Is north or south Goa better for families?

[exotictraveller]

We're planning on going to Goa for christmas 2010. Have been looking into accomodation options and it seems that North Goa is much livlier with lots of bars/clubs/restaurants and South Goa is a bit quieter.

Am thinking South Goa may be a bit better seeing as we have 2 DC's age 4 and 7 but don't want it to be too quiet and we definately want lots of lovely restaurants and cafes nearby.

Has anyone been there with young DC's? What would you recommend?

South....we went with ds (6) this xmas just gone, and the one before...
Patnam is a really nice beach - look at Goyam (search on web) for accomodation - they have huts on the beach and their food is lovely...
Patnam is near Palolem which is much bigger and more lively if you want a night out/more food offerings...

Blackduck, thank you for replying. Yes, we had been veering towards thinking the south would be better for families. And thanks for the tips on accomodation, will go and look now.

Are there any other tips you can give me? Did your DS enjoy it? So far we have only been to Portugal with the DC's and are going to Crete at Easter so Goa will be something very different for them.

We're booking our flights seperately and so far I have been looking at apartments on Owner's Direct. There are some lovely ones on there at very reasonable rates even over christmas.

How much would you say we need to budget per day over there? We're probably going to be very lazy and just eat and relax by the pool or on the beach. May do a few little trups if they seem ok for the DC's.

Am so excited!

My ds loved it (both times!!). Sea is lovely, Indians are very friendly and love children. Make sure you take lots of sunscreen as it is hot. Moneywise you can eat very cheaply (and there are lots of European options if the children won't do curry). The first year we went for 10 days and were hard pushed to spend £500. and that included a couple of trips etc and we weren't stinting at all. You could probably do it cheaper!! Christmas is lovely over there - they all put up lights and nativity scenes and it is very beautiful. Patnam is very childfriendly - loads of families there, great Italian resturant, lovely crescent-shaped beach. Palolem is a 10 min tuk-tuk ride away and Agonda a bit further on. There is a nature reserve near there where you can see lots of birds and things (but nothing big). There are spice plantations which can be fun and elephant washing.....
Is there anything else you would like to know?

Hi again Blackduck, thanks for posting again. Wow, £500 for 10 days, was that for the 2 of you? Sorry being a bit nosy, but just want to get a realistic idea of budget per day for 4 adults and 2 children.

Apart from that what you have said sounds lovely. Just what we're after. How was the flight over? Who did you book with? We're thinking it's best to book now to get the best deals? We're probably going to go with Qatar Air with a stopover in Doha airport or Air India with a stopover in Mumbai.

Have you considered Kingfisher Air for flights? I think they fly from Heathrow. My parents and a friend of mine said they were very good and reasonably priced.

Its been a while since I went so it has probably changed a lot. I sponsered a little boy in one of the orphanages there until he went home to his family. I stayed in Candolim which was fairly quiet.

We have always flown air india (into Mumbai and out)....its fine, but you do tend to arrive at some godawful time in the morning after essentially 24 hours (time difference) so the children are usually out of sinc for a day or so...... Kingfisher are good (flown them internally) and met people who have flown Qatar and rated it. Also look at Monarch as they fly direct so no nasty stopovers. The pain with air india is you have to collect your baggage at Mumbai and re-check it on the way out - and this is no fun at midnight!

India is really cheap to eat - we used to have breakfast as part of the deal where we were staying. Lunch would come in around 800-1,000 rps max - which was about £11+ (this was beers, juices - fresh, and snacks and things). Dinner - depended on where you ate, but can be really cheap (and lovely!). wine is very expensive - Indian wine is not good so you have to pay for the more palatable stuff!

You can't take rupees in so youhave to take cash and change it and there are atms in major resorts (just make sure you tell your bank you are going and will be using your card). Just to give you some idea of cost. A taxi for an hours drive from one resort to another was £20. Pakora and samosas start at a £1 a portion (or less) and are huge. Loads of seafood of course. Ds would have the most amazing pineapple juices (essentially a pineaplle stuck through a liquidiser so I never worried if he ate too little in the day as he was certainly getting his vitimins!).
If you decide to do malaria protection (Goa is low risk), you can get a liquid for the children which means you only have to get it down them once a week as opposed to daily.

Inida is one of those places where once you are there you can keep it cheap (but not necessarily nasty), or spend more if you want to....

If I think of anything else - or you do - post back or CAT me.

Thanks once again Blackduck, you have told me all I wanted to know! But am sure I will think of a few more questions. Thanks for the tip about Air India and the luggage, might go for Qatar Air instead in that case, although at the moment Air India prices are the most competitive.

Sailorsgal, hi and thank you for your post. Yes I would also consider Kingfisher Air, they have come up a few times when I've been searching for flights. Ultimately it will depend on price and dates and times that suit us.

Thanks again, I will post again when I think of more questions!

Thought of something already! Apart from malaria are there any other jabs necessary for Goa? Thanks for the tip about the once a week malaria liquid, will definately get that.

There are other jabs required not sure what I had now. Check with your GP/surgery.

Have you been to a third world country before? Though Goa is probably far richer than other areas of India be prepared to see real poverty especially in towns.

I went to a cashew factory and the camp of the workers was a real eye opener.

You will see lots of begging and will get hassled but the people are very friendly and lovely (especially the kids).

Need hep and tetnus injections. Poverty is far less than anywhere else in India - yes, you will see some sights, but I would not say 'lots' of begging (some maybe...- I have travelled round India pre ds and yes, places like Madras and Mumbai are an eye-opener) What we did this year was took stuff of ds's that we knew would not fit him by next summer and then we had it donated to an orphanage in the village (guy at the hotel sorted it out for us) - means less stuff to lug home! Someone we met took bags of sweets with her (not choc obviously!) and handed them out to children - pens also go down well!

Thanks Blackduck and sailorsgal. Booking our flights today, so excited!

I have been to India before, although not to Goa so am prepared for the culture shock. Thanks for mentioning about taking things for the children over there, had thought about doing that, but will have to make sure I remember nearer the time. Only 10 months to go! We're flying out on 19 Dec and coming back on the 2 Jan 2011, yipee!

I am we have been two years running, but it is a definate no this year..... sigh.....if you want to know anything else drop a line.

Blackduck, sorry you can't go this year, maybe next year?

Thanks so much for your help, will definately come back if I think of any more questions.