TARKARLI
i discovered this because it's a nice stopover if you're driving or riding down to goa. you can leave bombay in the morning, reach tarkarli by afternoon, spend the rest of the day and half of the next there and in malvan, and hit goa by day 2 evening.
turn off NH17 at kasal. take the SH to malvan. tarkarli is 7km south of malvan.
like most of konkan, the SH is a lovely ride.
there's a long stretch of undeveloped beachfront (very clean too) stretching from malvan in the north, passing thru tarkarli and upto deobagh in the south. if you're looking for the buzz which you find on the goa beaches this is NOT the place to go to. its truly quiet with very few tourists. you'll only find village dogs to keep you company on the walk, fisherfolk doing what fisherfolk do and village kids playing cricket (all of them are notorious chuckers... i didn't see a single proper overarm delivery).
once it's dark the only comforting light in the distance is from the MTDC tourist resort which is also the place to stay. it's online here.
they have double rooms and 5 bed dorms for 1100 per night.
THE SALCETTE STRETCH
central goa. NH17 or trains to madgaon. head west.
superb and unending stretch of beach.
i usually stay at benaulim because :
it's in the middle
it's close to madgaon
it's less crowded and much quieter
and
i've been there so many times i'm familiar with it.
from benaulim beach you can walk either northwards (to colva, betalbatim and onwards) or south (to varca, cavelossim).
a nice bookshop in madgaon called Confidant Book Shop, Confidant House, behind the Lawrence & Mayo shop, very close to the central garden. tel 2732450,2725208
there's tons of goa resources for info so i won't bother.
