Calangute

Goa is really two holidays in one, and our package is built to give you both. You stay three nights near Calangute in North Goa, the busiest stretch of coast, where the beaches of Calangute, Baga and Candolim are lined with shacks, water-sports operators and seafood restaurants. From here it is a short drive to Anjuna's cliffs and Wednesday flea market, the Saturday night market at Arpora, and Chapora Fort, where the sunset view over the Vagator coast is the most photographed in the state.

In between sit Goa's Portuguese roots. In Old Goa, the UNESCO-listed Basilica of Bom Jesus holds the relics of St Francis Xavier, opposite the vast white Se Cathedral. Panjim's Latin quarter of Fontainhas has narrow lanes of yellow, blue and ochre houses with tiled roofs and balconies, and an evening cruise on the Mandovi river comes with Goan folk music and dance.

The final night moves to South Goa, which feels like a different state. Palolem's crescent of sand is fringed with coconut palms, the water is calm, and the pace is what Goans call susegad, unhurried and content. Colva and nearby Cabo de Rama fort complete the picture. The best months are November to February, when skies are clear and the sea is calm. The monsoon from June to September turns Goa a deep green, closes most beach shacks and water sports, and brings excellent hotel rates for a quiet, rain-soaked break. From Hyderabad it is barely more than an hour by air, which makes even a long weekend worthwhile.