North Goa without the crowds

Most people book North Goa by beach and end up on a main road. The villages one ridge back are quieter, greener and ten minutes from the same coast.

Assagao is the obvious one - old Portuguese houses behind frangipani walls, a good bakery, and Anjuna and Vagator close enough to reach before breakfast finishes. Siolim is slower again: the Chapora river, the Saturday night market at Arpora nearby, and almost no through traffic.

If you would rather be in a town than a village, stay in Fontainhas. Panjim's Latin Quarter is walkable end to end, the buildings are repainted every monsoon, and you can eat properly without driving anywhere.

Go between November and February for the weather, or in September for the prices - the rain is mostly finished and the crowds have not arrived.