Skip Baga and Calangute and base in Saligao, a quiet heritage village inland. Hit the Saturday Night Market at nearby Arpora for food and music, and rent a Royal Enfield from an established local garage — agree the price and check the papers, avoid the beachfront touts.

Take the free ferry to Divar, a sleepy island of old Portuguese churches, rice paddies, and almost no tourists. Cycle the lanes, climb to the Piedade church for the view, lunch at a village taverna.

Drive south to Cabo de Rama, an old clifftop fort with huge sea views and a quiet beach below that most tourists never reach. Time it for sunset on the ramparts; the shacks here are small, local, and fair to their staff.

End at Agonda, a long, calm beach that's everything Baga isn't — yoga, turtles nesting in season, and seafood shacks that treat their staff right. A gentle place to wind down before the trip home.