of year said:
seem to be calling out Canaries or Egypt.
We’ve been to Essaouira a couple of times around Xmas, not baking hot, but very pleasant and quaintWhen I was 19-20 I lived out there for 10ish months. Living in a shack 
Been out a couple of times since but last time was 8 years ago. Seen it as a hippy and staying in a Taj.
I remember it as Great place not sure my experience is recent enough to be of use other than to say I have loved every trip there.
Been out a couple of times since but last time was 8 years ago. Seen it as a hippy and staying in a Taj.
I remember it as Great place not sure my experience is recent enough to be of use other than to say I have loved every trip there.
Well, lucky for you we went this year! :-) - we went for 10 days last year and liked it enough to return. We went this year in mid Nov to Dec 15th - 3 weeks. It was lovely, and cheap as hell!
We stayed on Patnem beach (literally, in an AC room on the beach nestled between the accomodations' bar, and another restuarant. Patnem is a good compromise between the overrun Palolem and the too-quiet Talpona. Palolem attracts the more mature crowd, lots of Brits, French and a smattering of Russians, plus some younger ones at the far end, and a lot of (very) young Israelis too.
The restaurants and bars are low-key, great food, no EDM/Techno / Heavy bass. One bar has a good band on once a week, every bar goes quiet at exactly 11pm - which you value when living on the beach).
Palolem is lovely to scoot/tuk tuk up to for dinner here and there - bigger choice of eateries and a very cool "Art resort" restaurant bar with great food and music, plus a very strange and wonderful hill top bar that the local Israelis go to and play traditional music all evening - a jamming session - captivating stuff. The beach is less attractive and teeming with Indian tourists at sunset which gets a little busy. I'd not choose to stay there.
The sea is lovely but often with waves that you have to leap up to let pass under you - not dead calm like Thailand.
Beers are cold and plentiful at 100 rupees (80p). An amazing curry or Tandoori with naan is usually around £3. I rented a scooter off one of our bar staff for 3 weeks, for... £53
It's not Thailand. It does not have the intense beauty TH has , the sea isn't calm, and its no where near as developed - don't expect to see a 7-11 or Maccy Ds, just local bazars and shops. We wanted for nothing.
We flew via Bahrain. Was 6.5 hours to Bahrain, which was on the limit for me in economy, and then its 3.2 hours to Goa INternational which is nothing really, so all in all an easy enough Eco flight. Gulf air was "fine" the service was appallingly indifferent.
If you want fly and flop, good weather, AMAZING food, lovely locals (though you'll be conversing largely with workers from Tibet in restaurants) and spend next to nothing, then you'll love it. Plenty of parents with kids there, yet, it never felt overrun with them as there are a lot of older travellers with none.
We'd get up on the morning, have two lattes brought to our verranda, then walk 10 yards to some well spaced sun loungers net door, where Ripin would greet us with a pair of reserved loungers (they will reserve the same one for you every single day if you keep coming back), bring us water and coke, and at exactly 11.30 every day he brought me a cold beer, repear at 1pm, and 2.30 , then 4 :-) The sevice everywhere was cheery and efficient. It was never crowded either - we'd rarely have anyone near us on our loungers.
I did start to get bored by week 3, its not Thailand. I love Thailand, which has a lot more to do and the ability to island hop with ease, but, it's way way cheaper, lovely, and easier to get to. (plus a LOT less Russians - who can be hard to share space with on holiday)
p.s. and everyone asks this, everyone!... no we did not get Dehli belly not on our tour of India over 5 weeks, not our 10 days in Goa last year, nor this year's 3 weeks. We don't eat salads, and we dodge anythng not cooked and hot.
Below - that's about as busy as it ever got.
We stayed on Patnem beach (literally, in an AC room on the beach nestled between the accomodations' bar, and another restuarant. Patnem is a good compromise between the overrun Palolem and the too-quiet Talpona. Palolem attracts the more mature crowd, lots of Brits, French and a smattering of Russians, plus some younger ones at the far end, and a lot of (very) young Israelis too.
The restaurants and bars are low-key, great food, no EDM/Techno / Heavy bass. One bar has a good band on once a week, every bar goes quiet at exactly 11pm - which you value when living on the beach).
Palolem is lovely to scoot/tuk tuk up to for dinner here and there - bigger choice of eateries and a very cool "Art resort" restaurant bar with great food and music, plus a very strange and wonderful hill top bar that the local Israelis go to and play traditional music all evening - a jamming session - captivating stuff. The beach is less attractive and teeming with Indian tourists at sunset which gets a little busy. I'd not choose to stay there.
The sea is lovely but often with waves that you have to leap up to let pass under you - not dead calm like Thailand.
Beers are cold and plentiful at 100 rupees (80p). An amazing curry or Tandoori with naan is usually around £3. I rented a scooter off one of our bar staff for 3 weeks, for... £53
It's not Thailand. It does not have the intense beauty TH has , the sea isn't calm, and its no where near as developed - don't expect to see a 7-11 or Maccy Ds, just local bazars and shops. We wanted for nothing.
We flew via Bahrain. Was 6.5 hours to Bahrain, which was on the limit for me in economy, and then its 3.2 hours to Goa INternational which is nothing really, so all in all an easy enough Eco flight. Gulf air was "fine" the service was appallingly indifferent.
If you want fly and flop, good weather, AMAZING food, lovely locals (though you'll be conversing largely with workers from Tibet in restaurants) and spend next to nothing, then you'll love it. Plenty of parents with kids there, yet, it never felt overrun with them as there are a lot of older travellers with none.
We'd get up on the morning, have two lattes brought to our verranda, then walk 10 yards to some well spaced sun loungers net door, where Ripin would greet us with a pair of reserved loungers (they will reserve the same one for you every single day if you keep coming back), bring us water and coke, and at exactly 11.30 every day he brought me a cold beer, repear at 1pm, and 2.30 , then 4 :-) The sevice everywhere was cheery and efficient. It was never crowded either - we'd rarely have anyone near us on our loungers.
I did start to get bored by week 3, its not Thailand. I love Thailand, which has a lot more to do and the ability to island hop with ease, but, it's way way cheaper, lovely, and easier to get to. (plus a LOT less Russians - who can be hard to share space with on holiday)
p.s. and everyone asks this, everyone!... no we did not get Dehli belly not on our tour of India over 5 weeks, not our 10 days in Goa last year, nor this year's 3 weeks. We don't eat salads, and we dodge anythng not cooked and hot.
Below - that's about as busy as it ever got.
Edited by Griffith4ever on Friday 9th January 14:38
We flew back to the UK on 28th December after two weeks at this place:-
https://www.itchotels.com/in/en/fortuneresort-bena...
This was the third time holidaying there (previously 2018 and 2019) and, again, was an utter joy. The resort is spotlessly clean, the rooms large and comfortable, and service impeccable. This time, when we arrived, there was no table on the balcony and no bottle opener for the beers in the mini bar. After speaking to reception, 5 minutes later we had both! The weather, people, and - especially - the food was faultless. Bear in mind that this is South Goa so is much quieter and chilled out than North Goa. Christmas Day was spent on a quiet beach in 35 degree heat, sipping fresh lime & sodas from this place:-
https://joeconsbeachshack.com/
The resort runs a free shuttle to the shack every day between 09:00 and 18:00 which takes about 3 minutes each way. After 18:00, just get one of the staff at the shack to order a taxi which costs a couple of quid.
35 degree sounds fairly hot, but it's a dry heat and with the sea breeze it's comfortable. The sun loungers provided by the shack are sturdy and comfortable and come with fresh towels. We ate most nights at the shack rather than the resort as, generally, we preferred the food there but there was not much in it as with our previous visits. As always, everything is really cheap with dinner of an evening (with drinks) usually no more than £25. The quality of the food at both the shack and the resort is off-the-chart good but this year the stand-outs for me were the Cafreal Chicken (spicy and very heavy on the coriander but nicely balanced), Chicken Tikka Masala (nothing like the UK being smokier and a lot spicier with chilli), a Lamb Reshmi (minced lamb tikka served with salad and chai-spiced spun sugar), and a Butter Chicken type thing but with a more complex flavour and chilli heat. There are also two very good restaurants a couple of minutes walk from the resort (Bullion and Leda). Don't be afraid to order a vindaloo, as it is nowhere near as hot as UK versions, but has a much more complex flavour with a tartness from using coconut "Toddy" vinegar.
I like a nightcap of an evening on the balcony with the local dark rum (Old Monk - bloody delicious), and it's just a five minute walk into Benaulim to the corner shop to get a 70cl bottle for less than £2.The Goan "Madera" red wine is really good also and equally cheap bought locally.
Flights were 8.5 hours there and 10.5 hours back with Tui from Gatwick. We booked the flights and the resort separately in Feb last year as the resort at the time hadn't appeared on Tui's lists (but did later on in 2025). Talking to a Tui rep in reception this time, she confirmed that the resort will be available this year to book as a package with flights.
As with 2018 and 2019, this time was also an utter chilled-out joy and very much recommended. If you really want to splash out, then this place is just around the corner from Fortunes Resort:-
https://www.tajhotels.com/en-in/hotels/taj-exotica...
However, back in 2018 we were in the beach shack one evening and got chatting to a couple who were staying there and they said the had been having dinner at the shack since day 3 of their break as the food was better.
https://www.itchotels.com/in/en/fortuneresort-bena...
This was the third time holidaying there (previously 2018 and 2019) and, again, was an utter joy. The resort is spotlessly clean, the rooms large and comfortable, and service impeccable. This time, when we arrived, there was no table on the balcony and no bottle opener for the beers in the mini bar. After speaking to reception, 5 minutes later we had both! The weather, people, and - especially - the food was faultless. Bear in mind that this is South Goa so is much quieter and chilled out than North Goa. Christmas Day was spent on a quiet beach in 35 degree heat, sipping fresh lime & sodas from this place:-
https://joeconsbeachshack.com/
The resort runs a free shuttle to the shack every day between 09:00 and 18:00 which takes about 3 minutes each way. After 18:00, just get one of the staff at the shack to order a taxi which costs a couple of quid.
35 degree sounds fairly hot, but it's a dry heat and with the sea breeze it's comfortable. The sun loungers provided by the shack are sturdy and comfortable and come with fresh towels. We ate most nights at the shack rather than the resort as, generally, we preferred the food there but there was not much in it as with our previous visits. As always, everything is really cheap with dinner of an evening (with drinks) usually no more than £25. The quality of the food at both the shack and the resort is off-the-chart good but this year the stand-outs for me were the Cafreal Chicken (spicy and very heavy on the coriander but nicely balanced), Chicken Tikka Masala (nothing like the UK being smokier and a lot spicier with chilli), a Lamb Reshmi (minced lamb tikka served with salad and chai-spiced spun sugar), and a Butter Chicken type thing but with a more complex flavour and chilli heat. There are also two very good restaurants a couple of minutes walk from the resort (Bullion and Leda). Don't be afraid to order a vindaloo, as it is nowhere near as hot as UK versions, but has a much more complex flavour with a tartness from using coconut "Toddy" vinegar.
I like a nightcap of an evening on the balcony with the local dark rum (Old Monk - bloody delicious), and it's just a five minute walk into Benaulim to the corner shop to get a 70cl bottle for less than £2.The Goan "Madera" red wine is really good also and equally cheap bought locally.
Flights were 8.5 hours there and 10.5 hours back with Tui from Gatwick. We booked the flights and the resort separately in Feb last year as the resort at the time hadn't appeared on Tui's lists (but did later on in 2025). Talking to a Tui rep in reception this time, she confirmed that the resort will be available this year to book as a package with flights.
As with 2018 and 2019, this time was also an utter chilled-out joy and very much recommended. If you really want to splash out, then this place is just around the corner from Fortunes Resort:-
https://www.tajhotels.com/en-in/hotels/taj-exotica...
However, back in 2018 we were in the beach shack one evening and got chatting to a couple who were staying there and they said the had been having dinner at the shack since day 3 of their break as the food was better.
I'm so glad I've seen this thread. I retire next year and had planned to spend Christmas with my (adult) daughters and partners somewhere warm. I'd defaulted to Thailand but one of my daughters in particular has spent a lot of time there so I favoured somewhere new and this sounds perfect.
Thanks to those that have commented so far. In terms of booking these places, and flights, is there advantage in booking very early?
Thanks to those that have commented so far. In terms of booking these places, and flights, is there advantage in booking very early?
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