I have to say Keith that even though things may be changing (Hey thats life ) we still thoroughly enjoyed our first trip this year and I know for sure it won't be our last I still feel that the positives far outweigh the negatives and Goa is a casualty of our materialistic world.

Keith
It might be going downhill but there must be something still there as I am noting that it doesn't seem to be stopping a lot of those who have been disappointed talking of returning. There is obviously a hold there of some kind. Personally, the world is too big a place for me to return somewhere I no longer enjoyed. Having only spent 6 days in Goa before the season started I haven't really fallen under the spell that others have. Yes, I liked it so much that we rebooked for next week. But if we return disappointed I can not see me returning-unless it is for R&R after a tour somewhere else in India( now, I have to say I was spellbound with our Golden Triangle tour!)
So- a serious question to those who are returning despite being disappointed, why? The good obviously still outweighs the bad- what is making you return? What do you still like about Goa?

I was one of those that returned this season after a very disappointing holiday, and things have gone from bad to worse with all the goings on over the last months. I think most of us new of the undercurrent of drugs in Goa , especially in Anjuna, and I suppose the nearest some of us got to it was Ingoes market.
My wife and I have decided we are returning next January and after that we will decide how the future goes. I think we have to make our holidays what we want them to be and ignore the things we do not like, drugs,drunks etc.. I just hope that things get better.

Fiona,

We have been back a few days and I am slill writing my report so will not go into too much detail.Things have changed a lot even since last year and yet again I came back thinking will we go back again?

I will post my full observations once I have had a few days to let my mind settle but my initial guess as to why so many people go back after noting all the changes is this.Once you have been back a while you tend to forget the negatives and concentrate on what was good.

The good things are still there the beaches the food the cost of living.However things are not the same nor should we expect them to stay that way.

Anyway it is easter weekend and we have a few social commitments so I probably will not have enough time to finish my report but as soon as I will.

However I am still asking myself the question.Will we go back again?

Good question that, Fiona.

If I do return it will be because I know I'll enjoy it (maybe not as much as I used to, but I'll still have a great time), it's very affordable, the climate is fantastic, the people we know over there are great, the food is excellent and it's familiar and unchallenging - a lazy few weeks.

My fear is spending twice as much going somewhere else and enjoying it half as much. Because of that, and that "exiled from Goa" feeling you get when you've been home a few months, we do it all again!

As has been commented upon many times though, "the times they are a chaingin'" and you either adapt or shuffle off somewhere else. I get the feeling that a few of us would try that somewhere else if we were sure we'd enjoy it as much without breaking the bank. Kerala, Thailand, Cuba .....?

some interesting replies. I think it is right that people can post immediately they come home and the negatives are very much to the front. Then as time wears on, and you are back into work mode and UK weather, you then remember the positives.
I wonder if people thought of their top 5 reasons for returning, what would be the number one factor? Is it weather, culture, beach life, people or cost?

We have been going to Goa for around 10 years now, and I am sad to say that I agree with the majority of the negative comments. There seems to be a growing minority of Goans who resent the European tourists coming to Goa, some even seem to resent the domestic tourists. The letters and editorials in the Goan press make very distressing reading, much of which is sheer nonsense. They talk of the tourists buying up their heritage, but we have all seen lots of these magnificent Portguese houses which have been left to rot. A trip to Panjim shows magnificent buildings which look ready to fall down. I have heard of a number of cases of tourists being verbally abused in the street by children, which clearly comes from their parents, and it does seem to be getting worse. A couple of years ago a Goan set his two dogs on me, fotunately there were lots of stones around, and I was able to scare them away. Then you have the farce with foreigners being prevented from buying property, if this was the UK the papers would be full of comments about racist Britain. They accuse tourists of being paedophiles, and I know that a very small percentage of Europeans do visit for this reason, but it was not tourists who raped and murdered a 15 year old girl, it was Goans.

Someone I knew who loved Goa, but is now dead, told me once that the best thing that could happen to Goa, would be for the British tourists to stay away for a season, I did not agree at the time, but sadly I now think that he was right. There have been various reports on the drop in tourist numbers, but even if only 200,000 British tourists go in a season, and spend an average of £400 each that totals £80 million pounds. Add to this the small amount that the tour companies pay for the hotel rooms, and it will increase still further. I know many people will not spend £400 in a fortnight, but this would also include those who buy diamonds and rugs etc.

The changes are not so severe that we have been put off yet, but I think that we will certainly visit only once a season instead of twice in the future. There are still many good people in Goa, but I feel that it is changing, and not for the better.

The reasons we keep going back are mainly the weather, and the many friends we have made over the last 20 years or so, both local and long term visitors. Cost used to come into it as it was a cheap destination but since we started going scheduled flights and buying our accomodation on top of it makes it much less a bargain than before. Safety and security was another thing we used to value but no longer I'm afraid. We woke up at 3.00am a couple of years ago to find someone trying to get into our wardrobe (entry via the first floor balcony) Two other friends this season have had their appartment broken into during the day and losts more have lost stuff on the beach It was never a particularly tidy place, it's India after all, but the garbage and filth keep getting worse yearly. Lots of the people we are friendly with, go out and stay for the season, but if the visa length is cut to just three months that will force them to look elsewhere. Most U.K. tourists by and large used to respect the feelings of the locals regarding it being a very conservative country, regarding their beach attire, but I fear the new arrivals from Russia have no respect for them. They seem to favour thongs and topless regardless of who is arround, indeed one middle aged couple used to drop in daily to our shack for lunch, she, a rather well worn 40 plus, favoured a small bikini top and a G string ! and they wonder why the "pervy" Indian men take their picture. So all in all things are in a bit of a state in Goa, we've decided on one visit Nov/ Dec. next year and that may well be our last, we'll just have to wait and see. Alan

IF and I do mean IF we go back these would be my top 5 reasons.

Weather
Cost of living
Direct and relatively short flight compared to the Far East
Food
People

Hi Fiona , Have to agree with people about Goa , it is changing and fairly fast at that . I've just read what my wife had to say --- anyway, my top reasons for returning year after year are ;-
1 ,, the people ,many of whom have nothing yet have everything , we've met and still meet up with really genuine Goan people.
2 ,, Usually I can relax fully , the weather and beaches I love ( we prefer Sth Goa ).
3,, Prices -- they just can't be beaten,
4 ,, Food -- So cheap and good to eat
5 ,, Last but not least , I think that Goa although changing very fast , still for me has the Welcome and restfullness , and the " come back again soon factor " -- if it never how come so many of us wish we were back there as soon as we return home . Just a lovely country all round

Hello Fiona

A top five from first-timers to Goa, Candolim, were there for three weeks in February.

1. People - met a few genuine Goans who couldn't do enough for us and we will remain friends
2. Weather - the climate is fantastic, the hot sun just makes you feel so good
3. Cost - just couldn't believe how cheap everything is
4. Beach life and culture - these two are joint 4th - where else can you sit in a beach shack
sipping Kingfisher and gin/tonic with no cares in the world, and see all the animals also
passing the time of day on beach

We had the best holiday of all time in Goa, but don't get me wrong we are not naive and saw the negative
side of Goa as well, but have booked up to go again next January for another glorious three weeks, can't
wait