To Be Honest we visited all these places in one day only i.e. on 01.01.2020. We went to Goa for New Year's Eve and Sunburn festival. We stayed in a hostel near Vagator Beach which goes by the name 'Hostel Pitchers' to attend the Sunburn then we shifted to a 2Bhk apartment near Calangute Beach namely 'Magpie Apartments'. You can book this apartment on Airbnb, of course with some extra charges. So we got only one day to explore the places nearby.
We were able to cover those places which were in the circumference of the 10km area.
Beaches have to be visited during mornings or sunsets to feel the actual beauty. So you can start early in the morning from beaches.
1. Calangute Beach
Since we visited the beach during New Year's eve it was pretty crowded. You can get the idea from the picture below. The beach provides fun Water Sports like banana ride, bumper ride, Catamaran sailing, jet ski ride, kayaking, scuba diving, etc. Bubble's beach shack, Rudy's Golden Mermaid Beach Shack, and Souza Lobo's beach shack are some of the best Calangute beach shacks.
2. Golden Fish Bar & Restaurant
We dropped in here for breakfast. This is located in Calangute and was very close to our apartment. The rates were nominal and the food was great. We ate Sea-food salad, Tandoori chicken and Shark Ambot tik (Ambot means 'sour' & Tik means 'hot & spicy' in Konkani cuisine).
3. Calangute beach market
You can reach the beach passing through this market. I am putting a little video of the alley.
4. Aguada Fort
We rented a scooty for INR 800/- (this price hike due to the peak season otherwise it's INR 300/- to 350/-) and reached this fort in the morning.
5. Aguada Jail
While returning from Aguada Fort you'll find a diversion on the road that takes you to Aguada Jail. It was once Goa's largest prison. It closed in 2015. Now it's a tourist attraction. The entrance to the jail was closed but there was a very beautiful location beside it. The stairs will lead you to the shore.
6. Mapusa Market
This was like any other market in general. Actually Mapusa bus stand is like the main point providing conveyance services whether you have to go to the station or other parts of Goa. The market is a hub of scooty/bike renting shops. Small food stalls, people selling veggies, fruits, clothes, dry fruits, dried fish, etc can be seen within a 1 km area.
7. Chapora fort
The famous fort from the movie 'Dil Chahta Hai'. You have to conquer the stairs before you reach the main entrance and in between, there are food stalls, small tattoo, and souvenir shops. The entry is absolutely free but there are nominal parking charges. Also, food stalls will impose anything they want. So either bring something along to eat or be ready to spend.
8. Chapora Beach
We stopped by in a shack for the lunch on the Chapora beach itself. We trekked all the way down from Chapora Fort to get to the beach, the way was rocky and dangerous and can lead to severe injuries. We didn't know that and went that way but I suggest skip that and take some other path.
One thing I would like to mention here that the beach was kind of isolated and very few people were there mostly foreigners wearing swimsuits bathing, running and lazing around very normally like it should be which I personally liked because in most of the Indian beaches wearing swimsuits can be a bit awkward.
9. Anjuna Beach
Anjuna is famous for its Flea Market every Wednesday. This market exists only during the main season – November to March. Curlies Beach Shack is one of the famous shacks. Here's a small time-lapse of the beach.
10. Mae de Deus Church
The church was closed by the time we reached there but we managed to capture the vicinity which was pretty amazing.
11. BAGA Beach
It lies in the extended part of Calangute Beach. Being one of the most famous beaches of Goa, it has several beautiful shacks lined up for all-night partying and lunch in the day. We witnessed an amazing view during the New Year's Eve with the fireworks from one end of Baga beach to other end of Calangute beach.
12. Punjabi Kitchen Bar & Restaurant
We called it a day with some lip-smacking dinner, the local fish of Goan cuisine at this restaurant within walking distance from our apartment. We had Bangda fish, Pomfret fish, and Kingfish. This was our last day in Goa as well.
I would like to add in the end how much the trip costs us. We spent around INR 5500/- for the stay, airfare cost us INR 10k to and fro, sunburn tickets INR 3k per person, Scooty rent INR 800/- per day and rest of the things like eating out, entry tickets, etc cost us approx. INR 5k hence Total expense is INR 25K per person.
Thank you for reading. I hope you get some information from the post.
Most importantly, ENJOY YOUR TRIP!!! (*Wink*)