Why you should swap beach for boat in Goa

Sarfraz Manzoor had been visiting Goa for more than 20 years. This time, he wanted to see it from a different perspective

Sarfraz Manzoor
Wednesday 04 September 2019 12:07 BST
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Goa houseboat
Goa houseboat

I thought I knew Goa. I had been visiting for more than 20 years – first as a twentysomething backpacker and, more recently, as a fortysomething dad – and in that time I came to associate Goa solely with golden sands. The hippy bazaars were all well and good, but those beaches were the reason I would flee the British cold for Indian winter sun.

This visit to Goa was a different beast altogether though: we’d be swapping beach for boat and taking an overnight river cruise. Such cruises are more often associated with the neighbouring state of Kerala, which has 800km of rivers to Goa’s measly-sounding 45km. But having spent a few days relaxing by the poolside and building sandcastles on the beach at the Alila Diwa hotel, we were picked up and driven to the banks of the Chapora river.

A motorboat ferried us to Laid Back Waters, the oldest houseboat operating in Goa and our home for the night. There are only four wooden houseboats operating on the Chapora and so, unlike in Kerala, a cruise means having the river practically to yourself. Captain Ramesh introduced us to the crew before taking us on a tour of the houseboat: its nut-brown complexion was constructed from wood, bamboo and plaited palm fronds. The three bedrooms each came with a double bed, en suite shower and toilet and a window with views overlooking the river.

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