Situated in Arpora directly opposite to Ingo's saturday night market is ideal. wHich means you have the hustle and bustle of Baga and Calangute five minutes away if needed or the stunning and more quiet northern beaches of Ashvem,Mandrem etc. also close by along with Vagator and Anjuna. Being sat back off the main road to all these places makes it a perfect location and without a doubt would visit this location again.

Arpora is a small village some 10 minutes by taxi to the beach. It is self contained with supermarket, shops and numerous bars and restaurants.
Because it is away from the main beach area it is quieter but considerably cheaper, so you have to weigh up what you want.
Taxis to the beach or Calangute are 100 rupees for up to 4 people, and the Tuk Tuks a lot cheaper.
Best restaurant is Honeys, and best entertainment is to sit in Anan's bar in the evening and people watch.( but he doesn't have a loo)

Arpora is a lovely place. Well it is to us but it's a bit like Goa in general you either love it or hate it we love it. There is a good mix of restaurants most offering extremely good food. Some lower priced and some a little more expensive. You pay your money and take your choice. I give it 4 for entertainment, mainly because our idea of entertainment in the evening is to go out for a leisurely meal and have a few drinks. If you want something a little more lively go into Baga or Calangute, again loads of restaurants to choose from and some of them have live entertainment a singer, a group or karaoke. It's very cheap to take a taxi to either. The beach is extremely busy and unfortunately not as clean as it used to be. More tourists, more rubbish. Paragliding,jet skis are there if you want them, can't comment on price of watersports as I prefer to keep my feet on dry land. All in all a perfect mix, peace and quiet or loud and lively you can choose.

A bit of a culture shock when you first go into Calangute but after a few days you get used to it and the place starts to grow on you. Baga beach was not as daunting as some reviews had made out, and to be perfectly honest, I have been hassled more in Turkey and Greece! Loads of good places to eat, the very best food is All Spice and then East meets West. Aubergines also very good as is Nicks Place, both within 2-3 minutes walk from Marina (turn right at hotel entrance). Kim Faa Chinese also recommended in Baga. Try the tuc tuc's to get around, they are ace!!

I'm not sure if this report should be about Arpora, the local village to the Marinha Dourada which I think is charming or Baga which I have little liking for whatsoever.
You either like the hustle and bustle of Baga beach or don't.

the beach and surrounding area are filthy

Arpora is great in that you are far enough away from the hussle and bustle of Baga and Calangute but near enough for it not to cost a fotune in taxi's.
On the first day we walked down the road to Baga bridge then onto the beach and accross the river in less the 30 mins. There is a plethora of beach shacks to take your fancy from the basic (and i mean basic) to the well maintained. We never suffered any ill effects from eating at the shacks but we heard of others that did, best to pay a little more and eat in one with a proper kitchen!!
People were really lovely although just about everyone is trying to sell you something. We hadnt evan got off the transfer from the airport and the guide was trying to hire me a moped as i had dropped it out in conversation i was THINKING about it!!
You need to be aware of this and think about what you are saying or think about who you talk to as locals will pick up on everything you say! My wife was drawn in on a taxi ride when the driver shoved a blue envelope in her hand and told her it was free and to open it. Before i had chance, it was open and guess what.... we had won first prize in a local competition. Cue, puppy dog eyes, smiles, hand shakes and pleading from driver to attend a time share/hotel share presentation which we duly did - under duress. Apparantley they are paid 2000 rupees for anyone who goes so we felt we had to for the drivers sake.
Im not an old bore (quite the contrary) but if you want to buy and haggle and chat then go in every shop and look in every window and chat to everyone. We did in the first week and it was great fun and met some lovely people. However if you arent in the mood to buy/bought everything you are on your way somewhere specific (food/beach/home) do not stop to look, dont show the slightest bit of interest as they will pick up on this and you will find yourself in a ten minute conversation about where your from/how many kids/arent you pale, etc and everything take 3 times as long.
Saying that, dont be rude, a simple "im not interested" or "no thank you" and walk away and you are fine.
We did 9 beaches in the two weeks (thanks to moped) best for us was Morjim by far (about 30 mins) as there were NO sellers, which is a God send after 10 days, plus beach and sea is excellent. Canodolim was nice, as was Arambol. Baga and Calangute are great the first couple of days but there are much better ones.
The market on saturday night was an experience not to be missed as was the 2 day elephant (Jungle book) excursion. We stayed over night in the mud huts which was interesting!! didnt get much sleep due to spiders the size of your face and monkeys on the roof at 3am but the company, Guide (Geoffrey) scenery and of course the majestic elephants made it all worthwhile.
Just as a final note, dont be afraid to barter, its tradition and they expect it and if you dont you will spend 75% of your money in the first week, as we did (fortunately we had bought everything we needed, and more)!! and you will be taken for a ride.
As a guide, no *ONE* thing is worth more than a 1000 rupees in Goa - seriously! Wooden carvings, marble/stone ornaments, backgammon and chess boards, sheets, blankets, bangles, towels - you name it its not worth that much.

Whatever price they give it probably cost them about 10 - 15% of that price to buy or make so when haggling start at 10% add a reasonable profit margin and dont budge from your price until they are about ready to give in then throw in another 50 rupees and you will ahe yourself a deal. Dont fall for the stories the give you, orphan, homeless etc as generally they are not true. A girl asked us to buy from her shop as her parents had died, we felt sorry for her and bought some stuff - we later ran into her mother selling down the beach - so you have been warned.
Both Goa and India are beutiful places and not what we were initially expecting. We will definately go again and would definately recommend it to broad minded travellers - and what the heck if you dont like the food there is a Dominos pizza!!

Cheers

The resort area was clean when travelling to smaller villages the toilets were non existent and not as clean

Lots and lots of restaurants and very cheap, loads of bars to keep you entertained in an evening

All the beaches are lovely, and the guys that work at the shacks on the beaches are very helpful and they make sure you don't go thirsty.

I have never been the type of person to visit the same place twice no matter how much i loved it but Goa and the marinha dourada hotel i would definately re visit. Im looking forward to next year to re book

you cannot relax on the beach for perverts and hawkers the surrounding area is like a rubbish dump i would not be surprised if there was an outbreak of disease or malaria make sure you ae well injected

Again , decade old fond memories of Arpora & Baga , however , they have now ruined it completely .
Domino's Pizza , Subway , McDonalds and English Takeaways have arrived !!

The stretch of beach from Baga down to Candolim is infested with beggars and sellers , you can not go thirty seconds without being disturbed by somebody wanting to peddle their tat or poor quality services .

If you want a nice beach with little distrubance you need to get a taxi to Ashwen or Coco beach , where unfortunately building work also looks to have started in earnest .

This part of Goa has now turned into the Costa Del Sol of Long Haul , it's full of old people and the ill educated British holidaymaker for which we are infamous ..... go to MoJo's pieshop / bar in Arpora .... I rest my case !! .