Overview
- Features: Crowded Goa beach
- Opening Times: All day, every day
- Best Time to Visit: Late October to early March
- Duration: Half a day
- Travelled By: Bus
- Cost: Free
- Address: Calangute, Goa, India
- Type: Beach
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Summary
Calangute Beach is Goa’s most popular beach and the largest in North Goa. During the day, the beach is packed with extended Indian families, groups of Indian bachelors and partying foreigners not to mention sunbathers, hawkers, masseurs and hair-braiders all vying for your attention. The northern beach area usually gets quite crowded; however, the southern beach is more relaxed.
Calangute Beach Goa
Once a refuge of wealthy Goans, and the centre of the hippy scene in the 1960s and 1970s, Calangute Beach is Goa’s most popular beach and the largest in North Goa. During the day, the beach is packed with extended Indian families, groups of Indian bachelors and partying foreigners not to mention sunbathers, hawkers, masseurs and hair-braiders all vying for your attention. The entire stretch of sand right up to the adjacent Baga Beach is lined with resorts, trinket stalls, bars and beach shacks, some of which serve excellent Goan food. The northern beach area usually gets quite crowded with Indian bachelors throwing each other into the water and boats and jet skis making waves; however, the southern beach is more relaxed.
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Calangute Beach is one of the popular beaches for water sports. Along the northern beach area there are several sports shops located on the beach that offer a diverse range of water sports such as parasailing, water skiing and wind surfing just to name a few. The price for engaging in water sports at Calangute Beach is relatively cheap compared to neighbouring beaches.
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Between the busy beachfront and the grubby main road, coconut trees give shade to village houses, some of which rent out private rooms. Shops peddle everything from cheap ethnic souvenirs to extravagant precious gemstones. More than 25 years of package tourism has guaranteed that there is little left to draw you to Calangute apart from ATMs, some decent restaurants and a quirky hexagonal barber’s shop at the northern roundabout. It’s the beach that the main drawcard for most tourists visiting this area.
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Away from the town centre, on the road to Mapusa, the striking gold and white Church of St Alex is a good example of rococo decoration in Goa and is worth an inspection while in Calangute. The false dome of the central façade is an 18th-century architectural development. Its Rococo-style white-and-gold interior has pretty shell-shaped niches. The pulpit and the reredos are particularly fine.
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The peak tourist season is during Christmas and New Year, and during the summer in May. During the monsoon season, from June through September, the sea can be rough and swimming is prohibited.
If you want to experience Indian (or Russian) tourism full on head to Calangute with its crowded beaches and water sports activities. If you’re looking for a more relaxed vacation Calangute Beach would be best avoided especially during the peak tourist seasons.
