North or South Goa: Which Goan Gem is Right for You?
The big question!
Should you stay in North or South Goa?
You can drive from the top to the bottom of Goa in three or four hours, but it’s not the easiest place to navigate with public transport. So, even though Goa is India’s smallest state, you still want to get your base for your trip in the right place for you.
The north of Goa has a VERY different feel to south of Goa, so it completely depends on what you’re looking for from your visit; each caters to and attracts different groups of people.
Maybe you’re looking for a little bit of paradise: somewhere you can sit at a little beach shack on a peaceful beach eating vindaloo surrounded by palm trees.
Maybe you’re looking for more of a party feel: you want to have the biggest nightclubs in walking distance and plenty of opportunities to meet new people.
Maybe you want to have a great mix of culture, sightseeing, and foodie experiences instead of just beaches.
After having visited both north and south Goa and getting advice from our local Indian friends, we have put together this guide to help you work out which part of Goa is for you – north or south, or maybe somewhere kind of in the middle!
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North Goa
Perfect for the party crowd, North Goa is definitely busier with crowds of foreign and domestic tourists. Beaches are lined with bars playing music and the alcohol is well and truly flowing. There are large night clubs, lots of restaurants, and lots of hostels and accommodation.
When chatting to our Indian friends, they made it VERY clear to us that this was not the place to go, especially if you are a foreign solo female traveller.
In all honesty, they actually warned us against visiting because it doesn’t really represent India or even Goa anymore; it has more of a party town or resort feel to it, and is full of rowdy folk.
We spent some time in North Goa over ten years ago (yes, we are that old) and even back then it felt like too much for us. I ended up chasing a man up the beach who was not-so-subtly filming my friend and I in our bikinis – I, of course, got him to delete the footage. Goa is a beautiful state, but North Goa just doesn’t have a great feeling to it.
Unless your idea of a great holiday is somewhere like Magaluf, Ayia Napa or Benidorm, North Goa is probably not for you.
North Goa is perfect for: extroverts, party people, solo travellers who want to meet people and have more options for hostels
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South Goa
If you’re like us and you’re looking for that quintessential Goan experience with beautiful beaches but without the crowds even in the high season, South Goa is for you!
The South Goan beaches are much prettier, lined with palm trees, and are calm, quiet, clean and largely empty. It isn’t over-the-top commercialised; it isn’t loud and in your face like in the north.
It feels real and local. You won’t find a load of bars and night clubs but you’ll find good restaurants, local stores and street vendors frying up fresh samosas and selling fresh coconuts.
We stayed in the Canacona area and it was perfect. Pretty and quiet beaches, good local restaurants, some more commercialised areas, but some really local areas too.
Patnem and Palolem beaches are lovely, smaller beaches lined with palm trees. There are some shacks on the beach so that you can get food and drinks in the day and rent sun loungers, but the majority of the beach is empty.
Vidushi’s Cow Corner and Singh’s Punjabi Family Restaurant both serve some delicious food.
We actually spent Christmas day on Palolem beach eating vindaloo and cafreal, and even then the beach was quiet!
Another beautiful beach further north is Majorda. Now this one doesn’t necessarily have as much character, but it is a huge expanse of golden sand with a handful of beach shacks.
Lavina Beach Shack serves delicious food – definitely try the paneer biryani!
South Goa is perfect for: introverts, couples, families, lovers of peace and quiet
Panaji (somewhere in between)
Panaji is the capital city of Goa and is located in the south of North Goa. So, yes, it is in North Goa but it doesn’t have the party feeling of North Goa.
Panaji feels really local still; we saw many more locals than tourists during our visit. There are colourful streets and old churches and great restaurants and the UNESCO site of Old Goa is only a thirty minute drive away.
Stop at an old coffee shop tucked away down a side street for a pastel de nata and a masala chai, gorge yourself on paneer cafreal or a full Goan thali before having a feni and limca cocktail.
Read our post on the best things to do and places to eat in Panaji!
Panaji is perfect for: foodies, people who get bored just lying on a beach, people who want to experience the culture and learn about the history.
Our Top Accomm. Recommendation for Panaji!
Hotel Casa Dos Rebelos (£)
📍 1st Floor, Rebelo Building, Rua De Ormuz
Casa Dos Rebelos is the perfect place to stay! It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but inside the rooms are beautiful and spacious with lovely décor, private bathroom and aircon. It’s very centrally located and walking distance to restaurants, Fontainhas, etc.
🛏️ Plan your Stay 🛏️
So where do we recommend staying?
We split our time between a couple of spots in South Goa (Canacona and Utorda) and Panaji, and I recommend you do something similar.
If you’re looking to experience actual Goa, then this gives you the perfect mix of pretty beaches, culture, historical sights, and foodie opportunities! Less of the rowdy drunkenness, more of the serenity and culture.
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