Our honest answer
Most trips go smoothly: the great majority of travellers, including our own guests, have no serious problem at all.
But no one can promise safety: not us, not a hotel, not a guidebook. Anyone who does is selling something.
- Visitors
- Millions each year, from India and abroad
- Serious crime against visitors
- Uncommon, but it does happen
- Most common problems
- Stomachs, sun, traffic, pickpockets
- Best protection
- Planning, insurance and good local help
- The real risks are ordinary: a day lost to an upset stomach, too much sun at a fort, a phone lifted in a crowded lane, a drive on a busy highway.
- Planning removes most of them: a professional driver, filtered water, early starts and a bag that closes do more than any amount of worry.
- Things change: weather, politics, festivals and health conditions all move, which is why official advice matters more than any web page, including this one.
Read the official advice first
United Kingdom: the FCDO travel advice for India covers safety, regional risks, health and entry rules.
United States: the State Department's India travel advisory gives its current advisory level and the areas to avoid.
- Australia and Canada: Smartraveller and travel.gc.ca publish their own pages.
- Read it twice: before you book, and again in the week before you fly.
- Check your insurance: some policies do not cover areas your government advises against. Our guide to travel insurance for India explains what to look for.
- Tell us what it says: if the advice changes before or during your journey, we change the plan with you.
What actually goes wrong
Upset stomachs
Why: new food, spices and water, especially in the first days.
- What helps: bottled or filtered water only, food cooked hot and fresh, and going gently at first.
- When to worry: a high fever, blood or symptoms lasting more than a day or two mean a doctor. Every hotel we use can call one quickly.
Heat and sun
Why: the sun is strong in every season, and from April to June it is often above 40°C.
- What helps: water, a hat, long light sleeves and a long rest in the middle of the day.
- Watch for: headache, dizziness or confusion, which are signs to cool down at once.
Road traffic
- Why: Indian roads are busy, mixed and unpredictable, and road accidents are the most serious everyday risk.
- What helps: a professional chauffeur, seatbelts front and back, sensible speeds and no long drives after dark.
Pickpockets and petty theft
- Where: crowded bazaars, festivals and railway stations.
- What helps: a bag that closes, worn across your body and in front of you, and the passport in the hotel safe.
Scams and touts
- The classics: the gem export scheme, the monument that is suddenly closed, the cousin's factory and the self-appointed temple guide.
- What helps: say no politely and walk on. Real officials do not approach you in the street.
Animals
- The risk: monkeys at temples, street dogs at night, and rabies, which is present in India.
- What helps: do not feed or touch them, and treat any bite or scratch as urgent, the same day.
Air quality
- When: Delhi and the northern plains can have very poor air from late October to January.
- What helps: short Delhi days, a good mask if you have asthma and a word with your doctor before you travel.
Health, in brief
See your doctor or a travel clinic: ideally a couple of months ahead, for vaccinations and advice specific to you and the season.
Read official travel-health advice: the CDC in the United States, TravelHealthPro in the United Kingdom, or your own country's equivalent.
- Bring your medicines: enough for the whole trip and a few extra days, in original packaging, in your hand luggage.
- Buy insurance with medical cover: including hospital stays and evacuation, and any activities you plan.
- Hospitals: Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur have well-equipped private hospitals, and Delhi has some of the best in South Asia.
- The detail: our health and safety guide covers food, water, heat, insects and animals.
On the road
We do not recommend self-drive: for visitors, a professional chauffeur is the single biggest safety decision you can make.
No long drives after dark: unlit vehicles, tractors and animals are much harder to see at night, so we plan arrivals in daylight.
- Seatbelts, front and back: our cars have them, and we ask everyone to wear them.
- Breaks every couple of hours: tired drivers make mistakes. Ours stop for chai, and so should you.
- Winter fog: on the plains around Delhi and Agra it can slow the roads, so we keep those days flexible.
- Crossing the street: cross with your guide, at a steady pace, and do not stop or run halfway. Our guide to getting around Rajasthan has more.
Crowds, festivals and Holi
Holi: play with people you know, and ask before putting colour on anyone. Avoid drinks and sweets from strangers, which may contain bhang, a cannabis preparation. Read our Holi guide.
The Pushkar fair and great processions: agree a meeting point, keep children close and let your guide choose where to stand.
- Diwali fireworks: set off everywhere, often close to people. Watch from a terrace.
- Temple crowds: at darshan, the crowd can press forward hard. Stand where your guide suggests.
- On the water: wear the life jacket on boats on Lake Pichola and Fateh Sagar.
For women travellers
Staring is common: usually curiosity rather than threat, but tiring. You are entitled to ignore it and walk away.
Unwanted comments and attention happen: in crowded places a small minority of men behave badly, and groping at rowdy street celebrations has been reported.
- Dress modestly: shoulders and knees covered draws less attention in the old cities and villages.
- Use arranged transport: sit in the back, use cars arranged by us or your hotel, and avoid quiet areas alone after dark.
- Help is close: step into a shop, a hotel or towards a group of women. Call 112 in an emergency, or the women's helpline on 1091.
- The full guide: our women travellers guide and our journal on packing for women.
Solo travellers and LGBTQ+ travellers
Solo travellers: a private car, guides in each city and a planner who checks in each evening mean you are never truly alone. See our solo traveller journey.
Share your plans: with a friend at home, or let your planner know if you change them.
- LGBTQ+ travellers: India's Supreme Court decriminalised same-sex relationships in 2018, but social attitudes are conservative, especially outside the cities.
- Discretion in public: public displays of affection are uncommon for any couple in Rajasthan, and quiet discretion draws the least attention.
- Hotels: the international and palace hotels we use are used to welcoming all guests. Tell us what matters to you and we choose accordingly.
The western border and the desert
Official advice: the UK FCDO advises against all travel within 10 kilometres of the India-Pakistan border. Other governments give similar advice. Check the current version before you go.
Unmarked in places: the border in Rajasthan is unmarked in some areas, so wandering towards it off an official route could be dangerous.
- Checkpoints: carry identity documents on the roads west of Jaisalmer and towards Barmer, where checkpoints may ask for them.
- Tensions can rise quickly: during India-Pakistan hostilities in May 2025, some airports in western Rajasthan closed for several days. We watch the news and the advice, and change plans when needed.
- Do not photograph: army convoys, checkpoints or military areas, which is taken very seriously in the west.
- Our desert journeys: Jaisalmer and the dunes at Sam and Khuri are where we take guests, with camps we know.
Children and older travellers
Shorter drives: we keep family drives under about four hours where we can, with a stop every ninety minutes.
Child seats: they are not standard in Indian touring cars, so ask in advance and we bring them.
- Steps and ramps: forts have steep, uneven paths and few handrails. We plan vehicles, lifts and shorter walks for anyone who needs them. See accessible travel.
- Heat: children and older travellers dehydrate faster. Water, shade and an afternoon rest are not optional.
- Monkeys and dogs: teach children not to feed or touch animals, however friendly they look.
- More: our guide to travelling with children and our family journeys.
Money, documents and your phone
Copies: passport, visa and insurance on your phone, in your email and on paper, kept apart from the originals.
The hotel safe: for your passport, most of your cash and a spare card.
- ATMs inside banks or hotels: in daylight, with the keypad covered.
- Two cards in two places: and tell your bank you are travelling.
- A charged phone: with a local SIM or eSIM for maps and messages. See SIM cards and internet.
- Our money guide: money and tipping covers cash, cards and bargaining.
How we reduce the risks
Met at every arrival: our team meets you at airports and stations, so you never rely on a stranger offering a taxi.
A chauffeur we know: chosen for calm driving and good manners, with you for the whole journey.
- Licensed guides known to the family: many have worked with us for years. You can ask to change any of them at any time.
- Hotels chosen with care: partly for how well they look after guests, with doctors on call.
- No long drives after dark: and no arrival in a new city at night unless you choose it.
- A planner on WhatsApp throughout: from a lost phone to a fever in the night, there is always someone to call who knows what to do.
- Plans that bend: if advice, weather or a festival changes things, we change the route with you.
If something goes wrong
In an emergency: call 112, then your planner, who will be with you on the phone or in person as fast as possible.
The tourist helpline: India's Ministry of Tourism runs a multilingual helpline on 1363, or toll-free on 1800-11-1363, for information and help in distress.
- Emergency
- 112, police, fire and ambulance
- Women's helpline
- 1091
- Tourist helpline
- 1363, or 1800-11-1363, multilingual
- Your planner
- On WhatsApp, day and night
- At the monuments: Rajasthan's Tourist Assistance Force has booths at several of Jaipur's main sights, and police are present at the major monuments.
- Lost passport or cards: tell your planner at once. We help with the police report, the bank and your embassy.
- Illness: tell the hotel and your planner. We arrange the doctor or hospital and speak to your insurer if needed.
- Keep paper copies: of your passport, visa and insurance, separate from the originals.
How each place feels
Jaipur
- Busy and friendly: the walled city bazaars are crowded, so keep your bag in front and walk them in the morning with a guide.
- Watch for: the gem scam and commission shops. See the Jaipur guide.
Udaipur
- Perhaps the most relaxed city: the lake-front lanes are full of families in the evening.
- Watch for: persistent touts in the old city, and steep, slippery ghat steps.
Jodhpur and Jaisalmer
- The lanes: Jodhpur's blue lanes are a maze, best with a guide. Jaisalmer's fort is small and friendly.
- The desert: go to the dunes only with camps and operators we know, never with a stranger who approaches you in town.
Pushkar
- A holy town: generally relaxed, but some self-styled priests at the ghats press visitors for donations.
- What helps: politeness, firmness and your own guide. See Pushkar.
The wildlife parks
- Lodges: self-contained and calm, with staff who walk you to your room after dark.
- On safari: stay seated, keep quiet and follow your naturalist.
Delhi and Agra
- Big and busy: Delhi is where visitors, especially women, most often report hassle in crowded markets and stations.
- At the Taj: touts can be tiring. Your guide will steer you past them.
Ten habits that matter most
Read official advice: before booking and before flying.
Insure yourself well: with good medical cover, and keep the details on paper.
Drink bottled or filtered water: and eat food cooked hot and fresh.
- Respect the sun: in every season, and rest at midday.
- Use a professional driver: wear a seatbelt and avoid long drives at night.
- Keep valuables in the safe: and your bag in front of you in crowds.
- Say no to strangers' offers: gems, closed monuments, cousins' factories.
- Keep your distance from animals: and treat any bite as urgent.
- Dress modestly outside the hotel: it draws less attention everywhere.
- Trust your instincts: if a place or a person feels wrong, leave. You owe no one an explanation.