Getting from Dabolim Airport to the city

First, which airport

• Goa has two international airports. Dabolim, in the south near Vasco, and Manohar International at Mopa, in the north near Pernem.
• They are about 70 km apart and serve opposite ends of the state.
• Check your booking. Arriving at Dabolim with a hotel in Anjuna, or at Mopa with one in Palolem, turns a 40 minute transfer into a two hour one.
• Dabolim is the closer airport for south Goa: Colva, Benaulim, Palolem, Agonda.

The shuttle bus

• Kadamba, the state transport corporation, runs air conditioned Volvo buses to Dabolim.
• Six a day from Panjim, six a day from Calangute, and back.
• The fare is 100 rupees from Panjim and 150 from Calangute.
• Book online at goakadamba.com or through redbus.in if you want a guaranteed seat; the service has filled up since it was relaunched.
• The Calangute end has several pick up points, including the KFC roundabout, the football ground and Dolphin Circle.

Taxis

• The prepaid counter quotes about 1,100 to 1,200 rupees to Panaji.
• After 22:00 a 500 rupee night surcharge is added.
• An SUV is a few hundred more than a sedan.
• Use the prepaid counter. Goa's taxi trade is tightly organised and app based cabs have had a difficult time of it here; a fare agreed at a counter before you walk out is the way to avoid an argument on the kerb.

The arithmetic

• A hundred rupees against twelve hundred is a ratio you will not see at most airports.
• The catch is the timetable. Six buses a day is not a turn up and go service, and if your flight does not line up with one, the taxi is the only option.
• For a group of three or four the taxi stops looking absurd, but for one or two travellers with the time, the bus is the obvious choice.