Explore the Best of North Goa by Car (Guided Full Day City Sightseeing Tour)

Day trip to North Goa by car

The day trip we had to North Goa was excellent. Our tour guide, Mr. Caesar Pareira , went with us and did a fantastic job of narrating the locations we went. We reserved a private tour for three-person in a sedan car. What we ended up with, though, was a small car, where the three of us had to cram into the back. When we asked the tour operator M/s Yo Tour (I believe they are the local operators that get contracts from Trip Advisor) to provide a roomier car, one of their staff members replied that was their standard procedure and that we would have to reserve a car for five people. Later on, though, we learned from the driver that M/s Yo Tour had the option to switch to one of their roomier vehicles. The driver also revealed that these tour companies don't have offices in Goa; instead, they outsource contracts. Here, we offer our insights to help our fellow travelers learn from our mistakes. Due to the fact that the tour companies' overall fees are far more than the value of the services they provide. If such a service is scheduled locally from Goa, the cost could be almost halved. Our tour guide, Mr. Caesar Pareira, was outstanding, and we heartily suggest other travelers seek him out.

A fantastic tour for families seeking flexibility and fun!

I would highly recommend this tour! We joined Anthony from a cruise ship with 2 children and our ship docked very late, but Anthony was fantastic at making the most of the time we had and being flexible with what we wanted to see and how long we wanted to stay at each stop. He was very knowledgeable about Goa and its history, and allowed us to feel very relaxed by making our safety and comfort his number one priority! He even RAN back to a market stall to collect a watch for my son who had desperately wanted it, but bartered too low 😅 The tour was also incredible value for money compared to the cruise ship excursions and covered all the “must see” sights. Anthony and Yo Goa Tours were also fantastic when it came to communicating our ship was arriving late and arranging a new start time and pick up place. Thank you, Anthony for a five star experience - according to my son, it was the best tour he’s every done! 🤩

Disappointing

Through Viator we booked a car and driver from Yo Tours to pick us up in Goa at the port. On the morning of the tour the driver messaged and demanded an additional payment. After this he ignored our messages and did not come to the port or advise us that they were not coming despite knowing we were there and waiting. We had already paid over $150. Viator have refused to consider our request for reimbursement or offer any assistance.

Amazing and so different tour, so Richard in culture and history.

First at all I have to mention the excellent Guide and Driver Joaquim, I enjoied so much his huge knowlegement of history and geography. Beautiful places specially the center of churches, the landcapes and the beaches. Thanks so much.

Guided Tour North Goa

Our guide was Joe who took us to see the local historical and contemporary sites. He was extremely knowledgeable and flexible with the day’s arrangements. We learnt so much about the interesting history of Goa. Vinod was a great driver. We had a wonderful day and I would really recommend.

Awesome North Goa tour

We had an awesome tour of North Goa. Our guide Joe was extremely knowledgeable of Goan history and the impacts of the Portuguese. We tour many Catholic churches, a few Hindu temples and one of the highlights was the Dona Paula and forts. He answered all of our historical questions and was very friendly. We definitely recommend this tour and Joe!!!

Simply Awesome

It was excellent. Our guide Mr. Ceaser was very knowledgeable and friendly. Hats off for him. And the driver Mr. Mohammed was very nice and gentle. Overall unmatchable experience.

We Leaned So Much About Goa

Joe was a wonderful tour guide. He discovered that we were interested in the local Catholic churches and Saints, and he spent extra time and energy touring and explaining this to us. He adapted the tour when we wanted to stop for a souvenir or needed a bathroom break. We had a fantastic day and felt very well taken care of by Joe! We would highly recommend his tour of Goa.

5 star

I m so happy with stay at karma . And staff is also very good. I like the stay in karma. Great experience staying at Karma Palms Very good hospitality ..also the hotel is family & kids friendly ...a few staff would like to mention crupa , defeni

Great tour for families, definitely recommend getting a personal car.

The tour is an amazing experience. Anand was very knowledgeable and showed us a true Goan experience with churches. We could spend as much or as little time at various stops. We had lunch at Viva Panjim and that was a delightful stop. Walk through Fontainas is a must. There are little bakeries that you go past and definitely worth stopping in them. Just need to ensure that you have something to cover up legs/shoulders while going through active churches.

Wonderful day tour of Goa

We had a very fulfilling day tour of North Goa. We learned about the history and culture of the city and enjoyed visiting everywhere on the itinerary. Our tour guide was wonderful and treated us to an afternoon drink and suggested the perfect lunch location on the beach. Our driver took us safely all around town. Highly recommend!

A fascinating tour

A really interesting tour thanks to the knowledge of our guide Joe. He gave us loads of information about the places we visited and life in Goa more generally.

Great expectations

Great trip with options. Guide offers multiple avenues and excellent history. Driver also stayed while we ate lunch at the best fusion restaurant!

Goa experience

we requested SUV for sight seeing with driver & guide. Instead guide came in a smaller sedan with driver. I was charged for SUV 100.00 $. They could not get replacement SUV. Guide was good. I was unhappy about this situation

Best of Goa

Tour guide was very knowledgeable about history and place. She also had good language skills in English.

Shorter than expected, but efficient tour

Arriving in Panaji early in the morning by overnight bus from Mumbai, I was surprised to find the vibe rather sleepy with many places around the bus stand not open yet despite the influx of passengers from private bus operators. I knew the earliest time the tour was offered was 9 am, but I suppose in the future, it could be more marketable if tours had the option to begin earlier, as I was not the only tourist arriving by bus to Goa in the early morning. Another suggestion is that the tour company could contact me a bit earlier (12+ hours before the tour starts) so that I didn't have to take as much initiative in making sure the tour went on as planned. Overall, I enjoyed the tour, though technically it only lasted 4 hours when the website suggests that it would be the whole day. My tour guide Avi, however, was very knowledgeable about the city and provided an efficient tour. He provided me with confidence to walk the city by myself the next day to see the Serendipity art festival event. We walked through Fontainhas, ancient churches in Old Goa (Basilica of Bom Jesus, Catholic Church of St Francis of Assisi, Se Cathedral, St Cajetan Church) decorated with nativity scenes for Christmas, Fort Aguada and Candolim Beach before dropping me off at my hotel near Miramar. I absorbed a lot of information in limited time, though further improvements as mentioned above might hopefully make the tour even better.

Not to be missed day-trip!

History came alive and beautiful Goa delighted the senses! Our guide Narayan was splendid in narrating the fascinating history of Goa and our driver Mahmat, was brilliant at navigating the traffic with sparing use of the horn 😁 It was 8 full hours of interesting facts and sights, and we are in love with Goa....definitely a must-return location. And thank you to our guide Narayan, and our driver Mahmat, who both made our day so much better 🙏

Beware of last minute cancelations!

This operator canceled on us at 10:09pm the night before our excursion was booked. There were other people on our ship that also had their trip canceled the night before at this port. Beware. You may want to book your excursion through your ship at this port.

Overall Good Tour

This was a solid tour by Joe. He gave us a good perspective into Goa, churches and the historical Portuguese influence in this wonderful city. He was amicable to any changes we wanted and was helpful in answering questions. Only suggestions is to have less in the itinerary as it can be too much to cover in one day. Regardless Joe and the team was accommodating to the changes we requested. I recommend taking this tour if you are in Goa.

Very enjoyable tour in Goa

Very joyfully tour in Goa with guidance of Anthony and a pleasant driver. Anthony was the tourist guide. He provided good insights about the sights visited. He accommodated some of my requests (e.g. place to have lunch). Its certainly tour that i would recommended .

Great tour of North Goa

Loved the tour of Fort Aguada, colonial churches and of Fontainhas. The tour guide was very enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge of historical facts of Goa. He was very responsive to customizing the tour to our needs. And he bought us lemonade!

Amazing experience at North Goa tour!

It was a wonderful experience. Our tour guide Joe gave us lots of information. We made the right decision by selecting this tour at the end.

Must do when in Goa

This was a great experience. It was pretty much the highlight of our trip to India. Joe is an excellent guide. Very passionate and knowledgeable. Without this tour we would not have learnt so much about the rich history associated with Goa. From the Forts to the Churches to the Food.

Must experience!!

Tour was very well organised and laid out, our guide Joe was very well spoken and knowledgeable about all areas. Arrived to our hotel on time and was friendly and had an excellent time. Would highly recommend to anyone coming to Goa

Nice trip

Lovely walk around the old city & few landmarks. Recommended. Unfortunately the St. Sebastian's church has been closed by Govt for some repair.

Extraordinary experience with Joe

We had a great time with Joe and the driver, Altaf! Joe is very knowledgeable and quite witty. He planned our trip very efficiently. We were able to enjoy the different attractions in the true Goan style!

Nice tour with possibility for improvement

It was a good tour during the Monsun time. We visited the Aguada Fort, the old town of Goa and some Churches. We friendly asked the guide for some breakfast place because we started the tour very early. He brought us to a nice Café in the old town with very tasty coffee and breakfast. We did not get any included bottles of water. Furthermore the guide did not have any umbrellas in the car - to note in Monsun Time - only for himself. Also the driver did not have a tourist license to get us around.

The Guide provided was...

The Guide provided was very good. However the car and driver was not good. Had received injury because of the miserable driving.

Highly recommended

We had one of the most insightful experiences with our guide, Mario, from Yo Tours. One must definitely do the tour.

Short but sweet

I went to goa in December and did this full day sight seeing tour in goa with Yo tours. My guide Vrushali was really good, friendly and knows places quite well. She showed me around the city and while tour was well organised. Thank you.

Tour

I did a free walking tour with them. Host was on time and also informative. Must experience. Atleast for once

Best Experiences...!!!!

We did full day tour to explore northern Goa with Vrushali. She was amazing host and she took us to visit different places and It was really nice to visit such beautiful places. We would like to suggest other tourists to must try these tours with Yo tours. And we are looking forward to join there other tours in other cities as well.

Amazing tour!!

Vrushali take us to various locations in Goa. She explained us the historic monuments and culture everything very well. I liked Sinquerim beach. I must suggest you to visit this beach if you are in Goa.

Excellent Full day sight scene tour of Goa

We had a great fun while visiting most famous places in one day by a car. We were in Goa for 1 day and we wanted to cover as much as possible. And we did this tour with yo tours. We learned so much about goa and guide was very friendly and informative. We will recommend this tour for sure

Awesome tour in North Goa

A day well spent - that is all I have since 10:30AM until 5PM. The agency took my booking at the last minute and arranged very quickly. The tour guide (Vrushali) has been very patient and professional throughout the tour - all key points of interest have been covered in detail. Felt I know a whole lot more about Goa within a day - will definitely come back. Highly recommended!