Airport

The state’s two international airports are Goa International Airport (GOI) at Dabolim and Manohar International Airport (GOX) at Mopa. Arriving at Goa International Airport (GOI) is preferred for faster arrival at the QS India Summit venue. The airports cater to domestic and international air services with at least two dozen arrivals from India and Middle Eastern countries such as Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Muscat, Doha, Dubai and Kuwait. Jet Airways, GoAir, Indigo, Air India, Qatar Airways and Air Arabia are among the major airlines that have scheduled flights to Goa. Several tourists from the UK and Russia avail themselves of charter air services in Goa. In January 2016, the Ministry of Civil Aviation relaxed the rules for charter airlines. Earlier chartered aircraft had to return empty after dropping off their passengers. With the policy change, these aircraft need not fly out with the same set of passengers, thus cutting airline operating costs and reducing tour package costs for travellers.

Railway

The South Western Railway and the Konkan Railway lines service the state of Goa. The former is a colonial era line that connects the port town of Vasco with Belgaum, Hubli etc. The more recent (and a pleasant) addition is the Konkan Railway line that was constructed in the ’90s and connects Margao to cities along India’s western coast. Before the Konkan Railway line became operational, roadways were the most preferred mode of transport for people traveling from cities along the west coast, such as Mumbai. Panaji, the state capital, does not have a railway station. Madgaon and Vasco Da Gama are two major railway junctions in Goa.

Road

With the absence of a regular train service within the state, much of Goa depends upon privately-operated buses and government-run buses maintained by the Kadamba Transport Corporation to travel from one place to another. Even though the buses connect major towns and remote villages, several Goans depend on private transport to get around. Four National Highways — some of the narrowest in the country — run through Goa: NH66 connects Goa to Mumbai in the north and Mangalore to the south. NH-4A connects Panaji to Belgaum in the east and other cities such as Bangalore, Kolhapur etc. NH-366 connects NH-66 to Mormugao Port from Cortalim. Constructed to ease pressure on NH 366 for traffic towards Dabolim Airport and Vasco da Gama is the brand new four-lane NH-566 that connects Mormugao Port to NH-66 at Verna via Dabolim Airport.

Goa, being a part of the country of India follows the Indian Standard Time, The time zone followed in the state is Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) + 05:30 hours.

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