Four to seven nights. Two inland among the old houses of Chandor and Loutolim and the Latin quarter of Panjim, and the rest on the coast - the south for quiet, the north only if nightlife is genuinely wanted.

Hotels range from two large beach properties to a handful of restored Portuguese houses inland with six rooms and a cook. The houses are the interesting choice and they are not on the sand, which is a trade-off worth making deliberately.

November to March is the season. The monsoon from June shuts most of the coast, and the Konkan coast north into Maharashtra - almost untouched, with a few good small properties - is worth adding for guests who have seen Goa before.