The boat cruises are a must for every tourist’s itinerary in Goa. Enjoyment guaranteed to every man, woman and child of any age. You can sit and enjoy the different rhythms of the music, the boat, the drumming of the dancers’ feet and the rhythm of the Mandovi River as old as Time itself flowing beneath you. Drink in the beautiful vistas of the open Arabian Sea with the capital city of Panaji flowing prettily past, further up river past the velvety green island of Chorao.
Swing to the rhythm of the music, the waves and dance on board our luxury launches Santa Monica and Shantadurga. The Santa Monica is a luxury launch built on a twin hull and used for daily evening cruises on river Mandovi. The sunset and sundown cruises along the River Mandovi are an experience to remember. The boats take you either west to see the sunset or east to the island of Chorao. To add that extra zing to the evening a live band plays on board and folk dances are performed for passengers. One of the best times to take the evening boat cruise is during the Christmas-New Year season when Panjim’s entire riverfront with its beautiful heritage buildings and trees are outlined in fairy lights.
The early evening cruise is an experience that never leaves you, especially if you get a seat in the front of the boat and watch the banks of the River Mandovi slip smoothly by. You would understand why the Portuguese, who sailed down the same route, were so fascinated by this lovely smiling land that they had to have and hold Goa for the next 500 years.
Departure from Santa Monica jetty
Hire of Santa Monica between 9.00 am to 5.00 pm = Rs 5000/- per hour (both decks).
Hire of Shantadurga between 9.00 am to 5.00 pm = Rs 3000/- per hour (both decks) detention Rs 800/- per hour
Poseidon launch – 24 seater – charter hire: Rs 16,000/- for 8 hours
Rowing/Pedal Boats (4-seater) at MayemLake: Rs 120/- per hr. Rs 80/- per ½hr
Sunset cruise
Dep 6.00 pm & 6.30 pm (1 hr duration)
Rs 130/- per head
This cruise is generally included in the North Goa Tours arranged by the GTDC. This is an hour long cruise on the Santa Monica which takes guests out on a leisurely sail down the River Mandovi from the Santa Monica jetty in Panaji. While the vessel sails serenly down the river past the beautiful Adil Shah Palace that was once the first building in Panjim City. This was the summer palace of the Sultan which was then used by the Viceroy of Portugal and finally by the government of Goa as its Secretariat. Now that a new Secretariat is in use on Porvorim Hill across the river Mandovi, the Adil Shah Palace wil be turned into a cultural centre with art galleries and concert halls, etc.
While you sail down the river local boys and girls treat you to some Goa's best known folk dances, the dekhni and the fugdi. They sing mandos and finally give over centrestage to live musicians or a DJ and the guest can then sing and dance and generally make merry. This cruise is a huge success with people of all ages, men, women and children.
The Santa Monica then takes you past the Panjim riverfront past the jetty and old colonial buildings on past the Promenade with its lovely tree lined avenues past Miramar where you sit and watch one of Goa's spectacular sunsets. You can see the spread of the Mormugao Port and the mass of the Aguada Fort and as the shadows lengthen you find yourself transported back in history to the time when all visitors who landed on these shores loved Goa so much they wanted to possess her.
The Santa Monica then turns around and sails back to her jetty along the silent Mandovi, past the pretty cottages of Betim. The cruise is an hour long.
Sundown Cruise
Dep 7.15 pm & 7.45 pm (1 hr duration)
Rs 130/- per head
This wonderful hour long cruise is after sunset. Panjim by night is a sight you will not easily forget with dancing fairy lights twinkling at you from the riverfront. The Santa Monica takes you along the Mandovi River from the Santa Monica jetty in Panaji.
While the vessel sails serenly down the river past the beautiful Adil Shah Palace that was once the first building in Panjim City, there is a lot of entertainment on board with young people of Goa, dancing local folk dances, singing mandos and other folk song. After that live or DJ music is played and guests can join in the revelry, singing, dancing or making merry. Men, women and children regardless of age enjoy themselves hugely.
The Adil Shah Palace was the summer palace of the Sultan which was then used by the Viceroy of Portugal and finally by the government of Goa as its Secretariat. Now that a new Secretariat is in use on Porvorim Hill across the river Mandovi, the Adil Shah Palace wil be turned into a cultural centre with art galleries and concert halls, etc.
The Santa Monica then takes you past the Panjim riverfront past the jetty and old colonial buildings on past the Promenade with lighted tree lined avenues past Miramar and you look at the city lit up in a glorious comign together of the old and the new. You can see the lights of the huge oceanliners anchored at Mormugao Port and the dark mass of the Aguada Fort. You find yourself transported back in history to the time when all visitors who landed on these shores loved Goa so much they wanted to possess her.
The Santa Monica then turns around and sails back to her jetty along the silent Mandovi, past the pretty cottages of Betim. The cruise is an hour long.
Full Moon Cruise / Special Cruise / Dinner Cruises
(Wednesday/Saturday)
Dep 8.30 pm Arr. 10.30 pm
Rs 400/- per head with dinner
The Dinner cruise leaves the Santa Monica Jetty at 8.30 pm. This is a two-hour cruise which takes you along the Rvier Mandovi from the jetty in the Santa Monica. There is lots of entertainment on board with young boys and girls dancing Goa's famous folk dances of dekhni and fugdi. There is live music or DJ music and all are invited to sing and dance and have a jolly good time, while the boat sails down the river.
You can take part in the merriment or you can look at the beauty of one of the most beautiful cities in India slipping gently past the Adil Shah Palace which was the first building in Panjim, being the summer palace of the Sultan. The boat sails past the beautiful colonial buildings, past the Promenade with its trees festooned in fairy lights, past the Miramar beach and then slowly back past the gentle shoreline of Verem and Betim on Mandovi River's northern bank and back to Santa Monica Jetty.
Refreshments and dinner is served on board with delicious fare of vegetarian and non-vegetarian culinary deltights.
Since this cruise begins late in the evening and ends late at night, guests are picked up and dropped back to their GTDC residencies.
BACK WATER THRILLS
Rs 700/- per head (inclusive of refreshment and lunch)
These are the famed cruises along the Mandovi’s mangrove lined banks, and the islands of Chorao and Divar and Old Goa.
The trip itself is like a trip back in time to the Goa of old where life was simple and beautiful. You see miles of lush greenery and thick mangroves. If you are lucky you may see a large crocodile sunning himself during his afternoon siesta. Huge barges glide soundlessly through the sparkling water of this slow moving river. As you go further upriver you see the loading docks where tons of iron ore are loaded on to the barge from tipper trucks.
You see nets tethered to wooden posts in the water to catch fish and a large number of canoes picking up river sand in buckets. The Shantadurga which carries 150 passengers or the 26-seater Poseidon which moves swiftly through the gentle waves. The boat docks at the Tropical Spice Garden at Sattari. This is a very successful spice garden that is absolutely organic, no chemicals are used as pesticides or fertilizer. A guide explains the intricacies of growing spices, their uses and he demonstrates the distillation process where the juice of cashew apples is used to make the delectable Goan urak and feni. There is a proper distillery working at the entrance of the spice garden, and guarding the entrance itself is a huge old elephant who also takes people for short rides. Guests are garlanded with flowers and after the tour of various spices like cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, pepper, all spice, etc the guests are welcomed to the restaurant with a ‘bath’ which is a ladle of cold spring water poured down their backs.
Everyone helps themselves at a buffet of Goan food that is not too pungent and not too bland. It is served on banana leaves arranged in a basket type dish. After a sumptuous lunch it’s back to the boat for a two-hour trip back to Panjim. The return trip is great fun if you are sitting in the front seating area of the Poseidon. The hot sun beats down on you and the refreshing wind and salt spray of the sea showers down on you. You don’t get drenched because the sun dries you up almost immediately. Don’t miss this trip, if you want to see unspoiled Goa or if you want to just lie back and relax.
This cruise is a must for bird-watchers. The cruise takes you close to the migratory and resident birds along the riverine tip of Dr Salim Ali’s Bird Sanctuary at Chorao Island. The Dolphin Fantasygets you to venture deep into the sea to watch the dark, graceful water beauties of river and sea dolphins in an ever playful mood. Watch as they teasingly swim right alongside the boat, like glossy laughing outriders.
