[Rajat347]

Hey Folks,

Wish you a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2024

Everyone should visit Goa atleast once every year but I have been to Goa only once before.
Fortunately we decided to have a family get together in Goa and this time it was not only limited to just a Whatsapp group.
North or South Goa ? Lets try South Goa this time as we have already visited North Goa just 4 years back.

Based out of Pune, visiting Goa is still not easy. There are challenges with office leaves, kid's school vacation and my laziness.

Anyways plan started to take shape and we decided to stay near Benualim - Sernabatim - Colva beach length this time.
The booking includes 1 night at a hotel, 4 nights at an AirBnB and 1 last night at Kolhapur. The booking was done a month before and not sure if it was an economical deal.
3 of us were supposed to reach Goa on 24th Dec where as other family members were supposed to reach on 25th Dec.

The biggest challenge for me was to decide the route to reach Goa from Pune. I have read and heard lots of horror stories about Amboli and Chorla Ghat so I decided to take Anuskura Ghat - Oni route this time. Although it is lengthy but comfortable. Being a North Indian, I am always comfortable with ghats.

Yes, I was excited

But my Amy ( Honda Amaze ) needs some check up as a precautionary measure before the trip.

1) Tyre Pressure, 32 PSI done and portable tyre inflator was ready as well.
2) Installed new Pioneer HU which has Apple car play so that can I navigate maps and play some nice music.
3) Break Oil, Engine Oil, battery all checked.
4) Coolant and windshield washer topped up as well.
5) Fastag Topped up and checked PUC, insurance and DL. All set.

Day 1 - We woke up at 4:30 AM against the target of 4 AM and my 4 year old was also ready in no time and was equally excited. Luggage was loaded a night before and we were ready for a 515 KM roadtrip which took 13 hours to complete. I know I am a slow driver but that included 2 hours break as well.

We started at 5:20 AM from our place ( Wakad, West Pune ) and route which I shortlisted was Pune -> Karad -> Malkapur -> Oni -> Rajapur - >Goa ( Sernabatim Beach, South Goa )



Journey Break up -

Pune - > Satara - > Karad --- NH 48 is in pretty decent condition till this stretch. During morning hours, it was empty and inviting for a nice drive till Satara.

But then, we slowed down because of the massive road expansion work which is going on across NH 48 and there were lots of diversions because of the same. Anyways we were happy to absorb the inconvenience for The Greater Good.
We stopped at Vithal Kamat just before Karad for breakfast and spend 1 hour there. It was crowded and service was slow.

As soon as we entered Karad, we were welcomed by a massive traffic jam even at 8:30 AM. A flyover bridge is being constructed which will by pass the city. But as usual people were proudly coming from the opposite direction only for their convenience and causing traffic chaos.

We took a right turn after exiting Karad ( Mc Donald to the left is the land mark ). Road was much better now and it passes through many villages and a windmill farm.



The drive was picturesque and yes there were few rough patches. Nothing much to complain about though but at one point of time it became a never ending stretch. There were petrol pumps and mobile signal across the stretch.

Note - Exit the ghat and state highway only at Oni. Google maps prompted me to take couple of right turns but its good to ask locals for the way.
Touched NH 66 which is a brand new concrete Mumbai - Goa Highway and it is a driver's freeway. . Most of the diversions were open and the traffic was very sparse.



Our resort - Anthy's Guest House was still 200 KM from Oni. We were feeling hungry and also there was a need to stretch my back. So, we decided to have a break for lunch and spend 1 hour there.
With a full stomach, half fuel level and an inviting road it was the time to rock and roll and we drove non stop to Goa border bypassing Sawantwadi. But still I didn't cross 90 KMPH. The toll posts are still not operational and there was very sparse traffic. We stopped before Goa Border only to get the fuel top up because the range dropped to 33 KMs only. Fuel cost in Maharashtra was close to Rs 107 while it was Rs 97 in Goa.
We were still in Maharashtra and hit by another road block near Bonda. There is a flyover under construction with non motorable service lanes.

As soon as we entered Goa we saw there were couple of Major flyover works going on but we were still on NH 66 and we never left that.
Mr. Gadkari has done a pretty awesome job in highway up-gradation and yes I was amazed by the quality of NH 66 within Goa.



Finally we reached South Goa and it was the time to leave NH 66 to enter Margaon.

Note - Do obey all traffic rules and respect speed limits within Goa. Traffic cameras and cops with speed guns are always on the watch.

It was 6:30 PM and finally we reached our stay - Anthy's Guest House, Sernabatim Beach.
We checked in but the sight of sunset on the beach rejuvenated us with a new energy. We spent some time in the room to freshen up and then came out only to enjoy our first Goan evening.



They had planned a bonfire and fireworks during midnight but we were slept then.



Day 2 - It was the day to check out from Anthy's and check in to our AirBnB. Rest of the family was supposed to join us today. But before that, it was the time to explore the beach in its morning glory.



I was having my morning walk across the beach which extends from Benualim to Colva. Benualim seems to be a fishermen colony where many boats were parked. Sernabatim beach which lies between both the formers is not in isolation but it was less crowded. White sand was as soft as talcum powder and sea was blue.
What a lovely day !



Sun was playing hide and seek behind those tall coconut trees.



Soon it was 9 AM and sun was in its full glory !



Nothing can beat a hearty breakfast with refreshing tea along the beach. We were rejuvenated from yesterday's long journey.



Although food was fancy but it was average in taste.



It was the time to check out from Anthy's and head towards our AirBnB. It was just 2 KMs from Anthy's.



We checked in to a 4 BHK AirBnB in nearby Benualim Village. It was my first experience with AirBnB and it was not very pleasant. The host didn't provide us with a caretaker, cleaner, clean and comfortable beds. The flat was located at 3rd floor and the building didn't have a lift. It was very different from the pics posted online. AirBnB and host didn't bother to resolve our issues either.
But still we were happy as the whole family was together.

There was no major event for the rest of the day.

Day 3 - It was the day for sight seeing and sea dips. We all were at our leisure and visited near by Benualim beach but it was not that clean. Being a fishermen colony, there was an odour of dead fishes



We had our lunch by 4 PM and spent most of the time in water. We didn't realize when the sun was set and tourists were not allowed to enter the sea post sun set.
We had our dinner at the beach shacks named Johncy and the boats were at rest too.



Day 4 - Today we decided to go out for sight seeing. We decided to visit Cabo De Rama - > Cola - > Palolem today. The drive to Cabo de Rama fort was a beautiful one with not much traffic.

In the 1760s, the Portuguese gained control of Cabo de Rama after the Raja of Soonda surrendered his territory to them in return for protection against Hyder Ali of Mysore. The fort is in its ruins now but is managed by ASI.

Cabo De Rama chappel



View from one of the Fort's Ramparts



The Portuguese equipped it with 21 guns and installed military barracks and a commander's quarter . Few of the left over rusted guns.



There is a way to go down to the sea shore from the Fort. People call it Pebbles beach because it is full of rocks and pebbles. Although it is a not a beach with soft sand but a beautiful place to sit and relax.



With eyes full of views and heart of memories we left for Palolem Beach. It was crowded, had a big market area, nice eateries and water sports.

After having our lunch we decided to have a boat tour. We were 8 people and booked a complete boat for Rs 5,000 . But the sun was about to decent and not sure if we can see the glorified secluded beaches and blue waters.
It was an awesome experience and a must to do activity while in Goa.

The skipper was getting the boat in water.



I always wanted to do kayaking but didn't get a chance.



A turtle shaped rock in the sea



Boat didn't stop at the Butterfly beach as it was getting dark.



Honeymoon island, our boat did stop there. We spent 30 minutes there for taking photographs and admired the mighty and mysterious Arabian Sea.



We left Palolem after doing some street shopping and headed straight towards Benualim which was more than 35 KM away. Visit to Cola was cancelled and so was my kayaking plan.

Day 5 - We wanted to keep this day light and easy. We visited Panjim city to do some shopping and roam around the city. We got some Goan Cashews and Bebinca cake.
Also a mandatory visit to the " Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church ".



The evening was spent at Colva beach with our last dip in water. They say Sun never sets in Goa, it just says " Have a nice Evening "



Day 6 - It was the day to say good bye to Goa. We left our place by 11 AM and choose Chorla Ghat this time. We already had a plan to have a night halt at hotel Opal Kolhapur so were not in a hurry.

The route chosen was Benualim - > Dabolim - > Mapsua - > Bicholim - > Sanquelim - > Chorla - > Belgavi.



From Chorla top to Belgavi, it was very unpleasant drive. There were huge craters on the road and at times, I had to stop the vehicle completely to pass through them. Belgavi city was very crowded and we crossed the whole city to touch NH 48.
NH 48 from Belgavi to Kolhapur is under expansion. Too many diversions, crawling tractors with sugarcane load and people coming proudly from the other directions made the drive very hectic. It took 8 hours to reach our Hotel which is located at old Pune - Bangalore highway.

We checked in, had some nice Kolhapuri food and had some good night sleep.

Day 7 - Visiting Amba Bai temple was our prime agenda. We wanted to say thanks to the Supreme God for all nice things that happened in 2023 and to seek blessings for the next year.



From Kolhapur to Wakad ( Western Pune ), it took 6 hours which includes lunch break but the road was better this time. Chaos started just after crossing New Katraj Tunnel and it was very crowded till Chandni Chowk.

We drove for 1264 Km in total for the whole trip and my Amy returned a fuel economy of 17 KMPL with 100 % AC, at times full load and with some mixed roads.

My Amy, a reliable and comfortable companion.



Google Maps was pretty good in doing the ETA prediction throughout the journey. Not sure if google knows about my driving style.

Many thanks for the read guys and do wear seatbelts.
They save lives !!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[amitnair]

Reading Goa travelogues is always interesting!

I havent been to south Goa yet.
Anthy's Guest House - How was the quality of room? Was it a proper room or beach hut style accommodation? And how about car parking?

[Rajat347]

Originally Posted by amitnair

Reading Goa travelogues is always interesting!

I havent been to south Goa yet.
Anthy's Guest House - How was the quality of room? Was it a proper room or beach hut style accommodation? And how about car parking?

Anthy's is a 2 star Hotel. It was expensive. rooms were ordinary but big. It has a garden and a beach shack. Beach - > Anthys Shack - > Their Rooms.

They don't have a parking. Once has to park the vehicle at public car park, walk for a while to reach the place. We need to walk on the beach sand so don't carry your luggage. Once, you check in to Anthy's they will send their Gypsy to bring luggage from the parking and vice versa.

[Thalla]

Going on a road trip to Goa is also on my wish list for this year. Hopefully, I will be able to have enough free time and money to do it by the end of the year