Goa
Portuguese churches in the old capital, painted houses in Panaji, and a long coast of beaches, with an airport at either end.
- Arrival
- Manohar International, Mopa · GOX
- To Panaji
- About 35 km from Mopa, 30 km from Dabolim
- Private jets
- Into Mopa or Dabolim, with a handler
- Best time
- November to February
The city
Baroque churches and two coasts.
Old Goa was the capital of Portuguese India until the middle of the eighteenth century, and its churches and convents, among them the Basilica of Bom Jesus with the tomb of St Francis Xavier, have been on the UNESCO list since 1986. In Panaji, the quarter of Fontainhas keeps its tiled roofs and painted walls between the creek and Altinho Hill.
North Goa has the busy strands of Baga and Calangute and quieter villages beyond them; the south has broad open beaches at Colva and Benaulim and the crescent of Palolem. Come between November and February, when the sea stays at 27 to 28 °C and the rain has gone. June, July and August each bring between 587 and 923 mm of rain.
Arriving
Mopa in the north, Dabolim in the south.
Goa has two airports. Manohar International at Mopa, opened in January 2023 and run by GMR, serves the north and now carries more than five million passengers a year. Dabolim, a civil enclave on a naval air station, sits near Vasco da Gama, about thirty kilometres from Panaji and close to the southern beaches.
- Mumbai 55 min
- Malé 1 h 55
- Riyadh 4 h 15
- Singapore 5 h 00
- Istanbul 7 h 05 long-range jet
When to go
November to February.
Afternoons stay between 29 and 33 °C all year, and the monsoon soaks the coast from June to September, when July alone takes over 900 mm. The dry months from November to February are the easiest; by April and May the air grows heavier as the rains approach.
- 32° J 0 27°
- 32° F 0 28°
- 32° M 1 28°
- 33° A 8 29°
- 33° M 96 29°
- 30° J 844 29°
- 29° J 923 27°
- 29° A 587 27°
- 30° S 263 27°
- 32° O 126 28°
- 33° N 32 28°
- 33° D 14 28°
What to see and do
Days in and around Goa.
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Landmark
Old Goa
The basilica and cathedral of the Portuguese capital, a group of seven churches and convents listed by UNESCO.
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Landmark
Fontainhas
Narrow lanes of painted houses in Panaji, named after an old fountain, with taverns pouring feni and bakeries selling bebinca.
-
Landmark
Fort Aguada
Sixteenth-century Portuguese ramparts looking down on Sinquerim Beach.
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Culture
Serendipity Arts Festival
Founded in 2016, the festival fills Panaji each December with art, theatre, music, dance, food and craft, from Kala Academy to the Mandovi riverfront.
Official site -
Culture
Braganza House
On the village square of Chandor, this Portuguese era mansion keeps a ballroom of Italian marble and a library of over 5,000 leather bound volumes.
Official site -
Culture
Museum of Goa
Artist Subodh Kerkar opened this 1,500 square metre gallery for contemporary art in 2015, with changing exhibitions, talks, screenings and workshops.
Official site -
Wildlife
Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary
Set up in 1988 on the western tip of Chorao island, these 178 hectares of Mandovi mangroves are reached by ferry from Ribandar and crossed on a walkway.
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Nature
Dudhsagar Falls
Inside Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary, the falls drop 310 metres and are reached by forest jeep from Collem after the monsoon closure.
Where to stay
Fort gardens, village villas and the southern sands.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Goa One hundred and forty rooms and villas on the white sand of Benaulim, with a nine-hole golf course and the Miguel Arcanjo restaurant.
- Taj Fort Aguada Resort & Spa Forty acres of hillside gardens around the old Portuguese fort, above the sands of Sinquerim.
- Alila Diwa Goa Rooms under pitched Goan roofs, most with a terrace or balcony, set among paddy fields a few minutes from Majorda beach.
- Ahilya by the Sea Ten rooms in three villas on Dolphin Bay, filled with the owner's art, and dinner laid in a different corner of the garden each night.
- Larisa Resort, Ashwem Twenty cottages and suites around a pool and garden a short way inland, some with their own hot tubs.
- Brij Paraiso Goa Nine rooms with carved four-poster beds in a wooded corner of the village, about fifteen minutes by car from the beach.
Where to dine
The best tables in Goa.
No MICHELIN Guide covers India. These tables are in the Condé Nast Traveller India Top Restaurant Awards 2026, the country’s Top 50.
- Izumi Condé Nast Traveller India Top 50 2026, No. 6 Japanese Assagao, North Goa
- Cavatina by Avinash Martins Condé Nast Traveller India Top 50 2026, No. 23 Modern Goan Goa
- Hosa Condé Nast Traveller India Top 50 2026, No. 27 Modern Indian Goa
Elsewhere in India
More reasons to come.
- Delhi Mughal tombs, the old city, and the avenues of Lutyens.
- Agra The Taj Mahal at dawn.
- Jaipur The pink city, the Amber fort, and its palace hotels.
- Udaipur Palaces reflected in Lake Pichola.
- Mumbai The Gateway of India, the Taj hotel, and the Art Deco seafront.
- Kochi An old spice port, and the backwaters of Kerala by houseboat.
Flying to Goa?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.