Palolem Beach

The Southern coast of Goa is stretched by white sand. Until a few years back, it was among the virgin beaches of Goa. However, it couldn't escape from the eyes of the tourists. Although a few developments have taken place, the beach still has a soothing aura to it.

It's a beach of white sand facing a blue bay between two headlands. The little wooded islands on the northern headland are interesting, and if you're interested, try to persuade one of the fishermen to ferry you across. They do offer to take you out to spot dolphins. Tourists have at last discovered Palolem and so there are a few shacks selling seafood snacks, souvenirs, and clothes of the shapeless, bright, informal kind. Panaji, the capital, is more than 70 km away. A large area of the beach now accommodates a lot of small shacks that taper off as you move towards the south.

Fresh water stream is found at the northern end of the beach. Across this stream is a tiny, undeveloped island that can be accessed by just swimming across during low tide. However, it is not very safe to do so during high tide.

Dolphin cruises and the fishing trips are the other popular attractions. These are offered at quite a reasonable rate.

Accomodation is easily available here. And though there are a couple of money exchange centres, Palolem does not have any banks. The closest railway station is at Canacona, which is just 3 km away from Palolem. There are also a lot of buses that ply from Margao to Canacona. From there taxis and local buses are easily available.