This covers the 1st write-up of our Goa trip (to be followed with another one).   But actually, this was my 3rd trip.  I had one trip as a bachelor (can’t write too much about it here), and next as a honeymooner (well …?).   So this 3rd one with family is what gets in here 🙂   Initial notes are taken from my reviews on another site on 12-Sep-2012.  I will be enhancing this to add a proper flow to the narrative.

Lemon Tree Amarante Beach Resort: Smooth stay, excellent service

Stayed here for 5 days with family in a Pavilion room. Throughout the stay, I cannot recollect even a single disappointment in their service. Don’t know how they do it! The room was smaller than we expected it to be (based on internet photos), and the back side of the room is actually facing a wooded area not the pool. The pool is on the front, but here is no ‘pool view’ from the room .. you need to step out of the front door onto the balcony. But that view was pretty nice! And the pool was just awesome … it had the right temperature throughout. And a bunch of balls, Frisbees and floaters for the kids. A poolside bar completes the picture. Overall, it’s a nice cozy resort. The beach is not visible, but is very much walk-able with just a couple of friendly local houses to cross over. The fitness center is small, but good enough. The food at Citrus was always good. Timings were pretty stretched and could accommodate both early and late visitors. I missed filter coffee though. They also have the Republic of Noodles restaurant, but we did not try that one. The best part again is their service, and I think it made up for anything else that we might miss. A safe bet with family.  Room Tip: Pavilion rooms have a corridor in front of them, and the corridor faces the pool.

Souza Lobo Restaurant – Calangute: Nice experience

Awesome view of the beach right from your table. We were there for an early dinner and experienced a good breeze. Good food. Even something as simple as egg fried rice was just awesome! Service was pretty quick, but more like a shack experience. Don’t expect classy. I believe they had live music, but we left before that started. For the price, and the view this place was just awesome.

Baga Beach: River meets the beach

Be here at a good time to witness the place where a river runs into the sea.  You can walk along the river edge to the tip where it meets the beach.  There will be fishermen in this area.  Careful … the river flow can be quite strong!  There are a row of shacks, local shops and beach vendors – I recall that my kids got their hair braided with colourful threads 🙂

Britto’s Restaurant – Baga: Awesome ambiance

I recall this one to be a proper sea-shore, seafood restaurant.  It is an upscale shack right in the middle of all the sand around.  There are aquariums and shelves with live or fresh frozen seafood on display.  There is quite a bit of foreign crowd here.  The place gets really crowded and service can get slow.  Thankfully we had a car with driver at disposal – so we were in no hurry.