go on then, i'll start you off!

the beach at the southern end of candolim is not great at all now. river princess northwards is fine.

we stay, if we can, at the santana which is towards the beginning of the erosion.the calamari shack is set back a little from the shoreline and you can get down to the sea without a problem.the sea from baga down to the south end of candolim is a little rough wherever you are. im not keen on beach life but i love it on the beach in goa, regardless of where i am!

beach shacks, anyones guess, there are a few on private land up and down the coast which are open regardless of the political situation, the calamari , which is part of the santana beach resort is one of them.

boat trips, ive only ever been dolphin spotting and beach bbq with blackie fron coco beach, just a few mins from candolim. theres not a lot out there really, so its fishing or going to another beach, plenty of places to book in resort without getting ripped off though!

i wont advise you about trips but there are a few to go on. have a look at daytrippers website for starters, just to give you an idea, but there are lots of places to book and all are reasonable.any of the trips you want will be available through a local taxi driver, just find one you like and trust and stick with him!

Thanks for the reply
We've looked at Silver Sands in Candolim, do you know which part of the beach this is near (North or South)? Still undecided which one for Calangute as yet. The dolphin spotting & beach bbq sounds good! Hopefully the prices for First Choice will be out next month so I can compare prices for both resorts.

silver sands, i believe is at the bottom of beach road in candolim.

thats well toward the northern end of candolim. slap bang in the center so to speak

Silver Sands is a great spot and the beach there is not really affected by the erosions further down towards Sinquerim. Personally, I'd go for Candolim rather than Calangute - it's more "European" and at Silver Sands you're close to many good restaurants and next to the beach.

Who knows whether the beach shacks will be open in November? I was there last November and the situation with the shacks was farcical - having said that, many shack operators did their best to provide a service and we still had a good time. You did miss the "shack experience" though. I don't think anybody will be able to tell you with any certainty what will be up and running in November.

There are loads of boat trips and if none takes your fancy, you can hire a boat for the day at not too much expense - especially if you can get 8 or 10 people together. We did that and spent all day visiting the beaches at Arambol, Aswen and Anjuna, whilst dolphin spotting on the way up there. Lovely, lazy day!

I've done the beach huts at Palolem some years ago and they were great and my daughter did a night in some at Morjim more recently. She wasn't too impressed to be honest but I know many on this site have really enjoyed them and no doubt they will give you better feedback than I can.

Instead of staying in Beach Huts it may be an idea to have a couple of nights in the south. There are plenty of nice little hotels/guesthouses and the beaches there are far nicer than most in the north. We book for 3 wks at the M.D (North) but spend are middle week at Cavelossim, lots of lovely places to eat nice beaches and shacks, theres a good boat trip which sails up the river Sal from 10am it returns at 4.00ish it includes all your food and drink and costs about £10 pp.......Keith

As Roma said ,Silversands is in a good position,if you walk straight down to the beach from there and turn right, and and theres no erosion on the beach,the further you walk the less busy it gets.
Many of the shacks in november, made temporary buildings where they were making great food and drinks,they also put sunbeds out for you
Dont forget to put your names down for the HT meets at the Carvery ,we meet every wed from the beginning of November, and only a few mins walk for you, if staying in Silversands. Dont think the list is up yet for 2010 season.

Thank you all very much for the replies,that's helped me to decide & I think it will be Candolim Just got to wait for the brochure to come out now.....