Hi Noggin

For me personally once I get there all the "cons" seem to disapear! At the moment its doubtful we could get their twice in the season so the visa bit doesnt really effect me, the River Princess and beach erosion is shocking but again I never used the beach that far up but it does make me very sad to see it how it is now compared to the days before the River Princess. Greedy people Ive had a few chancers...people trying to inflate prices especially the sellers on the beach and the taxi drivers but thats never been a major issue in deciding to go back.

Now the litter and oil has got me thinking I abandonded my usual shack that we had used for the last 12 years halfway through our holiday last year as the amount of litter around the beach was disgusting and I felt that our shackowner and others around it didnt seem to care and just added to it. I am hoping the oil is not as bad as some reports state but as we go there for a beach holiday if it spoils it this year we will probably call an end to our love affair with Goa. I really hope this is not the case though because once I am there I do really love it.

When they carry me off in a wooden box!

Think we will carry on for at least another 3 or 4 years yet,until its impossible to stay there for for 5 months,or theres any new alternatives that we like as much as Goa

4 Armed robberies in Goa in past week, is this the way Goa will become like downtown Miami.

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/tar-balls-robberies-mar-goas-beach-parties_100422508.html

Thought provoking post. Goa today bears no relation to the Goa of our first visit 20 or so years ago. The pace of change gets more marked every year. Traffic for instance, we stay at the foot of Holiday St in Calangute, and walk up it most evenings, to some of the restuarants in that area for dinner. A pleasant stroll at one time, but now a risky one, especialy as you turn into the main road at DayTrippers office. Last November a little Goan girl walking with her dad immediatley in front of us got sideswiped by a passing scooters wing mirrer, and got a broken arm, two evenings later we witnessed another crash involving a scooter and a bus. Not really what you want to see on what was once a pleasant stroll
Lots of people we got to know over the years have gone now, Ive noticed lots of the regular posters here from years gone by have disappeared too
For lots of reasons we all know, it's changing year on year, and not , in my opinion, for the better. We'll be back again in November, but now I dont know for how much longer. Five or so years ago I could'nt imagine moving on from Goa, but now with each passing season, the allure of it all, gets less and less.
Alan

For me the cons greatly outnumber the pros now.
After 16 years my love for Goa has ended. I will not be going back.
When I have some time, I will post the reasons why.

We have been here for 4 years now,and the pro's still out weigh the cons.But to be honest we can't see ourselves here in another 4,as nothing is improving,on the contrary it's slowly going downhill.Unless the goa government changes it's attitude to it's tourism industry i fear the worst.We have been coming here for the past 15 years and the number of people we have know that come here has dwindled by probably 75%

John

I think next year will be the last for us, bought into The Royal Goan for 10 years thinking we would want
to go every year but after 5/6 years hubby has had enough,we will use our points to exchange to other
countries from next year we only booked 2 weeks ago and since then there,s the oil and armed robbery
problems
annx

Keep sayin every year is our last and then.......................

Papa

We said 2 seasons ago it would be our last winter in Goa (after 14 winters and previous 2 week holidays) then changed our minds. At the end of last season we said it again but this time we mean it and to be honest the more we read the happier we feel about the decision we made. Think the largest factor was when we went out at Christmas and got caught up in the 2 month fiasco which annoyed us a great deal.
Booked a "proper" holiday for a month then going elsewhere in Asia for the rest of the winter, maybe it will work out and maybe it won't but we decided we can't do another winter in Goa.

i was walking down the main high street yesterday and witnessed a bus crash,many shops are standing empty and derilict,a man i know vaguely was arrested last saturday afternoon for being drunk and disorderly.where am i? goa?? turkey?,no 3 miles down the road from where i live. nowhere stays the same unfortunatley,our local town has definately changed in the last 4/5 years ,and it is not for the better. we are going back to goa this season but who knows what is going to happen in the future. all i can say is if you cant stand the heat get outta the kitchen

Is'nt that the point people are trying to make ? Twenty years ago Goa was a very different place than"back home", and thats what we all fell in love with, No supermarkets, little traffic, and a fresh innocence about the Goans. Not now crime, car pollution, greed on all sides, and so on, Paradise lost indeed. And why is it when this sort of topic comes up, must someone suggest that people that post on some of the negative things about Goa, that they "move on" I'm sure all who post on this subject will make their own minds up on this, without any comments such as those, that imput very little, to an otherwise worthwhile debate
Alan

sorry to have upset you gramps.but this is the point i am trying to make..why is it that people expect goa to stay the same as it was 20 years ago,,,nowhere has or will stay the same for the next 20 years,

oh forgot to say re worthwhile whats worthwhile about complaining about pollution,supermarkets greed dont we have those things ;back home:

I really hope the mods let this one run.

I also hope it does not turn into previous threads that were more about expats issues, much that I sympathise with them.

This is about our holidays and for me even though we are off to a 5* Carribean resort next week we are both talking about Goa in Feb 2011.

There is no harsher critic of Goa than me and so much of what is happening infuriates me but it is beginning to look like at least one more trip for us.

Keep the opinions coming it is what has made this forum the best place for us Goa lovers.

Papa

I really struggle to answer this question! I'm a newbie to Goa compared to most as I've only been twice and my third time is next March. However I really really think that despite all the problems there is no better place in the world.

Many positives for Goa, not least the value for money once you're there. But I have to admit I did think twice about booking for a third time and Kerala came a close second but as many of the tour companies have pulled out of Kerala, it was Goa again.

All the problems with Goa does make me think about booking a forth time......but many other places in the world have similar problems and many are much worse!

I cannot ever see myself visiting "Kiss me Quick" resorts as I totally hate them!! So it would have to be somewhere faraway from Spurs supporters wearing Union Jack shorts drinking Fosters.

The big question is where is that other paradise............

Ian,

Some suggest Cambodia, others Vietnam, Thailand for the moment due to the strong baht is a no no.

I think we await the emergence in India of a new Goa.

India has thousand of miles of coast and surely other destinations will appear.

None of these places of course will have the same magic of Goa.

Really though Goa is so many different things to so many people.

We were there in the early nineties but what of those who were there in the 70s did they not see change from the 70s to the 90s

And those more recent visitors of the last five years who express their horror at the change.

It is all subjective you see and I suppose each of us will reach our limit at a different point.

We are not quite there yet but please watch next years report for my moans and never agains.

Papa

What do I want from a holiday?

Reasonable prices, excellent food, great climate, friendly people, different culture, nice beaches.......Goa ticks every box and we're back there for the umpteenth time (I've actually lost count!) next February.

Sure it's changing, and not always for the best, but that's life. There may come a time when the changes will put us off but we're nowhere near there yet. I think it's glass half full or half empty......you can dwell on what's got worse but why not park that in the back of your mind and just enjoy what's still great?

For me, even after many visits, Goa still wins over other winter sun destinations I've tried. Yes it's mucky and scruffy in parts, like all of India.
But the many different beaches, beautiful countryside,churches,temples markets,Portuguise mansions, and the people, far outweigh the cons for me.
It can be what you want it to be, busy and brash-Calangute, peaceful-Agonda, laid back Arambol. Every area has a different character, and there's accommodation to suit everyone.

I'll be back come November, for some of my reasons why have a look at My Gallery.

xx lassi