Sounds like bliss to me and would do the same.

Depending on arrival time, usually we go through all the meet and greet of friends, always a quick shower, then if early enough straight to the beach. First night on arrival we always say early night, but it never happens, so many bars/restaurants so little time.

i think the most important thing to remember when arriving in goa is 50 rupees for the bagage handlers or a £1.00 coin and remember a pound coin is no good to them so they save them up and when they have 10 they try to get you to change them for notes and you may lucky and get 11 pounds for 10

a pound coin for the baggage handlers? are you aware the salary for people working in shops, full time jobs is about 100 to 150 Rs/- a day. If you give them a pound coin (80 Rupees) then that's really off balancing everthing, if they help 10 people from one plane and they get say 5 or 10 planes a day... lets say 5 that's £50 a day! Thats 4000 Rs/- a day! I know people who work for 500 Rs/- a month!!! Teachers that are on 1500 Rs/- a month!! Is dragging a suitcase a maximum of 100 Meters worth so much? Just making you aware, the buses are so close so don't really need help anyway! Tip 5 or 10 Rs/- otherwise you'll encourage back handers etc - Just a thought.... Spend your pound on fruit (50 Oranges, or 80 Bananas) and give to children on the street (rather than sweets) or give to a charity that helps the same, or even Animal rescue...

well said poipleshadow! you really do have to think about how much you are gibing when you tip!

As for first thing i'd do when get to goa........drink kings of course! and have a really niuce curry and garlic cheese nann!

mmmm must be a manc thing lauraj same as me
mike

Getting out of the airport then my holiday begins just absorbing the smells of Goa travelling down to my hotel accompanied with copious amounts of sunshine.

its easier said then done not to tip the baggage boys , i must have said no a thousand times ,only to be told he was from our bus was naieve and fell for it

I agree with Lady Jane, it is difficult not to tip the baggage guys. You have the person who hands you your luggage from the carousel and escorts you to the customs guy on the way out, the bloke who grabs your case from the customs guy to the main door and someone else from outside of the airport to the bus. I do not mind tipping the first bloke but I do mind tipping the other two. In February I had to wrestle my suitcase away from two chaps.

They do not want rupees they want pound coins so they can swap them for rupees with the returning British tourists.

Having said all this, I still does not prevent me from having an enjoyable holiday.

thanks ladyjan and sidney i was feeling pretty down after the last comment but as we have never been to goa before you tend to go on other peoples advise but then i realised that i was helping at least one person have enough money to feed his family

we are only tourists and it is up to the goverment of the country to try and solve the poverty - we do our little bit when we can

I never give money at the airport, giving a £1 is madness utter madness IMO, it just makes th epeopl ethere greedy and have come to a point where they 'expect' it after every flight.

I imagine some of them standing theee as our flight arrives ribbing their hands together in glee ' aghh here come the silly English tourist,thinking £1 is nothing to them, when we make so much money from these silly people'

When I am at the airport I tell all of them to get off my suitcase, no one has touched it after my first trip 5 years ago and no one ever will.

When we go we unpack,and walk down to 21 coconuts, get a drink at start our sunbathing. Later on we go and say Hi to Guru, the bag shop and 'John' in the elephant shop.

hi vegasone you do come across as a very selfish person

in OUR reald world what is a pound ???? if you are helping an other human being to survive and look after his family how can u say we are wrong ?? it is not us - but the way they find they have to live there lives - and if they want to RIP ME OFF so they have enought money - I am sure that one pound out of my £1,000.00 spending money will not be missed

our visits to goa are making the world of difference to the lives of people in goa and when a taxi driver charges me 200.00 rupees when the fare should only be 50 ok it wrong but it is no different to london taxis they will charge you £30.00 instead of £5.00

dont take the moral high ground XXXXX

Maureen i must agree with you vegasone did seem very HARSE
.
We are RIPPED of by our OWN SO called country folk EVERY DAY
of the year one way or the other, the only difference being is the
GOAN,S do it openly and up front,where has our OWN do it
BACK-HANDEDLY .

The Goan,s are very welcome to my tips. .

Vegasone have you been drinking at dinner-time?

I must say after all the info i got on this site I was well aware of tiping at the airport so I was well prepared with my (hidden) bag of pound coins when I arrived. I was quite happy to tip our porter as he was very helpfull he took us to our coach and loaded on our cases for us, as it was our first time in Goa after our long flight I was only to happy to let him do this for us. So in my eyes he did me a good service and got paid for it. On the return journey at 4am i was happy to let the porter take over he took our cases from the coach told us what we needed to enter the airport, put our luggage through the ex-ray machine , loaded them back on to the trolley at the other end and put us in our que I was gratefull for this and it was well worth a quid. At the end of the day this was my choice you dont have to do it if you dont want to but me being the most laziest person I know will do it every time and wont begrudge a penny.

I think what started off as agood thread has ended up at 'handbags at 10 paces''.Shall we put this one to rest ?
All newcomers to Goa that have not picked up tips off this site will give away the odd pound on there arrival, as the value of money has not been 'sussed' out. Many of us have done this on our 1st visit (and not just in Goa).I now fully understand what goes on at the airport on each visit and get really miffed when my luggage is dragged 5 yards to a bus i am not waiting for ! So now it is a simple ''no thanks - leave them alone''.

Here Here

When we were there in March I was determined not to have my cases whisked away from me and then have to give a pound to any person who has just placed a hand on them. I did manage it, but what a faff. My cases fell off the trolley when I was pushing it up a slight incline and then the trolley wheel got stuck in a metal grill on the floor. I've now decided that it's a pound well spent coz it's just not worth the effort of doing it yourself in that heat.

When we get to the hotel I always unpack everything first. Then after a quick shower, it's on with the cossie, sarong and flip-flops and off to the beach for a couple of shandys and a chicken spring roll.

I posted my views on the subject of £1 tips at the airport,it is what is being discussed and I now should not have to type out a justification seeing as you now think I take the moral high ground

My visits to Goa also go to helping the poor, I buy bananas from the 4 year old girl outside my hotel every day, I have massages on the beach every day , I pay more for my taxi ride every time I use it. I tell the elephant shop to keep the change when I buy from him, I de- flee and worm the beach dogs, and I also trek off to the childrens home with my bags of clothes at the end of my trip.