Here is something a bit different in South Goa. Our first floor apartment is in a private house in a quiet residential area of Benaulim overlooking a superb view of paddy fields and palm plantations. It is ideal for those who do not want the usual busy holiday complex with pool and so it is perhaps more suited to the maturer visitor... but of course families with children are more than welcome. It is 5 minutes by tuk-tuk (10 minutes by bicycle) from the fabulous Benaulim beach which is itself in the centre of the 13 mile long 'Queen of Beaches'. There are many excellent beach restaurants at Benaulim beach with every kind of food available at extremely good prices. In Benaulim itself there are also a number of excellent well-priced restaurants. The apartment is beautifully furnished with fans in every room and A/C and European style sprung mattresses in both bedrooms. The main bedroom has a King size double bed and the second bedroom has two single beds. There is also a camp bed available with bedding for a possible fifth visitor. We use this spacious apartment ourselves as a home from home for 2 months of the year and so all mod cons are there. Included in these are access to Wifi, a washing machine, drying rack, all towels and linen, hob, microwave, large fridge/freezer, Sky TV, DVD player, large free-standing fan, iron and ironing board etc. One of the most attractive features of the property is the full property length balcony accessed either from the main bedroom, the kitchen or the living room via big French windows. The second bedroom has its own private balcony and there is also a front terrace. From the main balcony there is a superb peaceful 180 degree view from which one can watch the amazing birdlife, water buffalo etc. On the very sunny roof terrace we have two quality cushioned sunbeds and umbrellas. Also included in the overall price is collection from Dabolim airport (or a Rs1500 contribution towards collection from Mopa airport in North Goa), use of an Indian pay-as-you-go mobile phone (for cheap calls to arrange a Tuk-Tuk) and a welcome pack of basic food, water and beer in the fridge to get you started. The property's owner, Sandra, a lovely lady and her son live on the ground floor and are available to assist at any time if necessary. For a two week stay or more, cleaning and mopping through is available at a nominal extra cost by arrangement through Sandra downstairs. If you are not familiar with Goa, Benaulim is situated centrally in what we feel is the best (for many reasons) part of South Goa which is itself far nicer than the North which is very much more commercialised and more expensive for everything... so if you do fancy Goa then you genuinely could not do much better. It is about 30 minutes from the airport. PLEASE NOTE: COLLECTION FROM DABOLIM AIRPORT IS AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE IF WANTED (OR A Rs 1500 CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS YOUR COLLECTION FROM MOPA AIRPORT IN THE NORTH OF GOA). Margao, the main city of South Goa, is 15 minutes away by tuk-tuk if you need something that is not available locally and/or want to experience the delightful chaos of an Indian city! It is well worth a visit. From the UK, Goa itself can be accessed by daily scheduled flights from Heathrow via Mumbai. Also Air India direct flights from Gatwick to Mopa are available. Direct charter flights into Goa are also possible between the beginning of November to mid April from Manchester and Gatwick. Please note that for charter flights you had best get seats booked early as there are only a limited number of flights per week and they tend to get booked up fairly quickly with regular ‘Goa Goers’. So if you fancy an apartment in South Goa different from those usually being offered you will not go wrong with ours.