Traveling alone in India. Is it safe for a young female?

I hope to be working in an orphanage outside of Kathmandu, Nepal in May for 3 weeks. I am a 21 year old American female student and will be volunteering abroad alone. I am very interested in traveling to India for a week or so since before I return home because India is so close and I have no idea when I%26#39;ll ever get the chance to visit this side of the world again. However, I am unsure as to how safe I will be. I%26#39;ve been looking at different websites and I%26#39;m getting alot of mixed messages but I generally like the advice I see on this particular sight. Does anyone have any experience with a situation similar to mine? I am primarily interested in visit New Dehli, Agra, and Jaipur. I have never travelled completely alone before but I did spend 15 days exploring France and Italy with another female friend when we were both 19. I have also been living on my own in a very large US city since I started college...so I do see myself as capable and more than willing to take this adventure into India. Any tips, stories, recommendations, etc. would be greatly appreciated! Thanks :D

Traveling alone in India. Is it safe for a young female?

I certainly dont like to travel alone here but I am not going to tell you dont do it. I know many cases of women who travelled alone in India and even for months and it麓s ok and safer than many other countries.

But it麓s not easy and you need to be careful at night.

And especially dont take any kind of drugs, alcohol or bhang lassi with any new male friends you might make.

Also, dont be afraid to be rude with men, you have to. Many guys here think that all foreign women will sleep with anyone...

Be rude, get angry, dont let them stare at you in a dirty way. Put them in their place.

Now, your trip is an easy one meaning that you dont need to take a night /sleeper train and distances are short. So, you wont have to worry about in the train/bus part of your trip. (I recommend you to take trains for your trip).

During day time there麓s nothing to worry about, do your sightseeing and go wherever you want to go, just try to keep some distance with young men, you will be better alone.

At night you will be safe wherever there are people, but streets are quite dark and although some people think that taking taxis or rickshaws at night is very dangerous I think the real danger are the cars that chase you as you walk by. Dont get near any car, day or night, just in case. That includes all cars, even police cars.

There are few cases of ';attacks'; to foreigners, India is very safe, but still you have to be careful.

And finally, be careful with the hotel people. Lock your door at night. I heard stories of hotel staff calling at 3am or knocking at your door. I dont know why they do this, I assume they think we are that easy, I dont know.. Again, this doesnt happen often but lock your door and try to go to hotels recommended by other female travellers.

You will do everything you need to do during day time but until 9pm or later streets are full of people.

I live in Delhi and I take rickshaws alone all the time at 9.30pm, but later than that I try not to..

Dont worry about the trip, dont be afraid, just be aware of these 3 things and react to any behaviour you dont like and be loud!

Dont drink with men, dont drink anything that you didnt buy if you think there麓s something suspicious about the people you are with.

And enjoy your trip!

Traveling alone in India. Is it safe for a young female?

yes u can travel to jaipur alone. but be cautious of strangers and men who will stop u on the streets and try to be over friendly. agra too u have to be careful of what u wear on the streets..

i am from jaipur and have seen gullible young tourist falling in the trap. meeting strangers and then being drugged. if u like to meet local persons best is to go and talk to shop keepers, or go to schools----why people make friends with people walking on the street i fail to comprehend. the auto rickshaw drivers also force you to go to shops of their choice so dont get bullied by them. make yur own plans and take advise in this forum.

agra and delhi along with jaipur is called the golden triangle and they are beautiful places to see, so have fun, but be alert...

any queries u have i will be happy to answer from jaipur

happy travelling

shomad@sify.com

In addition to the sensible advice given earlier, I suggest you travel by plane, if you can to Jaipur-its a fairly short distance and the fare will not be too high. Travelling to Jaipur by train or bus is also possible, it%26#39;s cheaper, but can be stressful. Confirm your hotel room, and get them to send a taxi to pick you up from the airport/ railway station, with a placard bearing your name. All kinds of aggressive touts will appear at the station or airport offering you rooms/sightseeing/shopping, just avoid them.

Before you set out ensure that you carry a bottle of mineral water and a packet of biscuits with you, and avoid travelling with more currency than you need for the day.

We (two females) are also traveling in India. In general it is save, but you should take a few precautions as already mentioned.

It is also sensible if you book your hotels in advance. This will save you the hassle of guys thinking that you are looking for an adventure, if you are in fact only looking for a hotel room. Also remember that India in general is a pretty conservative country. So it is better to wear long sleeved blouses, long skirts or pants and not to show too much cleavage.

Also it is absolutely common in India, especially for women, to travel by chauffeur driven car. So do not hesitate to either take a chauffeur or taxi, even when covering short distances in the evening.

Don%26#39;t accept drinks and food from strangers, go with strangers and stay in well-lit places. Basically don%26#39;t do anything you would not do in the US.

Maybe also try to previously find some people to travel with. It makes life easier, especially since Indian men like ';eve teasing';.

Have Fun!

you are most welcome in our family as we have orphanage and slum children school as well

we run ambulance for the elderly people as well and work for leprosy population . we have several volunteers (females) with whom u can plan further trips.