How we think about safety
Easy to prevent: most of the things that spoil a journey are small and avoidable.
A welcoming state: Rajasthan welcomes millions of visitors from India and abroad each year, and the great majority travel without any serious problem.
- Visitors
- Millions every year, mostly trouble-free
- Everyday risks
- Sun, traffic, stomachs, petty theft
- Emergency number
- 112
- This page
- General guidance, not medical advice
- Padharo: the word you will hear most means please come in, and it is meant.
- Ordinary sense: use the care you would use in any busy, unfamiliar place, then relax and enjoy it.
- Safety built in: a professional chauffeur who knows the roads, our team at airports and stations, licensed guides known to us, and your planner on WhatsApp throughout.
- Hotels chosen with care: partly for how well they look after their guests.
- Always someone to call: from a lost phone to a fever in the night, someone who knows what to do.
- Advice for you: health advice depends on your medical history, age and the season. Your own doctor, a travel clinic and your government's official travel advice come first.
Before you go
- See your doctor
- Ideally a couple of months ahead
- Official advice
- Read before booking and before flying
- Medicines
- Whole trip plus a few days
- Insurance
- Medical, hospital and evacuation cover
- Yellow fever
- Certificate if coming from affected countries
See your doctor or a travel clinic
Book early: ideally a couple of months ahead, because some vaccinations need time.
- Tell them everything: where you are going, when, for how long, and what you plan to do, such as safaris, rural stays or time with animals.
- What they advise on: routine and travel vaccinations, whether you need protection against malaria in your season, and anything specific to your health.
- Our line: we don't give medical recommendations, and would always rather you heard them from a professional.
Read official travel-health advice
Government sources: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, TravelHealthPro in the United Kingdom, Smartraveller in Australia, and equivalents elsewhere.
- Read it twice: before you book and again before you fly, because it is updated as conditions change.
- Yellow fever: if you have recently been in a country with yellow fever, India may ask for a vaccination certificate on arrival. Our visa guide mentions this.
Bring your medicines
Enough for the trip: the whole journey plus a few extra days, in original packaging, with a copy of the prescription or a doctor's letter.
- Hand luggage: carry it with you, not in the hold.
- Controlled in India: some medicines common elsewhere are, so check if you take anything unusual.
- A medical note: write down any allergies or conditions and the names of your medicines, and keep it with your passport.
Buy good travel insurance
What it should cover: medical treatment in India, hospital stays, medical evacuation, and activities such as safaris, camel rides or ballooning.
- Read the small print: especially on pre-existing conditions.
- On paper too: keep the emergency number and policy number written down as well as on your phone.
- What to look for: our guide to travel insurance for India.
Small things that help
- Prevent small problems: a dental check-up before a long journey, spare glasses or contact lenses, and walking shoes already worn in.
- A simple kit: our packing guide has a health and comfort list.
Food and water
Water: drink only bottled or properly filtered water, and use it to brush your teeth too.
Supplied for you: our cars carry sealed bottles, and good hotels provide filtered or bottled water in your room.
Check the seal: when you buy bottled water outside.
- Drink
- Bottled or filtered water only
- Teeth
- Brush with bottled or filtered too
- Ice
- Fine in good hotels, not at stalls
- Safest choices
- Cooked hot, peeled fruit, busy places
- Ice and salads: fine in good hotels and restaurants, where they are made with filtered water. At small stalls, avoid ice and raw salads washed in tap water.
- Cooked hot and fresh: most Rajasthani food is, which is in its favour. Choose dishes cooked to order, fruit you peel yourself and busy places where food moves quickly.
- Kulhad chai: boiled in front of you and served in a clay cup, it is one of the safest and most delicious things you can drink.
- Street food: it can be wonderful, and our guides know the stalls their own families use. Our Rajasthani food guide explains what to try.
- Upset stomachs: even careful travellers sometimes have one in the first days. Go gently, eat simply, keep drinking water and rest. Ask your doctor what to carry.
- When to see a doctor: if symptoms are severe, include a high fever or blood, or do not improve within a day or two. Every hotel we use can call one quickly.
Heat and sun
Strong in every season: the sun is fierce even on a cool January day.
Drink more than you feel you need: oral rehydration salts are sold in almost every pharmacy, and your doctor can say whether to carry some.
Cover up: a hat, sunglasses, high-factor sun cream and loose, light cotton over your skin.
- Hottest months
- April to June
- Typical peak
- Often above 40°C, up to 45°C
- Rehydration salts
- Sold in almost every pharmacy
- Best hours out
- Opening time, and after five
- How we plan the hot months: monuments at opening time, a long lunch and a rest through the hottest hours, then outings again after five.
- Climb in the morning: even in the cool season, Mehrangarh or Taragarh at midday is hard work.
- Who feels it most: children, older travellers and anyone just arrived from a northern winter.
- Heat exhaustion signs: headache, dizziness, nausea, heavy sweating or confusion. Get into shade or air conditioning, cool down with water and rest.
- Get help at once: if it does not improve quickly, or if someone stops sweating or becomes confused.
- The seasons: our guide to the best time to visit Rajasthan.
Mosquitoes and insects
The risk: mosquitoes can carry illnesses such as dengue and malaria in parts of India, generally more during and just after the monsoon than in the dry winter.
Ask your doctor: a travel clinic can say what precautions suit your season and places.
- Simplest protection: not being bitten. Use an effective repellent on exposed skin, especially around dusk and dawn.
- Evening clothes: long sleeves and long trousers, particularly near lakes, gardens and forests.
- Hotels help: good hotels spray their gardens and provide plug-in repellents in the rooms.
- Where it varies: desert camps in the cool season usually have very few mosquitoes, while lakeside and forest hotels in the monsoon may have more.
- Fever later: if you develop one during or after your journey, see a doctor and tell them you have been in India.
Animals in the street and in the wild
- Rabies
- Present in India
- Any bite or scratch
- Wash for several minutes, see a doctor same day
- Monkeys
- Don't feed, don't touch
- On safari
- Stay seated in the vehicle
- Elephant rides
- We never book them
Monkeys
Where: rhesus macaques and grey langurs live around many temples and forts, including Galtaji in Jaipur and the hills around Pushkar.
- The rules: don't feed them, don't carry food openly, don't smile with your teeth showing and don't try to touch them.
- Expert thieves: keep sunglasses, phones and plastic bags out of reach of macaques.
- If one approaches: stay calm, keep your hands open and walk away slowly. Our guides know where the troops gather.
Dogs and cows
Street dogs: common and usually indifferent, but some are territorial, especially at night or near puppies. Don't pet or feed them.
- Cows: they wander freely in the old cities and are sacred to many Hindus.
- Give them room: generally placid, but in narrow lanes never walk closely behind one, and never get between a cow and her calf.
Bites, scratches and rabies
Who carries it: rabies can be carried by dogs, monkeys, cats, bats and other mammals.
Take it seriously: any bite, scratch or lick on broken skin.
- What to do: wash the wound thoroughly with soap and running water for several minutes and get medical care the same day, even if it looks small.
- Before you travel: ask your doctor whether a pre-travel vaccination is right for you.
- Tell us at once: we will take you to a good hospital.
Wildlife on safari
In the jeep: at Ranthambore or Jawai, stay seated, keep your voice low and follow your naturalist.
- Never get out: unless they tell you it is safe. The rules protect you and the animals.
- Snakes and scorpions: present but rarely seen by visitors, especially in winter.
- Watch your step: on rocky paths, and shake out your shoes at a desert camp in the warm months.
Camels, horses and elephants
Camels: gentle but large, and they stand up back legs first, which surprises everyone. Hold on firmly and lean back as they rise.
- Horses: ride with an experienced guide at a pace that suits you.
- No elephant rides: we don't book them anywhere, for the animals' welfare and because they are not safe. See our ethical animal encounters page.
Air, dust and breathing
Delhi's poor-air months: late October to January, especially around Diwali and in still, foggy spells, across Delhi and the northern plains.
Breathing conditions: with asthma or similar, ask your doctor before you travel, carry your inhalers and consider a good mask for the Delhi days.
- Rajasthan is usually clearer: its cities usually have cleaner air than Delhi in these months, though traffic and dust can still irritate. The desert, hills and countryside are much clearer.
- What we do: check air quality forecasts and keep Delhi days short when it is bad.
- Dust storms: called aandhi, they sometimes blow across the west before the monsoon. They are dramatic and usually brief.
- In a storm: close the windows, stay indoors and wait for it to pass. A scarf or buff over your nose and mouth helps in a jeep or on a camel.
If you need a doctor
City hospitals: Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur all have well-equipped private hospitals with English-speaking doctors, and Delhi has some of the best hospitals in South Asia.
Smaller towns: clinics and pharmacies, with larger hospitals usually a drive of a few hours at most.
- Emergency number
- 112: police, fire, ambulance
- Private hospitals
- Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Delhi
- Hotel doctor
- Often within the hour
- Pharmacies
- Called chemists, on most main streets
- Doctor on call: most good hotels have one who can visit your room, often within the hour.
- Chemists: they supply many common medicines, but are not a replacement for your doctor's advice. Be careful with unfamiliar brands, and ask the hotel doctor if unsure.
- The fastest route in practice: call your planner or tell the hotel, and we arrange the doctor, the hospital and the transport.
- Insurance details: keep them with you, because private hospitals may need them before treatment. Our planners can speak to the hospital and your insurer for you.
On the road
The biggest everyday question: road travel, which is why we use experienced professional chauffeurs and well-maintained cars.
No self-drive: we don't recommend it for visitors.
Our drivers: they know the roads, keep to sensible speeds and take breaks on long legs.
- Seatbelts: wear one, front and back.
- Not after dark: we avoid long night drives where we can, because unlit vehicles, animals and tractors are harder to see.
- Winter fog: on the northern plains around Delhi and Agra it sometimes slows the roads, and we keep those days flexible.
- Crossing an old-city road: go with your guide at a steady pace, and don't stop or run halfway. Traffic flows around you if you move predictably.
- In narrow lanes: keep to the side and watch for motorbikes.
- Rickshaws: auto-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws are fun for short trips, and your guide will choose a good one and agree the fare. See getting around Rajasthan.
Bazaars, touts and the classic scams
Pickpockets and bags
Where they work: crowded bazaars, festivals and railway stations.
- Your bag: one that closes, worn across your body and in front of you in crowds.
- In the safe: your passport, most of your cash and a spare card. Carry only what you need for the day.
- ATMs: use ones inside banks or hotels, in daylight.
The gem scam
How it starts: a friendly stranger offers to help you make money by carrying gems or jewellery home to sell.
- How it ends: you pay for the stones, they are worth far less, and the promised buyer never appears.
- Still running: for decades, and it still catches people. No genuine business works this way. Say no politely and walk on.
Commission shopping
How it works: drivers, guides and touts earn a commission for bringing visitors to particular shops, which charge more to pay for it.
- Not dangerous: but expensive and tiring.
- Our rule: our guides and drivers are paid never to do this. Decline any shop, cousin's factory or government emporium you did not ask for. See our shopping guide.
Fake officials and helpers
Closed monument stories: be wary of anyone who says a monument is closed and offers to take you elsewhere.
- Fake tourist offices: people at stations and airports who claim to be from one. Real officials do not approach you in the street.
- Our team meets you: at every arrival, so you never need to rely on a stranger.
Photographs and payments
Costumes and snake baskets: some people in tourist spots ask for money after a photograph, sometimes insistently.
- Agree first: or don't take the picture.
- Our view: we don't support snake charmers or animals used for photographs, and would rather you didn't either.
For women travellers
Dress modestly: shoulders and knees covered, a scarf to hand. It draws less attention in old cities and villages and is cooler in the sun.
Staring: common in India and usually curiosity rather than threat, but you are entitled to ignore it or walk away.
- Getting about: sit in the back of a car or rickshaw, and use transport arranged by your hotel or by us.
- After dark: avoid walking alone in quiet areas.
- Holi: crowds can become rowdy, so we strongly suggest celebrating with a guide or in a private gathering.
- Read on: our guide for women travellers, and our solo traveller journeys, built with this in mind.
Festivals, crowds and water
Holi: play with people you know, ask before putting colour on anyone and expect the same courtesy. Protect your eyes. Read our Holi guide.
Bhang at Holi: avoid drinks or sweets offered by strangers, which may contain bhang, a cannabis preparation traditional at the festival.
- Pushkar fair, Diwali and the great processions: crowds can be very dense. 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 rooftop or terrace rather than the street.
- Boats: on Lake Pichola or Fateh Sagar, wear the life jacket provided and follow the boatman.
- Ghats and stepwells: steps can be steep, worn and slippery when wet. Take them slowly, especially barefoot.
- Dunes after dark: stay with your camp's team. The desert is easy to get lost in, even close to camp.
Our short list for staying well
Prepare at home: see your doctor or a travel clinic well before you go, and read your government's official travel advice.
Insure: with good medical cover, and keep the details on paper.
Eat and drink well: bottled or filtered water, and food cooked hot and fresh.
- Respect the sun: in every season, and drink more water than you think you need.
- Repellent at dusk: especially after the monsoon.
- Animals: keep your distance from monkeys, dogs and cows, and treat any bite or scratch as urgent.
- Roads: a professional driver, a seatbelt, and no long drives at night.
- Valuables: in the safe, your bag in front in crowds, and no to gem deals.
- Two numbers in your phone: your planner's, and the emergency number, 112.