Today I celebrate 3 years of calling this lovely land my home.

And as part of the celebration, dear fellow creatives, I want to be able to share my side of Goa with you. The reason behind compiling this list (which I hope to keep updating) is two-fold:
(A) The more emotional reason: It’s one more form of creating a special connection, if you decide to see a place through my lens. (Even if the conversation is one-way to begin with, I’d love to know what you thought about any of these places you’ve visited.)
(b) The more practical reason: I hate forgetting what all I want to recommend to people who I know will enjoy the same things that I do.

On most days, I’m an absolute indoor cat. My personal creative projects and professional commitments keep me in my studio for long hours. This home itself has been a big creative project over 6-7 months & I LIKE being in it.

But these are the activities and places that excite me even more than working on my personal projects. So you know they’re gooooood! ⭐️

Into the Great Goan Outdoors 🌳

Yes, the beaches are great! And they’re even more special if you don’t live on the coast already, because experiencing the vastness of the sea can be truly surreal at times. But there are plenty of lists out there to tell you about the beaches, so allow me to go a step beyond that and encourage you to go in-land. Monsoons are a specially good time for these experiences but there’s something of interest throughout the year anyway.

Here are some experiences we’ve signed up for over the years:

1. Plantation Walk & traditional lunch at the Sahakari Spice Farm, Ponda – a family-favourite.
2. Go on an (easy) adventure with The Local Beat to waterfalls & more – two trips!
3. Camping under the stars with Cosmic Ventures – two trips again.
4. Sea-Kayaking with Adventure Breaks – we did the night-time sea kayaking and it was SURREAAL. Their kayaking base is at Sand & Sea Restaurant, Bambolim
5. Nature’s Nest in Mollem organises day trips in the National Park for Bird-Watching, Safaris and more – we did a few short experiences with them when we stayed here, and hope to go back for more day-trips.

Other offerings which we haven’t personally experiences but are highly recommended by those around us:

1. Meraki Experiences takes you for Backwater Kayaking (which is better for those who aren’t comfortable in the sea) & a host of other experiences.
2. I’ve heard good things about Terraconcious too, so check it out!
3. If cycling through the village is your thing, sign up with Cycling Zens
4. Visiting the Dushsagar Falls is on many people’s lists. You can check out their official government website to book for the same.

_{Have another recommendation you want to see on this list? DM it to me.}

If books & reading are your way of unwinding 📚

I maintain a list of delightful bookstores that you can visit when you’re up & about the state.

Click here to view all the bookstores on a map.

I also recommend joining a reading circle – where you can take any book of your liking & then read it in silence with a group of people, in a a dedicated space. it works like magic if you really want to read but aren’t able to get yourself to sit still. I highly recommend the Reading Social at Barefoot. We might just bump into each other there.

If you can’t make it there on a Saturday morning, you might want to checkout: Silent Book Club

_{Have another recommendation you want to see on this list? DM it to me.}

Peek into Heritage through museums & interpretation centres

I am a big lover of museums & heritage centres, and that includes centres for both natural & cultural heritage. So much so that I started Museum Hopping Asia as an ongoing project to document some amazing ones. Check it out on Instagram here (and contribute to the documentation if that interests you!)

Click here to view all the interesting heritage spots on a map.

I keep updating the map when I find something new, and I hope this helps you plan your visits depending on what area you’re in.

_{Have another recommendation you want to see on this list? DM it to me.}

Sneaking in a few days of remote work on your vacation?

Check out these co-working spaces:

1. Barefoot, Parra
2. Clay, Anjuna
3. Nomadgao, Assagao & Anjuna
4. 91-Springboard, Panjim
5. O Abraço Cafe, Madgaon

I’ve marked them on the map here & will continue adding new spots directly to the map.

_{Have another recommendation you want to see on this list? DM it to me.}

Come back later for Part-2, which will cover:

1. Food & Drink
2. Shopping
3. Distilleries & Casinos
4. What else would you like to know about?

Happy exploring!