Goa to Coorg Honeymoon

Route: Goa Dabolim airport (GOI) to Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Benaulim, about 25 km

Your driver meets you at Goa airport and takes you to Taj Exotica, on the quiet Benaulim beach in South Goa. The resort is set in gardens that run down to the sand. A welcome of flowers and a small cake waits in your room.

The rest of the day is free. Walk on the beach at sunset, when the fishing boats come in, and have dinner at the resort.

Note on the flight: If you land at Mopa in North Goa, tell us before booking. The transfer to South Goa is much longer.

Experience of the Day

• Airport welcome and check-in

• Sunset on the beach

Food

Recommended: Dinner at the resort.

Must-Try: Goan fish curry with rice, and fresh seafood from the grill.

Activities to Do

• Walk on the beach

• Rest at the resort

Route: Benaulim – Cabo de Rama – Agonda – Palolem – Benaulim, about 110 km

Drive to Cabo de Rama, a fort with sea views over the cliffs, then to Agonda, a long curved beach with few buildings and fishing boats on the sand. Continue to Palolem for lunch at the shore. The sea in Goa has strong currents, and lifeguards are limited, so swim only where your guide or the hotel says it is safe.

Return to the resort in the afternoon. Swim in the pool, rest, or take a couples' massage. In the evening, a candlelit dinner is set for you on the beach or in the garden, depending on the weather.

Note on the dinner: The dinner is arranged with the resort. On a rough or rainy evening, it moves to a private table indoors.

Experience of the Day

• Cabo de Rama fort

• Agonda and Palolem beaches

• Candlelit dinner

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a beach shack. Candlelit dinner at the resort.

Must-Try: Grilled catch of the day and a cold coconut.

Activities to Do

• Optional couples' spa treatment

• Optional dolphin-watching boat trip

Route: Benaulim – Old Goa – Panjim – Fontainhas – Mandovi river – Benaulim, about 100 km

Old Goa was the capital of Portuguese India, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1986). Visit the Basilica of Bom Jesus, which holds the relics of St Francis Xavier, and the Se Cathedral, one of the largest churches in Asia.

Drive on to Panjim and walk the Latin Quarter of Fontainhas. Its narrow lanes have painted houses in yellow, blue and green, and small chapels. In the late afternoon, take a sunset cruise on the Mandovi river, with music and the lights of the city. Return to the resort for the night.

Note on church rules: Cover shoulders and knees in the churches. Visiting hours vary around services, and we confirm them. The cruise is a shared boat unless you ask for a private one, which costs extra.

Experience of the Day

• Basilica of Bom Jesus and Se Cathedral (UNESCO)

• Fontainhas Latin Quarter

• Sunset cruise on the Mandovi

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a Panjim restaurant. Dinner at the resort or in Panjim.

Must-Try: Goan sausage, prawn balchão and bebinca for dessert.

Shopping

Cashews, spices and feni (a local spirit) in Panjim.

Activities to Do

• Optional Goan cooking class together

Route: Goa Dabolim airport (GOI) – Bengaluru airport (BLR) – Siddapura, Coorg, about 280 km by road

Take the earliest available flight to Bengaluru. Your driver meets you at the airport and drives you south-west across the Karnataka plateau, through Mysuru country and into the hills of Coorg (Kodagu). The last stretch climbs through coffee, pepper and forest.

This is the longest road day of the honeymoon. We stop for lunch and a break on the way. Evolve Back stands on a working coffee estate, with private pool villas set among coffee and shade trees. A welcome drink waits at the villa.

Note on the long day: The Goa to Bengaluru flight is a separate domestic ticket. If the only flight lands in the afternoon, we advise a night in Bengaluru or Mysuru, so that you do not drive the hill road in the dark. This adds a night, and we price it before you book.

Experience of the Day

• Flight to Bengaluru

• Drive into the Karnataka hills

• Arrival at the pool villa

Food

Recommended: Lunch on the road. Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Kodava pandi curry with kadambuttu rice dumplings, or a vegetable thali.

Activities to Do

• Rest at the villa

• Swim in your private pool

Route: Coorg: coffee estate – private breakfast – villa

Start with a private breakfast among the coffee bushes. Coorg, or Kodagu, is home to the Kodava people, who have their own language, dress and martial traditions. Your guide takes you through the life of a coffee bean: the shade trees, the flowering and picking, the drying on large patios and the roasting. The harvest runs from about November to February, and the plants flower in March or April after the first showers.

The rest of the day is yours. Swim in your pool, take a couples' massage, or rest on the veranda. Taste the estate's coffee at the end of the day.

Experience of the Day

• Private breakfast on the estate

• Coffee estate walk and tasting

• Free afternoon

Food

Recommended: Private breakfast. Lunch and dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Kodava pandi curry, and filter coffee from the estate.

Shopping

Coffee beans, honey, pepper and cardamom.

Activities to Do

• Optional couples' spa treatment

• Optional cooking class with Kodava dishes

Route: Coorg: Talacauvery – Bhagamandala – Abbey Falls – Raja's Seat

Drive up to Talacauvery, the source of the Kaveri river, in the Brahmagiri hills. It is a sacred place, and the temple at the source is an active place of worship, so we confirm what visitors can see. The view from the hill is wide. Stop at Abbey Falls, which is strongest after the monsoon and thinner in the dry months.

Return to Madikeri for Raja's Seat, a garden viewpoint where the Kodava kings watched the sunset. In the evening, a private dinner is set for you on the estate, by lamplight.

Note on the dinner: The private dinner is arranged with the hotel. On a rainy evening, it moves under cover.

Experience of the Day

• Talacauvery and the Brahmagiri view

• Abbey Falls

• Raja's Seat at sunset

• Private estate dinner

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a local restaurant. Private dinner at the estate.

Must-Try: A Kodava meal with rice dumplings and pork or vegetable curry.

Activities to Do

• Optional visit to Madikeri Fort

Route: Madikeri – Kushalnagar – Bylakuppe – Mysuru, about 120 km

Drive down from the hills to Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in India. Visit the Namdroling Monastery, with its golden statues and bright paintings. Visitors are quiet in the prayer hall, and photographs are limited. We confirm the rules on the day.

Continue to Mysuru, the city of the Wodeyar kings. In the afternoon, visit Mysore Palace, the home of the Wodeyar kings, finished in 1912. The halls have stained glass, carved doors and painted ceilings. On Sunday evenings and on festival days, the palace is lit by thousands of bulbs.

Note on palace rules: Photography is not allowed inside the palace. We plan the visit for the late afternoon, when the crowds thin.

Experience of the Day

• Namdroling Monastery at Bylakuppe

• Mysore Palace

• Evening walk at Devaraja Market

Food

Recommended: Lunch at Bylakuppe, with Tibetan dishes. Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Momos and thukpa at Bylakuppe, and Mysore pak in the evening.

Shopping

Sandalwood, silk and incense in Mysuru.

Activities to Do

• Evening walk at the market

• Rest at the hotel

Route: Mysuru – Srirangapatna – Bengaluru airport (BLR), about 190 km

Leave Mysuru after a late breakfast and stop at Srirangapatna, the island fortress of Tipu Sultan. See the Daria Daulat Bagh, his summer palace, with painted walls. Then follow the expressway to Bengaluru airport.

We plan the drop around your departure time, and recommend a flight that leaves in the late afternoon or evening, to leave a margin for traffic near the city.

Experience of the Day

• Srirangapatna

• Drive to the airport

• Farewell