list of places in north goa where north goa does not feel like north goa

Querim beach

The last beach before Goa turns into Maharashtra. The road there runs through villages and narrows the whole way, so take a scooty. There is no sand. Just boulders, rock, and water sitting in front of you. No crowd, no shacks, nothing. If Marine Drive does more for you than an actual beach does, go here.

Mandrem beach

Stay near the beach, hostel or hotel, especially if you are travelling alone. Getting there is twelve steps across the road, I counted, then a short flight of stairs and a small bridge over a river that stays clear even in monsoon. On the other side is one of the widest beaches in North Goa with almost nobody on it. No lifeguards though, so skip it alone at high tide or in heavy rain.

Cafe Bodega and Miramar

Everyone does Fontainhas and stops there. Keep going, into the lanes where the CM house and the officials live. Genuinely pretty, and Bodega sits right in it. Then Miramar for the pani puri. It is the only beach that opens straight out of a city centre, which makes it a different thing entirely.

Elephant and Co.

Fifteen minutes from Baga and somehow the quietest place inside the loudest one. You come off all that noise, turn into open fields, and the restaurant is sitting in the middle of them. Go at night. It is built for the kind of conversation that runs long.

Bamboo Buns

A hut near Baga, two people, one idea. They make poie, filled with chicken or egg or an aloo patty, and the menu ends there. The brownies are excellent. Opens around six.

Siolim roads

What you drive through leaving the Anjuna and Vagator crowd for the other side of North Goa. Prettiest roads in the state. Not somewhere you go, somewhere you slow down for.

Barefoot Goa

Middle of North Goa, off Parra road, the Dear Zindagi one. Coworking, cafe, whatever you want to call it. Everyone is working and nobody is checking on you. Sit inside or sit out in the trees. Skip it when it is pouring.

Mojigao, Assagao

Everyone goes to Anjuna. Skip Anjuna. Same menu, far prettier, and you can stay on the property. Worth a whole evening.