Private South Goa City Tour with Spice Plantation and Lunch from North Goa Hotel
Description
This tour is designed for travelers who would like to explore best of Goan culture along with its natural beauty in a day. You visit Dona Paula, the village famous for its legend of star-crossed lovers Dona and Paulo who committed suicide after jumping off a rocky cliff there. Proceeding further, Bom Jesus Basilica Church and Se Cathedral are the next stops. Both are amazing churches of old Goa, while the former being a world heritage site. The beautiful Portuguese architecture gives it a unique style. The Mangueshi temple and then the Shri Shantadurga temple are the second last and the last stops on the tour. Both build between 14th to 17th century, the temples attracted several deities and tourists towards them due to their brilliant structures and beautiful idols. You enjoy Delicious meal at Spice Plantation. You also visit another heritage site of Fontainhas, a vibrant street dotted with Portuguese styled houses
Tour Options
Itinerary
Formerly known as Porter de Gasper Dias by the Portuguese, the beach was renamed Miramar after Goa joined the Indian states. It is one of the most visited beaches of Goa. It is situated right at the confluence of the Arabian Sea and Mandovi river.
If you are a fan of star-crossed lovers like Romeo and Juliet, this place will definitely spike your interest. It is named after the legend of Dona and Paulo, two star-crossed lovers who committed suicide by jumping off a cliff in the village. When asked about Dona Paulo, the villagers will point you marmorite images of a man and woman on the cliff.
India’s first small basilica, Bom Jesus of Basilica is a part of the Churches and convents of Goa UNESCO World Heritage site. It is located in Goa’s old capital i.e. Old Goa and holds the remains of St. Francis Xavier
The Se Cathedral de Santa Catarina was built by the Portuguese to immortalise their victory over a Muslim army in 1510. Located in Old Goa, its beautiful Portuguese-Manueline structure is something you cannot miss. It has a certain dress code for the visitors to maintain the decorum of the place
Shri Mangesh temple was built 150 years ago under the Maratha rule with its original site being Kushasthali. Due to a Portugal invasion, the Mangesh linga was shifted to the current site in 1543. It is one of the largest temples of Goa and also one of the most visited
Shri Shantadurga or ‘Santeri’ is a family deity of many Goud Saraswat Brahmins in Goa. As a result, this temple was built by the community after its original temple at Keloshi was destroyed in 1566
Enjoy landscape with backdrop of dense forest and ocean
Fontainhas was founded in the late 18th century by a wealthy Portuguese named Antonio Joao de Sequeira. He used this land for coconut plantations. But, in the early 1800s, due to the spread of epidemic in the Old Goa, the Portuguese government headquarters was shifted to Panjim. As a result, this area was transformed into the residential area for Portuguese administrative officers and rulers. In 1984, UNESCO recognized Fontainhas as a Heritage Zone. A common visual reminder of Portuguese remnants here are the houses and cottages built in colonial architecture and painted in fluorescents and pastels. In addition to that, the names of the narrow cobbled streets can also be traced back to the Portuguese time in Goa, for instance, Rua 31 de Janeira (31st January Road) is named after the day when Portugal got independence from Spain on January 31, 1640; and 18th June Street is named after the day in 1946 that marked the beginning of the end of Portuguese rule in the country.
Located around 6 km from Ponda Village, the unexplored and unpolluted Keri village has widespread land with varieties of plantations and delightful birds. Explore the nature at its best with our guide while taking the tour of these beautiful plantations and soak into the fragrances of the fresh spices growing around. End the tour with the delicious Goan style lunch served.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Pick up is possible from centrally located hotels in North Goa & Panjim
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(14)
We received a message to let us know when our taxi driver would pick us up from our hotel. We assumed he was going to drop us off to meet our tour guide. When he arrived he didn’t introduce himself or explain the process. After driving for 30 minutes or so he just pulled up outside a building and said “There’s the museum, you can go and have a look”! The plus side of this arrangement is that you can decide where to go, how long to spend and if you want to skip bits. I wasn’t feeling well so we were able to shorten the day. It’s also good value with entry to the Spice Plantation & lunch included. There just needed to be better information and communication about how this tour works. Some reviewers have mentioned a boat cruise but this was not offered in our itinerary. So if that’s something you’re looking forward to, best to contact the provider to clarify.
Highly recommend. Excellent tour guide who organized the South Goa tour very well, detailing all highlights, and giving adequate time at each place. Excellent car driver too.I was picked up at time and dropped off in time.
Interesting and varied trip. Good to see different places. Worth the time away from the beach Helpful
South Goa is the perfect destination for anyone looking for calm, beauty, and a relaxed vacation. Unlike the busy beaches of North Goa, South Goa offers a peaceful atmosphere with clean beaches, soft sand, and stunning sunsets. Visiting the spice plantations in Goa was an amazing and refreshing experience. The guided tour takes you through lush green plantations, where you get to see, smell, and learn about various spices and medicinal plants.
Our Goa tour with this company was extremely disappointing. The driver did not take us to all the locations listed in the itinerary — including Miramar Beach, Dona Paula, Se Cathedral, and Fontainhas. When we asked, we were told some of these places were “closed.” We were also never offered the river cruise that was clearly advertised. At each stop we did visit, the driver simply parked the car, told us to “get out and look around,” and then went to sleep. There was no guidance, no explanation, and no effort to make the experience enjoyable or informative. When we raised our complaint, the company responded saying the driver did take us everywhere and that we “chose to stay in the car” because of rain. This is completely untrue. Why would we come all the way to Goa and then choose not to get out at key attractions like Miramar Beach or Fontainhas? It’s frustrating to be dismissed and have the truth twisted rather than the issue taken seriously. Overall, this was a poorly managed and misleading experience. I would not recommend booking with this company.
Alicia was helpful and organised a hotel pickup for us. The driver and a car us all we got. The driver was not a guide and would just drop us at a point and we had to find our way around A crucial thing like dress code is not mentioned in the trip details. We could not enter a Cathedral since we were wearing sleeveless dresses. Spice plantation was overcrowded and while our guide Shrutiks was good, the food was lacklustre. We skipped it. Skip this. Not worth it. Hire a cab and gi by yourself, because that’s all you get here. Cab and a rather quiet and unfriendly driver for 10 thousand bucks. Cab outside will charge 60% of that and not a penny more
We had a drive by tour of capital of Goa. Plantation was a very good idea, we learned a lot about all the spices. Lunch was excellent. Would highly recommec it if you are in the area.
Overall, the sites on the tour were amazing, and the lunch at the plantation far more than expected. As far as the tour company, the driver was late, and then when he had arrived, it turns out he had been given the wrong location and that was more then an hour away. So by the time he got to us, it was 2 hours later for us to start. This pretty much shifted our entire day then. Any concerns or questions sent to my original tour company contact went unanswered. When we finally started the tour, everything seemed rushed, and the tour guide didn't seem to know which sites we were going to, so we had to make sure to hit the ones that were important to us. The guide did a good job of not rushing my aging mother, and making accommodations for her needing a cane, which was considerate of him. Overall great sites, but I wonder if another company would've helped folks tour them better.
Fabulous day out with Stanley our guide and Raju the driver. Stanley's knowledge of Goa was exceptional, some great sights and wonderful lunch at a spice plantation Would definitely recommend
This tour promised a lot on paper, however it fell very short on what it delivered and didn't meet our expectation! We were picked up from our hotel by a friendly driver who was simply that..the driver. He had no itinerary! There was no guide nor a leaflet provided giving information on the places we were visiting. We visited one church , given directions to walk to the next stop Fountanais, and then back to meet the driver where he dropped us off! Then only one stop (as the next two stops were closed )at a Temple, before visiting the Spice Plantation and lunch, which we did enjoy. I would NOT recommend this tour as I could simply have booked my own taxi at far less cost and told the driver where to take us! I have given it 1/5 and that is for the friendly driver.
Dear Manjitkb2019, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We deeply regret that your experience did not meet your expectations. Due to a local exhibition by the government, access to Old Goa was restricted on that particular day, which impacted our planned itinerary. Unfortunately, the closures of the local churches were beyond our control. Additionally, Fountanhas is a small Portuguese village where cars are not allowed due to the narrow lanes. This may have contributed to the walking directions provided during your tour. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this caused and for not providing the level of service you anticipated. We're glad to hear that you enjoyed the Spice Plantation and lunch, and we appreciate your kind words about our driver's friendliness. For future reference, we also offer a variant of the tour with a guide, which would have provided a more comprehensive experience in line with your expectations. Your feedback is invaluable to us as we strive to improve our services. We hope you consider giving us another chance in the future to provide you with a more enjoyable experience. Kind regards,
