India for women travelling alone

Honestly about safety

We are not going to pretend the subject does not exist. India has a poor reputation on women's safety and has partly earned it — crimes against women are a real social problem there, one that Indian women themselves talk about.

At the same time: the overwhelming majority of those incidents do not involve visitors in organised groups, travelling established routes with private transport and vetted hotels. What our travellers actually encounter most often is intrusive attention, requests for photographs, and vendors who do not take no for an answer.

What genuinely reduces risk: not walking alone after dark, not using random transport, not drinking with strangers, dressing more modestly than at home, and having someone with you who knows the country. A group trip covers most of that list without any effort on your part.

What travelling in a group changes

• You are never moving alone. Transport is private from the airport to the last hotel — no night-time stations, no random taxis.
• Hotels are vetted rather than picked from an app on arrival.
• The tour leader and local guide defuse situations before they develop — from a persistent vendor to a crowd asking for photographs.
• You have company. Groups are usually ten to sixteen people; at dinner and on the bus nobody is left alone unless they want to be.
• Someone always knows where you are — a difference you do not notice until it matters.

Practical: clothing, rooms, small things

Clothing. Shoulders and knees covered — not because of any rule, but because it draws less attention. Loose trousers or a long skirt, a light long-sleeved shirt, and a scarf you can throw over your head at a temple entrance. In hotels and in Goa the rules are looser and nobody looks twice.

Your room. You can pay the single supplement or ask us to match you with a room-mate from the group — we do it often and it usually works, because solo women are our largest group of travellers.

Small things that help: your own padlock for luggage, a power bank, a scarf, a ring on your finger (some women find it ends conversations about marital status), and the tour leader's number written on paper as well as in your phone.

Photographs. Outside Delhi people will ask to take a picture with you. It is usually friendly curiosity, but you are entirely free to decline — a smile and a firm "no" is enough. If it becomes unpleasant, walk back towards the group.

Which trips work best

• Pearls of North India (12 days, from 900 EUR) — the classic for a first visit, unhurried, single supplement 200 EUR.
• Rishikesh (16 days, from 700 EUR) — one place, yoga practice, the calmest format we run.
• Kashmir: the Golden Valley (12 days, 1,060 EUR) — a mild climate and far less intense surroundings than the cities of the plains.
• Colourful India (15 days, 1,550 EUR) — for those who want the full Rajasthan and the tigers.

The full comparison of every programme, with prices and single supplements, is in which trip is right for you.

Frequently asked questions