Solo Travel in India: How to Plan a Trip on Your Own

For solo travel, India's easiest first routes are the ones best set up for visitors. Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, which the Ministry of Tourism calls the Golden Triangle, lie close together and are full of hotels, trains and guides; our Golden Triangle tour covers all three. Kerala, Rishikesh and Varanasi make good next steps once you know how the country works.

Travel slowly. Fewer bases and longer stays mean fewer arrivals in a new town, and arriving is when a lone traveller is most exposed: tired, carrying everything and easy to spot. Plan to reach each new place in daylight. The UK Foreign Office advises avoiding road travel at night and in fog, when low visibility makes accidents common and the risk of crime is higher. Our page on the first two days after landing covers the arrival itself.

Some regions need a permit before you go. The Ministry of Tourism notes that areas designated "protected" or "restricted" require specific permits, and the UK Foreign Office advises applying three months before you arrive.

• Book taxis rather than hail them. The UK Foreign Office advises against travelling alone and hailing taxis on the street, especially at night, and notes that app-based taxis are available in every airport terminal building, alongside pre-paid taxi counters and hotel transfers.
• Share the ride. When you book a taxi through an app, send the journey details to someone who can follow your location; if a hotel driver meets you, check that they identify themselves before you set off.
• Choose cars with seatbelts. The Foreign Office points out that seatbelts are uncommon in auto-rickshaws and in the back seats of taxis.
• Trains are a sociable way to cover long distances; our guide to booking Indian trains as a foreigner explains how. At stations, ignore people offering tickets and tours, a scam the Foreign Office warns about.
• On our private trips the car and driver are part of the itinerary, as our page on getting around India explains, which takes the night-time taxi question away.

Every hotel, hostel and homestay must register foreign guests with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office using an online form called the C-form, the UK Foreign Office explains, and you need your passport with a valid visa to check in anywhere. That registration is useful: it means your accommodation knows where you are.

Add your own safety net. Send your itinerary to someone at home, agree a daily check-in, and tell your hotel when you go out on a long day trip. In the mountains, the Foreign Office advises trekkers to travel in groups, use reputable local guides, stay on established routes and leave details of where they are going and when they expect to return, because a phone signal is unlikely up there. Satellite phones and GPS devices are illegal in India without a licence, so they are not the answer.

Insurance matters more when nobody is with you. The Foreign Office asks travellers to have insurance that covers local treatment and medical evacuation, and for treks, altitudes over 2,400 metres and mountain rescue.

• Keep a copy of your passport, visa and flight ticket apart from the originals, leave copies at home and store them online, as the Foreign Office suggests.
• Carry two ways to pay. The Ministry of Tourism says foreign credit and debit cards are widely accepted and that UPI, India's instant payment system, is popular; our money guide covers cash, cards and tipping.
• Stay connected with a local SIM card, a portable Wi-Fi device or hotel and cafe Wi-Fi, the three options the Ministry of Tourism lists; our page on money and SIM cards for visitors has the practical steps.
• Watch for scams that target people on their own. The Foreign Office reports that card skimming and confidence scams are common, and that the National Cybercrime Helpline is 1930.
• Drink with care. The Foreign Office warns of alcoholic drinks contaminated with methanol in popular destinations around the world; it cannot be identified by taste or smell.

• 112: the national emergency number for ambulance, fire and police, which answers in English, Hindi and other languages; the 112 India app can share your location.
• 100: police helpline. 1091: women's helpline.
• 1800 11 1363: the Ministry of Tourism's helpline, for advice on reputable sites and services and for complaints.
• 1930: National Cybercrime Helpline.
• Your embassy or high commission, your insurer's emergency line and your hotel.

Women travelling alone will find more on our women's safety page, and our wider safety guide covers the scams worth knowing.

Travelling alone does not mean eating alone every night. Book things that come with company: a cooking class in Jaipur, a food walk, or river rafting in Rishikesh. Every trip we sell carries a full refund if you cancel up to 24 hours before it starts, which helps when solo plans change.