See my self-catering holiday home No. 429521 on Holiday-Rentals

When you fly to Goa - why not let us arrange a taxi to collect you.  There is no question that this is a different place and it's always good to have someone with your name on a board waiting to take you to the villa.  Our drivers will speak English and know where our house is and take you straight there - approximately 1 hour.
There is no haggling over taxi fares - all taken care of for you.
 
 
There is plenty to do in Goa and we recommend five things in particular, but in no special order.
1.  visit Old Goa - everything is done by taxi with the driver as guide.  There are guide books in the house if you want to read up before you go.  This is a world heritage site and there are several very worthwhile places to go.
2.  visit the spice plantation - a beautiful cool spot on a lake where you can swim with an elephant if you want to - or just visit the plantation.  They have really got this worked out for tourists - but it's not 'touristy'.  There is a walk around the spices which takes about half an hour and they prepare lunch for you which is just brilliant.  You eat sitting overlooking the lake and watch the bird life - and maybe see the other people who are being soaked by the elephant!
3.  visit Mapsua market and stroll through the fabulous mounds of fresh fruit and vegetables.  You don't have to buy - but it can be irresistible
 

Goa is a fabulous place.  It was part of the Portuguese empire until 1961 when the Indian army went in and made it – well – Indian.  The people are very special and there just isn’t the scary level of poverty experienced in so much of India.

Popular with the sixties hippies – those hippies are still there – only older and with new followers.  But don’t think that Goa is stuck in a time warp because it isn’t.  In complete truth – I have lived in London all my life and travelled very widely – the best food I have ever had has been in Goa.  You need to know your restaurants as is true of everywhere, but the quality of the ingredients make this a real top quality food experience, together with the incredible locations (and of course the prices are way lower than you imagine).

Goa is the perfect winter holiday location – the temperature never drops below a balmy 80+ degrees.  Now if you are reading this in summer that may sound just right – but if you are reading this in the depths of a grey and miserable winter feeling cold and sorry for yourself – then picture yourself lying on your back in the pool in, say, November!  It’s a question of whether you watch the circling vultures (not looking for you) or the waving palm trees.  Life’s good!

Our house is a pretty two bedroom, two storey home on a very small development of about 16 properties.  As you will see from the pictures, we overlook the swimming pool with the jungle behind it.  The birdlife is extraordinary with kingfishers sitting on the edge of the pool and wild peacocks in the fields beyond.  We have binoculars at the ready!  We are set back from the main road by a wonderful, red earth road and a five minute walk if you want to experience a wander to the beach.

 

Inside the house there is everything for a perfect holiday.  Yes we have a cooker; washing machine; dishwasher and microwave but to be honest the number of times you will want to stay in and cook are likely to be very few.

There are (literally) hundreds of restaurants a five minute taxi drive from us and each of them will cost you probably less than the ingredients you buy for a meal.  Although we do occasionally cook at home because if you go to Mapsua market or the (more challenging) market in Calangute the fun and incredible selection of the finest fruit and vegetables is just eye-watering.  Worth a trip on its own, even if you don’t want to cook you just have to see it to believe it.  Take a look at our pictures.

 

Back inside the house – there are two bedrooms both with their own en-suite shower rooms.  The beds are extremely comfortable – and although the rooms are air conditioned – the house is in such a good position that the through breezes are much more pleasant.  All the windows have the finest mesh to keep out bugs but don’t interfere with the view at all.

There is a personal terrace off both bedrooms – quiet reading; Scrabble or just listening as the night descends and the sounds of the jungle rise.  In case you are concerned – the jungle does not come anywhere near the house – so we do not have creatures of any sort coming in!

 

For more information - Email: dianawilmot@hotmail.co.uk 

Availability for this holiday house rental in Goa South West India