In this traveling blog, I am going to provide you guys with the all the information about Divar Island.
Ever thought of planning a trip to some island during your vacations?
I am sure many of you might have thought of visiting an island at least once or even more than once. But, the thought of visiting an island remains a thought only due to three not so “big” or “important” reasons in real but these reasons succeed in involving our mind in a lot of unnecessary thinking. And ultimately, our plan gets cancelled.
These reasons could be anything, starting from lack or no knowledge about the place to be visited OR something as important as budget.
WHERE IS DIVAR ISLAND SITUATED?
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Divar Island is an island situated in the state of Goa, Indian and the district being North Goa. The Divar Island is the most popular and loved location to be visited by the tourists all around the world.
The beautiful Divar Island is positioned on the banks of Mandovi River (also known by the name Mahadayi). The river Mandovi or Mahadayi is treated as the life preserver or the lifeline of the state of Goa. The Island is set between two bigger islands – Chorao and Tiswaddi.
The Divar Island is raised up to 8 meter (or 26 feet)
Getting to know about the Divar Island in brief, let us move further into the blog to get to know about the answers of some of the most commonly asked questions related to Divar Island.
HOW TO REACH DIVAR ISLAND?
To enjoy with your family and friends in Divar Island, you must know about how to reach this beautiful island.
One can’t reach Divar Island simply by road. In order to reach Divar Island, you need to take the assistance of one of the three ferries (ferry is a passenger boat or passenger ship to cover a short distance).
Now, let us learn about the route by which these three ferries travel.
The first ferry, which you can get from Old Goa ( close to Viceroy’s Arch), travels to the southern part of Divar Island. So, you can opt for this particular ferry if you want to go to the south side of Divar.
The east of the island is connective to Naroa in the district of Bicholim by the second ferry. The last ferry runs from Ribandar to the southwest of the island.
Where to purchase tickets from?
You can easily purchase the tickets of these ferries at the time of boarding itself, from the ticket counter itself.
What are the timings of these ferries?
As Divar Island remains open from 8 am to 7 pm (all 7 days of the week), the timings in which these ferries operate, remain between 8 am to 7 pm.
As now you know everything about these ferries, start planning your trip to Divar Island for your next vacations.
PLACES TO VISIT NEAR DIVAR ISLAND (APART FROM BEACHES)
There are many enjoyable places located near Divar Island. Having an overview about these places would turn out to be beneficial for your trip to the island. Let us acknowledge some of these places.
Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
This famous church is situated at a distance of 10.9 kilometres (km) from Divar Island, which will take about 38 minutes to reach the church. It is located in the capital city of Goa that is, Panaji (also known as Panjim). The church is decorated with colourful and bright lights on 8 December every year in response to the Festival of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.
Dr. SALIM ALI BIRD SANCTUARY
It is a journey of 45 minutes approximately from Divar via the Bicholim Road whereas the length of the journey shortens to 16 minutes if you are travelling via Charao Ribandar (southwest of Divar). The sanctuary’s name is kept after the name of the Indian ornithologist, Salim Ali.
FONTAINHAS
The journey to Fontainhas from Divar is of estimate 39 minutes. Fontainhas is a heritage building in the capital city of Goa, Panaji. The building is an elderly Latin Quarter in Panaji. Though you can explore Fontainhas on your own but you can enjoy exploring Fontainhas through some assembled walks too, which cost not more than 500 rupees per person. And the guides to these walks will tell you many interesting tales about Fontainhas.
SE CATHEDRAL
Se Cathedral is another tourist attraction when talking about some famous places near Divar Island, located in old Goa. It is a 27 minutes long journey by the road to Divar (North) Ferry Terminal. Apart from being one of the most early buildings of Goa, it is also considered as the largest church in Asia, built by the Roman Catholics under the rule of Portuguese.
ARCH OF VICEROY OR VICEROY’S ARCH
The journey to Viceroy’s Arch from the Divar Island is 24 minutes long. The Arch is situated in old Goa. The Arch was constructed in the year 1599 by Viceroy Francisco da Gama, who was the grandson of Vasco da Gama. The Arch consists of a statue of Vasco da Gama at its base.
REIS MAGOS FORT
So, the journey of Reis Magos Fort from Divar is about 50 minutes long. The fort is located in Verem village of Goa. It is built by Adil Shah. Reis Magos is another place near the island which deserves your visit.
The list of the places to be visited near Divar is long but these five are the most famous and visited places by the tourist.
WHERE TO STAY IN DIVAR ISLAND?
If you are planning to visit Divar Island anytime soon in the future, then knowing about the places where you can stay becomes important as you want your stay to be comfortable. Keeping this is mind, I have prepared a list of five hotels nearby Divar in order to make your stay comfortable.
Mercure Goa Devaaya Retreat (2.0 km from central Divar)
The first hotel in the list is Mercure Goa Devaaya Retreat. Despite having the wonderful location and a group of humble staff, it is well maintained in terms of its cleanliness, infrastructure, dining and has many facilities to offer to its guests.
The facilities which the hotel provides to its guests are-
- Fitness centre (includes yoga classes too)
- Spa facilities
- Indoor/outdoor pool
- Free WiFi
- Free parking
- Beauty services
- Steam room
- Pool/beach towels
Moradia dos Quadros (850 m from central Divar)
Moradia dos Quadros. The hospitality provided to the guests is excellent. The entire place is so calming.
The facilities which the hotel provides to its guests are –
- Doctor on call
- Rental Vehicle
- Barbeque
- Bonfire
- Free parking
- Laundry service
- Kitchenette
- WiFi
The Crown Goa ( 7.9 km from central Divar)
The third hotel which is included in the list is The Crown Goa. The hotel has a homely atmosphere and the food tastes exactly like the home made food. The hotel is economical in nature that is, cost effective.
The facilities which the hotel provides to its guests are-
- Business/fitness centre
- Spa
- Free parking
- Outdoor pool
- Smoke-free property
- Free WiFi
- Breakfast bufflet
Double Tree by Hilton Goa (8.8 km from central Divar)
The fourth hotel to be a part of the list is Double Tree by Hilton Goa – Panaji. The hotel provides excellent services with a special focus on the hygiene.
The facilities which the hotel provides to its guests are-
- On-site restaurants
- Free parking
- Meeting rooms
- Outdoor pool
- Fitness/business centre
- Concierge
- Resort
- Room service
The Fern Kadamba (11 km from central Divar)
The last hotel in the list is The Fern Kadamba. The rooms of the hotel are spacious, with bathrooms having advanced sanitary fittings.
The facilities which the hotel provides to its guests are-
- Fitness centre
- Free parking
- Spa facilities
- Swimming pools (separate pool for children)
- Massage parlours
- Billiards
- Beach chairs
- Sun umbrellas
- Steam room
- Free WiFi
To conclude, all these five hotels are luxurious and they provide almost everything for us so that we enjoy our stay in these hotels. And apart from it, you get special discounts on online bookings. So, do consider these five hotels before visiting Divar Island.
TEMPLES NEAR DIVAR ISLAND
It shall not surprise you if I say that there are many Hindu temples located near Divar Island. I am going to provide you guys with the names of few temples situated near Divar Island so you can visit them at the time of your visit to Divar.
- Shri Shakti Vinayak Devasthan
- Mahalakshmi Temple
- Koti Tirth Tali
- Shri Ganesh Sateri Temple
- Shri Ram
The list of the temples near the island is very long, which you will get to know about in detail once you visit Divar.
VILLAS NEAR DIVAR ISLAND
Ever fantasized about staying in a villa, rented entirely by you?
Everyone gets enticed just by listening to the word “villa”. The feel of staying in a private villa is something which can’t be ever described in words. In order to hike your want to visit Divar Island, I would like to mention that there are many villas situated near the island. Let us have a look at some of these villas.
- Divar Island @Rudzz Villa
- MONTE VILLA
- Belmont
- The Villa
- Casa Chhabra
All these villas are located at a beautiful and peaceful site which in turn will make your stay more enjoyable as well as exciting.
THINGS TO DO IN DIVAR ISLAND
Despite exploring various places near Divar by some other mode of vehicle, you can enjoy your tour to these places through Electric Bike/Cycle too.
You need to pay some amount as rent in order to use these electronic bikes/cycles. Once you are done with the payment, you can take these bikes and roam around the places near Divar Island.
When in Divar, you can also spend your time reading the books by your favourite authors in some quiet and peaceful location. Also, you can invest all your time in your family which you wanted to do since a long time but were not able to do because of your hectic schedule.
BEST TIME TO VISIT DIVAR ISLAND
Whenever we are going to visit a new place, we want our visit to be full of fun and relaxation. And in order to achieve it, we need to plan our visit in accordance to the time when it is best to visit that particular place.
So, the next question which we all come across while planning a trip to Divar Island is when to visit the island OR what’s the best time to visit the island?
In this section of the blog, I am going to brief you guys about the best time to visit the island.
The best and the most ideal time to visit Goa is during the months of November to March. In December , Goa witnesses some great celebrations which are Christmas and New Year. And, you start enjoying the sunburns from the month of March onwards. So, if you are someone who wants to enjoy various places in Goa (which includes Divar Island too) to the fullest, then try to plan your trip during these five months.
HISTORY OF DIVAR ISLAND
The Divar Island has an interesting history to share to its visitors. Before the onset of religious victimization by the Portuguese, Divar was an accommodation to a large number of people belonging to Hindu religion. At the time of conversion of Goa into Christianity, Hindus in Goa moved to other locations, as Portuguese were attacking the temples and monuments near Divar.
CONCLUSION
Divar Island has much more to offer us than what we have actually expected. The place is surrounded by many popular churches, monuments, heritage buildings, temples, villas and hotels ( in order to ease our stay in Divar). The way to reach the island has become very easy by boarding any of the three ferries as per your requirements. So, what exactly are you guys waiting for?
GATHER WITH YOUR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS AND GET READY TO EXPLORE DIVAR ISLAND.
