Goa is not just about its beaches and parties. For majority of the travelers, it is a place where they can relax, see the sights, and live a laid-back lifestyle. However, to truly get the vibe of Goa, it is necessary to do more than just visit the most popular tourist spots. You have to slow down, take a look, and live like a local.
The different layers of Goa can be found in small cafés on the serpentine lanes and in morning markets that are lively with people and colors. And this is how you can experience the real Goa local travel trip and see their lifestyle: carefree, heartfelt, and full of little, lovely things.
Enjoy Goa Like a Local
Take a look at the following:
1. Forget the Rush and Live the Slow Life
Goa is one of the few places that do not hurry you. People in the local community have their slow moments, be it in a morning cup of coffee, a trip to work, or a day by the sea. You must abandon strict routines to enjoy this speed.
Rather than jumping off one beach to the other, select one and spend a whole day there. Take a walk, read a book, or talk with the locals who operate beach shacks. See the fishermen repair their nets, or children playing football on the beach. It is these silent moments that really constitute Goan life, simple but full of satisfaction.
2. Explore the Hidden Beaches
Visitors have a habit of visiting the same few beaches, yet locals are aware of this. Behind the popular shores are the smaller ones, more peaceful, where the sea is yet untouched.
Here you can walk miles whose soles are safe, and hear no one save the waves, and share the sand with a few good-natured dogs. Take a mat, some fruits, a bottle of water, and spend a lazy afternoon watching the tide roll in and out.
The best part? Having no loud music and selfie sticks. It is only you and the sea, and that time went slowly.
3. Visit the Morning Markets
You should go to a local market early in the morning to experience the true beat of Goa vacation. Vendors have their stalls up even before the sun heats the streets.
This is where you will come across fresh fish off the boats, huge mounds of vegetables, spices, and people trading with their small talk in such a jovial manner. The vitality is pure, natural, and contagious.
Although you might not purchase anything, simply taking a stroll through and observing people as they go about their day gives you a picture of the community that defines Goa. There are not too many, yet you may have a little tea shop around you, get yourself a cutting chai, and see the world.
4. Eat Where the Locals Eat
Fancy restaurants can wait, but get to the small restaurants locals have recommended. These home-cooked offerings from backyard restaurants are highly popular, such as fish curry rice, pork vindaloo, prawn balchao, and soft poi bread, straight out of a village bakery.
These are family joints that don’t have any fancy decorations or a lengthy menu. But then the food and you fall quiet after you have one bite. Don’t rush through your meal. Eating is not a process to fill up stomachs but to enjoy a ritual of solace and interrelationship that the Goans people indulge in.
5. Learn a Few Words in Konkani
You need not know the language, but even with a word or two of the natives, you will open doors that you were never conscious of being there. The locals can be made to smile by just a simple handshake and a Deu borem korum (God bless you) or a Kitem assa? (How are you?).
Individuals in Goa are friendly and relaxed, and they are pleased when their visitors go out of their way to learn more about their culture. Even a small act, such as meeting someone and communicating with them in their language, can transform a simple interaction into a tremendous one.
6. Hire A Scooter and Get Lost.
Goa is the place where one should not plan to explore, but rather allow curiosity to help him/her discover its beauty. You can rent a scooter, rise early, and take any road that you like.
You will bypass ancient churches that filter with banyan trees, painted houses with fancy balconies, and bridges over stagnant backwaters. There is something new to see with every turn.
Eat when you feel like it – with coconut water, a dish of samosas, or eat nothing but watch the paddy fields waving in the wind. It is then that you will realize how much locals embrace their land.
7. Respect the Local Way of Life
Goa may be lax, yet it has a high sense of community and tradition. People here appreciate their culture and environment, and you must as well, being a visitor.
One should avoid littering on beaches, loud music, and disrespectful attire when attending church or a village. Even mere mindfulness will demonstrate that you are not just interested in the destination as a tourist destination.
You have to be gentle with Goa; she will pay you back in non-obvious, silent ways; in niceties, anecdotes, even in generous smiles.
8. Experience a Goan Home
When you have a chance to do that, do not stay in a hotel; stay in a homestay instead. When you have an opportunity to do that, do not visit a hotel, but a homestay. The visitors may be accommodated in many local families, who provide them with nice rooms and national cuisine.
Having the smell of a homemade breakfast and reading about the surroundings can bring an experience that can never be encountered at any hotel.
Final Thoughts
There is no need for a Goa local guide or an itinerary full of things to see to do in Goa, the way locals do it. It only takes one to have an open heart and open up to see the beauty in the little things. Get the seabreeze to mess up your hair. Take a cup of tea from a street stall. The rain falls upon the reddish ground. Grass songs on some faraway radio.
Resort Rio combines the best that Goa’s unique heritage has to offer with everybody’s favourite bits of Indian culture. Visit our website and experience a combination of luxury and rich culture on your next trip.
