ROADS, Goa

Goa Bus Services:
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Taxis in Goa are NOT cheap, and in peak season they are quite costly (I am talking in terms of INR, for USDs/EUROs they are quite cheap :)). I was there for xMas and from Colva beach (south goa) if I had to go to Baga beach(north goa), they would charge me minimum 1600 to 1800 Rs. Return fare would be 2000 to 2500 Rs.
Because its ~60 KMs. Easier approach is to take city buses. Few facts about them
1. they operate till 8 pm only.
2. From south goa , you have to go to Madgaon bus Station to catch bus.
3. From north goa , you can catch bus on major roads, near beaches. Ask any shopkeeper/police man there and they would tell you. There are NO dedicated bus stops as such. Just raise your hand and they would stop the bus.
4. There are NO buses directly from North to South goa or Vice versa. You have to go to Panjim and change there.
5. If you are in South Goa , go to Madgaon by Auto/Taxi or Local Bus , go to counter which says NonStop buses to Panjim. Take a ticket and reach Panjim in 30-40 mins .From Panjim , take bus going to Calangate beach , chandolim beach would come on the way. Last stop is Calangate and Baga beach.
6. If you are in North Goa , catch a Bus going to Panjim from the road, reach Panjim bus stop in 20 mins time. From there go counter which says non-stop service tp Madgaon , grab a ticket ( ~22 Rs) and reach Madgaon. From there , ask for local buses at enquiry to go to place of interest.

Buses are cheap and quite fast.
About Goa Bus Sectors:::Goa is actually a state and not a city. Its got two districts, North Goa and South Goa. River Mandovi does the bifurcation.
South goa is more for family and leisure kind of place like temples, churches, ancient and historical buildings(Old Goa), museums etc though its got beaches also like Colva ( Kind of beaches in Goa ). Panjim which is capital of Goa is also part of south Goa though its almost at boundary of it.Major casinos of Goa are in Panjim. Main city of south goa is Madgaon which has got railway and bus
stations. If you are reaching Goa by train or bus, mostly you will land to Madgaon .
North Goa is more youth and happenig with beaches like Baga, Chandolim , Calangatge( queen of beaches ). Most of the night clubs are near Baga beach.

I hired a moped/scooter for a few days so as to get around and see the sights in Goa. It was my first time on one so it took a while to get used to but after that I really enjoyed it. The roads in Goa are in a better condition than elsewhere in India plus there are no cows wandering around! Just remember to where a crash helmet as you might get pulled over by the police who stop people by the large bridge near Panaji (see warning tips). It cost Rs200 per day and I hired it from a place next to where I was staying - Coco Banana's in Calangute.

renting bikes and traveling around goa is the best way to get around. however, i found rs 250 for a gearless scooter a bit high...i was able to bargain for a 100cc geared motorcycle for rs150...u also do the same

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Buses are by far the cheapest and best way to get around Goa. We took advice from a travel agent on how to get from Calangute to Palolem beach in the south. We had to take 3 seperate buses and thought this would be a bit of a nightmare, not at all, every changeover you ask a station boy where the next stance is and he will run in front shouting at you to hurry and lo and behold the next bus is there. The conductors on the buses have a whistling communication with the driver, whistled in different `keys` to let the driver know when to stop, start etc. The journey took us 4 hours but it was so entertaining it was not at all boring. We were even sold oranges through the bus window whilst stuck in traffic. The whole journey cost about 150 rupees for both of us about 2 pounds! Great day and good way to see the country. The locals on the bus were so friendly if not a bit curious about us. Everyone was helpful.

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If you're single or Couples then best way to explore Goa is via bike. And if ask how it is possible then I would say -- Bike Hire -- You are free to choose from scootes, bikes & Enfield.

In peak season the rental price will be around -
Scooter -Rs 300
Bike - Rs 400-450
Enfield - Rs 500 & above.

It is necessary to check the legal documents & papers of the hired bikes. Unauthorized bike rental is illegal in GOA

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Taxis are everwhere in Goa they will find you they are inexpensive and they will take you just about anywhere,that includes further a field e.g the waterfalls , palolem or any other beach in the region and wait for you all in the cost. Always a agree price. you will probably find you may use the same driver during most of your stay.The buses are mad they get packed and are hustle and bustle but fun.Preffered choice is motor scooter A to B its up to me. Petrol is cheap aswell. Pomp your horn when you overtake another road user ...The trains I believe are a must,very popular and you will probably find you will need to book a seat in advance of your visit to Goa, on the internet. I am going by train Goa to Hampi in April and booked my tickets on the internet.Its fairly simple. www.seat61.com is a good site for information on indian rail for beginners.

The best way to xplore Goa on your own is on a two wheeler. U can get either a scooter(geared as well as ungeared-- the latter being the more popular and easy to use) or the relatively heavier motorcycles. I got the gearless Honda Activa scooter for Rs 250 bucks a day without fuel.. I guess if you are hiring for a long time.. more than 2-3 days you can bargain off say another 50 bucks from it.
The bikes are available all around once u are on the road. Usually the taxi guys keep the numbers of people who have bikes available for hire.. I think out of the Rs 250 per day that I paid 50 bucks would have gone to him. Heres a mobile number of one of the guys who rents his own scooter.. maybe you can get a better deal.. 09764269014.. Pratap(name)

These light scooters ride about 30-40 km on 1 litre of petrol. So fuel it according to needs. Usually..the guys renting it to you would give it to you almost empty.. at times just enuf to reach the gas station:-)

Gas stations are at pretty distances(by Goan standards). For instance theres no gas station at Candolim/Calungate the two most touristy places in Goa. Theres one about 5 km from Candolim and theres one which is close to Vagator. Prices are around Rs 45 for a litre or about $1.1 per litre.. its also available at some shops in bottles who obviously charge more(abt Rs 60 or $1.5 a litre) and are half spurious... mixed with other fuels(not gud for the engine)

A lot of people take the train to Goa.. There are 2-3 train stations and if you need to take a taxi theres a pre paid counter which is sort of reasonable.
However if you are taking pre paid taxi from "inside" you are getting a bad deal. We took a taxi from inside the airport.. pre paid with the guys screaming to get attention of passengers to be fooled.. They charged us Rs 850 one way from airport to Candolim.. abt 45-50 km or I hour journey. This we later found to be 30-35% more than what we bargained while getting from Candolim to airport on our return journey. The only difference was a relatively better car while going to Candolim but an atrocius driver, the guy just didnt listen to us.. he was in such a hurry that atleast 3-4 times we felt our holiday is ending even before it started with a road accident. The driver's name was Salauddin(short guy somewhat dark with specs).. if you end up with him just make sure you let him go and take another one. I think the better option while getting down to town from airport is to go out and take one of the black and yello taxis which I am sure would charge at least 100-150 bucks($2.5-3.75 less).
From Candolim general taxi guys would ask for about Rs 750 but can be easily bargained down to Rs 650 for an airport drop.. if you drive harder you may be able to knock off another 50-100 bucks I think.