Guides from where our homes are

Every place The House of Nivak has a home gets a guide: what to see, where to eat, when to come and how to get around, written from the home itself and dated, because places change.

Sunset over Palolem beach in South Goa, with the headland in silhouette

23 guides · written from SiolimGoa

More places, as homes open

When a new home joins the House, its place gets guides here too, written the same way.

Our homes

A few to start with

All Goa guides

The view from Rivara's balcony in Siolim: coconut palms and the Siolim bridge over the Chapora river

Places · 7 min read

Siolim: a slow guide to North Goa's river village

Old houses, church bells and river light on the Chapora, with the quiet north coast across the bridge and Anjuna a short drive south.

A typical Goan lunch of fish, curry and rice on a steel plate

Food and evenings · 10 min read

What to eat in Goa: twelve dishes, and where to try them

Coconut and kokum, red chillies and vinegar, a meal thought incomplete without fish, and a Portuguese thread running through it all. Start with fish curry rice at lunch and go from there.

Sunset over the rocks at Agonda beach, South Goa

Food and evenings · 7 min read

10 places for dinner by the water in Goa, north to south

River tables on the Chapora, clifftops and sand in the north, mangroves at Nerul and two long-day tables in the south, with the sunset time for every month of the season.

The still freshwater lake behind Arambol beach, ringed by jungle-covered hills, North Goa

Beaches and nature · 7 min read

Hidden Goa: quiet coves, island ferries and a lake behind the sea

Quiet corners that reward an early start: a lake behind the sea, a free ferry to a fort, coves you reach by boat, and a riverbank at dusk.

The laterite facade of the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa

Places · 8 min read

Old Goa, the river islands and Ponda: a day of churches, ferries and temples

Upriver from Panjim, Old Goa's great churches stand in quiet fields, free ferries cross to island villages, and inland Ponda keeps its temples and spice farms. Start early and it all fits in a day.

Misty palms and green fields in the monsoon rain, from Rivara's balcony in Siolim

Seasons and festivals · 9 min read

Goa in the monsoon: what closes, what's at its best, and where to stay

From June to September the sea closes and the shacks come down, and Goa turns a deep, glowing green. What stays open, what doesn't, and how to spend a rainy week well.

From the journal

How we choose and make our homes, and how to travel slowly, wherever you go.

The journal

Rivara's studio in the evening, with the olive curtains drawn and the warm lights on

From the House · 8 min read

How to choose a small stay you'll love: twelve things to check before you book

A good small stay tells you what it is before you ask. Twelve things to check on any listing, and when to book on a platform or directly.

Rivara's studio from the corner: the bed, the green velvet sofa, the open wardrobe and the Goa prints

From the House · 8 min read

Place first: what makes a House of Nivak home

No beach theme in the mountains and no mountain lodge by the sea: why every House of Nivak home takes its cue from its landscape, and what that decides.

A coconut palm heavy with fruit against a blue sky in Siolim

From the House · 8 min read

Slow travel in India: how to plan a trip around one place

Fewer places, longer stays, and days shaped by the weather and the neighbourhood rather than a list. A practical way to travel slowly in India, with Goa as the worked example.

The studio in the evening, with the olive curtains drawn and the warm lights on

Rivara, Siolim · now open

A small pause from everything else.

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