New Delhi Travel Forum

hi there, i m a single woman planning to visit india - new delhi on my own sometime at mid to end of may (approximately 1 week)...followed by a flight to mumbai to meet up with my friends whereby we will continue our trip to goa, kerala,etc...ending our trip in bangalore..

my qns are :
1. is it safe for a single female to travel within new delhi?
2. what are the must see in new delhi?
3. should i buy a travel package (for the golden triangle)from home or should i go to new delhi and buy it?
4. I am looking at mid-range accomodation(costs not more than US$50/ nite). Which accomodations is recommended?

I guess thats all for now..
I greatly appreciate your help as i realise that my time is running up pretty soon...

1. is it safe for a single female to travel within new delhi?- Yes
2. what are the must see in new delhi? - depends on what you are looking to do
3. should i buy a travel package (for the golden triangle)from home or should i go to new delhi and buy it? - depends on cost

Not sure if you are a localite ! but anyways New Delhi is indeed safe for single women. Must sees in ND is Qutub Minar, The entire sight seeings around Rashtrapathi Bhavan (this is where the president lives), connaught place (traffic is heav during business hours), chandini chowk / pallika bazaar for shopping...Travel package i would recommend to buy it after u reach ND...avoid night outings & journeys........have fun.

Like suganth says ‘New Delhi is indeed safe for single women’ but like anywhere in the world Delhi can’t guarantee anyone 100% safety, the following comes from a recent travel forum posting:

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Tourism officials are meeting this week to discuss the safety of tourists after at least seven foreign women and girls said they had been raped or molested over the past 20 days, a ministry spokesman said. (Monday 21 January 2008)

“India's reputation as a safe and easygoing tourist destination has been dented by a string of alleged rapes and sexual assaults on foreigners in the past week, including at least four of them British women. (Times Online” January 15, 2008)

Ogled, groped and assaulted: all part of Indian women’s everyday life
Sunday Herald: March 24 2008

Incredibly unsafe India, The rape of a 35-year-old foreigner, holding dual citizenship of France and Switzerland, in Pushkar a week ago (the complaint was filed only on Saturday) is the third such incident involving foreign tourists in the last few weeks (Hindustan Times, 20 New Delhi, January 20, 2008)

NEW DELHI: A plastic surgeon accused of sexually assaulting his patients; a doctor charged with the rape of a 10-year-old; a mob stripping two women in public; a hotel owner held for raping a tourist; a Russian doctor molested and a UK tourist raped — all this in a span of less than a month. (27 January 2008)

New Delhi: According to the latest National Crime Bureau Records, rape today, is India’s fastest growing crime. (IBN online: Tue, Jan 15, 2008)

“The government plans to form a tourist-friendly security organisation manned by former army personnel to effectively tackle harassment and misbehaviour in places frequented by foreigners, Tourism Minister Ambika Soni said here Wednesday”. New Delhi, March 12 (IANS)


Official Advice
“U.S. citizens, particularly women, are cautioned not to travel alone in India. Western women continue to report incidents of physical harassment by groups of men. Known as ”Eve-teasing,” these incidents can be quite frightening”.
US Dept. of State website

“There have been incidents of sexual offences against women in Delhi and Goa and in 2008 our Consular staff have been made aware of a number of British nationals who have been the victim of serious sexual offences. Female travellers are advised to observe and respect local dress and customs and to take particular care”
UK Foreign Office

Women travellers, especially when travelling alone, often receive unwanted attention and have been sexually harassed and assaulted.
Australian Gov. website

Most Government official websites for India (inc. New Zealand, Canada etc) carry similar warnings to the above.


I’m sure these are isolated incidents, as the others say India is safe for woman travellers but it pays to be aware that problems can arise anywhere.

Hi - you'll have less of a hassle in a place like Goa. Anywhere that's crowded - a market, bus, train, there is a (likely) possiblity you will be groped. Cheap thrills come easy here. The big cities are pretty bad for this and Delhi is the worst. Even the Indian women in Delhi are harassed to the point of being afraid. On top of that there have been assaults on foreign women (Indian women as well) in Delhi, Mumbai, and even Goa. Be careful and always be aware of your surroundings. Use common sense about going out at night. If you go to clubs, never leave your drink unattended. It's not necessary to speak to everyone - or even acknowledge - everyone that talks to you. Some men take that as a sign you're "interested". I don't want to scare you, but anyone who tells you India is completely safe for women is probably a man or a woman who luckily has not been groped!!

Hey there

My name is Stuti and I am originally from Delhi but now settled in NY, US. If you are visitng Delhi, apart from the usual attractions like India Gate, Qutab Minar etc I would suggest that you should go to Akshardham Temple, Dilli Haat, National Museum, Lotus Temple. Also, you could buy the Golden Traingle once you reach there. Actually you could do Agra in a day like go in the morning from Delhi and return in the evening. You should rent a car with driver for your Delhi-Agra-Jaipur trip. You should spend more days in Delhi-Jaipur. If you want, you could go to Amritsar (Golden temple) or Haridwar/Rishikesh.

You will be safe in India as long as your are aware of whats going around. A couple of tourist females raped recently were actually high on alcohol and were on drugs. That is always best to avoid.

Let me know if you want recommendations/refernces on places to shop, stay or the car rental.

Stuti

The data shared by people in this forum is indeed true about womens but what it does not reflect it that majority of cases occurred due to alcohol or drug influence. This can be bad in any part of the world why only India. Its quite safe to travel alone at delhi what is required would be bit of a caution. Try and dress decently so not to attract undue attention. Be very reserved in making friends and at nights strictly avoid making new friends. Do not let others buy you a drink.

Try a stick to single mode of transport for the travels at delhi. Delhi is damn good place to visit and as mentioned in the tip above there are lot of things which can be seen. DO NOT stay at Paharganj/Old delhi area when taking a hotel.

Avoid buying a golden triangle from your place as you will get damn good deals once at delhi.

Hi, I am Indian and a woman and I would advise you to be more careful when in Delhi alone. It is not exactly the safest place for single women. Please do not use the bus services there and also dont linger around alone on the roads in the night. Delhi is fun and has a lot of history and culture but I would not call it safe. Just be careful and you should be doing good. Enjoy your trip!

hi there...well i believe u must now be thinking if it will be rite for u to come here or not...because everybody here is making it tougher than what it looks like...relaxx everybody....i understand that u are very much disturb by all these things which are happening very recently which is quite frightening...

well let me get clear to U....i wuld say that delhi is safe and unsafe in both the ways....u have to be carefull whenever u are anywhere in an country abut which u dont know anything abut...and specailly when its so much diversified and people always are trying to get in touch with U..well every place has some Good Bad Ugly people and we have some ugly and good people too much so the ugly comes to u to harm and good comes to U to help U....its u who have to decide who's what for...i believe u are smart for that to make it out....

Sorry Ash - I disagree. Forget about the recent violent crimes against foreigners in Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, etc. It's the everyday stuff that is unacceptable. No where in the world will you have the likelihood of consistently being harassed by men as in India - whether you are an Indian woman or a foreign woman. And if you are a foreign woman - well let's just say that Indian men think differently about foreign women. They will call you crude names as you walk by and in the crowds somebody will surely rub against you. It's degrading. Not every foreign woman is as portrayed in western movies or Baywatch!! Just as every Indian woman is not singing and dancing around a tree, playing coy. No man has the right to do what so many do here - no matter how the woman is dressed, no matter whether she's at a club having a drink, etc. There is no excuse for it. And the worst are the faceless cowards in the crowds.

It is important to warn single women coming to India to take extra care here. Sorry, that's just the way it is. (I've lived here for 5 years and still get crap and I wouldn't dare go out of the house dressed inappropriately or on any holiday - such as Holi - which is just another excuse for the guys to get drunk and harass the women!)

hi donna...

see i understand what are u trying to say here and i totally agree with U..and when u say that india is a place where the girls are being harrassed by men here i really dont like it because its not what the truth is...well i dont want to compare here India with some other country because It really dosent matter what is happening in other country...what is more important is that whethere are we being good to them...i know that women in india had a lot of problems some time back and even sometimes having a girl baby wasnt that good....but hey all have moved a long ahead from that times...today the women in india is reaching all the heights....i know still there is a long way to go...And when u say that here men are very bad yes there are few i mean more than a few...but c'mon u cant talk abut a book by just reading frst few pages abut...we have people here who gives there life for people whom they dont know even... See i understand that some plp in india are shame for the country but then u should see where the majority is...and the majority is in the gud side...see even if u go to some south east & middle east countries it gets more horriable than what it is here...most of the countries women cant even get out of there home and here u talk abut india....

I understand even after 5 years here plp look @ u as someone from another world and they drool on U...and everytime waiting for an chance...see in india some men drool U...but if u take examples of other very devloped countries then they HUMILIATE U because of ur colour....

see i am not here to say that India is safe and all...i am just here to say that its not an easy country to move in speically tourist.....u have to take extra care and be carefull....as i told before every place has some GOOD BAD & UGLY people so u have to be carfull....

PS: donna its nothing personal or something like that...sorry if i have been out of the track somewhere...

Im a woman. Delhi is a terrible place for the single female traveller, believe me. The month of May is also excruciatingly hot and furnace like with temps in the 40's[C]. Where will you be staying? In 4-5* hotels you will be safe, but avoid very cheap guest house type accommodation if alone. Try travelguru.com for hotels at all budgets. Do not move out at night alone, and stick to crowded areas. Dress modestly i.e. avoid skimpy, strappy and short outfits, in any case you will burn in the scorching heat if skimpily dressed. What to see? Personal best sights: Qutb Minar complex, Humayuns Tomb, the Red Fort with sound and light show [book a tour package] and perhaps the lotus shaped Bahai temple for those who like such places. Shopping: Visit Delhi Haat opp. INA market for crafts, Sarojini market for trendy cheap clothing, Janpath - tourists favourite, Cottage Industries Emporium - higher end tourist stuff off Janpath, Karol Bagh / Lajpat Nagar for Indian style garments and fabrics, Yashwant Place for leather goods and garments. You can buy a travel package after you reach Delhi but if you prefer you can book ahead. The Golden Triangle region will be even hotter than Delhi ! As far as possible, go out in the mornings and after 5pm and stay indoors in the afternoon. Dont forget a hat and sunblock. Ignore and move away from men who will definitely approach you on any pretext. If you can avoid Delhi on your own, and especially in the month of May, do so !

hi guys, thank you so much for both the negative and postive feedbacks...now i m pondering whether i should go delhi in May cos the temperature is hot...40C..geeshh..that will be the main killer. which will be the best times to go then?

if i still go to delhi, which accomodation will you guys recommended? went to a few sites and the more i surf, the more choices i got..it kinda make me even more unsure...

perhaps i can meet up with some of the VTs based in Delhi while i was there?

I was in India in February 2007 and the weather was perfect. 70F or so in Delhi and maybe 80F in Visag or Hyderabad (sp?) I was there with a friend (male) so maybe that influenced how I was treated, but I didn't encounter any harassment that was previously mentioned. The only situation I encountered was people wanting to be in pictures with me. It was kind of funny being in home videos of an Indian family. I would, however, recommend not wearing shorts. I was so excited to wear shorts because it was -20F when I left home (Minnesota), but it seemed to draw a lot of attention so I only wore them that one day. Also, we went swimming one day and I think every guy on the beach pulled out their camera phone when I was walking towards the water. Needless to say, we didn't stay at the beach very long at all! I hope you have a great trip!

Ok so you have lots of bed and breakfast type of accomodations coming up in Delhi. There are also some decent 3 star hotels you could choose. If you want to get a little more adventurous and feel a little safe, there are families who actually let tourists (usually foreigners)stay with them for a few days. That is safe, cheap and a lot of help.

Stuti

hello,

a lot of single women are travelling in india and enjoying it too. with some common sense you should be having a great time too.so what if its hot, just wear your hat or carry your umbrella and get tanned. its less touristy then and you can get some bargains and discounts then.no need to buy a travel package as you can do the delhi jaipur agra comfortably on yur own in air con car or by bus.

as for accomodation in any town in india it is best to stay in bed breakfast hostels or budget hotels , less than 30 dollars a nite and these can be found in websites like

www.hostelworld.com
www.travel-library.com/india/delhi
www.jaipurbedbreakfast.com

goa and kerala will be very humid then, so come prepared for mosquitoes devouring you for lunch!!!!

happy travels

I have been living in Delhi since 1978. Delhi is safe for women but be careful in night. I would like to suggest you not come in these days becoz the tempereture too hot. there are many to palace to visit like monuments. Red fort, kuttub minnar, India gate.
there are many shopping complexs has opened in Delhi. according to me. Rajasthan (Jiapur) is place to buy some handy craft thing. Rajasthan is state of India and jaipur is capital of Rajasthan. it is 250 KM far from Delhi.
In Delhi there are type of hotels and accomodation. Be careful taking a room, ask them all price of accomodation before payment..
And be aware of baggers.

if you feel any kind of help so don't hesitate to touch me at jyotinash (at) gmail dot com

Daynep, did you make it to Delhi? Where did you stay?
Stuti how can I find out about the homestay for a few days with a family?
Thanks