Lying on the northern coastline of Goa by the side of Arabian Sea, Calangute is Goa's most commercialised and busiest beach. Regarded as Goa's flagship beach which is always projected by the tourism department to the world to attract outside tourists, Calangute today symbolises Goa's reputation of being a haven for beach holidaying. Today's Calangute was surprisingly an underdeveloped fishing centre and a favourite of the hippies during the 70's of the last century.

Accommodation and Connectivity

The Dabolim airport near Panaji is the nearest landing facility for Calangute. From Panaji to Calangute, the distance is 16 kms. Another important town Mapusa is located 8 kms from Calangute. By rail, one can travel upto Karmali on the outskirts of Panaji. Regular bus and taxi services operate between Panaji and Calangute.


Being Goa's most commercialised beach, a plenty of accommodation is available in Calangute. Apart from the resorts-a big hit among foreign tourists, economic modes of stay in the form of smaller hotels and guest houses are easily available.

Beach Attractions

Water sports

Along with nearby Candolim, Calangute has emerged as Goa's major beach destination for water sports. Similar to Candolim, water sporting activities include parasailing, water skiing and wind surfing. Those who are not fond of diving into the waters opt for beach volleyball and football.

Shopping at Calangute

From the beach to the town centre, lined up are a variety of Kashmiri-run handicraft boutiques and Tibetan stalls selling Himalayan jewellery. Also available in these small attractive stalls are Rajasthani, Gujarati and Karnatakan textiles of good quality. Calangute is also famous as a shoppers point among tourists

The Calangute Restaurants

At the very entrance of Calangute beach are a plenty of restaurants and gorgeous bars. The popular food joints here serves tempting seafood and the finest of Goan wine. Vegetarian dishes also rank high in their menus. Also figuring prominently in the menus is western breakfast. As many of the tourists are foreigners, the restaurants take special interest in their likes and dislikes.


Attractions Around the Beach

Located very close to the beach is Kerkar Art Gallery. Here, the paintings and sculptures of many talented Goan artists are displayed. Once in every week, a programme on Indian dance and music is also held. Also nearby the beach is the church of St. Alex with two tall towers and a magnificent dome.

Being the most commercialized beach of Goa, Calangute remains full of tourists the whole year. A long beach, Calangute allows the tourists to indulge in numerous fun activities. Needless to say that the scenic beauty of the beach is always enthralling.