Overwhelmed by plentiful tourists with different travel tastes and budgets, Calangute has grown up as the tourist capital of north Goa. Also, the corresponding Calangute Beach is the busiest one in the Northern part, covered with many restaurants, nightclubs, and beach shacks, offering a perfect retreat for tourists. Apart from that, Calangute beach is well-popular for water sports activities, which especially attracts adventure lovers across the nation.

Literally, Calangute is not a place to feel nature’s vibe, but it’s one of the typical Goan destinations where almost everything is easily accessible; you just need to step out of your hotel room to fulfill all your requirements. The Beachroad itself is packed with restaurants, wine shops, souvenir stalls, tattoo parlors, boutiques, fast-food stalls, bike rental points, and more. Also, arranging customized goa trips is much easier if you consider Calangute as your base point. The reason is nothing but many commercial tour operators run their business from this town.

Apart from that, accommodation for all budgets is available in Calangute; this facility is fairly absent in other premium spots like Ashvem, Palolem, Cavelossim, or Colva region.

Delivering such massive facilities, Calangute is especially popular with first-timers in Goa. Most of them stop at Calangute, considering it the base point for their Goa trip. So, halting in Calangute helps you 3 ways:

1. You can access the whole northern part riding a rented bike/ scooty.
2. You can easily arrange a Goa day trip with the local tour operators.
3. Finally, you can avail the comfort and facilities of Calangute town in the evening time.

Additionally, if you love to explore the vibrant nightlife in Goa, Calangute is definitely an ideal place for that.

Related: Explore Palolem Beach in Goa, India: Meet the ultimate spirit of Canacona

Things to do in Calangute

To be honest there are not many things to do in Calangute, except spend time on the beach. Also, the beach remains overcrowded, so if you are a typical peace lover, you may not love hovering at Calangute Beach. Still, thousands of people favor this place, definitely, there are more reasons!

Let’s check the best ways to explore Calangute.

Morning Jog at Calangute Beach

Although Calangute Beach gets flooded with tourist crowds in the afternoon session, you can see a completely different scenario in early morning. In morning session, Calangute Beach looks equally peaceful as Morjim, Cabo de Rama, Kakolem, or any other serene beach in Goa.

So, morning is the ideal time to visit Calangute beach and enjoy a morning jog, exploring the real beauty of the beach.

Enjoy Water Sports at Calangute Beach

Calangute Beach offers the scope of water adventure, which makes a difference; Nobody needs to be a specific adventure lover to participate in fun-making water sports; rather, anyone can enjoy parasailing, water surfing, banana riding, or jet-skiing on their happy holidays.

Note: You can enjoy water sports on Baga Beach also; Baga is more popular for these activities.

Enjoy Sea Bath

Rhythmic waves, flatter surface, and boulder-free appearance make Calangute Beach an ideal place to enjoy sea bath. However, it is not recommended to go away from the bank as the sudden big waves are very tidy. Also, never cross the red-flagged barriers.

For your safety, Coast Guards petrol the beach always; still, you should obey the swing rules.

Enjoy Vibrant Nightlife

If you are fond of crazy nightlife, Calangute is the right place for you. The Beachside clubs arrange crazy parties every night with DJs and live music. Indeed, it’s a real heaven for the nightlife lover.

Also, you can have similar experiences near Baga and Anjuna Beach. Anjuna is especially famous for hippie parties!

Also, read about Magnificent Kalacha Beach in North Goa

Explore the Evening Market near Calangute Beach

Calangute Beach road is overwhelmed with plenty of clothing shops and boutiques, tattoo parlors, wine shops, and fast-food corners. In evening time, it’s worth surfing across the market to collect souvenirs or make Tattoos, or even for tasting local fast foods.

Go for Bike tours

In the daytime, you can rent a motorbike or scooty to explore nearby beaches and forts. In fact, most tourists do the same. With a bike you can easily visit the following places:

• Baga Beach
• Candolim Beach
• Aguada Fort
• Anjuna Beach
• Chapora Fort
• Vagator

Also, you can travel far north riding a bike; serene north hosts several beautiful beaches, such as Morjim, Ashvem, Mandrem, Arambol, etc., but 1-2 night stay at these places is much recommended. These are peaceful destinations with limited tourist crowds, where you can feel nature’s vibe closely. A quick day tour may not be wise for exploring these places.

Note: Afore-said north Goa beaches are recommended to peace lovers only. These are not the right place for crazy tourists.

Based on your interest: Agonda Beach (South Goa): A Complete Travel Guide

Visit Dudhsagar Waterfalls from Calangute

This day trip is very popular with Calangute tourists; also, this trip is very adventurous. If Calangute is your base point for the upcoming North Goa trip, you can easily arrange a Dudhsagar Waterfalls trip. Many tour operators in Calangute readily arrange this trip.

Plan a South Goa Day trip

It’s another common trip that Calangute tour operators arrange frequently. This south Goa trip doesn’t take you to the extreme south, but it day tour to Panaji region. On this trip, you can explore,

• Dona Paula Beach
• Miramar beach
• Some Churches and forts.

Note: To be honest, this trip is not worth enough unless you are interested to explore historical monuments in Panaji region. Miramar Beach is the only point for nature lovers; this beach is absolutely serene and beautiful.

Foods & Bevarages in Calangute

As mentioned above, Calangute is a heaven for food lovers, packed with many restaurants and bars, offering almost all types of foods and beverages. If you are a non-veg person, it’s wise to taste varieties of seafood in Calangute; absolutely fresh black pomfret fry & tandoors, fried kingfish, tuna, crab, and lobsters are some of the most demanding dishes, served by most Calangute restaurants.

Check the list below to find the most popular restaurants and bars in Calangute.

Also, Calangute Beach road is overwhelmed with plenty of street food corners. Pani Puri or Gol Gappa stalls (also known as Fuchka) dominate the era, though street-made Pakoda, chow min (noodles), egg-roll, chili-chicken, sweet corn mixture, salted nut, and coconuts are also massively popular.

Note: People (especially foreigners) who are habituated to eating light foods only, should preferably avoid these street foods. Most of these foods are spicy.

You may visit: Amazing Cola Beach & Uncover the hidden gem of South Goa

How to Reach Calangute

• Nearest Airport: Dabolim International Airport
• Nearest Railway Station: Thivim railway station

You can reach Calangute from your arrival point, simply by hiring a cab. Cab owners (including Ola and Uber) wait outside the airport and railway station to take you anywhere you want to go.

The distance between Calangute and Dabolim airport is approx. 40 km, which takes about 1.30 hr by road. Tivim Railway station is much closer, you need to travel for only 30 minutes to reach Calangute from Tivim.

Best Hotels near Calangute Beach, Goa

In Calangute Beach area, there are plenty of hotels, resorts, and homestays of all budgets. For a low-budget trip guest houses and homestays are ideal; you may not access the beach directly from these properties, but most of them situate within short walking distance from the beach.

If money doesn’t matter for your upcoming trip, book a beach-facing luxury accommodation near Baga or Calangute beach. There are many fabulous resorts in this region.

Nevertheless, it’s always a tough job to pick the ideal hotel from the crowd of hundreds of properties. You can follow our guided review page on Calangute hotels to easily figure out your favorite stay option.

Wrapping up

If you are searching for a peaceful destination for your happy holidays, Calangute is not an ideal place. With an overcrowded atmosphere, you may not feel relaxed in Calangute.

However, if you love to enjoy watersports and vibrant nightlife, all the facilities and easy accessibility to almost everything, or planning for a low-budget Goa trip, there is no better option than Calangute. So, it all depends on your personal travel taste.

Happy Travel!

Suvankar Das

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Dr. Suvankar Das is a scientific advisor by profession, associated with a CRO organization. He pursued his doctoral degree in Chemistry in 2015. Later, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher & scientist in a couple of institutes/companies.

Besides his scientific journey, Dr. Das is also a passionate traveler and travel blogger. He loves to share all his travel experiences with other travelers so that everyone can enjoy hassle-free holidays with their own tour plans.

He believes, the most beautiful thing in this world is the WORLD itself. so there is no way to live like a clock; rather live it like a compass!

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