COLVA BEACH
Main Attractions: Shack Cafés, Night Club
Best Time To Visit: December To February
A hot season retreat for
Margao's
moneyed middle classes since long before Independence,
Colva
is the oldest and largest of
South Goa's
resorts. Its leafy outlying 'Vaddos', or wards are pleasant enough,
dotted with colonial style villas and ramshackle fishing huts. The
beachfront is a collection of concrete hotels, souvenir stalls and fly
blown snack bars strewn around a central roundabout.
Each afternoon, busloads of visitors from out of state mill around here
after a paddle on the crowded foreshore, pestered by postcard wallahs and
the little urchins whose families camp on the outskirts. If, however, one
wants to steer clear of this central market area, and stick to the
cleaner, greener outskirts, Colva can be a pleasant and convenient place
to stay for a while. Swimming is relatively safe while the sand, at least
away from the beachfront, is spotless and scattered with beautiful shells.
LEISURE
EATING OUT
When the season is in full swing, Colva's beachfront sprouts a row of
large seafood restaurants on stilts, some of them very ritzy indeed, with
tablecloths, candles and smooth music. The prices in these places are top
whack, but the portions are correspondingly vast, and standards generally
high. Budget travellers' are equally well catered for, with a sprinkling
of
Shack
Cafés at the less frequented ends of the beach, and along the
Vasco
Road.
NIGHTLIFE
Although never an established rave venue, Colva's nightlife is livelier
than anywhere else in south Goa,
thanks to its ever-growing contingent of young package tourists. The two
most happening nightspots are down in the dunes south of the beachfront
area: splash boasts a big MTV satellite screen and music to match, and a
late
bar
and disco that liven up around 10.00 pm.
A sandy plod just south of here, posier Ziggy's boast Goa's only air
conditioned dance floor, a thumping Indian Ragga and Techno sound system,
and a sociable terrace littered with wicker easy chairs. If one prefers to
get plastered somewhere affordable and less pretentious, try Johnny Cool's
midway between the beach and Colva crossroads. Men Mar, on the Vasco Road,
also serves beers, snacks and Lassis until around 10.30 pm.
PLACES TO STAY
Mirroring the village's rapid rise as a package tour resort, Colva's plentiful accommodation ranges from swish campuses of chalets and swimming pools to a fair selection of good value guesthouses in between. Most of the mid and top of the range places are strung out along the Main Beach Road or just behind it. Budget rooms lie amid the more peaceful palm groves and paddy fields north of here: the quarter known as Ward 4, which is accessible via the path that winds north from Johnny Cool's Restaurant, or from the other side via a lane leading west off the Main Colva-Vasco Road.
USEFUL INFORMATION
Rent A Bike: To rent a motorcycle, ask around the
taxi rank, or in front of Vincy's Hotel, where 100cc Yamahas are on offer
at the usual rates. Fuel is sold by the Bisleri bottle from a little house
behind the Menino Jesus College, just east of William's Resort. This is
the only fuel stop in Colva.
Exchange: Meeting point travel between William's Resort and the
crossroads, exchanges Travellers' Cheques and cash at a little under bank
rates.
Post Office: The post office opposite the church in the village
has a small but reliable Poste Restante Box.
Books: Damodar Book store, on the beachfront, stocks a good
selection of reasonably priced second hand paperbacks in English. They
also do part exchange, and have the best range of postcards in Colva.
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