Definitely a safe place for a holiday alone, as in any other place there is the odd report of bag snatching etc, but its easy to stay safe, just common sense really.
If its your first time to Goa I would opt for a package deal and imagine you could find something for around the £700 mark, having said that not sure how much single supplements are these days. Silver Sands is an excellent base, very close to beach and all the amenities. If you decide to go DIY, there are some lovely places available for under £10 per day, will happily put you in touch with the people I stay with
Find yourself a friendly taxi driver, I am sure you will get many recommendations here, some do try to rip you off, but a decent one is a godsend, particularly if you want to travel about a bit.
There are meets at the Carvery each week where you can meet fellow HTers, also Sunday evenings at Jambalaya is a great place to meet and put faces to names from the forums.
February is a great time to visit. Hope your op goes well and have a great holiday

Hi Roxey, thank you for reply - that's a good start. Yes please, would be great if you could give me details - where it is, what it's like, does it have pool, etc. - of place you recommend where you stay thank you. I took a look at Silver Sands you said about but think it could be a touch too expensive on a package, - unless anyone knows any different (would it be possible / cheaper to book with them direct?) - many thanks, J.

Having travelled alone and with my mother, where we want seperate rooms, you may find single rooms on packages difficult to find and if you do find one they are very expensive. So, you may well find it cheaper to book your flight and accommodation seperately.

Hi JaaJaa, thanks for reply, yes I've been looking at packages and they're coming up over my budget so am hoping for some recommendations re accomm. As I mentioned I'm just hoping for somewhere cheap & cheerful - not dark & dingy, I do like a fridge in room, sunny balcony and clean pool is a must. So long as sheets are clean & shower is hot I'm happy. If anyone has any e mail address of places, that would be great. Have been looking on trip adviser but I'd much rather go with recommendations. Thanks again.

Have a look at Jewel in the Crown, I did a search for one person and a few options came up between £700 - £800 for February.

We are in Goa for 5 weeks in total in Feb and are 2 ladies in same age bracket with a further one joining us for a 2 weeks stay,We will be based in Candolim from the 19th Feb...if you think you might get fed up before you or any questions pm me and I will send you my mobile number to meet up for a meal or something while there .....Have been gooing to Goa for the past 8 years .....have a look at Big Daddys Inn thats 100 yrds from our appartment and where our friend is going to stay .......Hope all goes well Liz

Thank you Liz, that would be great, I have PM'd you ..

re silver sands and booking direct.
ALL their rooms are allocated to tour ops, you can only get in there privately on a local vacancy basis for odd nights.

isn't the road down to Big Daddies a bit dark on a night?