Hey! Hi Namaste this is Tulip Roy. Goa with beautiful scenario of sun, sand and sea with a mix of cheap alcohol, good food and music, is a piece of heaven. If you can properly disclose the delights of Goa, you can probably understand what the phrase “Heaven on earth means” and trust me there is no other way to taste it than in Anjuna, the queen of all Beaches. The sunsets are a beauty in Anjuna. You just cannot get Anjuna wrong.
How to get there
From wherever you are coming, Anjuna is easily accessible. If you are coming from train to Goa i.e. using the Indian Railways, then do get down at the small station of Thivim, from there it depends on you weather you want to save money or spend it on luxury, form Thivim you can take a yellow and black auto (tuk-tuk) to Anjuna but it will cost around Rs 350/- minimum even if you are a single person or double and if you are a group of 3 the prices will accelerate to Rs 450/- you can also take a Taxi from the station which will cost Rs 600/- minimum. If this is all too much for you and money comes first then you can take a bus from outside of the station walking strait, to take a bus to Mapusa (pronounced Mapsa), which is the mainland for all the North Goa beaches, this will cost you around Rs 15/- from Mapusa you can take a bus to Anjuna, which will again cost you Rs 15/- (Total cost of Rs 30/- per person, now that’s cheap!).
If you are coming from the airport there is no other way but to catch a Taxi, the distance from the airport to Anjuna is almost 47 km.
Guesthouse Facilities
After you reach Anjuna, you- of course need a hotel, now I would totally advise you to book online beforehand because if you are coming on a Season time i.e. on Christmas, the hotel will be all overbooked and Hotels which have rooms will cost a ton. I stayed in a Hotel called Anjuna Beach Resort, the rooms where really good, the pool was too good and even the service was up to the mark
and the even the location was fit, very near to the beach and so were the prices of the rooms. If you want to stay in a peaceful and exotic area, I would advise you to book this hotel online. If you are going on an off time (Which I personally feel is the best) i.e. the rainy season; you can easily get a cheap hotel.
General
There is a wine shop in every turn on Anjuna but if you want cheap beer, I would say: stay off the bars and buy alcohol in shops instead, there is a massive store called Oxford Arcade, it is right of Starco junction, as shown in the picture (this is where the bus will leave you at Anjuna, it is an little inter section)
You can get almost everything in Oxford Arcade from soaps to beauty oils, books, all eatables, wine, beer, vodka, tequila, water, deodorant, flakes, oats, cashew nut, fenny etc and all super cheap rates, you will go mad seeing the rates of alcohol which is cheaper than of water. There is nothing you can’t get in Oxford Arcade and will fall in love with it.
Further you can get bikes and cars depending on how many days you want it for and in what kind you want it in, you can find the people willing to rent their bikes for you almost everywhere.
Eat
If you are an Indian, things here are familiar and know but do try something new. You just can’t miss the Prawn fried rice and Prawn curry they are the specialty, do try Squid chilly, I am sure you all will love it.
Now near the Starco Junction, there are a lot of restaurants to the right, a hotel named 3 star, serves good and cheap food, they keep getting better if you start walking towards the beach. Now if you are on the main road of the beach and walk left, you will find superb restaurant’s and you can future choose, if you walk future you will hit the beach, this side doesn’t have rocks and has a lot of shacks. If you are comming from train, do take "kerla Halwa", from the local shop in the station(the only place you can get it in goa) it's a sweet dish from the south, you have to try once to know the amazing taste.
If you are looking for more, I would advise you to take a bus from Starco Junction to Vagator beach which will take almost 20 minutes, there are superb restaurants there, the restaurant opposite to Tintin Restaurant serves amazing food and an open bar named Mango tree, serves amazing drinks. There is a restaurant named Big Banyan which serve superb fish. (All in Vagator)
Shopping
Shopping in Anjuna Beach is a pleasure, things are cheap and beautiful. There are a lot of artifacts, jewelry, dresses, ornaments etc. Bargaining works like hell here. There are shops everywhere, the technique is to stay calm and keep bargaining. There is a lot to shop at the beach and around.
Overall
Anjuna is a fun place to be, have lots of drinks and have fun, put a lot of sun block and get out in the sun. Reading blogs will help you but make experience of your own go left go right and get lost just have fun overall. I think for the minimum you need 3 days over here, you can also go to Vagator and have fun, it’s a bit lonely and a lot like Sri Lanka but so is Anjuna. If you have time to waste, you can go to Mapusa and discover the place. In Anjuna there are small small shops all around the place and have small stuff such as Samosa, Vada pav (potato stuffing) and mirchi pakoda etc, if you get tired of the cheap alcohol, these small shops have amazing Tea and coffee, made by hand! There are a lot of animals around the beach, cats and dogs etc if you are lucky enough you will spot the real kingfisher. Every hotel, shop, restaurant has its own personal dogs. Itz a happy place
P.S. I hope you liked my blog and I hope that the information is informative, do leave a comment.
