Active Pursuits

Tours & Travel Agents

The Goa Tourism Development Corporation (Trionara Apartments, Dr. Alvares Costa Rd., Panjim; tel. 0832/242-7972 or -0779; www.goacom.com/goatourism; daily 9:30am-5:30pm) has full-day tours of the north and the south aimed primarily at domestic tourists. For personalized adventure expeditions to any number of Goan destinations, try Kennedy's Adventure Tours and Travels (tel. 0832/227-9381 or 98-2327-6520; www.kennedysgoaholidays.com). MGM International Travels has offices in both Panjim (Navelcar Trade Centre, opposite Azad Maidan; tel. 0832/222-5166) and Calangute (Simplex Chambers, Umtavaddo; tel. 0832/227-6073). Other reliable travel agents include Trade Wings (1st floor, Naik Building, opposite Don Bosco School, Panjim; tel. 0832/243-2430) and Footprints Tours & Travels, run by Angeline Lobo (Shelter Guest Hs, Vaddi Candolim; tel. 98-5047-1639; goafootprints@yahoo.co.uk).

Scuba Diving

Barracuda Diving India (Goa Marriott Resort, Miramar, Panaji; tel. 0832/246-3333, ext. 6807, or 98-2218-2402; fax 0832/246-3300; www.barracudadiving.com; barracuda@vsnl.com) is a PADI-recognized dive center where you can rent equipment or take diving courses and get certified (from beginner to advanced levels). Venkatesh Charloo and Karen Gregory, both master diver-trainers, offer dive safaris south, in Karnataka, where visibility can reach up to 30m (100 ft.). Bookings can also be made through Atlantis Water Sports.

Watersports

Most of the upmarket resorts offer a range of watersports facilities. Goa's best-established watersports company is Atlantis Water Sports (tel. 98-9004-7272). Jet-skiing, parasailing, windsurfing, wakeboarding, scuba diving, and other ocean-going pastimes are available from a makeshift structure roughly halfway along the beach between Baga and Aguada (at the foot of Vila Goesa Rd., Cobra Vaddo, Calangute). Just outside the Taj Holiday Village is Thunderwave, a higher-priced watersports outfit that provides jet skis and cruises for Taj guests, but is also open to the public.

Walking Tours

Goa's unique architecture has been preserved to some extent, and -- away from the coastal belt, toward the interiors as well as in Panjim and Mapusa -- you'll find entire lanes and villages of beautiful old houses, some crumbling, others restored but all offering great insights into the original inhabitants and their status in society. If you're interested in decoding buildings, contact Heta Pandit of the Heritage Network (tel. 98-2212-8022; www.heritagenetworkindia.com) or pick up a copy of Walking in Goa (Eminence Designs Pvt. Ltd.) or Houses of Goa (Architecture Autonomous).

Goa's Best Beaches

Goa's reputation for having some of the world's best beaches is well-deserved, but inevitable commercialization has taken its toll, with the infamous Baga-to-Candolim area (north of Panjim) now part of a tourist-infested strip of sun loungers, backed by beach shacks serving beer, cocktails, and fresh seafood -- the sort of packaged beach experience best avoided. A little north of Baga, Anjuna comes alive with parties and trance music during the winter, when full-moon festivals get the crowds howling. It also has what was once a fabulous Wednesday Market, a tad too predictable and monotonous now with almost every shack selling the same wares. Just north of Anjuna is lovely Vagator, with Chapora Fort overlooked by stark red cliffs. Asvem is also a great beach, and scene of the Big Chill party in April, but regulars complain that it's not quite as pristine as it was 4 years back, and of late large numbers of Russians have begun to settle on this stretch, buying land and starting private enterprises, much of it rumored to be the wrong side of legal. A little north of Asvem, Arambol, seductively far away from the package-tour masses, is one of the last refuges of hard-core hippies.

Though there are no private beaches in Goa, the southern beaches generally become the private domain of the five-star resorts fronting them because of the sheer size of property they occupy. In the far south, gorgeous Palolem has just one large resort close by (the InterContinental Grand, a few kilometers south in Cancona), and gets our vote for the best beach in Goa: Although it's become increasingly popular in the high season and is home to a sizable hippie community, it has yet to be overwhelmed by day-trippers. Just 7km (4 miles) north of Palolem, Agonda is even more isolated and peaceful, while to the south, Galgibaga is another remote haven with eucalyptus trees and empty stretches of sand. And then, of course, there's Om beach, just over the border, an hour into the neighboring state of Karnataka, considered by many to be the best beach in India. The hippies have zeroed in on it, however, and recent openings include a few relatively upmarket accommodations, including Saswari, a recommended yoga retreat.