Candolim is one of the quieter beach stretches along North Goa's coast, sitting between the busier Calangute to the south and the walls of Fort Aguada to the north. The beach is long and wide, backed by a mix of shacks, guesthouses, and the occasional colonial-era villa half-hidden behind palm trees.
The area draws visitors who want Goa's beach life without the full-throttle party scene of Baga or Anjuna. Candolim Beach and its shacks serve fresh seafood and cold Kingfishers, and the main road running parallel to the coast has a good concentration of restaurants, from cheap Goan thalis to more polished places. Fort Aguada, built by the Portuguese in 1612 to guard the mouth of the Mandovi River, sits at the southern tip of the peninsula and is an easy walk down Sinquerim Beach. The old Aguada Lighthouse and the Fort Aguada Jail Museum sit within the same complex and are worth combining into a single morning.