Goa Miramar Beach

With many options available to us.. Dubai, Thailand, we chose Goa and had the most romantic honeymoon ever!

Booked our hotel room many months in advance and stayed at the Marriott Resort in Panjim. Hotel was great, beautiful room facing the river, stunning views, staff perfect and dinner buffet delicious.

We rented a scooter bike (200 INR per day) and visited Dona Paula nearby, went to Wine tasting event in Panjim city, visited churches in Old Goa, saw a few movies at the Inox, and went gambling on a Mandovi river Casino boat. Also took bike ride to visit some south Goa beaches for a day!

Think what I’ll remember most is those romantic sunset walks with my husband on Miramar beach. All the locals come out at sunset, kids playing, men fishing and tourist boats passing us by. Goa really is the most romantic place in India!

The Miramar Beach is superb if you check out the view that it is giving. It seems that its name comes from the Portuguese language that says ‘view the sea’ or something like that. It is 100% true that the scenery here is from the movies – but that it about all that this beach offers. Since you cannot get into the water – it seems the current can pull you in and take you out at sea – the attraction for me ended abruptly. I love beaches, but without the luxury of taking a dip in the sea at will, the beach seems useless.

I went to visit it twice – once with the bus tour organized by my hotel and once on foot. Our hotel was about 2 kms away – Ginger hotel. I loved the place, to be honest, but I got bored soon. I am not a great eater – but the food served on the roadside and on the beach was good. Other than that I did not find much to do – found it quite boring because of this.

I think this beach is good for large groups – for I saw people sitting in groups having a picnic with music, dancing, food and beer – and I felt their enjoyment even though I was no part of it. However, if you are alone and not melancholic – this beach is too “not happening” comparing to the other popular beaches in Goa.

Two long and very beautiful sand stretch covering the confluence of the River Mondovi with the Arabian Sea – this is what it is. Words fail to describe the immense beauty of this beach, which is just a little removed-from-the-Capital-City of Goa. Most tourists do not bother to visit this beach for many reasons among which the most important is that it is too secluded. Another main reasons is that you are not allowed to swim here; it has been warned that due to undercurrents, anyone attempting to swim might dragged in and drown.

We never stayed close to this superb beach, but I was observing that there is a cornucopia of hotels small and big around the beach. We stayed at a lovely hotel in the heart of Panjim and we would not have come to visit this beach unless our tour package had not covered it. We are both very happy that we took the tour and that we discovered this wonderful beach, which was about 2.5 kms away from our hotel, FIDALGO.

While it is true there is not much to do in the water here, you still have a whole two kilometers stretch of beautiful beach that you could use for anything you please and do ensure that you check in as many sunsets in this region as you can. It is truly breath taking. For people like us, just married and full of romance, Miramar Beach was a superb stop. Superb beach!

I love beaches, so my review will be heavily biased… ? - even so, this is one of the most mesmerizing beaches of Goa. So charmed we became with this lovely beach that we looked up its history – it seems that the Miramar Beach Goa was called ‘Gaspar Dias’ earlier which is translated from Portuguese as ‘viewing the sea’. This is indeed a befitting name for the view in the evening is definitely not something you would see every day!

The River Monodvi – one of the most remarkably popular rivers in Goa – meets the Arabian Sea and the Miramar Beach gently overseas this union. It is stunning!! The best part is that most Panjim tourists are not interested to visit this beach, for you cannot enter the waters here. There are many undercurrents since the River Mondovi empties into the Arabian Sea and therefore, swimming is forbidden. However, you can sunbathe, walk, watch lovely birds, take a boat to see dolphins, cross over to see the Fort Aguada, and so on.

The best is to sit quietly munching on anything your heart desire (the food cabins offer a wide variety of fast food, which is as delicious as it is reasonable). We love this beach for we stayed at the lovely and super luxury 5-star Mariott Goa hotel and had the opportunity to visit it a number of times, besides drinking in its beauty from our room and the Lounge Bar. The sunset from the bar is something that would move a rock!!

My children loved playing tag and beach volley-ball games. There is a very cute park for children, which added plenty to its attraction for me. While watching the children, I sampled the pani puri, pau-bhaji, and alu tikkis which are simply mind blowing. The children loved ice-cream.

I would say, that Miramar Beach is one of the best places to relax – if you do not like water too much. Best when you are alone, best when you are with family. We totally and completely loved this beach.

Situated at the estuary of the Mandovi River with the Arabian Sea, this beach is just about 3 kms from Panaji and about 1 kms away from Dona Paula. The best time to visit Miramar Beach is about October-December which is of course, the peak time in Goa. This is a superb beach for family fun.

About 2 km long, you have not only a captivating view of the beautiful Mandovi River, but also the imposing and opulent Fort Aguada which is just across this majestic river. This is a beach for everyone. A cute and inviting park is there for the young visitors and for the family there is a half mile long stretch of fast food and other type snacks that would delight any palate. We loved the Shorma – an Iranian dish of grilled chicken in bread roll with mayonnaise --- yummy!! That and a cool bottle of beer – paradise on earth!!

You can visit the Miramar Beach by taxi or use the public transport, which is amazing in Panaji – and throughout Goa. There are many, many lovely hotels around this amazing beach such as the 5-star super luxurious Hotel Goa Mariott and Vivanta by Taj, 3-star hotels such as Hotel Dolhin and budget hotels like Swimsea Beach Resort where we stayed.

We used to take a stroll down to the beach many an evening and return by bus. Snacking on the beach was enough for us to skip dinner – and we would come back flushed with pleasure after watching the most stunning sunsets ever.

There are many beaches in and around Panjim, but in terms of beauty the Miramar Beach is unparalleled. This is a must-sea for anyone who visits Panjim or its vicinity for where else you will be able to see a sunset over the confluence of a river and the Arabian Sea?