One day at Palolem Beach, Goa

During our recent workcation in Goa, we spent a day at Palolem Beach, Goa. Staying in a Palolem Beach Hut. We had a wonderful experience staying right on the Palolem Beach. So, we share with you here things to do while you are spending one day at Palolem Beach, Goa like us.

We drove from Bangalore to Hubli. And then Hubli to Gokarna. You can directly drive to Gokarna if you don’t have kids with you. Or, if you think your kids will not be super exhausted on a 10-11 hours drive. We spent a day each at Hubli and Gokarna. And then from Gokarna we drove via Karwar to Goa. We started from our resort in Gokarna post breakfast. And reached our resort in Palolem by 1:00pm.

Route of our trip to Palolem Beach

 

 

We parked our car in an open space right besides the resort. Other cars were also parked here. Post that we quickly completed the checkin formalities. And after dumping our luggage in the rooms, we went to the beach shack of our resort to have lunch. It was so refreshing to have our lunch right in front of the sea, looking at the waves hitting the shore continuously. We had a very relaxing and refreshing lunch consisting of roti, Indian curry, some soft drinks, veg hakka noodles & chilli paneer.

The Palolem Beach

After lunch, no one felt like returning back to the rooms. The kids immediately rushed to the beach with their sand toys. They soon found a patch of sand to play with. And started making sand castles with their sand toys.

While the kids were busy playing on the sand, we took a walk along the beach. The Palolem beach is one of the southernmost beaches of Goa. Although it is commercialised now. But still sees much less crowd compared to the beaches of North Goa or even some other beaches of South Goa like Colva and Benaulim. The beach is flanked by hills on both sides. With the backdrop of these hills, followed by palm grooves, with colorful beach cottages and huts adding a pop of vibrance to the landscape..the beach looks nothing less than magical. Also, this is one of those beaches where you will find a lot of colorful boats… that form a picture perfect spot for your beach photography.

The Islands near Palolem Beach

There are several Islands near Palolem Beach. These include the Monkey Island, Butterfly Beach, Turtle rock etc. Boats regularly ply from Palolem Beach taking tourists on a trip of these island. And they also let you stop at your preferred island. You can go in a shared boat or even reserve the whole boat for yourself. The prices vary considerably based on whether you are taking a shared or a reserved boat. And it can go anywhere between INR 400 – INR 2500. You do need to bargain for it.

As we walked down the Palolem Beach, many boat owners approached us , asking to take a ride. We bargained with a few to get a feel of the best possible rate. Also, we preferred to book the complete boat. So finally we had a deal. And out we went exploring the sea and the secluded beaches.

We first crossed Monkey Island. And then arrived at Turtle Rock – a giant rock that is shaped exactly like a Turtle. Nature is amazing , isn’t it?

Then we visited Honeymoon beach. And finally came to Butterfly beach.

You can get down the boat on both Honeymoon beach and butterfly beach. These are secluded beaches, separated from the main land. As a result, you will hardly find any crowd on these beaches. Feel free to bring your picnic basket and refreshment options. And these beaches will provide you perfect spots to spend quality time with your loved ones. Below is a short clip of Butterfly beach as seen from our boat as we approached it.

While we visited here in the evening, and could see some other people as well. I am sure if you visit here in the morning there hardly will be any crowd. But do remember, the last boat in the evening goes there till 5:00pm only. Since the undercurrents in the water increase post this, so, no tourist boats are allowed to remain in the sea beyond this point.

Exploring the Palolem Market

After the boat ride, we went back to our rooms and got fresh. Post that we stepped out to explore the Palolem Market. Having been to many other famous flea markets of Goa before, including the Saturday Night Market at Arpora, I can tell that these markets are a heaven for shoppers. I have heard equally good things about Palolem Market as well. So, we headed there. It was conveniently located at a walking distance from our resort.

Although not very large, the Palolem Market still has shops housing everything that tourists generally look for. Including specs, flip flops, beach wear, swimming dresses, general stores with daily needs, some handicraft stores etc. We picked a few things, mostly for kids. And found the rates to be very reasonable when compared to shopping in bustling markets of North Goa. And the quality of the material was also very good.

Dinner at the Palolem Beach Shack

After finishing our shopping, we headed back to our resort. And by the time we reached back, it was almost dark. Once again, we headed to the beach shacks for dinner. The atmosphere here was quiet charged up in contrast to the calm evening that we had spent here few hours back. All the beach shacks were ready with tables set right on the beach for dinner. We grabbed our place on one of the tables, sitting right in front of the beach. Watching the silver waves crash on the shore under the silver moon. While we had our dinner. Although I had not expected South Goa to have so much of night life. But was sweetly surprised to find the scene very happening! There was live music along with food, and people enjoying themselves thoroughly.

After food, we took a short walk on the beach and then returned to our beach huts for a good nights sleep.

Related read: Our experience staying in a beach hut in Goa

Palolem Beach to Agonda Beach & Cola Beach

If you are staying on Palolem beach for a day and you don’t have plans to stay on Agonda Beach and Cola Beach, then you can visit these beaches easily from Palolem Beach. The next morning, head directly to Cola beach when you wake up. Cola Beach is fast gaining popularity due to it’s fresh water lagoon which is blue and clean. You can even take a bath in this lagoon. The couple of beach shacks on this beach have options for you to change after taking a bath. After that you can have your breakfast at one of these beach side restaurants as well.

Post breakfast, you can proceed back to your resort on Palolem Beach. On the way, you can stop and spend some time on Agonda Beach as well. Agonda Beach is another beautiful beach in South Goa, but even less commercialised than Palolem Beach. This will bring your trip of one day at Palolem Beach, Goa to a beautiful end. After returning back to your resort, you can checkout and head to your next destination.

We had plans to stay in Benaulim. So, after spending a great one day at Palolem Beach, Goa, we headed further to Benaulim Beach. If you have a similar itinerary, or, if you are following our workcation itinerary for Goa, you can also visit Cabo Da Rama Fort while on your way from Palolem Beach to Benaulim Beach!

Summary of one day at Palolem Beach, Goa

 

Where to stay at Palolem Beach Goa

We stayed at  O3 beach resort in Palolem & found it to be decent for one night stay or a couple of nights stay. It is very reasonably priced as well. Some other resorts that we had considered included the Palolem Beach Resort, and Oxygen Palolem Resort. Apart from the beach resorts, there is Sobit Sarovar Portico hotel as well. I would prefer it for a longer stay. If you are spending just one day at Palolem Beach, Goa then we will highly recommend the Beach Hut Stay Experience since it is very unique.

 

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