New Year Goa plans have been ominous. We had attempted this twice but have had to cancel last minute. The reasons are immaterial but then the situation has been very frustrating. To turn the jinxed trip on its head, we just made a random plan this September, an off season for travel and kept our fingers and toes crossed for good measure.

To cut a long story short, we had a gala tour. It was smooth and enjoyable. We will not burden you with details but there are some home truths we wish to share about traveling to Goa in off-peak period.

i) Goa hotels – August- September is peak school time post summer vacations. Every other education institution has their term examinations in this period. Hence parents don’t make travel plans this time of the year. In fact, the financial sector is also most active now and offices function full swing. Hence, professionals or business folks are also not making a lot of travel plans. We reaped the benefits of this tourism lull and came across awesome deals while checking Goa hotels and making our booking.

ii) Cheap tickets – Have you noticed it is raining discounts on airfare? Be it print or social media, every airline or flight booking platform is promoting slashed prices for limited period travel. We guess it would be the reasons we listed above. Nonetheless, the off season low prices were a huge motivation for us and we paid at least 30% less while booking our travel tickets.

III) Monsoon – Great hotel deals, low ticket prices etcetera were pre-travel affairs. What made all this totally worth are the rains. It was monsoon in full swing; this year has been particularly bountiful here. The rain poured on the beach while the waves lapped against the shore. It seemed as if the sky and the sea had merged like a gargantuan waterfall. We are out of words to describe the visual, the feeling. But all the missed New Year parties in Goa were totally worth the surreal monsoon experience on the sea. This could be the sole reason to make an effort and respond to the call of the sea this season.

iv) Sightseeing – While Goa is most popular world over for its beaches, they have a host of sightseeing options. It has been a Portuguese colony and has many 17th century churches is great shape. There are old Shiva temples in North Goa. Goa is best covered by motorbike. These are way more affordable when the place is not crowded. Plus they are easily available. Hence mobility for us, in a new place was way smooth and we could do much more.

v) Shopping – As you would probably know, Goa has very many flea markets that carry lot of cool stuff. What many of us do not know is that it has a great handloom tradition as well. The Kunbi caste in this region has an age-old handloom tradition. The checked Kunbi sari woven by this community was a lost art which is now being revived. Off-season is the time for shopping here at affordable prices.

vi) Local culture – We love soaking in the local culture. The way to do this is visiting local villages, pottering in community markets and striking random but enlightening conversations with the friendly shop keeper or someone at the teashop. This is only possible during a quiet period. That is perhaps why we found everyone to be relaxed and forthcoming to us.

To summarise, cheap air tickets, affordable deals in Goa hotels, and far from the maddening crowd leading to a relaxed atmosphere overall, made our Goa trip the ideal holiday. Off-season travel may need a little extra nudge in managing the work front. But our Goa trip established that it is worth all the effort.