I just decided to quickly put together the tips I can think of for having a great New Year’s Eve in Goa because the emails are flowing in asking me about it! Goa is a notorious party place and with that comes a huge crowd of people from abroad but also all over India. The traffic is crazy and the prices skyrocket. I’m going to share a few tips for Goa on New Year’s Eve so you can make the most of your night.

5 Tips for Goa on New Year’s Eve

1. Taxi or scooter – not a rental car

The traffic is a mess on these small, winding roads. There are many places here where cars cannot pass in general, so you have to pull over and wait for a car to go. On NYE or other days with traffic, people don’t always think to pull over and they are basically in a head-on stand-off, then more traffic comes and it’s literally a standstill over pure stupidity. Because of this, you either want to be in a scooter that you can squeeze through traffic or you want to be in a taxi that you can just hop out and walk the rest of the way. In Anjuna beach, people actually have abandoned their cars during traffic and then it’s just a disaster.

2. Pick one place and stay there

This is for two reasons: entrance prices and traffic.

Traffic is a mess so it’s best to go out a little bit early and stay out. Entrance prices are a lot higher on NYE as well, so you might want to pay only one cover. Most will be around 2,000 Rs per person in a couple or maybe even 3,000 Rs if you are a single person. Drinks could be more expensive, too.

You will pay more if you are a single person going to a party, whereas couples pay a lower amount. This is so that the parties aren’t just a bunch of dudes!

Epic Goa Nightlife: Most Popular Party Places in Goa

3. Book accommodation ASAP

If you haven’t booked already, then get on it! The prices go up so much. You can check Agoda which usually gives the best rates in Asia. Also, check out my list of budget places to stay in Goa and boutique places to stay – but I bet they are mostly booked.

Definitely, try an Airbnb if you are in a group. Here are 14 cute Airbnb’s in Goa for all budgets.

If you do go for an Airbnb, you can use my link to get up to $40 off your booking if it’s a new account. Make sure you choose a place that has some reviews.

4. Find a good party

Hilltop is probably the most famous trance party on New Year’s Eve. I’ll embed a YouTube video below so you can see what the vibe is like. You can even book Hilltop online ahead of time. Most parties here will be trance, but you’ll find house music (I think it’s house?) at Chronicle and Waters.

Club Cubana, Sync, LPK, clubs on Tito’s Lane, Club Fresh, and other clubs like this will be packed and probably charge around 2,000 Rs. You can also check out beach shacks if you want to be near the sea, like Curlies or Shiva Valley.

Most parties will go well into the next day and around 10 AM a lot of people head over to Hilltop for an early morning party to finish off the night.

There are a lot of smaller cool parties but they don’t usually say where until closer to the date. I recommend looking at whatsupgoa.com to see NYE fliers and make a choice of where you’d like to party.

5. Don’t drink and drive

The roads here are full of curves, potholes, and speed bumps that you don’t notice until it’s too late. There will be drunk/high drivers which makes the roads more dangerous. Beyond that, there are police checkpoints set up all over town and they will pull you over – they randomly pull over any car they want to. There will also be undercover plain-clothes police at parties.

To be honest, I probably won’t go out this NYE. The past years I’ve spent a couple at Vaayu, which was cool, but the drive back from there is 30 minutes (without traffic) and it’s just a bad way to end a long night. I’ve also done a couple NYE at Teso when SOMA had parties, but I don’t even think they are doing one this year. Last year, I ended up at a trance house party which isn’t my vibe (I don’t like trance music sadly) and sat in traffic for ages. So, Ben and I are determined to avoid NYE altogether this year, haha!