Travel Safety Tips in India (The Practical View)

Last Update: 30 August, 2015

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Safety tips for tourists in India 

India is a grand country with warm hearted and welcoming people. 

People: Fairest and Darkest. Smartest and the dumbest. Richest and the poorest. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsies and nearly all other religions unite here.
Places: Coldest and the hottest. Most dry to super rainy. Coasts to the highest mountains in the world. Deserts to super fertile. Poorest slums to highly developed urbans. You can see from ancient to futuristic here.
India is a country where thousands of languages are spoken. Thousands of cultures are followed.

India is the land of contrasts. India is a world in itself.

In this post I would do my best to present my views and suggestions to help you be safe in India. Also I would mention various things to know before visiting India.

I am an Indian who got a chance to see some cities of India from a non-Indian point of view. Four of my friends from France (French natives) came to India in the month of July, this year. While traveling various places with my friends, I felt that the image which international tourists get of India is mostly not the real India. Real India's image is blotted by thugs, pickpockets, perverts and other miscreants.

Indians are very helpful, friendly and welcoming.

It is my humble request to everyone who wishes to visit India to kindly understand the grand country, the culture and the people before coming to any conclusions. You are most welcome to India. I sincerely hope you have a great stay!

If offer a friendly hand to everyone who wishes to visit India. Kindly use comments for any questions/queries/comments.


Always keep a map of the city and a tourist guide book (Lonely Planet India (Travel Guide) suggested) along with you. 

Best time to be in India

India has a highly varied climate all throughout the country. You can find subzero mountains in Kashmir and then there are hot deserts of Rajasthan. It is best to study a little about the climate and best time to visit a certain place. Months from May to August for visiting most part of India (excluding high altitude areas) are the worst - very hot and humid.

General Tips to be safe in India

• Remember  in general: confidence, alertness and knowledge can help you avoid complications, everywhere. Google and tourist books are your friends.
• You can always reach the local police on phone throughout India by calling: 100
• Think long term and do not trust people easily. Always calculate your stakes.
• Do not carry too much cash with you. Carry an international Debit/Credit card. Ask your card issuer beforehand about its working in India to be on safer side.
• Do not be at wrong places at wrong times. Avoid being out at night especially if you have luggage. Strictly DO NOT if you are a female - make it a rule!
• Beware of thugs and pick-pockets.
• If you need guidance, talk to established shopkeepers instead of just random people on the road.
• When being at local markets train yourself to deduce genuine prices. Watch; Explore; Learn; Buy. Learn to bargain. It works most of the times.
• Tourist guides are important when visiting monuments and other important places. Before you hire any tourist guide, ensure that he should be able to speak proper and fluent English (or your language). Put him to a little test before hiring him. Interact and tell him to give you a little overview about the place to check his language. Moreover, bargain well before hiring the tourist guides. In Taj Mahal, we were approached by self-proclaimed govt. approved tourist guides at the ticket stalls who demanded around Rs.1000 for the tour. We denied. As we walked closer to Taj Mahal's entrance, the charges of tourist guides started to decrease unbelievably. One guy even approached us for as low as Rs.100.
• Something too-good-to-be-true would actually be very well so. Beware!
• Avoid crowds. Your stuff can be easily misplaced/stolen. Especially if you are a female, beware, as you can be badly groped and harassed in crowds.
• Get a local mobile SIM card. Make sure you get one of the following network operators only: Airtel, Idea, Vodafone. They have the widest network coverage in India. You can easily get a mobile SIM card in India. Having mobile Internet on your phone is always a good idea. 
• Prefer to carry a power bank to charge your phone on the move. We all know how badly smartphones suck at battery backup.

Where to Stay?

There are so many trustworthy sites like OYO rooms, Goibibo.com, makemytrip.com etc. from where you can pre-book hotels, guest houses, lodges etc. at very reasonable prices. Read reviews about the places. Look out for approachability to the places you wish to visit.

Also enquire about Wifi connectivity of the place beforehand.

In Agra, Hotel Sheela is very economical and is quite close to Taj Mahal. International tourists stay with them mostly.

In Amritsar, Tourist Guest House is quite economical and is close to Golden Temple and Railway station.

Traveling within in India: Always pre-plan long distance journeys

• Major cities can easily be reached via flights. 
• Trains are cheap and have a huge network throughout India. Make bookings beforehand. Train reservations in India should well be made in advance. Expect crowds and long queues at Indian train stations. Fortunately, most of the big cities have special section for International tourists. Prefer using them. Kindly check Indian Railways page for International Tourists. When traveling in trains, especially at nights, you can avoid most of unwanted staring if you choose the upper berth.
• Indian trains generally have these classes in order of decreasing fare prices: 1AC, 2AC, 3AC, Sleeper, Chair Car, Second Class. It is much more safer to travel in AC classes than the others.
• Avoid traveling at night; Especially if you are a female. If you do need to travel at night, think wisely and use prepaid taxis or call-cabs. The idea is that your driver should know that someone else is keeping a track of him and you.
• Before booking tourist buses, enquire thoroughly about the time the bus would take and if the bus would waste time picking up other passengers.
• For internal traveling, most of the big cities have a good government run buses. If you are in Delhi, Mumbai or any city that has Metro trains, always opt for them. 
• Avoid auto-rikshaws when you can use bus or metro train.

Foods, eating and water in India

Avoid unpackaged water while traveling in India. Always buy and carry packaged (and SEALED) water bottles. Do not buy water just from any hawker or stalls. External hygiene of the water bottle especially near the seal is as important as the water content itself.

India is known for foods, curries and spices. Most Indian foods start with spices. Hence, if your stomach cannot handle spicy food well, you need to be careful at making choices. You may consult the restaurant staff to enquire about the spice content. Try to train yourself gradually to handle a little spicy food so that you may relish Indian foods.

NEVER eat the salad or cut fruits sold by street vendors and hawkers. They can be major vectors of various diseases.

Tip: Have food at a place which has a good sale at the time you have food. Better circulation ensures food would be freshly cooked.

If you can have egg, you can always find a place where street-vendors sell bread-omlette. It is nutritive, very inexpensive, instantly prepared, hot and hence hygienic. My French friends always loved it. :) You can also enjoy roasted corn (local name: Bhutta or Chhalli) which is easily available at street sellers during and after rainy season. They serve it with rock salt and lemon which makes it yummy! Since they roast the corn on open charcoal flame, it is very much hygienic.

When unsure about food while being outside, buy packed branded food stuff like biscuits, fruit cakes etc. instead risking your health.

General public is very helpful

Feel free to ask for general information like routes etc. from general public. Indians are very helpful. Just keep in mind the basic safety rules.

Beware of auto-rikshaw (or tuk-tuk) drivers!

At tourist places in India 70% of them are shameless, inhuman, highly nagging and practically uncontrolled. When they see you are an international tourists, you can easily see "I got a prey!" feeling in their eyes. Early you learn how to tackle them, the better it is. Know the distances and routes and learn to estimate genuine fares. Sharpen your bargaining skills. If you are at a tourist place, dash out, decisively. Do not reply them the ones on the way and do not hire them. Preferably hire an auto-rikshaw that is mobile and already running on road. If you want to cut down costs, always prefer to share auto-rikshaw with other passengers whenever possible. 

Do not trust auto-rikshaw drivers. They may have plans to stupendously overcharge you. Also, take care of your luggage! Always keep a close watch.

DO NOT ask any auto-rikshaw driver for any places to stay i.e. hotels, lodges, guesthouses etc. You would land up at an over-priced worst place where he would get a good commission for bringing you in.

Good guidebooks do have fair-prices given for auto-rikshaws for various destinations. You may also consult fellow passengers (IN FULL DISCRETION from the tuk-tuk drivers) about fair-prices for route from A source to B destination.

Some tips for female tourists

• I do not recommend females traveling solo in India. At least a single male accomplice is highly recommended. 
• If you feel the situation is dangerous, call police by dialing 100
• DO NOT TRAVEL AT NIGHT!
• When traveling in Metro Trains and buses, claim the seats reserved for ladies. Don't hesitate. Its your right to claim the seat if it is reserved. In Metro trains, there are some wagons specially reserved for ladies only. Use them to avoid inconvenience and inappropriate behavior of men especially at rush hours. In Delhi Metro trains, the first two wagons are always reserved for ladies. In Mumbai local trains too there are wagons reserved for ladies; there are full ladies-only trains as well.
• Always be confident, well-informed, alert and agile.
• Dress modestly. Do not wear shorts, mini skirts, sleeveless tops etc. Also, do not wear tops with deep-necks or too much back-revealing. Avoid wearing see-through or very tight fitting clothes. It is a good idea to carry a cotton 'dupatta' (a long rectangular scarf).
• If any pervert(s) cause any inconvenience to you, you do not have to bear it! Create a little fuss if needed. Do ask for others' aid. General public is very helpful in India. 
• Avoid talking to unknown men. 
• Always try sitting next to women in public conveyance. 

 

Conclusion

Just be smart and informed. Be alert. Feel free to experiment new things, being safe. India is very economical and highly enjoyable. India is lovely!

I hope you have a great time in India! Feel free to comment below. Also if this article helps, share it. It would help others too.