Goa - End of March. Any reason not to?
Discussion
Me and the better half are planning a week in Goa at the end of March.
Reasonable price.
Decent flight times.
Good provider.
Acceptable hotel (with good reviews).
Any reason why we shouldn't bother and keep looking around for other holidays? On our shortlist were also Cuba (heard mixed reviews) and Mexico (decided against it due to Spring Break which will be busy).
Any input would be welcomed.
PS. Will we get ill? I have been to Egypt previous and was OK (after I was assured I would be chained to the toilet for the week).
PPS. Will the flights be direct from Manchester. Not that it really matters to us. 11.5 hours seems too long for a single haul.
Reasonable price.
Decent flight times.
Good provider.
Acceptable hotel (with good reviews).
Any reason why we shouldn't bother and keep looking around for other holidays? On our shortlist were also Cuba (heard mixed reviews) and Mexico (decided against it due to Spring Break which will be busy).
Any input would be welcomed.
PS. Will we get ill? I have been to Egypt previous and was OK (after I was assured I would be chained to the toilet for the week).
PPS. Will the flights be direct from Manchester. Not that it really matters to us. 11.5 hours seems too long for a single haul.
Do you have some lovely tattoos? Are you the kind of person who, 25 years ago, would have been ordering egg and chips on the costas? Some resorts in Goa are very chavvy, and might not be what you had in mind for a holiday - which one are you looking at?
You might well get Delhi belly, but drink bottled water and use common sense and Loperamide and you'll be OK.
How would anyone here know about whether your flight's direct or not?
You might well get Delhi belly, but drink bottled water and use common sense and Loperamide and you'll be OK.
How would anyone here know about whether your flight's direct or not?
N Dentressangle said:
Do you have some lovely tattoos? Are you the kind of person who, 25 years ago, would have been ordering egg and chips on the costas? Some resorts in Goa are very chavvy, and might not be what you had in mind for a holiday - which one are you looking at?
You might well get Delhi belly, but drink bottled water and use common sense and Loperamide and you'll be OK.
How would anyone here know about whether your flight's direct or not?
Somebody who has been or has some experience of flying in that area may be able to advise on 11.5 hours being about right / too long for a direct flight. You might well get Delhi belly, but drink bottled water and use common sense and Loperamide and you'll be OK.
How would anyone here know about whether your flight's direct or not?
The resort is Arossim Beach.
Progressive said:
N Dentressangle said:
Do you have some lovely tattoos? Are you the kind of person who, 25 years ago, would have been ordering egg and chips on the costas? Some resorts in Goa are very chavvy, and might not be what you had in mind for a holiday - which one are you looking at?
You might well get Delhi belly, but drink bottled water and use common sense and Loperamide and you'll be OK.
How would anyone here know about whether your flight's direct or not?
Somebody who has been or has some experience of flying in that area may be able to advise on 11.5 hours being about right / too long for a direct flight. You might well get Delhi belly, but drink bottled water and use common sense and Loperamide and you'll be OK.
How would anyone here know about whether your flight's direct or not?
The resort is Arossim Beach.
http://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/manweb.nsf/Cont...
Looks like you're not flying direct.
Arossim and the area around Colva are the more upmarket Goa resorts, and you should find they're OK. If you want something more hippyish and backpackery then the south around Polem is more colourful. For full on 'Indian Blackpool' then Calangute and around in the north will make you glad to get home to Arossim.
Goa is very Westernised, and quite different from most of the rest of India - it's set up for tourism, really. If you want a cheap, relaxing couple of weeks in sun and good food then you won't find much better, although March could be humid as the OP says. There's loads on the net about it, and Tripadvisor is useful as ever!
HTH
I haven't been to Goa because first it was too hippy then too touristy and a recent review suggests it's getting better but India as a destination is fantastic.
I have been to Kerala twice which is further south and less developed although that is probably less the case now as in the space of a year (2004 to 2005), numerous 5 star hotels sprang up. Personally, I love India and the only thing stopping me going back is we have 3 kids now.
We flew with Monarch on both occasions, direct to Trivandrum. It takes 11-12 hours and the Monarch planes left a lot to be desired but it's perfectly do-able and you can sleep. Kerala is fabulous and the costs associated with staying there very low. getting round by those mootoriswed rickshaws is both safe and simple and cheap (though they are wising up a bit to tourists).
We used to go in January when it's fantastic weather though more humid the second time. I recall we had to have an injection but can't recall if this was just a tetanus/booster. We also took malaria tablets but certainly on the coast,I don't think they were strictly necessary and a woman we met didn't bother. We did go on a rice boat tour on an inland lake and stayed overnight and I would certainly have the tablets there as there were millions of the b*ggers.
So far as "delhi-belly" is concerned, we had no problems at all but certainly Kerala has a lot of fish dishes which I tended to stick to as it seemed safer than some of the scraggy chickens you tend to see. Then again, my wife never had any problem and she doesn't eat a lot of fish.
What we found in Kerala is that the same people went time and again as it's brilliant there and a million miles away from the commercialised resorts you get in Spain. It's also very safe to travel round on your own, something I wouldn't recommend in other countries like Africa (bit of a generalisation I know...) where they seem more resentful of your relative wealth.
I have been to Kerala twice which is further south and less developed although that is probably less the case now as in the space of a year (2004 to 2005), numerous 5 star hotels sprang up. Personally, I love India and the only thing stopping me going back is we have 3 kids now.
We flew with Monarch on both occasions, direct to Trivandrum. It takes 11-12 hours and the Monarch planes left a lot to be desired but it's perfectly do-able and you can sleep. Kerala is fabulous and the costs associated with staying there very low. getting round by those mootoriswed rickshaws is both safe and simple and cheap (though they are wising up a bit to tourists).
We used to go in January when it's fantastic weather though more humid the second time. I recall we had to have an injection but can't recall if this was just a tetanus/booster. We also took malaria tablets but certainly on the coast,I don't think they were strictly necessary and a woman we met didn't bother. We did go on a rice boat tour on an inland lake and stayed overnight and I would certainly have the tablets there as there were millions of the b*ggers.
So far as "delhi-belly" is concerned, we had no problems at all but certainly Kerala has a lot of fish dishes which I tended to stick to as it seemed safer than some of the scraggy chickens you tend to see. Then again, my wife never had any problem and she doesn't eat a lot of fish.
What we found in Kerala is that the same people went time and again as it's brilliant there and a million miles away from the commercialised resorts you get in Spain. It's also very safe to travel round on your own, something I wouldn't recommend in other countries like Africa (bit of a generalisation I know...) where they seem more resentful of your relative wealth.
LuS1fer said:
I haven't been to Goa because first it was too hippy then too touristy and a recent review suggests it's getting better but India as a destination is fantastic.
I have been to Kerala twice which is further south and less developed although that is probably less the case now as in the space of a year (2004 to 2005), numerous 5 star hotels sprang up. Personally, I love India and the only thing stopping me going back is we have 3 kids now.
We flew with Monarch on both occasions, direct to Trivandrum. It takes 11-12 hours and the Monarch planes left a lot to be desired but it's perfectly do-able and you can sleep. Kerala is fabulous and the costs associated with staying there very low. getting round by those mootoriswed rickshaws is both safe and simple and cheap (though they are wising up a bit to tourists).
We used to go in January when it's fantastic weather though more humid the second time. I recall we had to have an injection but can't recall if this was just a tetanus/booster. We also took malaria tablets but certainly on the coast,I don't think they were strictly necessary and a woman we met didn't bother. We did go on a rice boat tour on an inland lake and stayed overnight and I would certainly have the tablets there as there were millions of the b*ggers.
So far as "delhi-belly" is concerned, we had no problems at all but certainly Kerala has a lot of fish dishes which I tended to stick to as it seemed safer than some of the scraggy chickens you tend to see. Then again, my wife never had any problem and she doesn't eat a lot of fish.
What we found in Kerala is that the same people went time and again as it's brilliant there and a million miles away from the commercialised resorts you get in Spain. It's also very safe to travel round on your own, something I wouldn't recommend in other countries like Africa (bit of a generalisation I know...) where they seem more resentful of your relative wealth.
Thank you very much for that info. Really helpful. Can you remember the process of getting a visa for entry? It seems as though the quickest way is to go to the Embassy (or other official outlet) and que up. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to do this so I may have to go postal.I have been to Kerala twice which is further south and less developed although that is probably less the case now as in the space of a year (2004 to 2005), numerous 5 star hotels sprang up. Personally, I love India and the only thing stopping me going back is we have 3 kids now.
We flew with Monarch on both occasions, direct to Trivandrum. It takes 11-12 hours and the Monarch planes left a lot to be desired but it's perfectly do-able and you can sleep. Kerala is fabulous and the costs associated with staying there very low. getting round by those mootoriswed rickshaws is both safe and simple and cheap (though they are wising up a bit to tourists).
We used to go in January when it's fantastic weather though more humid the second time. I recall we had to have an injection but can't recall if this was just a tetanus/booster. We also took malaria tablets but certainly on the coast,I don't think they were strictly necessary and a woman we met didn't bother. We did go on a rice boat tour on an inland lake and stayed overnight and I would certainly have the tablets there as there were millions of the b*ggers.
So far as "delhi-belly" is concerned, we had no problems at all but certainly Kerala has a lot of fish dishes which I tended to stick to as it seemed safer than some of the scraggy chickens you tend to see. Then again, my wife never had any problem and she doesn't eat a lot of fish.
What we found in Kerala is that the same people went time and again as it's brilliant there and a million miles away from the commercialised resorts you get in Spain. It's also very safe to travel round on your own, something I wouldn't recommend in other countries like Africa (bit of a generalisation I know...) where they seem more resentful of your relative wealth.
Progressive said:
I've looked at the agencies but it's going to cost about £160 for the two of us. I don't think that is reasonable. It seems as though they now allow you to do it by post so I'll try that. Got over 10 weeks to sort it out so I should be OK.
Send it special delivery Post Office guaranteed next day. I have never used agencies and I don't think India is so popular they are inundated. Just make sure you send everything they want.Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff