New Year in Goa - 2021: prices, tours, tips

We thought, why not tell us about the holidays in Goa for the New Year 2021? In terms of warmth and, most importantly, budget on holidays, nothing beats with India. So, the story is passed on to our friend, who just returned from a glorious resort.

Correction: you know that New Year's holidays set a shock price tag for vouchers? It would be more correct to say that Goa is the cheapest option by the sea from the most expensive 🙂

Features of rest. Goa weather

It was my first vacation in Goa. There were a lot of organizational questions, and the main one was "where should I go?" (yes, the slice of state you choose will definitely affect how your vacation goes).

South Goa it is considered more "elite": accommodation here is significantly more expensive, but the rooms are more modern and the hotels are cleaner. North Goa, namely, I gave preference to him, for economy tourists. To live in some Severogo guesthouses, you have to be damn unpretentious!

The high season in Goa lasts from October to May, but it is better to fly from mid-December to February: by this time, the Goans are eliminating the effects of the rainy season on the beaches, the smell of mold has disappeared, bars, restaurants and shops are opening. And some of them work around the clock (in October one can only dream of such a luxury).

The weather in Goa for the New Year - in December and January - is usually sunny: during the day the temperature outside is about + 30 ° C, at night it drops to + 20 ° C. The ocean, the most pleasant component, warms with its + 27 ° C.

How is New Year celebrated in Goa?

Most of the locals are Hindus, which means that they themselves do not celebrate, it is not accepted. But what can't you do for the extra rupees from foreigners? 🙂 How tourists celebrate the New Year in Goa depends on whether they arrived on their own or on a tour.

Tours to Goa for New Year 2021

Want to meet NG and save some money? Take off December 25, 26 or 27 - the most humane dates for the budget (if the vacation is for a week).

I advise you to ask the price and be surprised at the amounts for New Year's Goa on online aggregators. This is convenient because the services display prices directly from tour operators, but not from one or two, but from all popular and reliable ones. And then they pull up real reviews of tourists about the hotel:

• Travelata
• Level.Travel
• Onlinetours

Tours to Goa in December 2020 with a flight from Moscow cost from 40,000 rubles for 7 days for two. Yes, inexpensive, but on New Year's Eve the amount will increase to 95 thousand. The hotel, by the way, is the same, inconspicuous two stars without meals. And this is subject to early booking!

In January 2021, tours to Goa will cost from 80,000 rubles. And after the 10th, you can find it for 55 thousand. I would not overpay for the tourist excitement and would fly in mid-January - but then, of course, as work dictates.

Prices for holidays in Goa in winter

Since we mentioned somewhere there food, then let's start with it. Bed & breakfast option (approx. only breakfast) can be ignored: in the morning the same products are served in hotels, like buns with jam. It does not smell like a buffet, there is not a dawn of desire to get up for this - it has been tested on our own experience.

Very low food prices in Goa save:

• One of the famous dishes, the recipe for which travelers seek out on the Internet upon returning home, is tomato soup. The cost of a portion is about 100 rubles. In small sheks, the price can be even lower (there was one such cafe at the end of Arambol - check if it is still there 🙂).

Just to get started, check out the shek kitchen to make sure there is minimal sanitation.

• For fans of seafood, the fresh catch will be prepared right on the spot. Kg shrimp - about 400 rubles
• You can drink them with fresh exotic fruits (from 50 to 130 rubles)
• Fruits are sold right on the street in special stalls or in markets. Kg papaya - about 27 rubles, oranges (6 pieces) - 90 rubles

In general, all sheks have the same menu with slightly different prices (not that very much). The situation with stores is not very good: you can buy dairy products (not bad), semi-finished meat products and alcohol... Alcoholic drinks in Goa are a separate topic, the main star of which is Old Monk rum. A large bottle of the classic "monk" will cost only 160 rubles (in a cafe, one serving costs around 70 rubles, draw conclusions 🙂).

The best way to get around Goa is to scooters, which are rented out for 200-400 rubles / day. Get ready for busy, chaotic traffic. If you are afraid of losing control, it is better to take a taxi.

An excellent pastime option - massage (800-1600 rubles) and local markets... Here you can grab T-shirts for 50 rubles and harem pants for 200.

Housing prices

I believe that for the first time it is easier to entrust your vacation to professionals and go on a tour: firstly, you do not have to look for tickets at a discount (from 30,000 rubles, and if you have to - here is an article about the best search engines >>). Secondly, in an unfamiliar Asian country with housing, overlaps and malfunctions may occur.

But if you are determined and independent, an apartment or a room can be booked online. For example, using the Airbnb service (read our instruction review >>). The cost of accommodation will depend on the rental period (longer - cheaper) and distance from the sea (further - more economical). A separate room in the house - from 700 rubles per day. Apartment - from 1000 rubles; villa - on average, 3000-5000 rubles per night for 6-10 people.

But what about hotels? This is also an option, especially if you find a profitable one on RoomGuru or Booking. In a 5-star hotel, the cost of a holiday for two for the New Year will be ≈ 90,000 rubles per week. Ultra-expensive options are located in South Goa, but there are a couple in North Goa as well. Just think: when everything is so cheap in shekas, why overpay?

Which part of the GOA is better to choose for the New Year? North or South

And yet, where to celebrate the New Year in Goa: in the north or in the south? Let's remember the pros and cons of each part.

The best hotels in Goa according to tourists' reviews

Let me explain that the best hotels are not equal to the chic "five" for exorbitant amounts.I tried to select options that are adequate in terms of cost-quality ratio, about which there are many reviews. Although, obviously not to say about hotels in Goa for the New Year - adequate in price, here the "starless" will ask worthily:

• 5 * Dona Sylvia Beach Resort, South Goa. One of the few hotels where you can take an all-inclusive tour. Renovated rooms, a huge area outside the walls, a pool for both children and adults. Plus, buffet and animation! Almost Turkey :)
  How many? Tour in the New Year - from 220,000 rubles
  after January 10 - from 150,000 rubles
• 3 * Nanu Resorts, South Goa. Tourists recommend taking breakfasts and dinners, pulling higher than 3 stars. Very close to the ocean
  How many? Tour in the New Year - from 125,000 rubles
  after January 10 - from 90,000 rubles
• 2 * Classic de Evergreen, North Goa. Located in a great area (Morjim beach) full of Russians. Markets-shops-entertainment - all close by
  How many? Tour in the New Year - from 100,000 rubles
  after January 10 - from 75,000 rubles
• 1 * White Feather, North Goa. Inexpensive guest house, not a bum at all, with air conditioning and a convenient location
  How many? Tour in the New Year - from 77,000 rubles
  after January 10 - from 60,000 rubles

Things to do on GOA: attractions

Arriving in Goa, you can lie on the beach, or visit various excursions. They are offered by both tour operators and local residents. Here's where to go in your free time:

• Spice plantation Is a nature reserve and one of the best attractions in Goa. Almost all types of plants growing in India are represented here, from carnations to bananas.
• Murdeshwar - not quite Goa: to get to the fishing village, you have to shake the bus for about 5 hours. And all for the sake of the 1542 granite sculptural complex dedicated to Shiva
• Banyan tree in Arambol Is one of the controversial attractions. And tourists still go: according to legend, the Beatles members were meditating under it. Today, amateurs gather at the roots of the tree to smoke joints. Beware of nudists and other grass-winged margins. After one such meeting, I went down the hill in literally 10 minutes
• Dudhsagar waterfall - takes 5th place in India in terms of height. A lake is formed at its foot, suitable for swimming.
• Shiva's face - one of the boulders on Vagator Beach (North Goa). This is not an old statue, but a modern work, its master still works in Goa. On busy days, you will have to stand in line to take a photo with a fashionable giant.
• Arpora Night Market - a kind of answer to the Grand Bazaar, which has absorbed all the originality of the Indian resort. The first market, where you can find a lot of interesting things, opens before the New Year (however, prices for many goods, as usually happens, are too high, do not forget to bargain)

Reviews of tourists - is it worth celebrating the New Year in Goa?

My review will be like this. Everyone repeats: "Either you fall in love with this place from the first trip, or it is not yours." And I completely agree, but you can only find out if the former Portuguese colony, and now the smallest Indian state, will like it, only by seeing it with your own eyes.

This part of India, unlike the rest of the country, combines lush tropics, white beaches with turtles, cliffs with swimming dolphins, hordes of tourists and the poverty of a slum. It has not so much in common with Roerich's canvases and sets for Bollywood films. But don't be alarmed: it's not bad here at all! To visit is definitely worth it.

And my observation: play with the duration of the rest. A trip to Goa for 10 days left me only 10,000 rubles more than 7.

Pros and cons of Goa in New Year

Pros:

+ ease of obtaining a visa (an electronic entry document is made online, the cost is about $ 100)

+ the opportunity to celebrate a holiday on the coast for very reasonable money (tours to Goa, including New Year 2021, are already on sale)

+ wonderful weather in winter

+ cheap groceries, food, alcohol

+ interesting excursions and beautiful landscapes

Minuses:

- expensive New Year's Eve dinner in some hotels (but there are hotels without it)

- the absence of long vacations - on January 1, the morning after the celebration, the Goans behave as if there was no holiday

- mud on some beaches and small rooms

- rather long flight (≈ 7 hours)