Goa is one of my favorite places in India to relax & enjoy holidays. I try to visit Goa once a year.
Goa is about 460 KMs from Pune – a direct drive via Nipani. We started from Pune on Friday evening & stayed in Sangli at night. Sangli is my native place so I took a diversion. But if anyone planning to take a break during travel to Goa, Kolhapur is a good pit stop. Next morning we drove from Sangli to Goa via Nipani, Amboli.
Weather at Amboli Ghat was very hot, still, we stopped for few minutes to view the glimpse of the valley. Famous Amboli waterfall was dry.
Valley view from Amboli Ghat
This year we stayed near Anjuna beach. I had booked studio apartment at Laguna Anjuna resort. This resort is not that great. It has a theme of old Goan Portuguese house. All studio apartments are made up of red rock and old style. The pool was not clean and the food was not so exciting. I think reviews on TripAdvisor are very old. But one plus point for this hotel is, it is very close to Anjuna beach, just about 15 minutes walk.
In this trip, we spent most of the time on Anjuna beach. It was very hot weather in Goa. But it was windy on the beach so heat was not a big problem.
Sunset at Anjuna beach was beautiful & evenings were pleasant as the wind was a cooling day-long heat.
There are many shacks on this beach serving you good food & drinks.
Next day we visited Aguada fort. This is well maintained & well-preserved seventeenth-century Portuguese fort built on high rock. There is a lighthouse on this fort. We see a beautiful view of the Arabian sea, Panjim City and port of Goa. You can also see Goa jail from this fort.
Overall trip was very good & relaxing. While returning we drove from Anjuna, Goa to Pune in one day. It took me about 9 to 10 hours with decent breaks in Kolhapur and Satara.
It was a well deserved short break for me & my family.