Goa guided Tour - Pick up from Pier

We were met promptly at the pier by Lijo as planned. There were 8 other guests on the tour which was a good number. It was quite a long drive to Goa. We saw two interesting Jesuit churches and were taken to an indoor market where we could have a quick look round. We were then taken to old Goa where we walked through the old town and through to a restaurant for a buffet lunch. Nobody on the tour wanted the lunch which was priced at an additional 1000 rupees per head (far too expensive for an Indian lunch). We were allocated 1 hour 45 mins for the lunch which was too long. My husband and I decided to leave and find our own restaurant which was very easy. Found a simple eating house and had 2 delicious Goan curries, rice, chapatti and drinks for less than 900 rupees total. We eventually all met back at the original restaurant and left to go back to the ship early. Our advice to the guide and the tour company was not to include a dedicated lunch stop but rather give us an hour to wander round the area. Stanley our guide was excellent - very friendly and knowledgable but I’m afraid Goa seems to be more about the beaches rather than historical places of interest. They made the most of what was there.

With only a short day to visit, this tour was the best option to get the feeling of both Goa town and the nearby countryside. Comfortable van and guide spoke good English. Spicy meal. No pressure to buy stuff.

We were not quite sure what to expect of this group tour but it's fair to say it exceeded any expectations we did have. Although it's listed as a group tour of up to 15 it turned out to be a private tour for the four of us. The driver and guide were waiting for us as we disembarked. The vehicle was clean, quite new and very comfortable. Although the tour is listed as not suitable for wheelchairs we checked in advance and established that our friend who does use a wheelchair part of the time would be able to cope. The driver and guide were very good in ensuring that our friend could enjoy the tour to the fullest extent possible. Our guide was outstanding, probably the best we had during our whole India trip. He was friendly, helpful and a mine of information. Although a Hindu himself, he was extremely knowledgeable of the Christian history of Goa and the churches we visited. We failed to come up with a question he couldn't answer! At our request we skipped the visit to a Hindu temple, having already visited others in other locations. Instead, we asked if our guide and driver if they could take us somewhere for lunch before our return to the ship. This they did. The restaurant they chose was excellent and, despite the fact that this meant a tour of longer duration than scheduled, there was no extra charge. All-in-all a fascinating and highly enjoyable tour. Based on our experience we would highly recommend it.