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Goa beach with kids: trip report on Mandrem beach

Another report on our India trip. Amelia (the 1 1/2 year old) got sick with a serious ear infection on the plane, so our first week was spent in hospitals and wasn't much fun.

I wrote this while we were in Mandrem.

We're in Mandrem now, the first beach south of the popular but busy and somewhat dirty hippie hangout Arambol. Mandrem is much quieter, and still has a very village-like feel. There are a few larger hut camps, but most of the accommodation is in houses for long term travelers. It seems Mandrem was discovered by Scandinavians in the 90s, because most people here seem to be Scandinavian families with young children that stay for the season. Long term houses with 2 rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom go for about 1000 rupees a day (about 25 US$), or less, if you rent them for 3 to 4 months and negotiate.

The garden behind our hotel, the Villa River Cat in Mandrem, Goa:

If you're just staying for a few weeks and it's not Christmas/New Year, you should still be able to find something for perhaps 1500 rupees a night with a kitchen, try Diksha's residence. New buildings and houses are added every season, so come now, not in 10 years. You can also stay in a regular hotel room with bathroom (like D'Souza's, who have rooms with bathrooms for about 500 rupees a night), or in one of the hut camps, that have clean huts with shared showers for a bit less. In general, Mandrem is 30something, Arambol is 20something. Mandrem is quieter and less developed, Arambol has more shops, cafes and stuff.

Mandrem:

I couldn't believe how many little kids there are here, if you're from the US, you may know the concept of "freerange" kids? This is freerange kids central. Again, mostly Scandinavians, some Russians and a few other nationalities. Some Indian families in the hut camps too (Dunes hut camp seems most popular).

Copy of india 634

The beaches are very, very nice - water is perfect, there are very few people on the large beach. There's a river that runs between the beach and the dunes, you cross little wooden bridges to cross it. There are a few wooden thingies that provide shadow with beachbeds, they're not being charged for, perhaps because there are so few tourists anyway. The mornings are great for beaching, the afternoons are too hot for us, the kid takes a nap then anyways, and we hang out in the hotel where it's fresh. We're staying in the Villa River Cat, which is more upmarket (about 40 euros a night for a very nice room), which was nice with a sick kid. Anyways, back to the beaches: they are very nice. Very very shallow too, so safe to swim and play for kids. There are the usual vendors who are not too intense (it's a big empty beach with only a few tourists on it).

Typical picture of Arambol:

Getting a haircut in Arambol:

On the road to Mandrem:

We're finding a good rhythm now. In the mornings: beach time. Then we have lunch (Indian food, usually between 300 and 500 rupees for the 3 of us). In the afternoons, we work a little on the computer, the kid takes a nap and plays in the hotel where it's fresher, and there's yoga class. In the evenings, we take it easy some nights, other nights we go to Arambol where there are some lively cafes with live music almost every night. Sometimes we do a day trip to a nearby market or something.

When you walk south on the beach, 10 minutes south you can see little Portuguese villas you can rent. They look wonderful, but are very expensive (think 100s of dollars a night) - supposedly Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie stayed here a few years back. Hey, we have the same beach though.

Walk 20 minutes more to the south and there's a wonderfully romantic French cafe on the beach called La Plage. The beaches along the walk are all very quiet, mostly just hut camps along them. La Plage is wonderful, great French food and a wonderful decor of simple white and blue wooden tables, a little more expensive than the usual but worth it. We'll be heading back there before we're done here.

Pictures of La Plage:

The Mumbai bombings seem to have had a big effect on tourism in Goa in general this year: a lot less tourists, which is kind of nice. It's Februari now anyways, so it's particularly busy.

From Mumbai, we took the Konkan express (train # 0111), which you can book online and pay for with a credit card (you can only start booking tickets a week before the date of the ticket). It's probably the best way to get from Mumbai to Goa, much better than a bus (they are horrible). You can also take a plane, there are very cheap tickets, but I like trains better.

If you're culture-shocked just getting off the plane it might freak you out, but it's actually quite fun. The 3AC sleeper class (the only class you can book online) is pretty ok. The train ticket costs 1500 rupees per person, and kids that don't need a bed don't need to pay a ticket. Our trip was bad because of the ear infection, and also because they triple booked our seats so we had to wait 2 hours until they found us some other beds. But we're taking the same train back in a few weeks, it's still a nice trip. The cabins are simple but it's nice enough. Each cabin has 6 beds, and the beds have clean sheets and bedcovers. There are no doors, so you can walk to the next cabin easily, but it's ok, it's quiet enough to sleep, and there are people bringing chai (tea) and breakfast and stuff if you get hungry. The train leaves Mumbai late (around 11 pm), and arrives in Goa in the morning. You can get of at different stations, for Arambol or Mandrem beach, the Pernem station is the closest. Taxis will be waiting and the trip to the beach takes less than an hour.

So that's Mandrem. A great place to go with kids, very undeveloped, very beautiful.

By Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) on May 7, 2009, 10:57 in India Talkzone.

Darloup (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 7, 2009, 11:03:

Hey, Peter, it's been 4 months since I waited for a report about your trip to India which took place back in January....

It certainly was worth waiting for, although you sure know how to play to your audience ;-)

P.S.: Ever been to Kerala? That's my favorite Indian state (among the few I know)

Better to have tried and failed than having regrets all your life about what you MIGHT have missed

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Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 7, 2009, 11:11:

Yes, I love Kerala too! But didn't make it there this time, with a baby the travel is much slower :)

Poor but snappy

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Darloup (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 7, 2009, 11:29:

BTW: Superb picture on this particular posts (india 634 and india 070 are brilliant).

January is normally a superb month in India. How was the humidity and how did you and your family handled it?

I've noticed that Arambol boasts an Italian restaurant - I hope that you did NOT try it! ;)

About your pix about: "On the road to Mandrem:". What are those yellow/red buildings about?

Better to have tried and failed than having regrets all your life about what you MIGHT have missed

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Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 7, 2009, 11:40:

The humidity was fine, Januari is not too bad. It got hot in the afternoon, but Amelia was usually doing her nap then, so we just stayed inside from like 1pm to 4pm, which is fine.

I did try the Italian in Arambol, and it's VERY good. Great pizza. It's actually quite famous :)

Not sure what the buildings are about :)

Poor but snappy

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Darloup (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 7, 2009, 14:55:

"I did try the Italian in Arambol, and it's VERY good. Great pizza. It's actually quite famous :)"

Argh! You'll get a brownie point from Robbi! Pizza or not...

BTW, is the coastline dangerous? You know, currents, etc. Or is it safe to swim?

Another BTW: Did you see any cockroaches? You know, the HUGE variety in S/W India you could even BBQ...

Yet another BTW: When getting a haircut, did you also get one of those wonderful Indian shaves?

Last BTW: Who is the irate hippy on photo 180?

Better to have tried and failed than having regrets all your life about what you MIGHT have missed

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Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 7, 2009, 22:27:

- It's pretty safe to swim in most places.
- Didn't see many cocroaches.
- Don't remember if I got a shave.
- Don't know how the guy in the picture is :)

Poor but snappy

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thierry says on May 17, 2009, 11:09:

Peter,
Thanks for sharing the trip report. I'm new here, but a frequent India traveler.
I suppose you booked yuor traintickets using the Konkan Railway site. As you said you can only book a few trains here and 3AC only.
Next time you might want to try the www.irctc.co.in website. Here you can book like any train anywhere in India on any class starting three months before departure. Here you can also book the same train you took but a bit cheaper.

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Peter (Moderator) (Trustee board) (Dev team) (☼Travelguide writer) says on May 17, 2009, 11:11:

Thanks for the tip! Yes, I used the Konkan Railway site. I was pretty happy with it though.

Poor but snappy

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indianink says on May 20, 2009, 00:35:

Hi Theiry

You can use http://www.irctc.co.in/ to book your train tickets... that is the centralized website for train ticket booking.....

Google.com

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bala11bala (☼Travelguide writer) says on Aug 10, 2009, 09:31:

Ya goa is a nice place, there are a lot of beaches in goa.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Chennai-Beach--Beaches-in-Chennai--Chennai-Mar...

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