I recently visited India for a week, following the very popular Golden Triangle Route. I started in Delhi and ended in Delhi, seeing Agra, Jaipur and Udaipur among other places along the way. It was all very beautiful, but it had an effect on me different from any of the other places in the world I’ve visited for one reason; I was traveling as a black, female, solo traveler. While most of the time this fact is very much an after thought for me, (after all I didn’t just wake up a black female one day- I’ve been one all of my life) it very much impacted my trip. It may seem strange, but I had never been so conscious of the fact that I’m a black woman as I was in India. Here are some tips for travelling India as a solo, black, female traveler as well as some things to think about.
Hire a Reputable Guide and Driver
The amount of people trying to sell you things or be your guide is unbelievable. I didn’t enjoy some of the activities simply because I had souvenirs being thrust into my face non-stop. But with a guide these opportunists tend to leave you alone. For the most part this badgering is just annoying, but it has the potential to get dangerous. On my second day in India I went to a mosque alone. This one particular mosque was left off of my guided tour the day before because the mosque was closed for Eid, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan. A man attached himself to me as a guide, even after I declined. When the tour was over he demanded an insane amount of money and when I said no he got very angry, screaming and yelling at me. I ended up giving him some money just to get away from him. Here I was at a mosque during one of the holiest days for Muslims and this guy is not only trying to rip me off but also looking like he was going to kill me. Needless to say I was thrilled to have a reputable guide the remainder of my trip.
The amount of men in one location can be alarming. This is actually in Old Delhi, a place were I felt less anxious.
Say No To Pictures.
Usually when people ask to take a picture with you, it’s pretty harmless. But in India I found it to be overwhelming. I’d say yes to one person and soon people were lining up to take a picture with me, making seeing some sites a lengthy process. While there were some families that asked for pictures, the majority were groups of young men. I said yes to some, but after a guide told me that many men Photoshop the pictures to look inappropriate, I started declining. I don’t know how much truth there is to this claim, but I do know that it didn’t feel right. Pretty soon after my guide mentioned this, I started seeing men snap my picture without permission and he’d have to shoo them away. Besides it being a bit of a hassle, it also brought lots of unwanted attention my way. As a solo, female traveler that is the last thing you want to do. And while I’m sure this happens to women of other backgrounds, I felt like I got way more attention as a black woman.
Say No As a Mantra
India was also overwhelming because of the crowding, level of cleanliness and the fact that so many people in some of these touristy areas have a hand out. It’s inevitable when traveling to some 3rd world countries. People are trying to get you to buy anything and everything or spare some change. Your heart will break, and you will want to buy or give to help those in need, but again once you say yes you open yourself up to unwanted attention. I did give at times as well as buy, but it had to be the right situation. If something doesn’t feel right it probably isn’t. In one situation I was alone in a painting showroom with a man. When he closed the doors and began getting too friendly I quickly sped up the process and left. Something similar happened to me as well when a man became angry because I wouldn’t buy anything from his store. His store was the last shop in an alley of stores and not easily seen from the main road. I didn’t want to enter the store to begin with and when his attitude shifted and alarmed me, I got the hell out of there. Once again, it’s not about thinking poorly of people’s intentions but instead safeguarding and protecting yourself.
As you can probably tell from this unflattering picture, I was overwhelmed. It was raining, I was barefoot, everyone was either staring at me or trying to sell me something and I was filthy.
At Fatehpur Sikri. If you can avoid visiting during holidays or special occasions, do!
Put Some Clothes On
It’s a good idea to dress modestly when traveling solo, but especially in a country like India. It’s alarming how many groups of men are in certain locations and you definitely do not want to bring extra attention to yourself. I wore a pretty modest romper one day and not two hours into my day I decided to throw pants on over it. Despite the heat, local women are covered up with either saris or Punjabis. Their legs do not show and their shoulders are covered. On the days that I wore long skirts and covered my arms I received less attention and it felt good just to fit in more.
Try The Off the Beaten Path Locations
India is a beautiful, vibrant country. But unfortunately, when things get too popular, sometimes a bit of the magic is lost. While I’m glad I can say I saw the Taj Mahal and the Amber Fort, in retrospect I would have much rather been hiking through a national park or wandering aimlessly through a small town. I actually enjoyed the spice market in Old Delhi more than some of the bigger attractions because it was business as usual for the most part. I also enjoyed the places with no big names at all or just seeing the kids play on the side of the road in rural parts of Jaipur. Even though I’m sure people still noticed that I was a black female traveling alone, they didn’t seem to care much and I was able to just watch everyday life instead of having people watching me.
In addition to these tips, I would also encourage solo female travelers not to travel alone at night in cities like Delhi. Hopefully these tips help if you’re planning on traveling solo to India and hopefully they are helpful to everyone regardless of race.
Despite having to deal with being uncomfortable or guarded at times, there were many moments of pure enjoyment and wonder.
Looking for more tips on traveling solo? Check out the Wise Traveller’s Solo Females Travel Bible or my previous post on traveling solo.
realistic insightful observations. thank you for blessing us with your journey!!♡
Thanks for reading!
Hi!
I’m a black female going to Delhi on the 25th of Feb. I read your article and it was helpful. How about food? Whew did you find your guide? I’m going for a medical surgery and the doctor has assistants to help.
Thanks for reading, Zeenethia! I’m a vegetarian so the food was great for me. The spice was real though! I like spicy food and a couple of times it challenged me. I found my guide online. Golden Triangle Tours. Are you going to have time to site see or will you be preparing for surgery? Good luck with that by the way!
Very useful information. Thanks maya.
Glad you found it useful, Earl. I’d love to hear what you think if you decide to go.
Wow what an amazing story. I am so happy to have come across your blog. My family and I moved to New Delhi last month. We are living the expat life but still I have so much anxiety about living in India while black. Thanks for sharing your experience!!
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear more about your experience once you’ve had more time to settle in. What brought you to New Delhi?
Hi Mayatheexplorer, my spouse is a foreign service officer. I am sure there will be more to tell about life in India after we are fully settled in 🙂
How’s the settling in going? How do you like it so far?
Hi Mayatheexplorer! So far so good! We have settled in to our apartment and we have unpacked 95% of our things. Our children are loving their new school. Now working on the process of registering our vehicle and getting a driver. Going through the normal day to day things except doing them in New Delhi. We’ve started to compose our list of places to explore. Starting with Agra next month!! Thanks for checking in. Our journey continues 🙂
No problem! So glad to hear it’s going well. Enjoy Agra!
Thanks for the write up Maya! These were very helpful tips which I plan to put into practice. I’ll be visiting sometime next year, I’ll have to find a local guide. 🙂 Keep Inspiring!!
– Many Blessings and Safe Travels
Let me know what you think once you visit. Hope you have a great trip!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us!
Also, I just gotta say, Sista, you are adorable!!!
Sorry, had to get that in there, lol
Aww thank you! No need to apologize. I’ll take that compliment. Thanks for reading!
Thanks Maya. So helpful for tomorrow’s adventure 🙂
Can’t wait to hear all about it!
Awesome post. I agree with the private guide. It helped so much in China as the photos and touching at times was a bit much.
Thanks for commenting, Jaunese! Yeah, India and China so far are definitely the places where I’ve gotten the most attention.
Hi,
I really enjoyed reading your blog. Now I’m less scared going to, India for a month on my own, for a yoga teacher training. Do you know anything about Rishikesh? The yoga training is located in this state. Very anxious and nervous, but I need to go to the birth place of yoga.
Thanks for reading, Shawn! I’ve never been to Rishikesh before but I’m sure if it’s the birth place of yoga you will be far from alone. I hope you have a great retreat and enjoy the Ganges! I really want to go back to see it myself.
Hi Maya. Such a great article, thank you! I’m a black female solo traveler in Mumbai right now and I will be here for a month on a work assignment. I’m having difficulties booking group tours as it seems they will only accept 2 or more people. Do you mind sharing the tour guides you used in Mumbai? Also, how was your experience flying from city to city? I’m thinking of flying to Delhi to see the Taj. Thank you.
Hi Marie! Thanks for reading. I used Golden Triangle Tours I believe and they were good, but I was also alone and kinda customized my tour as a result. Have you tried maybe G Adventures for a group trip? You can join by yourself and pay extra for a private room. I only had one flight on the way back but that was totally fine. How are you liking your work experience there?
Thanks for the info! The work experience is fine and they provide me with a taxi to and from the office. The only downside is I have to work the night shift so I hardly see daylight :(.
Excellent post. Your article will definitely inspire the solo female travellers from other countries who are visiting India.
Thanks for reading! I hope it does.
I was in Delhi at that same time and did the triangle too. I was with some Hindu friends along with my sister. As a male I feel like I fit in very well. My sister however drew stares because of her hair, which is beautiful but different. I am also a Hindu “convert” and I felt quite at home culturally. A few times until I spoke I was thought of as a Hindu.
One thing I noticed about European women and men too was the amount of exposed skin. Indian men very seldom wear shorts and tank tops and such attire as that. Wearing revealing clothing as a woman or a man seems to bring attention.
In addition to India I also visited Sri Lanka where the same things applied.
I love international travel but I notice that when I see a Black American woman she seems to look at me with distaste. So I have learned to look away from them which is sad because I really enjoy talking with people and to see someone from my country who seemingly shares my love for travel but whom I won’t even ever get to interact is a bit sad, but alas I had a wonderful time and do intend to return
Hi Jon. Interesting insights. I loved Sri Lanka and didn’t get the same vibe as I did in India at all. Everyone was laid back and didn’t stare at all really. Where are you from?