Goa is located on the western coast of the Indian Peninsula and separated from Maharashtra by the Terekhol River in the north, Karnataka in the south, the Western Ghats in the east and Arabian Sea in the west.

When to Visit

Goa is probably the only place in India that is tourist friendly right throughout the year; your trip here would thus depend on your agenda. International tourists arrive from October onwards right through April, with Indian tourists are seen from November to December and then March to June. If you wish to enjoy the revelry and festivals then Christmas and New year are when Goa is completely lit up, then there's the carnival in February, Sao Joan festival in mid-June, and then the monsoons -- when Goa is all green and beautiful, you may not get much in terms of food options at this time, but the local joints are great fun too. This is also the time when Goa, everything in Goa is dirt-cheap. You can get a good accommodation for as little as Rs 400 a night.

Getting Around

Travelling in Goa is expensive. If you hire out a taxi these are very easily available you will end up spending a lot more on travel than on your food and drinks. Hiring out Cars and Bikes is a good option, helmets are a must in Goa. You could take the bus too, but the service is slow and not very clean, so take the bus only between big cities, like Madgaon-Panjim, or Panjim-Mapusa, as on these routes you will get non stop service. The best option to travel around is to hire a pilot; in Goa you get bikes on hire, where you can ride on pillion. Then of course you have the ferry service that connects a few of the towns, it's an good way to save on gas and time when you're on a holiday. Fuel is a wee bit cheaper in Goa than in other states!