Agonda Beach, South Goa — where the school is
A three-kilometre stretch of white sand, a turtle nesting site, and a village that has deliberately stayed quiet. This is where every course is taught.
Goa, and then the quiet end of it
Goa sits on the Konkan coast on the western side of India, and it is known for its beaches, its churches and the people who come from all over the world for both. English is widely spoken, which is one practical reason the school is here.
Panaji, the capital, still runs on Portuguese influence — you see it in the architecture, the gardens, the statues, even the houses. It is full of cafés and cobbled lanes and is a good day out.
Agonda is the other Goa. It is south of all that, and it is where you go when the party version is not what you came for.
About Agonda Beach
A long stretch of white sand and a small village. The quiet here is the point: it slows time down enough that you end up paying attention to yourself, which is convenient, because that is what the courses ask of you anyway.
The beach is a nesting site for the Olive Ridley turtle, which is endangered. The village administration keeps noise and development deliberately low to protect them. That is why Agonda has stayed as it is while other beaches have not.
It is a good place to put the phone down. Most students find the disconnection harder than they expect for two days and then stop noticing.
What it looks like
How to get here
By plane
61 km
The nearest airport is Dabolim, on the edge of Vasco da Gama — about 61 km (38 miles) away.
By train
9 km
Canacona station is 9 km (5.5 miles) from Agonda. Margao is further at 36 km (22 miles) but far more trains stop there.
By bus
Via Margao
Buses run from Mumbai and other major cities to Margao. From there an auto or a local bus brings you to Agonda.
The weather, and what to expect of it
Agonda is warm and fair almost all year. Temperatures rarely go above 33°C (91°F) or below 20°C (68°F) — which is why the course season runs October to April.
The beach is dotted with huts, villas and small resorts, plus rooms in Goan family homes. Prices are noticeably lower than at Palolem, the busier beach up the coast.
The turtles are not a marketing detail
A village that agreed to stay dark and quiet at night, for years, so that a turtle most of them will never see can come ashore and lay eggs, is a village that has decided something about how it wants to live.
You feel it when you arrive. It is the same argument the courses make about a person, made about a place.
Before you travel
- Where you stayThe four room types at the school
- QuestionsVisas, money, what to bring
- Dates and fees
Come and see for yourself
The courses run October to April on Agonda Beach. Tell us roughly when you could travel and what drew you here.