India invites with a variety of beaches - golden sand or palm fringed shores, backwaters and lagoons, bays and marine estuaries. The seafood cuisine, relaxing spas, water sports and great places to stay beckon travelers from around the world.

Goa offers the best holiday villages on its beaches. The Goan landscape, dotted with Portuguese architecture, exudes an old world charm. The Anjuna Beach with it its gentle waters offer opportunities for boat rides, sea scooter rides, spot-the-dolphins rides and motorboat rides. The Calangute Beach is a little rocky but has wonderful food places around it. The Miramar Bay in Panjim and the Colva and Benaulim beaches are less crowded. The Fort Aguada beach offers gorgeous views that merit a visit. Sinquerim and Candolim are quiet beaches that afford anonymity.

Kovalam is undoubtedly one of India's best sea resorts. The long coastline lined with swaying coconut palm trees dotted with an occasional fishing hamlet is developing into one of the world's finest string of beaches. The beach temple in Mahabalipuram, gloriously silhouetted against the spectrum of the seven colours in the sky, are an amazing experience.

Puri, on the East Coast, is one of the world's most picturesque beaches. The best beach destination is the Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshwadeep Islands, with its coral reefs and green waters that come alive with the myriad colours of fish.

From the isolated horizons of the Konkan Coast or the Arabian Sea; the golden sands or the palm fringed seashores, every beach in India makes a picture perfect holiday destination.