Thank you Fiona, been lurking a while now.... so thought I would quietly dip my toes in!

Hiya Jen
Welcome to HT I have only just joined its got lots of info on aint it, We go on the 31st it is also our fisrt time , Hoping to go to one of the meets if i can find them LOL

Pip
x

Thank you Fiona..

Thanks Walks..... now going to one of the meets would be a good idea, thanks for reminding me about them

Jen

If you are looking to hire/rent anything long term ie room, car, scooter or bike, don't commit straight away.
Explain that you want it for X number of days/weeks but will only hire/rent it for the day initially to see if it is good enough.
That way if it isn't, you can look elsewhere whereas usually they give you their best option hoping to secure the long term business.

Thankyou buzz its nice to have you in our big family on H/Ts as you know we are all soooo nice in the goa forum .......and you will always be made to feel at home ...colleen

Thanks for all the really useful tips here, i have jotted down bits and pieces that will help us to enjoy our first visit to Goa. Can see that i am going to have to restrain myself from going completely OTT with everything the minute i arrive! I will want to buy everything i see, try out all the yummy food, lie in the sun for hours, and want to see all the sights worth seeing, all in just two weeks. We leave from Gatwick in precisely 29 hours. I just know we are going to have the best time ever!

Enjoy Lisa. You wont be disappointed. Goa has something for everyone, its fab

Im so jealous, have a wonderful time, don't forget to take loads of high factor sun cream if you like to sunbathe. It is mega hot there at the moment and we ran out, but the local stuff made us all burn and the nivea out there is the same price as the UK so, stock up!

Dont forget your battery charger! We did, and the batteries you buy in Goa are not man enough! We would have lost loads of amazing photo opportunities if not for John a fellow guest at the MD who kindly charged ours up. Thanks mate. Buy your medication out there, i bought aloe vera gel for soothing sunburn at a fraction of UK price. Also painkillers and suntan lotions so cheaply.
Dont buy anything for the first few days, get some knowledge of how to barter with the sellers, they will try the hard sell, dont listen to the sob stories, think rupees not sterling,we paid way over the odds to taxi drivers and beach sellers at first, but soon learnt!
Get friendly with people, locals, and Brits living out there, you learn so much about the best shopping areas, beaches etc.
Do have a wonderful holiday. We sure did, Lisa.

P.S. Take plenty of wet wipes and hand gel that dries, we took ours everywhere and apart from a little tummy upset for me lasting a couple of days we were fine.
Eat at places where others are dining. We only had one dodgy meal and it was at an empty shack, we only ate there because we felt obliged to as had used their sunbeds, which should have been a warning, they were falling to pieces!

What a great idea this thread is.....theres nothing worse than being a newbie in a resort and spending the first few days just learning what to do and not to do

Thanks for those last few tips lisa....I keep copying and pasting the ideas into a holiday word document that I'll read a few weeks prior to departure to make sure I have everything I need.

You are very welcome Spinner Know just what you mean, i was very worried about lots of things before i went and had a million things i wanted to know. This forum is excellent, a mine of knowledge from people who love Goa and know it very well. If you have a question, ask away, someone here will know the answer i guarantee. I did the same as you and copied down lots of useful info and took it with me as a guide. Bye for now. Lisa.

I know people keep going on about how dangerous the sea is, but they're right.

Im a stronge swimmer, and this year i was knocked off my feet by a wave i wasnt expecting, and i was only in the sea up to my waste.

I still have reoccuring dreams (or nightmares) that i drown in the sea in Goa, so when i go again this year im definetly not going out too far.

To be honest, my dream was spot on, Goa's sea is just like a sea off the coast of england, with the rough waves, although its a lot hotter.

So dont underestimate the strength of the sea.

We don't go beyond our waist in the sea and only let the kids in the surf. A few years ago in Baga my hubbie and his dad went in on impulse to save a guy who was drowning. They were at waist level and this guy was right beside them but caught in a riptide and no sand beneath his feet. Guy drowned and hubbies dad went to the bottom and brought him up unconscious but by this time they (and a bunch of others) were all caught in the riptide. They were there for what seemed like an eternity with people screaming and shouting. Only thing they had was one airbed so there were 10 people clinging to 1 airbed with the hubbie and his dad carrying this drowned guy between them. Cut a long story short my husband (who is a very strong swimmer) managed to get out by himself and the others were lifted out one by one by a guy on a sea bike. This was the scariest thing ever and he still has nightmares about it now (infact he refuses to go back to Baga beach because the sounds of people screaming when playing in the sea brings it all back). One good thing was the drowned guy was resucitated and family couldn't thank them enough.

sorry just realised posted this in wrong place really. Still......it does fit here......as a first timer be very very wary of the sea.

The hand gels that dry quickly can be bought in the supermarkets and chemists in Goa and they cost about 60rps for the handbag size and they also do a large one to keep in the apartment ( wet wipes are expensive though).

I endorse everything above about the sea my husband has saved numerous drowning people on Calangute/candolim beach, but you can have great fun in it if you are sensible and cautious
chilly

thought this might be useful for all our newbies to Goa

only just joined havent been to goa yet but booked with 5 others for november .info on here best ive seen{read}