A typically rustic beach standing out literally on the farthest coast of South Goa and a pleasant break from the highly commercially laden popular Goan beaches, it is a travellers delight, with its quietitude and design. With the green rocky island onto its north end channelising the sea, there is an surrealistic effect of a focal point arching out towards the big waters of the sea when viewing the channel. The smaller rocky terrain on the other end provides some beautiful sea-views and good getaways for reflection and adventure. The beach itself is small enough to savour it in one gaze but large enough to lavish one's senses amidst its waves, sunset, beach shacks and it's alternatively holistic makeup. It is dotted with psychedelic cafes and happy-go-lucky travellers.

Palolem is often mentioned in hushed tones amongst the true Goa travellers who come back to refresh themselves with the old hippiness of Baga beach and the rusticness of Goa. It is around 100 kms away from Panjim and 60 kms from Margao towards the south of Goa. The road from Margao is pretty good and take around an hour to get there. There are plenty of privates cabs and motorcycle cabs willing to go to Palolem outside the Margao bus stand. There is also a direct bus on an half hourly basis for fare of Rs. 15  but it can get very crowded with the local crowd during its trip.  

The approach road to Palolem village is thin and the onset of the psychedelic cafes with their moon and stars designed banners herald the Palolem ambience. The beach is hearlded by a huge gateway arch after turning left from the approach road. This left thin road also houses more shops and eating places The gateway arch is in the centre of the beach and if one was to take a rght, it would lead to the Palolem Resort and the rocky island.

But for a true beach bumming experience, head left to discover lazy life in a coco-hut or a beach shack or even an Goan cottage. This side of the beach also houses the more new age beach restaurants with their bamboo & palm built designs. The crowd and the menu here is more of the rave partying kind and the days are mostly spent in the hammocks catching forty winks. Come, night time and the sombre places come alive with trance music bonfires and sizzlers.

There are some good coco-huts staying options with prices ranging from Rs.150 to Rs.500. There were also a couple of log hut places with housing options on the top of a bamboo platforms with a neat little wooden staircases but they are few in number and hence full. Cafe Cuba, Coco-Huts, Ciarans Camp & Tony's cottages are some of the good accomodation options around. Sushanti Huts at the extreme end are also a good option to stay if one requires quietitude and solistice. The owner is a good fellow and there is always a good pretty neighbour around to do some Yoga and Tai Chi. They also offer a unique candlelight dining experience atop a hillock overlooking the beautiful beach. A perfect romantic getaway to refresh those sweet memories under the twinkiling starry sky above and the whispering silvery waves below. However there is just one table for a couple and bookings are done on prior request.

For the luxury inclined, the Palolem Resort offers good accomodation options and there is an Igness Camp off the market road which also offer good staying options. Most of the beach restaurants are non-vegeterian with the sea-food dishes being the primary dishes. And some of the places like Suman Hotel and Ciaran's Cafe dish up a great fish curry. The more conservative family run eating places line up the right hand side of the beach from the main gateway. They are good with their basic Goan dishes and are a cheaper option than the oher side. Some of the good places around here are Zappias, Tigas, Brendon's, Presley'sand Banana Republic .  
The bazaar road alongwith the main road also has some Indian eating places with even the tandoori dishes raking up an appearance here. The standouts are Zig-Zag Cafe, Blue Jays Restaurant, Italiana, Indian Tandoor, Brown Bread Organix and Fiesta for chinese food.
Palolem is known for its calm waters and a morning run on is the best way to begin one's day. The sun-beds  offer the senses a good siesta rest after breakfast. Try the Coarse Bread sandwiches (regular sandwiches on the menu) at Ciarans Cafe. They are thick, rich and a mouthful to savour especially with its local oven baked taste. 

There is a low tide around the late afternoon and one can visit the island then. The palm tree decked island seems inncous but takes an effort to explore around. The wading through the channel over mossy rocks can be dangerous and it is better to travel with a companion for safety reasons.
Other options are the Dolphin rides with the local indigenised fishing boats. They offer rides to the open seas to view the dolphins and also to the neighbouring beaches namely Butterfly & Honeymoon beaches. And remember to be armed with ample sun-tanning lotions as the ride in the open boats can be quite harsh. Ask around at the Coco-Huts for prices. One noticeable thing are the names of the boatmen namely Krishna, Vishnu, Hari etc which are the names of Hindu religious Gods.
Some of the locals also offer  mountain-biking tours to a neighbouring countryside of villages and jungle tracks for a sighting of the elusive 'phuctifino monkeys' (Never heard of such monkeys before but they seem to be a rare breed around to have such a term describing them). Ask at the Ciaran's camp for more details about this tour.
Motorbikes are also available for rent at around Rs.500 per day and they are also a good option to explore around the other places. There was an active biking Trance crowd around and there always seemed to be some Trance party happening every night though they were not spoken around much.

A couple of Cyber Cafe's line up the Bazaar road and the connections are pretty good. The STD/ISD booths are also around on the same side and hanging around them can lead to some good conversations with some fellow travllers from all over the world.

Overall, Palolem ranks high amongst my list of best beaches in India. However, with it's growing popularity, the misguided 'Rave Wannabe's' (especially of the fairer sex) from the ego-bred metropolises of India with their highty & mighty attitudes are making a presence here, seeking artificial highs of life in trance drugs and hippie boyfriends to rave about at snooty parties. And sadly, the subsequent misguided commercialisation following this kind of a crowd and which is already devouring Baga & the other beaches seems to be gaining around. But hopefully, Palolem will preserve it's rusticness and nature-friendly development for the eco-friendly intrepid traveller. And I hope it stays the same until next year around.