Is It Safe to Travel to India? Essential Safety Tips for Visitors

India is a vibrant and diverse destination, but many travelers ask, is it safe to travel to India? Like any country, India has its challenges, but with the right precautions, it can be an incredible and safe experience. Understanding the risks and knowing how to navigate them will help you feel more confident during your visit.

Following essential travel safety tips for India can make all the difference in ensuring a smooth trip, especially if you plan on traveling solo! From staying aware of your surroundings to choosing the best transportation options, we're here to help you make the right choices to keep yourself safe during your trip.

By following simple safety precautions for tourists in India, you can enjoy the country’s rich culture, breathtaking sights, and warm hospitality without unnecessary worry. Our India safety travel guide is here to cover it all, so let's dive right in.

Is it Safe to Travel to India? a Brief Intro

First thing's first: I am going to share a very simple screenshot for what is a first impression for travelers wondering if it is safe to travel to India:

If you typed in "Is it safe to travel to India?" and came across this, we wouldn't blame you for being worried.

But you see- this is what is wrong with the algorithm nowadays. The US government puts travel advisories unnecessarily, and then AI comes along and spits out ridiculous answers like this one, making it seem like India is extremely unsafe and that you shouldn't visit.

This is SO NOT TRUE - which is why we knew we needed to write an accurate article for everyone to understand the real truths behind traveling in India as a tourist (even if it does get buried on the third page of Google).

If you typed in "Is it safe to travel to India?" and came across this, we wouldn't blame you for being worried.

But you see- this is what is wrong with the algorithm nowadays. The US government puts travel advisories unnecessarily, and then AI comes along and spits out ridiculous answers like this one, making it seem like India is extremely unsafe and that you shouldn't visit.

This is SO NOT TRUE - which is why we knew we needed to write an accurate article for everyone to understand the real truths behind traveling in India as a tourist (even if it does get buried on the third page of Google).

🤠 Is India a Safe Country for Tourists?

India isn't one of the most unsafe countries in the world, but it certainly is a country you'll want to be mindful in. While it is far from what Google answered, there are definitely a lot of things you'll want to be prepared for.

There are a lot of extreme circumstances in India, and in big cities like Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur for example, you'll find areas with severe poverty and begging, to the point you'll experience people coming up to your tuk tuk or children pulling at your belongings in broad daylight.

We never felt in severe danger in India, but vey uncomfortable at times. The top safety concerns in India include petty theft, sexual harassment, and animal bites, which we'll expand a bit more on later in the article.

🤗 Is India Friendly to Tourists?

While we definitely had some safety concerns while in India, we have to say that Indians are extremely welcoming, generous, and kind.

India is very friendly to tourists, and often people are happy to help if you need directions, advice, or other assistance while visiting as a foreigner.

We even had a family take us in their home for a small price during Holi. They also gave me a sari to wear, and made lunch for us completely free of charge. Acts like this are common, and certainly make traveling in India much more enjoyable outside of the chaos.

A local family so kindly made us lunch free of charge.

Is it Safe to Travel to India for Everyone?

Traveling in India certainly looks a bit different depending on a variety of factors like where you are visiting, how religious the place is, or who you are traveling with.

🚶🏻‍♂️ Is India Safe for Traveling Alone?

India is not a country we'd recommend visiting alone! It's overwhelming, and having other travelers with you certainly makes you less vulnerable for petty theft and harassment.

Men can probably travel alone without many problems, especially if they look local. However, we certainly wouldn't recommend it for women, especially those that are not Indian.

💁🏻‍♀️ Is India Safe to Visit as a Woman?

Traveling as a woman can be really uncomfortable and scary in India, especially if you are coming from a drastically different part of the world, and this is largely due to sexual harassment.

Indian men are pretty forward, and oftentimes lack a sense of personal space. Many even will touch you without permission, or harass you without giving it second thought, because this is a big cultural difference.

Unfortunately this can make it much harder for women traveling to enjoy themselves, especially when in crowded areas. Female travelers should take extra precautions by dressing modestly and moving in groups, preferably with at least one man with them.

📸 Pictures with Strangers are Very Common

Amongst the culture shock as visiting India as a woman in general, it is common practice for strangers to want to take pictures with anyone who does not look Indian.

Whether you are a woman, man, couple, or big group, if you do not look Indian, people (mostly men) will come up to you and ask for a picture, or just stand next to you and start snapping away.

The more you say yes, the more crowds start to form for more pictures, and truthfully it can become a bit tiring. If you are in a place with a lot of people around or this makes you feel uncomfortable, politely decline, but do keep in mind it's common in their culture, not harassment that is intentional by any means.

💃🏻 Is India Safe for Solo Female Travelers?

While we wouldn't recommend visiting India as a solo female traveler, we did speak with a girl who was doing so. She told us that many cities it was pretty uncomfortable. However, she experienced some more low key destinations and spots out in nature that were much more ideal.

If you'd like to visit India as a solo female traveler we recommend staying in a reputable hostel, and meeting friends that you can explore with, or joining group trips and tours.

👬 Is India Safe for LGBT?

India isn't necessarily unsafe for the LGBT community, but as India isn't quite as open minded as other countries, it can definitely be uncomfortable.

It's also important to note that some cities are very religious, and will not allow same sex couples to share hotel rooms! Even if it is a friend you might find hotels that will deny anyone who is not a registered married heterosexual couple. We got denied at a hotel in Jodhpur for arriving with a friend of ours and not being married.

In order to feel safe and secure we'd recommend dressing and acting very modestly in terms of affection, especially when in more religious locations.

How to Stay Safe While Traveling in India

So now you have a better idea of if it is safe to travel to India. Now let's get into how to stay safe, as well as some other things to watch out for while in India.

❣️ Safety in India: The Safest Places to Visit

India is a MASSIVE country, and like most countries, it has its good areas, and not-so-good areas. One minute you can be in a stunningly clean and safe area, and just one street over you can find yourself in a really rough neighborhood.This is even more common for big cities like Delhi and Mumbai, but can also happen in smaller cities.

🏨 Safety in India: Choosing Where to Stay

When choosing a hotel, it's not just important to look for a good hotel, but it's also important to choose a safe neighborhood! Our first hotel we booked in Delhi looked fine (at least that's what I thought), but then when we stepped out of the metro station it was truly horrifying.

There were people going to the bathroom on the streets, homeless children pulling on our belongings, and pure chaos is every sense. Luckily our Indian friend realized quite quickly that it was a neighborhood we needed to leave, and when we got our next hotel the difference was immense.

For this reason it's super important to do your research for neighborhoods FIRST, and then look for hotels after.

🛌 Do Your Due Diligence Before Booking Your Hotels

Appearances can be deceiving when booking hotels online in India. We actually got cat-fished so many times! 

For example, the pictures look nice for OYO but it’s far from what it may look like. Our friend later told us that these are super cheap alternatives for people to hook up, kind of like motels, and are the trashiest places you can stay.

Make sure to read reviews carefully when booking hotels in India - we were told to stick to western reviews though, as locals may not have the same standards. It is also super important to do your homework on the best areas to stay in! It can be really confusing in places like Delhi, and we ended up being in a really dangerous area once we arrived with children pulling at our belongings.

🚊 Safety Getting Around in India

Now you know a bit about safety when booking accommodation, but staying safe while moving around the country is essential!

🚄 Which is the Safest Transportation in India?

The safest mode of transportation in India for long distances is taking the train, as you can get your own private compartment! In first class you also have your own butler, which is super helpful for making sure you get off at the right stop, and for ordering drinks and food during your journey.

When it comes to shorter distances, the safest option is using Uber, especially at night. While using Uber in India can be frustrating at times, as far as how to get around in India safely, it's really your best option after hours. For example, if we were going to catch the sunrise somewhere, we would order an Uber from our hotel, and stay inside the hotel until our Uber got there.

The absolute safest option for traveling in India is having your own driver. While we don't think it's always necessary, we certainly would have loved to have that as an option. We had a local friend with us our entire time, and if it weren't for her, our experience would have been totally different.

🚙 Is Uber Safe for Female Passengers in India?

There have definitely been horror stories about women getting sexually harassed or even assaulted while traveling in India alone. While it has happened a time or two using Uber, it truly isn't that common, and not something you really need to worry about a lot.

That being said, having a man or a local with you while traveling in India makes things a lot more comfortable and safe.

🌈 Is it Safe to Travel to India for Holi Festival?

Holi Festival in India can be an absolute blast - until it's no longer a blast that is - and this is what we mean.

The majority of the population at Holi Festival in India is young men, who are under the influence from a lot of alcohol, and also many are high (from consuming a local yogurt based drink). But since Indians aren't always massive partiers, they tend to get really wild during Holi, and the later the day gets, the more wild they become.

Indian men are notorious for crossing the line, especially when intoxicated. For Western women this can become really uncomfortable, and is something to be aware of. I got groped several times, and it's very common for foreign women to have this happen. If you plan on visiting India for this festival, we recommend going with a man.

🦸🏻‍♀️ How to Stay Safe During Holi Festival in India

Here are a few things we recommend for staying safe as a woman during Holi Festival:

• Attend festivals in a group, preferably with other men.
• Don't accept to take pictures with big groups of men.
• Be friendly - but set boundaries and stay firm in letting men know you are not an object.
• Choose celebrations that are less crowded.
• Leave when you see people are getting out of hand.
• Keep your belongings attached to you and out of sight.

🐒 Safety in India: Animals 

We've covered almost all topics concerning the question "is it safe to travel to India?". But something we also need to mention is the animal situation in India. There are TONS of animals on the streets, and it's certainly something to keep in mind in terms of safety.

🐶 Expect to See Lots of Stray Pups

The amount of stray puppies on the streets of India is truly heartbreaking. There is an overpopulation of dogs in the country, and unfortunately, unlike other areas where this is common (for example throughout the Balkans), they are not cared for by the locals.

These pups are extremely malnourished, and need food, water, and most importantly - love. Please give them whatever you can, but only approach them if they are looking for it.

I am an absolute animal lover, and took a lot of chances to try to give love to the pups on the streets. Out of hundreds of dogs, I had one that I accidentally got a bit too close to while I was casually passing by in Jodhpur, and one bit me.

💉 Get a Rabies Vaccine Before Visiting India

Rabies is very common in India, and apparently so is getting bitten by dogs (so much so that the hospitals just assume that's what's happened when tourists walk in).

Well, getting a series of 5 rabies shots during my trip was not my definition of fun, and I definitely would have preferred doing so before getting there as a precaution if I had known this.

🏥 Going to Hospitals in India

Luckily the hospitals in India were all fantastic - they were friendly, quick, efficient, and free of charge. That being said, with multiple rounds of shots, it was a true pain in the ass to have to get them in all different areas of the world after my first two in India. 

For this reason, we'd recommend not just getting the vaccine, but also getting travel insurance, just in case you're in a situation where you might not be covered or need multiple treatments after being injured while in India.

🐄 Other Animals Also Roam the Streets Too

Apart from the countless dogs roaming the streets, there are also a lot of other animals you'll see as well!

Monkeys, cows, and even pigs freely roam Indian streets. Be cautious around them, especially monkeys, which can be mischievous, or attack in case they are feeling threatened.

Keep your bag closed, and if a monkey shows you his/her teeth, do not get closer to them.

😷 Safety in India: Staying Healthy

One of the biggest safety concerns in India is actually health-related. The country is notorious for having questionable hygiene, and is really something to keep in mind while traveling so you don't get ill.

💧 Stick to Bottled Water

Water is NOT potable in India, so you won't be able to drink from the tap. Make sure to stick the bottled water, and try to get larger jugs to keep in your hotel room to be a more eco-friendly traveler. Also, avoid ice in drinks unless you’re sure it’s made from purified water.

While drinking bottled water might make you feel safe, we have a certain secret we have to share with you - and it's that not all bottled water is actually reliable to consume! As soon as we got to our hotel they handed us a bottle of water and our friend grabbed it - indignant. 

She started going from bottle to bottle opening one by one to find they were refilling used to water bottles and reselling them. Always check that the seal is intact before opening bottled water, and always be cautious of where you are consuming water from in general to avoid getting sick.

🥙 Watch Where Your Eat

The most common way for foreigners to get sick is by eating something that upsets their stomach, which is notorious in street food, but can also happen in many places!

Make sure to only eat freshly cooked meals from reputable vendors, and avoid uncooked items like salads or unpeeled fruits that are not from well-established restaurants.

We'd also recommend to carry medical essentials like pills for nausea or diarrhea just as a precaution. Luckily we didn't get sick once throughout our 15-day trip, but it's always better to be safe than sorry!

🧼 Carry Toilet Paper and Soap with You

There were so many bathrooms in India that were not equipped with toilet paper or soap, particularly in public areas like bus stations or rest stops. It's almost important to note  some toilets are pit toilets, so you may need to work on your squatting skills!

We recommend rolling up your pants, and staying prepared with tissues and hand sanitizer or soap sheets to stay clean throughout your travels in India.

Don't have time to read the whole article and want to save it for later? Just pin it!

Is it Safe to Travel to India? Tips for Having a Secure Stay

Now you have a better idea of how safe it is to travel to India, so we want to provide you some final tips to have a comfortable and pleasant stay. Here are some tips that will make your stay better.

• Carry cash on you, but not too much at one time.
• Cover up at religious sites and in religious cities.
  
• Be modest with affection, especially if you're a LGBTQ couple.
• Bring thin scarves and keep them with you to cover up when necessary (particularly for religious cities or sites)
  
• Keep your guard up with strangers approaching you.
  
• Keep an eye on your belongings at all times.
• Use Uber (cars not tuk tuks) when traveling outside day light hours.
• Avoid travel scams by using official ticketing platforms.
• Women travelers: Opt for ladies' compartments in trains and metros or get your own private cabin on trains.
• Use Airtags on your belongings to be able to track your bags in case something happens.
• Use locks on your luggage to secure them.
• Since you'll need to bring a lot of cash, we recommend a travel safe - you can also hook it onto all of your belongings to keep them from being stolen.
• Travel with a buddy (having a male or an Indian is extra helpful)
• Get a rabies vaccine before traveling to India

While India is generally safe, petty theft can occur. Keep your belongings secure, avoid isolated areas at night, and be cautious when interacting with strangers. Trust your instincts and seek help if needed.

We hope we were able to properly answer your question "is it safe in India?", and cover all precautions to take while traveling there. If you still have any questions though, simply drop them down below in the comments!

Want to learn more about what traveling in India is like? We have a lot of other India travel guides, as well as some more coming up, so make sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you can stay up to date! (We also provide exclusive content for just our email list!).

Ready to start planning your trip to India? We're here to help! Now Scratch Your Mapa offers travel planning services to help you travel with ease while we take care of the details. Not only that, but we're creating a really incredible group trip to India soon! Email us to join the wait list.

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