Whenever you have someone ask about where to stay in Goa, You can ask them a few questions to gauge what type of holiday they’re looking for. This helps figure out where they should stay and what kind of hotels or accommodation you think they’d prefer. After all, if you’re looking to experience Goa’s nightlife, you won’t want to stay stay on any of the quiet beaches.

How much time do you have?
A few days…

If you have just a few days in Goa, don’t try and do it all. Stick to the North or South and pick one place as your hub and explore from there.

A week or more…

For those with a week in Goa or more, you could do half up North and half down South. It takes approximately 3 hours by taxi to get from North to South depending on where you start and finish. You’ll want to add on another couple of hours if you take a bus instead.

Do you want to just relax on the beach or do you want to do a bit of exploring too?
This’ll help you decide whether you want to stay in North Goa or South Goa.

North Goa is the busier side with a lot more to do than just lie on the beach. Here you’ll find a much larger selection of restaurants, bars, party places, and shopping markets. This is where you can immerse yourself in the culture of Goa, choose from hundreds of places to eat, sing karaoke, feel the buzz of Goa’s busy-ness whilst also beach hopping along the coast.

If you’d prefer something more relaxed, then you’ll want to go to South Goa, which has the more beautiful and secluded beach resorts. Go here if you want to stay in stilted beach huts, fall asleep listening to the waves, and spend most of your time stretched out on a sun bed with a cocktail, coconut, or beer in hand. You won’t find too many late night parties but you’ll still have your pick of restaurants, sunset spots, and lazy beach days.

What is your budget?
In Goa, we have everything from eco-resorts, beachside stilted huts, huts in the jungle, hostels, homestays, B&B’s to luxurious villas, yoga retreats, and super fancy 5-star resorts.

Below I have split my recommendations into areas rather than accommodation categories and then added a $, $$, $$$, or $$$$ depending on cost. This way you can figure out which beaches or areas to stay in and then narrow it down to a specific hotel that fits your budget.

Note: Also keep in mind that this list is based on October until the end of April. Many places shutdown for the monsoon season in Goa. If you’re coming from May through to September, you may not find your chosen option open. However, it’s worth contacting them directly to see if they’re open and can even offer you a cheaper rate.