Note – most shops and banks close for a siesta from 1pm to 4pm (ish!)
Food and Basic Essentials:
‘Shop and Save’ and ‘Melwyns’ are two local grocery shops within a few minutes taxi ride from Majestic Palms. These sell all your basic essentials – cereals, milk, eggs, fruit, drinks, bread etc. Fresh milk comes in plastic bags so just decant these into a jug (or empty water bottle). You have to ask specifically for eggs as these are usually kept separately.
Benaulem Village & Colva
A range of the standard market stalls, grocery shops and ice-cream parlours. Amul ice cream is very good. There is a lovely little Art Shop called Indiology which sells some lovely pictures, canvases etc.
Margo
The nearest town. It has a number of shops, markets etc. There is also a branch of ‘Fab India’, which sells lots of Indian artefacts, clothes and furniture.
Taj Exotica Hotel
This has some lovely shops in the foyer, including a jewellery shop, clothes etc. Khazana also sells some lovely trinkets and artefacts, etc.
Panjim
The ‘Capital’ of Goa.
Night Market – North Goa.
This is held on Wednesday and Saturday Nights. It is open from 6pm to 1pm-ish. There can be quite long queues and traffic to get into the market, so may be best to get there earlier. It is child friendly, but can get very busy, so again suggest the early evening. There is a huge range of stalls selling artefacts, jewellery, silks, pashminas, pictures, posters, hammocks etc. There are lots of food stalls and also live music. The roast chicken comes highly recommended! Prepare to barter! The journey is about an hour and a half each way.
Banks
The nearest bank is in Margoa. There are also ATMs in Benaulim and Colva.
