Wondering why will one want a lit of things to do in Goa in one day? After all it is a relaxing destination. Even we have been to several weekend getaways from Bangalore, including Coorg, Chikmagaluru, Wayanad, Ooty, Kodaikanal, Munnar, Alleppey, Kumarakom, Mahabalipuram, Yercaud, Pondicherry, Mysore, Kabini, Hampi, Badami, Halebidu and B R Hills. But we keep returning to goa.
However, at times we are constrained by time. Like, when I went to Goa with my wife in November 2012. Although, it was a package tour covering highlights of Goa to see in a day, provided in collaboration with Resort Terra Paraiso where we stayed. Still, we thoroughly enjoyed this crisp and neat site seeing trip which covered most of the major attractions and things to do in Goa in one day.
Although, one day is no way enough to see and experience all that Goa has to offer. So, this trip covered only the highlights of things to do in Goa, the most famous sites that fall into the ‘top’ things to do in Goa. Thus, I thought to jot it down in order to help you plan something similar even if you were planning your trip on your own and had limited time to spend Site seeing in Goa.
PS: You can book Resort Terra Paraiso via agoda.com, like we did.
The tour started early in the morning around 9:30 am. So, post breakfast from hotel, we started in a mini bus in seat on coach basis. However, if planning on your own, you can as well rent a cab or self drive to places on the same itinerary that we followed.
Table of Contents
Things to do in Goa in one day
Fort Aguada
It was the first of the things to do in Goa for us. We first headed to Fort Aguada. We spent almost around an hour there. Actually, ‘Aguada’ means water. As, this fort had a fresh stream of water inside the fort. And, the passing by ships in old age used to stop by the fort. So, the crew filled their water vessels from here. And thats how the fort got it’s name. Overall, this is a Portuguese fort . It was built in the seventeenth century. This fort and it’s light house are one of the major attractions of old Goa. This fort was constructed as a guiding point for the vehicles that came in for trade from Europe at that time. The fort is located on the south side of Candolim beach, almost on the banks of river Mandovi.
River Cruise on Mandovi river
Then, around 11 we headed to a river cruise and dolphin spotting on Mandovi river. The fort is located on the banks of the river, so, within 5 minutes, we reached at the boating spot. Mandovi is one big river that flows through the heart of Goa. And it is rightly called the lifeline of Goa. The river is neat and clean. It is home to several Dolphins. Several cruises are offered in the river that include spotting interesting sights along the bank of the river and Dolphin spotting in the river.
The cruise that we took was almost around a half an hour cruise. And we had to wait a little for our turn as the boats were limited. But once on the river, we enjoyed the cruise throughly. Along the cruise, you can see the Aguada fort, some beautiful and luxurious hotels built alongside the river and across the banks you can spot the beautiful cities of Goa.
Anjuna Beach
Post the river cruise, we headed for lunch at Anjuna beach in North Goa in a beach side open air restaurant, around 1 pm. We took a leisurely stroll on the beach for sometime post lunch, enjoying the serene and calm atmosphere, before heading back to our tour vehicle. Although we spent just half an hour strolling on this beach, Anjuna beach made a special spot in our heart. Not sure if it was the serene atmosphere, the laid back environment or the view of the waves continuously crushing on the rocks that got embedded in our heart forever.
Anjuna is a village in north Goa. The place is particularly famous for the trance parties that are held on Anjuna beach during the new year time period. Also, there is a famous night market, a flea market, that is setup near the beach every Wednesday.
| Beach side restaurant on Anjuna Beach |
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| Beach side restaurant on Anjuna Beach |
Shopping in Goa
Post lunch, we were driven to the thriving markets of Panjim where we had a time slot of around an hour (2:30-3:30 pm) for exploring the shops and the items on offer. We picked some items from spice and cashew merchants. Goa has several things to offer if you are looking forward to buying something. The spices and cashews of Goa are particularly very well known. Apart from this, cloths, garments, beach wear, slippers, cloth bags, silver jewelry and many other items can also be bought in Goa at very reasonable price.
Panjim is the capital city of Goa. It has a systematic market with clear zones for each kind of items that you would like to buy. You can head to the road side shops and explore the items available there. We have been to Goa two times and both the times we came back with some quality cashews that we liked a lot. [more details on shopping in Goa].
Bom Jesus Basilica
Post the shopping spree, we headed to Bom Jesus Basilica. It is one of the most popular churches of Goa. Actually, it is a UNESCO world heritage. The church is located in old Goa. After finishing our shopping in Panjim, we headed here across the bridge on Mandovi river. We arrived here around 4pm in the evening and and then spent almost an hour on the premises of the Church, part of it sitting inside the church in peace and offering our prayer, part of it taking a stroll around the massive architecture and admiring its details.
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| Bom Jesus Basilica |
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| Bom Jesus Basilica |
The church is made in the architectural style resembling the Baroque architecture. It was constructed in almost 10 years. This church also contains the body of St. Francis Xavier who was a close friend of St. Ignatius Loyola. The casket containing the body is made of silver. Actually, this casket was the gifted by the last of the Medicis, Cosimo III, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The interiors of the church are done in Golden. And it looks beautiful.
Cruise, Folk performance and dinner
From the church, we headed to a cruise on river Mandovi. By this time, it was almost dark. We on-boarded the cruise ship by almost 6pm. The ship had two decks. We first headed to the top deck. A sitting arrangement was done with chairs on the open deck. While a stage was set on the other end for some folk performances. We enjoyed the folk performances. At the end of the performance, even the guests were urged to join the locals. The atmosphere was super charged at this point.
After the performance, we went ahead for dinner.While many others proceeded to the lower deck where there was a live disco going on. Overall, the cruise trip continued till 7:30pm. Post this, we slowly started departing from the cruise.
Conclusion on things to do in Goa in one day
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Hey Neha. Good one! It covers most of the things that 1 day sight seeing does. But if people could google maps themselves to the place, I’d advise to shop at Panjim on June 18th road, and avoid Anjuna (because as a beach Anjuna is fairly far off and is not on the same stretch as Sinquerim-Candolim-Calangute-Baga. Anjuna on wednesdays would be great, and similarly ingo/mackie’s night bazaar on saturdays near Arpora works like a charm. Panjim-Old Goa-Fort Aguada ( and if they dont mind one more, I would add Chapora Fort). From a beach perspective I’d probably pick something closeby like Candolim which is near Fort Aguada. Just those minor additions to an otherwise do-able plan suggested by you for a 1 day plan.
You are definitely a pro when it comes to Goa! Thanks for the tips. My readers will definitely have some valuable inputs from here.
Hehe, this post reminded me of my first time in Goa!! I’d gone with my parents and ended up doing all these activities. Over the years, it was fun to explore the more offbeat sights of Goa. We friends had made a pact to visit Goa at least once every year and that meant more than 10 trips in total! What fun!!
I’ve made a monsoon post on Goa, if you ‘d like to check.
Great to know about your trip Shubham. And I will definitely check out your monsoon post. Because its a dream of mine to be in Goa during the monsoons some day.
I’ve read some really diverse blogs about Goa recently. Looks like there is so much to enjoy. Will have to get a trip planned.
Goa is definitely a favorite to everyone..young and old..
Goa is probably the destination that interests me most in India. I would hope to spent more than a day there though if I ever get to visit. My picks from your list would be the beach and shopping
Definitely you should spend much more than a day at Goa. This is just a one day crisp trip. But there is so much more to do
Goa is definitely high on our India list! I’m loving the beachside restaurant, it looks so peaceful. And the church is so unique looking! I really want to go check it out.
I absolutely love Goa and I will be there in a few weeks. It will be my fifth time. I am so pleased that you pt Anjuna there. It is one of my favourite places in Goa. I love the Wednesday market, the vibe on the beach as the sunsets and some of the beautiful shops nearby.
I have been to a few of the other places you have suggested but I am keen to check out the river cruise this time.
Sure Kathy. It is a lovely cruise indeed
I missed the port whilst in Goa, it looks interesting though a piece of European history. I missed the Mandovi river cruise as well, this looks relaxing and good for a different view of the fort. Beaches, shopping and dinner are a must, I agree. I think I missed the Basilica too! I need to go back!
You missed a lot of stuff 🙂 But then Goa has so much to offer and not everything is to everyone’s liking. On top of that , we are all pressed by time. I am sure, you still had a wonderful time here surfing the beaches. That’s why Goa is so special
There were a couple things that stood out to me in this post that I will have to remember for my trip to Goa. #1 Dolphin watching! I love love LOVE seeing animals in the wild. I’ve seen orcas in my native British Columbia, Canada, but never dolphins! and #2 cashews! I didn’t know they were a specialty in Goa, but as a nut “nut” (that sounds awkward), I’m all about that! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Glad that these two points stuck with you. You surely won’t be disappointed in Goa (although no one is ever!!)
It’s sounds like you had a lovely time on your Goa sightseeing tour, albeit a little too busy, rushing from each location back onto your minibus. Goa has been on my radar for a while now. I am trekking to the Everest Base Camp in October but I am considering certain places in India to relax after our trek – Goa, being one of them! Nice informative post. Thanks for sharing, Neha. Safe travels!
Thanks Raymond. A but hectic, but ultimately, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Goa. Hope you too will enjoy it as much as we did
Impressive, I like how you managed to see so many places in just one day!
And I must say, really interesting how different all the places are, so you have some historical places with the fort, beach, shopping… Seems like you already had some kind of mini-vacation in just one day 🙂
Definitely. Thats why we said, if you are time crunched, then it’s a perfect day trip to take around Goa. There is everything on offer in this compact trip
Wow it seems like there’s a lot to do there! I’ve wanted to go there for ages. Great tips and I’ll have to come back when I make it eventually 🙂
Thank you! We hope whenever you make it here, you will have a wonderful time
This article came at a perfect time just as I am planning my trip to Goa in May. I would love to see the dolphins on the boat cruise and the old Portugese fort with fresh water inside seems impressive too! Seems like you managed to see and do a lot in just one day. How much did you pay for the tour?
This tour was a part of our hotel deal Kreete. So, can’t tell how much it would cost individually. But definitely affordable. The river cruise charge was paid on the spot and many sites had free entry. You can as well do the trip by hiring a bike or car of your own
Goa has much to see and experience so it is difficult to cram much into a one day trip. But if you have time constraint, then definitely these are some sights that one should not miss.
I have wanted to go to Goa for so long – Anjuna Beach looks gorgeous! Bom Jesus Basilica looks fascinating and such a photogenic place!
Goa has so much to see and do. I have been there twice. I can’t wait to plan yet another trip..