Benaulim Beach Travel Guide
Benaulim
Beach in South Goa is popular with the tourists as well as the
locals. Normally crowded, cool weather is keeping everyone away from
the beach except for visitors from the far north. Just out of site
beyond the palm trees is the Benaulim village.
Benaulim, next in line, is relatively undiscovered by domestic
tourists even though it is a fishing beach. However, it gets fairly
crowded during weekends and evenings with local visitors who get off
buses about a kilometer away and pour onto the beach. The breaking
wave height here is half a meter and the slope is 1 in 30 in
September.
Benaulim Attractions:
Shimmering Waterways
Either side of the sand blown beach front, the gently
shelving sands shimmer away almost to the horizon, litered with
photogenic wooden fishing boats that provide welcome shade if the
walk from the palm trees to the sea gets too much. Hawkers,
itinerant masseurs and fruit wallahs appear from time to time, but
one can easily escape them by heading south towards neighbouring
Varca, where tourism has thus far made little impact.
Bull Fighting
Bullfights can be seen at Benaulim from early October to late May.
The bullfights are usually held in an old rice field with no fences
or barricades just outside a village, to the beat of taped Konkani
music.
Other Activities to Look out
Moreover, in the Benaulim beach it is safe for swimming, being
generally jellyfish-free, while the village itself boasts a few
serviceable bars and restaurants, several telephone booths and a
couple of stores.
Benaulim's proximity to Margao market, along with the presence of
its Christian Fishing Community, means its restaurants serve the
most succulent, competitively priced seafood in Goa. The most
popular places to eat are the shack cafes in the beach front area,
where Johncy's catches most of the passing custom.
However, one'll find better food at lower prices in the smaller
terrace restaurants further along the beach and scattered around the
village. Arguably the best of bunch is the Palm Grove's Congenial
Garden Restaurant, and there is a string of look alike café-bars,
which dot the lane leading to it. For fresh seafood, though, the
Hawaii Shack is hard to beat.
The Beach Bonanza Fair
The Beach Bonanza fair that is held on successive Sundays from
mid-April onwards on the Benaulim beach is a must not miss! Frenzied
visitors dance in merriment and other entertainment. There are
plenty of resorts and low-budget hotels in and around Colva.
Benaulim too has a few hotels. Besides it is possible to rent houses
for a longer stay.
