The honest picture
Honest, not just reassuring: here is the picture as we see it.
Famously hospitable: Rajasthan is one of the most visited states in India, and serious crime against visitors is rare.
Women travel here every way: alone, with friends, with daughters and on honeymoons, and the great majority have a wonderful time.
- Serious crime
- Rare against visitors
- Most common issue
- Staring and attention
- Biggest help
- Good planning
- In heritage hotels
- Treated like a relative
- Used to looking after women: hotels, guides and drivers are. In a family-run heritage hotel you are treated like a visiting relative.
- A conservative society: a foreign woman, especially one travelling without a man, attracts attention.
- Staring: you will be stared at, sometimes for a long time, often simply out of curiosity.
- Selfies and comments: you may be asked for selfies, sometimes by groups of young men, and you may hear comments. In crowded places a small minority of men behave badly.
- The tiring part: this is what most women find wearing, and it is what good planning reduces the most.
- In the villages: many women still cover their heads before older men and spend much of their lives within the family courtyard.
- In the cities: in Jaipur and Udaipur, young women run businesses, ride scooters to college and work as guides and hoteliers.
What to wear
Modest dress is noticed: Rajasthanis dress modestly, and they notice when visitors do too.
Blend in, don't hide: the aim is to draw less attention and show respect.
- Cover
- Shoulders, cleavage and knees
- Kurta
- Long tunic over loose trousers
- Dupatta
- Long scarf for cover and sun
- Temples
- Head scarf, slip-on sandals
- Palace hotels
- Dress as anywhere, add a wrap
- What works: loose, light clothes that cover shoulders, cleavage and knees are comfortable in the heat and appropriate almost everywhere.
- The kurta habit: many of our women guests buy a kurta, a long tunic, in the first few days and wear it over loose trousers for the rest of the trip. It is cool, practical and very flattering, and shopkeepers will tell you so.
- Full lists: our journal on packing for women, and our packing guide for everyone.
- Try a sari: or a Rajasthani poshak. We can arrange a fitting and a lesson. See how to wear a sari.
In cities and bazaars
What to wear: a loose kurta or long top over trousers, a long skirt, or a maxi dress with a light cardigan.
- The dupatta: a long scarf worn over the shoulders or chest is the local way to add cover, and it is useful for the sun.
- Avoid: tight, short or sleeveless clothes in the old cities, where they draw stares.
In temples, mosques and dargahs
Full cover: shoulders and legs.
- Head scarf: carry one for the Ajmer Sharif dargah, gurudwaras and some temples.
- Shoes off: at the entrance, so slip-on sandals are easiest. Our temple etiquette guide explains more.
In the desert and villages
Long, loose cotton: it protects you from sun and sand.
- More conservative: modest dress matters more in rural areas.
- Head cover: a wide hat or a scarf is practical and respectful.
In palace hotels
Inside the walls: dress as you would at any international luxury hotel.
- Pool and dinner: swimwear is fine at the pool, and evening dresses suit dinner on a palace terrace.
- Stepping out: just add a wrap when you leave the gates.
Getting around safely
- Chauffeur
- Private, known to us
- Women guides
- In some cities, ask us
- Taxis
- Hotel-booked or app
- Overnight trains
- First AC lockable coupé
- Delhi Metro
- Women's coach every train
Your chauffeur
Someone we know well: on every journey, a private chauffeur chosen for his calm driving and his manners.
- Always there: he waits for you at each sight, carries your bags and knows where you are.
- Change, no questions: if anything about the car or driver makes you uncomfortable, tell your planner and we change it at once. You never need to explain.
Guides
Licensed and trusted: many of our local guides have worked with our family for years.
- Women guides: in some cities we can arrange them, which many women travellers enjoy, especially in the bazaars and for conversations about women's lives.
- Ask when you plan: we will do what we can for your route.
Taxis, auto-rickshaws and apps
Without your driver: use a taxi booked by your hotel or a ride-hailing app, not one hailed on the street.
- Share the trip: with a friend or your planner, and sit in the back.
- Auto-rickshaws: fun for short hops in daylight in busy areas.
- Avoid: unlicensed taxis at stations and airports.
Trains and flights
Daytime fast trains: the Shatabdi and Vande Bharat are busy, comfortable and full of families.
- Ladies' quota: Indian Railways keeps one on many trains.
- Overnight: a First AC coupé with a lockable door is the most private choice.
- Delhi Metro: a coach reserved for women on every train. See our trains guide.
After dark
Early evening: old cities and bazaars are lively and safe, with families out.
- Later at night: streets empty quickly, so be with your driver or guide rather than walking alone.
- Your hotel: a palace hotel is a world of its own after dark, and dinner on the terrace is never a hardship.
Handling unwanted attention
Mostly curiosity: a friendly but firm manner deals with most attention.
You owe no politeness: a smaller part is not harmless, and you never have to be polite to someone who makes you uncomfortable. These are the habits our own family uses.
Keep details vague: don't feel obliged to say where you are staying, whether you are married or where you are going next. A vague answer, or none, is fine.
- Emergency
- 112
- Women's helpline
- 1091
- No
- Nahin
- Go away
- Jao
- Safe havens
- Shops, hotels, temples, families
- Selfies: saying no with a smile and a shake of the head is perfectly acceptable. If you agree, you choose who stands where.
- Be loud: if someone is persistent, a firm, loud nahin, no, or jao, go away, draws attention to them, which is exactly what they don't want.
- In crowds: at festivals or in packed bazaars, keep a bag across your body in front of you, and stay close to your guide.
- Find people: if you feel unsafe, walk into a shop, a hotel or a temple, or towards a group of women or a family. People will help.
- Tourist police: Rajasthan's Tourist Assistance Force has booths at several of Jaipur's main monuments, and police are present at the major sights.
- Emergencies: call 112, India's national emergency number, or the women's helpline, 1091. Then call your planner, who will be with you, on the phone or in person, as fast as possible.
- Trust your instincts: if a place, a person or a situation feels wrong, leave. You owe no one an explanation.
Hotels, and the right room
A little extra care: we prefer established palace hotels and family-run heritage properties where we know the owners and managers personally, and we tell them you are our guest.
Long experience: many of the great hotels, such as Rambagh Palace in Jaipur or the Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur, have long looked after solo women travellers.
- Hotel choice
- Established, owners known to us
- Room
- Upper floor or main building
- Door
- Chain or latch on
- Dining alone
- Completely normal
- Family properties: the owner's wife or mother often makes a point of checking on you.
- The right room: upper floors or the main building rather than isolated garden rooms, unless you prefer the opposite.
- In your room: use the door chain or latch, call reception before opening to unexpected visitors, and keep your room number to yourself in public.
- Dining alone: completely normal in good hotels, and staff will often seat you at the best table.
- The properties we know best: our guides to palace hotels and heritage havelis.
Festivals, crowds and Holi
- Holi
- March
- Gangaur
- March or April
- Teej
- July or August
- Pushkar fair
- Go early, travel light
Holi
Wonderful, with care: Holi, the festival of colours in March, can turn rowdy on the streets, sometimes with alcohol or bhang, a cannabis drink.
- Consent: some women have experienced groping in crowds. Colour should only ever be applied with consent, and not everyone respects that.
- Our way: we arrange Holi for women guests at a hotel, a private haveli or with a family, where the colour is gentle and the company kind.
- Be ready: wear old clothes that cover you, oil your hair and skin first and keep your phone in a sealed bag.
Gangaur and Teej, the women's festivals
Rajasthan's women's festivals: a joy to share.
- Gangaur: in March or April, women pray to the goddess Gauri for happy marriages, and processions carry her image through Jaipur and Udaipur.
- Teej: in July or August, women in green and leheriya swing from trees and sing the songs of the rains.
- Inside the circle: women visitors are often welcomed in, and our women guides can take you there.
The Pushkar fair and big crowds
- Enormous crowds: at the Pushkar Camel Fair and other great gatherings, and pickpockets are busy.
- How to do it: go early in the morning, stay with your guide, keep valuables to a minimum and plan a calm hotel to return to.
Meeting the women of Rajasthan
Travelling as a woman in Rajasthan opens doors that are closed to men. In a village home, the women of the house may invite you into the inner courtyard to sit with them, laugh at your attempts at Hindi and show you their wedding jewellery.
At Bagru: in a printing family, the women who prepare the dyes may show you the work that tourists usually miss.
- In the desert: Rabari and Meghwal women embroider with mirrors and bright thread, and an afternoon with them is a lesson in skill and patience.
- Never a show: we arrange these meetings through families we know, with fair payment and proper respect.
- What you might do: learn to cook in a family kitchen, have your hands painted with mehndi by a local artist, learn the dances of Gangaur, or visit a women's craft cooperative.
- Photographs: ask before you photograph anyone, and accept a no.
- A good place to begin: our haveli cooking class.
Health and comfort
Sanitary products: pads are easy to find in city pharmacies and supermarkets. Tampons and menstrual cups are harder to find outside big cities, so bring what you prefer.
Toilets: public ones are scarce and often poor. We plan stops at hotels, good restaurants and clean highway places.
- Sanitary pads
- Easy in city pharmacies
- Tampons and cups
- Bring your own
- Carry
- Tissues, sanitiser, wet wipes
- Woman doctor
- Major private hospitals
- Drink enough: the heat and long drives make it easy to drink too little. Keep water with you, and ask your driver to stop whenever you need to.
- Medication: bring what you need, with prescriptions, in your hand luggage. Talk to your own doctor before you travel, and see our health and safety guide.
- Temple customs: some temples and shrines have their own customs about women. Your guide will explain them quietly and help you decide what feels right.
- A woman doctor: the major private hospitals in Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur can usually arrange one. Your planner will help.
City by city
Jaipur
Busy and friendly: used to visitors.
- The bazaars: the walled city is crowded, so walk it in the morning with a guide, and keep bags in front of you.
- Relaxed and modern: MI Road, the palace hotels and the cafes of C-Scheme, where many young Jaipur women work in hotels, shops and design studios. See the Jaipur guide.
Udaipur
Perhaps the most relaxed: of any city in Rajasthan for women.
- Evenings by the lake: the lanes around Gangaur Ghat and Lal Ghat are full of travellers, cafes and families, and a boat on Pichola at sunset is a lovely solo outing.
- Touts: they can be persistent in the old city, so a firm no works best. See the Udaipur guide.
Jodhpur
The blue lanes: below Mehrangarh they are a maze, beautiful and confusing, and better explored with a guide.
- The clock tower market: crowded and lively.
- Evenings: the old city rooftops and palace hotel terraces are calm places to watch the fort light up.
Jaisalmer and the desert
The fort: small and friendly, with families living in its lanes, but shopkeepers are persistent.
- Desert camps: wonderful, and we choose established ones with proper staff and lockable tents.
- Safaris: go with operators we know, never with a stranger who approaches you in town.
Pushkar
A holy town: full of pilgrims and long-stay travellers, and generally relaxed.
- At the ghats: some self-styled priests press visitors for donations, and a few men target women travellers with offers of friendship or guidance. Stay polite and firm.
- The lake is sacred: dress modestly there. See Pushkar.
Delhi and Agra
Delhi: a big modern city with a lot to enjoy, and also where women most often report hassle, especially in crowded markets and at stations.
- Simple habits: use your driver, keep to busy areas and use the women's coach on the Metro.
- The Taj Mahal: touts and photographers can be tiring, so your guide will steer you past them.
Ranthambore, Jawai and the wildlife lodges
Self-contained: the safari lodges are very comfortable for women alone, with naturalists who take you out each morning and afternoon.
- Dinners: guests often share stories of the day.
- Private vehicles: shared safari vehicles carry other visitors, so we book private ones wherever park rules allow.
- Walked to your door: at night, lodge staff walk you to your room or tent along the darkened paths, which is also a very good way to avoid treading on a scorpion.
Shopping, bargaining and tailors
Persuasive shopkeepers: in tourist areas, some will offer tea, compliments and long stories to keep you in the shop.
Walk away: you are never obliged to buy, and walking away is the best bargaining tool there is.
- The oldest scams: be wary of anyone who befriends you in the street and then suggests a shop, a gem deal or an export scheme. Our shopping guide explains how to avoid them.
- Tailors: in Jaipur and Udaipur they can make clothes in a day or two, and a kurta or a dress made for you is a lovely souvenir.
- Measurements: usually taken by men, briskly and politely. If you prefer a woman to measure you, ask, and we will arrange it.
- Trying on: use a proper changing room, or wait until you are back at the hotel.
Mothers, daughters and friends
Less attention: women travelling in pairs or groups attract less unwanted attention than women alone, and the experience is often simply joyful.
- So much to share: textile shopping in Jaipur, a cooking class, a spa afternoon, a sari fitting, a dinner on a fort rampart with music.
- Planned for the group: rooms and cars to suit everyone, slow days for the older travellers, and adventures for the younger ones.
- Favourites with friends: our wellness journey and our textile and craft trail.
Documents, money and your phone
Copies: keep your passport, visa and insurance on your phone and in your email, and a paper copy separate from the originals.
Cash: a small amount in an inner pocket, the rest in the hotel safe. Use cards and phone payments where you can.
- Copies
- Phone, email and paper
- Cash
- Small amount, inner pocket
- Phone
- Charged, plus power bank
- Data
- Local SIM or eSIM
- Phone: keep it charged, carry a small power bank, and save your planner's number under a clear name.
- Your plan: share it with a friend at home, or let your planner know if you change it.
- Reliable data: a local SIM or eSIM for maps and messages. See our guide to SIM cards and internet.
Travelling alone, beautifully
One of the most rewarding journeys: you move at your own pace, eat when and where you like, and meet people who would never approach a couple or a group.
Never truly alone, but free: with a private car, a planner and guides in every city.
- Gentle structure: guided mornings, free afternoons at the hotel, early dinners in good company and a planner who checks in each evening on WhatsApp.
- Company at dinner: many family-run hotels are glad to seat you with the hosts.
- Built around this rhythm: our solo traveller journey. Our guide to etiquette in Rajasthan helps you feel at home quickly.
How we look after you
People we know: your chauffeur and guides are known to us personally, and you can ask to change any of them, at any time, for any reason.
Women guides: wherever we can arrange them, if you'd like them.
- Hotels chosen with care: with women travellers in mind, and the managers told that you are our guest.
- Daylight travel: no long drives after dark, and no arrival in a new city at night unless you choose it.
- A planner on WhatsApp: for the whole journey, who knows where you are each day.
- An evening check-in: a short call or message if you would like one, so someone always knows your day went well.
- Met at every door: help through every airport and station.
- Start here: a conversation on our plan my journey page.