Goa Shore Excursion with Spice Plantation & Old Goa

Goa tour

Attractions to see were too far apart and guide did not really explain what to do. Just too hot, which is not anyone's fault.

Unreliable India Tours

We had this booked for many months. It is titled a SHORE EXCURSION. One day before the tour the operator advised us the Spice Plantation visit was being eliminated, the included lunch was eliminated, the price remained the same. It was alleged there was insufficient time to do the offered tour. The ship times in port were never changed. We found a taxi right at the port that took us on the entire itinerary including the Spice Plantation and the lunch at the Spice Plantation. We arrived back at the pier two hours before ship departure. It took additional communications with Trip Advisor to get a full refund as we were not notified of the changes until inside the 24 hour cancellation window. We have booked many tours through Trip Advisor over the years with great results. All three tours we booked for our time in India were significantly downgraded at the last minute (2 tours) and our full day trip from New Delhi to Agra was cancelled.

Well-organized shore excursion from port in Goa

This tour got off to an excellent start as we quickly found Lijo Jose upon exit from our cruise ship. We were promptly escorted to our mini-bus and introduced to the guide and driver. The bus was clean but the ride was occasionally rough due to road conditions. Complimentary bottled water was offered several times. The guide was knowledgeable and readily answered questions. He gave us "breaks" from his narrative which helped me with processing the information. Stops were as expected. The visit to a small spice plantation was enjoyable. We returned to the ship well before it was scheduled to depart. I highly recommend this tour company (Muziris Heritage)!

Very interesting tour of Goa

The organisation of the tour, from pick-up to drop-off was very good, with Lijo Hose waiting at the exit of the "cruise terminal" (basically just a shed) with his corporate sign clearly displayed. The bus was reasonably well presented, being clean both inside and out. The ride was a little bouncy, but this was much more to do with the poor condition of the roads than the bus suspension. The tour started with a visit to a Hindu temple, although s we were a bit early there wasn't much actually happening so very little to see. Next stop was a part of old Goa which has a high concentration of old Portuguese style houses and building dating back some 200 years or more. Due to the climate and cost of maintaining these building they were, generally, in rather poor condition, but it was very interesting to see this European influence in the area. This is a living/working of Goa and so not really a tourist destination, which was surprising. The tour then went on to visit the cathedral which houses the remains of Saint Francis Xavier. Again very Portuguese influence in architectural style. From the cathedral the tour then went on to visit the spice plantation. While it was interesting to see and have some explanation of the different spices grown on the plantation, the area shown is very small (the plantation is some 80 hectares) and became quite congested due to the number of people arriving on cruise ship tours. A buffet lunch, prepared using some of the spices grown, was provided and was very tasty; however it was explained that the spices were greatly toned down to suit the Western pallet. The tour then returned to the cruise terminal, but due to some unexplained problem with the return roads, the driver took a major detour (which neither he nor the guide new the correct way back to the port). As a consequence quite a lot of Goa was seen that wasn't on the tour route. Overall a thoroughly enjoyable tour.