Hi There, <BR>Goa - has anyone been there? Is it worth a trip? We are planning a holiday and heard that Goa is a nice place to visit. <BR>Your replies would be appreciated as there is very little info on it. <BR>Thanks, Susan. <BR>

Beautiful in a way but an incredible amount of povery and begging. You can not walk down the street for 10 feet without being attacked by beggers, very sad.

YES! <BR>We have been three times and my daughter is leaving after Christmas to spend six months working in an orphage there, so we are planning further visits whilst she is there. <BR>Lovely people,super climate-around 80 degrees day and night,stunning beachesand lovely food.There is poverty but you will know about this once you read up more.Go with your eyes open,and have a great experience

Hi Susan: <BR> <BR>Try the website www.goacom.com. You might find some of the information you are looking for. Goa is a land of contrasts. Portugese mixed with Indian. The people are friendly, the food is delicious and the beaches are fabulous. It is a great stopover point on a trip to south India. As with a lot of countries today, you have to go with an open mind! Poverty and begging is something you see wherever you may go, be it, New York, London, Toronto, SE Asia, South America, Europe, or Africa. Open yourself to new experiences - you will not regret it. Good luck with your trip. If you want more detailed information, e-mail me.

We have made several trips in the last year and found some great places to stay - we have reviewed our favourites in great details with lots of photos on www.i-escape.com. They include a wonderful Portuguese mansion, an artist's retreat, a hotel with cottages designed by one of Goa's most respected architects and the nicest simple beach huts on Goa's best beach. We've also added loads of tips on where to go,what to do and how to get there etc. Hope this helps.

I thoroughly enjoyed Goa, especially after the hustle and pollution of Mumbai, and the dry, dusty Golden Triangle area. The people are friendly (I'd say it is more "simple living" than poverty), food was great, and the ocean breezes are wonderful. If you are a beach person be careful when you go though - early fall the sky is often very overcast, and the undertow is too strong for swimming. But an area I liked even more was Kovalum, in Kerala.