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You’ve got dreams to travel to India as a solo female traveller. They probably involve tracking down a yogi master to learn all his secrets, photographing the Taj Mahal at sunrise, or chilling out on the beaches of Goa.
There’s just one problem.
You’re a women and you’re scared.
You’ve heard all the stories: acid throwing, gang rapes, and boob groping on buses. Of course, you’re going to change your flights from New Delhi to New Hampshire. Back to the burbs where it’s safe.
I’ve not been to India. I’ll admit, I’m a little nervous about it. Not so much the boob groping because let’s face it, Craig’s trained me well to manage that! I personally don’t hear many of these stories of horrible treatment towards women in India, because I rarely watch the news.
And most travellers I speak to who visit India never mention it either. I wonder why that might be?
I met a lady at my local farmer’s market the other day who told me she lives in India four months a year.
“Oh, I love India. I just can’t wait to get back. I feel so centred and balanced when I’m there.”
I find India intriguing. I feel I have to go there to experience what this thing about it is. But, then I’ll met the next person who tells me how much they hated it. The crowds and the begging and the constant harassment was just too much for them.
So I worry about that more.
We had an interesting discussion on our Facebook page the other week. We shared a post about the Taj Mahal and many women jumped out to say they would not go to India as they did not feel safe. I could not comment in response, but tagged my friend Mariellen Ward from BreatheDreamGo.com, and Reena Tory, from Mantra Wild Adventures to share their experiences.
Both women. Both madly in love with India. Both frequent travellers to India as solo women. Both passionate advocates of it as being a worthy destination, not as unsafe as the fear-mongering media would like you to believe.
I mean didn’t Gandhi come from India? And don’t women get groped and attacked in every country? Is India really that bad?
It’s been a goal of mine to start webinars this year and when Mariellen offered to write a post for our site dispelling the myths about India being a dangerous place for women to travel, I suggested we do a webinar instead.
She agreed and Reena quickly joined us.
So if you’ve got dreams to do that big solo female travel to India this is your chance to quieten those fears and dream bigger! Mariellen and Reena are going to tell us the realities of travel in India such as
- why you should travel solo to India as a female traveller
- why India is such a love it or hate it place and how you can love it
- how to best approach a trip to India as a solo female traveller
- how to best protect yourself from the monsters (I’m looking at you Craig!).
I sure do hope they tell me how to find a yogi master too. I need to perfect a headstand by the end of the year!
Watch the solo travel to India webinar
If you’re nervous about travelling to India as a solo female traveller, consider doing a tour. We love the philosophy behind G Adventures the most. Click here to learn more about their tours.
About Mariellen Ward
Mariellen Ward is a professional travel writer and cultural explorer based in Toronto and sometimes Delhi. Breathedreamgo.com, her award-winning travel blog about “meaningful adventure travel,” is inspired by her extensive travels in India.
She writes for many print and online sites, co-founded the Toronto Travel Massive and founded the WeGoSolo online community for female solo travellers. Though Canadian by birth, Mariellen considers India to be her “soul culture” and has spent many years immersing herself in the culture.
About Reena Tory
Reena Tory is a passionate soul seeking traveller, conservationist and the founder of Mantra Wild Adventures. Mantra Wild Adventures is a boutique travel company specialising in personally crafted private journey’s that peels back the layers of India. Mantra Wild’s Motto is “Travel on Purpose” and Reena’s aim for her clients is that their lives are changed forever from their India experience
Reena has a love for Indian wildlife, especially the Royal Bengal Tiger! Reena has a Degree in Science specialising in Zoology and further studies in wildlife management with communities that involves them in the process. After witnessing the aftermath of a rhino poaching, she set up her company Mantra Wild Adventures – a unique way to show her India to the world, while positively impacting the communities, people and environment in India.
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