Private journeys in seven lands · a planner replies within one working day
Try "Udaipur", "tiger", "honeymoon", "Ladakh in July"
Six slow nights in north Goa. Start with two at Ahilya by the Sea, a small house hotel on the water facing Fort Aguada, then move to a private villa in Assagao with a pool, a cook and staff. Days are for markets, forts, the Pernem beaches and the best restaurants in Goa.
Many of our guests who know Goa well no longer stay in hotels in the north. They rent a house: an old Portuguese villa in Assagao or Siolim, restored with a pool, a cook who shops at Mapusa market and staff who look after everything. This journey gives you that life, after two nights at Ahilya by the Sea to settle in.
We choose and inspect every villa ourselves, match it to your group, and stock the kitchen before you arrive. Your driver stays with you, so the beaches at Ashvem, the Anjuna and Mapusa markets, Chapora Fort and dinners in Assagao are all easy. If you would rather have a hotel, W Goa at Vagator replaces the villa at a similar price.
Highlights
Day by day
Your driver meets you at Manohar International Airport, Mopa, and drives south through Mapusa to Nerul, a fishing village on the bay where the Nerul river meets the Mandovi. Ahilya by the Sea is a small house hotel of white villas in gardens running down to the water, with views to Fort Aguada. Spend the afternoon by the pool, and dine on the terrace as the lights of Panjim come on across the river.
A gentle start. Mid-morning, visit the restored Reis Magos fort, ten minutes away, with its ramparts over the Mandovi and the 16th-century Church of the Three Kings below. After lunch and a rest, drive to the Aguada headland at 4.30 pm to walk the 1612 fort and see the old lighthouse as the sun sets over Sinquerim beach. Dinner is at a Goan restaurant in Candolim.
Drive inland through Saligao, past the white Mãe de Deus church, to Assagao. Your villa manager welcomes you, shows you the house and introduces the cook and staff, and the kitchen is stocked to your preferences. In the late afternoon, an architect leads a walk through the village lanes, reading the restored Portuguese houses and the paddy below the hills. Dinner is cooked at the villa.
If your stay includes a Friday, this is market day. With a food guide and your villa cook, walk the Mapusa market from 8.30 am: chouriço, red chillies, kokum, local vegetables and the morning's fish. Back at the villa, the cook prepares lunch from what you bought, perhaps a prawn curry, chouriço pulao and a salad of local greens. The afternoon is free; in the evening, we book a table at one of Assagao's best restaurants.
Cross the Chapora at Siolim to the quiet Pernem coast. Spend the morning on Ashvem or Mandrem beach, wide and almost empty, with lunch at a good beach restaurant. In season, a naturalist can show you the protected turtle nesting zone at Morjim. Return via Vagator in the late afternoon and climb Chapora Fort for sunset over the river mouth. Dinner is at the villa.
On a Wednesday, spend the morning at the Anjuna flea market with a guide to find the better textile and silver stalls; on other days, stay by the pool or book an Ayurvedic massage at the villa. In the evening, your villa cook prepares a farewell Goan dinner: sorpotel, xacuti, fish recheado and bebinca, served on the verandah.
A last swim and breakfast at the villa, then your driver takes you to Mopa, about 45 minutes away, for your onward flight. For later flights, we arrange a final lunch on the way or a late check-out. The villa staff will pack any spices and cashews you bought for the journey.
Included
Not included
Where you sleep
A small, private hotel of white villas and gardens on the Nerul shore, looking across the water to Fort Aguada. With only a handful of rooms, …
A lively design resort on the rocks above Vagator beach, below the walls of Chapora Fort. Bright interiors, a beach bar and DJ evenings make it …
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Questions travellers ask
For families and groups of friends staying four nights or more, often yes. A villa gives you privacy, space, your own pool and a cook, and the best of north Goa's restaurants and villages are close by. Couples who want full hotel service may prefer Ahilya by the Sea or W Goa.
Each villa has a manager or caretaker, a cook and housekeeping staff, and we are on call throughout. Your driver is with you daily. We brief the staff on your preferences, dietary needs and the plan for each day before you arrive.
The price assumes two to four guests in a three-bedroom villa. We also arrange larger houses for six to twelve guests, which can bring the cost per person down. Tell us your group and we will shortlist suitable houses.
Yes. A villa with a pool and a cook is ideal for families. We choose houses with fenced pools when you travel with young children, and add outings such as a dolphin boat from Sinquerim or a spice farm.
Mopa's Manohar International Airport is in the far north, about 45 minutes from Assagao and an hour from Nerul. Dabolim is just as close to Nerul but further from Assagao. We use whichever suits your flights.
Yes. W Goa at Vagator, below Chapora Fort, replaces the villa at a similar price and is ten minutes from Assagao. It is livelier, with music and a social bar, and suits couples and friends rather than families wanting quiet.
Most of the cooks in the villas we use are Goan and cook home-style Goan dishes very well, as well as simple continental food. Tell us what you like and we will brief the cook. For special dinners, we can bring in a chef.
November to February is ideal, with dry weather and calm seas. March and April are hot but quieter, and villa rates fall. The monsoon is lovely in Assagao, with green paddy, but the sea is not safe for swimming.
Yes. Many guests add three nights at Taj Exotica or The Leela Goa at the end, about 1.5 hours south, and fly out from Dabolim. It gives you north Goa's villages and south Goa's long beaches in one trip.
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