a small botle of coke Rs 20 a can of coke diet Rs 40 Tonic local Rs 30. other soft drinks average Rs 30. a good steak Rs210 a crab or a lobster varies with size so a medium size 2kg crab about Rs500 a medium size lobster Rs 800. fish is good and inexpensive a grilled king fish enough for 2. I eat at Floyds restraunt Candolim ( the orignal one)

Les

Be prepared for a shock in prices in Goa for the upcoming season, as prices have risen considerably in June/July this year in a restaurant in Candolim 2 bottles of mineral water, a lime soda and butter chicken with jerra rice came to 540 rupees and at 70 rupees to the pound came to almost 8 pounds and beer large kingfisher was 100 rupees in most tourist bars.

I agree,the prices for the coming season will be higher.A number of bars we use here have now got their new menus and some of the items have nearly doubled in price.Drinks don't seem to have increased but food items have.

John

I was talking too Elveno last week (Floyds orignal) Candolim and he is keeping his prices the same as last season :glynis. I have to say some places have gone over the top. remember to read the menu some have service charges as extra18% as well as vat. if you dont like the prices then leave

Im afraid to say this is a sign of things to come, if these prices are off season, monsoon time what will the prices be at season time, have had reports from Candolim of minimum prices for coming season with 20% added on, what a 5th on top of what, blaming poor season or too much rain, in the UK we expect 2% added this January, not 18%, a fifth extra is 100 rupees per 500 rupees spent a bit severe I think on top of restrictive visa's is a joke, shop around and boycott any places that want to rip you off, I suggest Tony's Place now new premises old Floyds and the Jazz corner that where still cheap and the Coconut inn which is now run by the posh nosh crew should be cheapish, but expect big price rises elsewhere, especially the shacks who will have to pay more for tax and alcohol licenses.

Sorry Posh nosh, should read Top Nosh the restaurant opposite Acron shopping centre, they have taken over the lease on Coconut Inn.

They just dont get it do they.

People will just go elsewhere when the prices go up.

Papa

1st time for us was 1999. At the shack all day you got 2 sunbeds, 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, pop/water/beer(plenty)/tea/coffee and spent £5. Rates were on average then 74rps to £1. Last season we averaged £14 a day (rate was very poor at 65rps) - still a bargain compared to a Europen destination (you can only get 2 sunbeds for that price)
Over the years things have increased steadily as they would anywhere around the world, the problems for shacks is the large increase in licence fees each year, and lack of customers. As we all know the last 3 or 4 seasons licences have been late coming, with shack owners stating that it's the hotels causing the problems with delays, forcing them to make up losses of 2 or 3 months business - they have very little choice but to increase prices more than roadside bars and restaurants.
I wasn't impressed last season being charged 45/50rps for a bottle of Kings in the shacks when I was paying 30rps in the Bluemoon Bar and Nino's Nook. People have to have some sympathy for all shack owners struggling to make a living, but I guess it's like in the UK - corner shop V supermarket.
The beaches of Goa are the biggest attraction to many, but we all have a choice - spend as normal / spend little / don't spend.
We will always support our shack and others we visit, can't say we ever cut back on spending, it's the 2 weeks of the year we work hard for.
Average spend for the coming season for 2 people per day and night, I would say £40 should be fine, and still good value - Give me Goa over Europe any day.
Spike.

We agree Spike, our first time was around 1998/99 as well and we remember the cheap prices back then, but like you we have never cut back on our spending and you are too right about the sunbeds in Europe. We have stopped going to Europe now, the last time we went 2 years ago we were charged £5 each for a sunbed and umbrella and we didn't even want an umbrella. We don't worry too much about the prices in the shacks, prices would have to be extremely high for us to stop using the shacks and go off the beach and use hotels, etc. We went to Kerala a few years back and really missed the shacks, it wasn't the same having to leave the beach to go get a drink even though the bars were only strides away (I know I'm lazy! but I have been spoilt in Goa with someone running down to see if I want anything every time I move).

Hi Spike, a very good post

It is normally the first week in December when the new menu's and price list's appear so it would be very unusual for the prices to change between seasons and there are not that many places open at the moment to be able to judge if it is a trend.

We have noticed how much the cost of living in Goa has increased over the last five years, wages have tripled or more and even basic food in the markets has doubled in that time, as for a baby Kingfish or lobster they where a silly price's but they lost a lot of boats and fisherman at the start of the season due to the cyclone.

It must be very hard for the locals to cope with the increased costs but it is still a very cheap place for us to live or holiday compared to any where in Europe or come to that most of the world.

I don't think Papa will find anywhere that will be half as good and cheaper.

No disrespect to you papa you have made a good point that it will put people off, along with other threads about visa distribution and costs and also the airfare increases, tough times for all but if you can pick up a bargain to get there, in my opinion it's worth every penny (or rupee)
Spike.

Spike,

Agree my post may have been a bit negative and in all honesty we will more than likely be there again this year.

I think my point should have been more a generalisation of the way all holiday destinations go.

In the end they all tend to kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

Goa is no different to other places in that prices have risen steadily over the years along with the wealth of the people who live and work there.

Other posters have commented that I would be hard pressed to find anywhere as cheap as Goa.

I am aware of that of course but I think sometimes my posts express my feeling of exasperation and dissapointment in a place I love so much and what is happening to it.

Cannot stop change of course but I do wish in the case of Goa I could.

Papa

Not a negative post at all papa, it's true what you say. My wages haven't gone up for years and each year we all read this forum for info, and hope your not going to end up reading that for eg. a bottle of beer has gone up to £2 or an average curry meal for 2 is £30. It may happen sooner than we think and I will be honest and say it would be harder for the 2 of us to save for a 2 week break with the current UK climate, so then we would think about giving it a miss, but untill it does change beyond our budget, it will always be the place for us.
Spike.

There is the fear that prices will rise so much that we can't afford to go again not just in Goa itself, as I agree it is still very cheap to live compared to other places, but the cost of flights and package deals continue to go up much more than our pay increases, or lack of pay increases, do. I think we will still be going for a long time to come though as even though the cost to get there may increase a lot we could live in Goa for our 3 weeks much cheaper than we do at the moment. We do tend to have everything we want, get taxis whenever we want and eat in what are considered by some as expensive places, and yes pay over the odds for some things from the girls in the market and on the beach for that extra sarong or piece of jewellry just because we admire their cheek and they make us laugh. There are lots of great places to eat and drink which are still very cheap. We used to go to Greece all the time 40 years ago in our youth and it was extremely cheap there but now it is way over the top to go to the small islands we used to visit. Hopefully the same won't happen to Goa.

Everyone has a different perspective on this subject, lots of people save up all year and are'nt too fussed about the price as it's their one holiday. Others, like ourselves, retired, and going several holidays a year have to look a bit closer at the price. Our train, Qatar flights, transfer taxi, and basic accommodation for our three week stay in November will cost approx. £1400. On top of that you've got your daily shack bills and meals of an evening, so year on year, looking back, it gets less and less a bargain.
We still go, we still love the people and the food, but for how much longer I dont know, Looking back over the years we used to love Spain, then Greece, Cyprus and Turkey, but retreated from them all.
Not sure what keeps us going back to Goa, Looking at it dispassionatley, the beches, year on year, get dirtier, although I swim it's not the safest of places to do so, the sunbeds may be free but not the most comfortable, the flock mattresses may be fine in November, but by March, with a few gallons of sweat leaked on to them, well I dont think Health & Safety would give them a pass mark. The traffic year on year gets worse and worse, now it really is a bit unsafe to try and walk any of the main roads after dark. But still we return, the minuses are adding up however, and a further racking up in prices next season wont help. The newbie package numbers go down each year, and while the independant numbers may be going up I feel that they are the ones that may one day be tempted to move on if the minuses keep stacking up. Of course the Goans themselves dont help, late shack licences, River Princess shambles etc, and on a national level the ongoing visa nonsense
Alan

I agree the higher prices must make it more difficult when you have retired and want more than one holiday, although we are not retired we have cut back from 3 holidays a year to 2 over the last 2 years and I still hope to retire to Goa for a few months in the winter in the not too distant future but I know I won't be going anywhere else throughout the year and I will have to think more about where I eat and no more taxis although I am sure I will manage one on meet up nights. It will be worth it though just to get out of the horrible weather in this country which is one of the big things that draws me to Goa. I can survive our so called summer if I have to. In the meantime we are already planning all out restaurants for our next 3 week visit to Goa.