Whether you’re planning to travel to New Delhi solo or with someone, male or female, budget or luxury, these are the travel tips that I learned while I was there that can be helpful for everyone! I started my month long journey in India in New Delhi, and traveled there solo for a couple days before meeting up with a dude travel blogger, so I’ll be giving my insights from two different points of view in some of my travel tips!
So of course, the first thing people have asked me about travel in New Delhi and India in general, is “Is it safe?” First I’d like to say that in all honesty, I received so many messages warning and advising me on how to be safe in New Delhi, that it scared the crap out of me. It also affected my outlook, and made me constantly on-guard rather than constantly taking in my surroundings!
True, you do need to be on-guard, aware, and smart; but don’t let fear or assumptions keep you from experiencing all that New Delhi has to offer! Here are my tips for everyone:
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1. Get any Negative Stereotypes About India Out of Your Head
For some reason a lot of people have these negative stereotypes about India that are so completely basic that it almost sounds like a joke. “It’s dirty, it smells, you’ll get sick from eating the food”, are some of the stereotypes I heard about India before I went, and guess what? I ate Indian food every day without a problem, and the only thing I ever smelled was spices and incense.
True, there’s some smog in New Delhi, and the streets can be a bit dusty since, ya know, it’s a dry area and all…but what major city with millions of people in it have you visited recently that wasn’t “dirty” and smoggy?
As for the “high crime rates”, I won’t deny that even the locals warned me about recent reports of rape and robbery in New Delhi. But they also said it happens mostly at night, when you’re alone in secluded areas, which can happen in many places, so don’t write it off as something that specifically happens there, but do make sure to always be careful and aware.
Interested in learning Self Defense? Check out my video, “7 Minute Self Defense Lesson for Solo Female Travelers”
2. ALWAYS Dress Appropriately, Even if it’s Hot AF in New Delhi
If you want to avoid getting stared at, targeted for theft, or potentially scoffed at in New Delhi, DRESS APPROPRIATELY. Be respectful of the culture and religions there that require women to cover their legs and shoulders. Yes, I’m all for female empowerment and wearing whatever the hell I want, but I’d also rather not attract unwanted attention to myself!
It’s also a safety measure; ladies, no matter how hot it is, or how hot you want to look, showing your skin can be like an open invitation to men, not to mention make you look like a tourist. You also will not be allowed to enter mosques or temples if you aren’t dressed appropriately, unless they offer cover-up robes, which I can guarantee you will smell (I had to wear one at Jama Masjid, a Muslim mosque).
I wore baggy or harem pants (loose-pants that get tight around the ankle), a t-shirt, and scarf almost every day, even if it was 100 degrees outside. I also always carry a specific travel bag that zippers shut and is slash proof (it’s made out of seatbelt material).
For guys, it doesn’t really matter what you wear unless you’re going into a mosque or temple (no shorts or hats), but keep in mind that the more flashy or touristy you look, the more people are going to try to overcharge or sell you stuff.
3. Keep Your Purse/Phone/Etc. Secured at All Times
This should be a no-brainer, but it’s something all of my “tour guides” (AKA rickshaw drivers) kept saying to me while I was sitting in the back of the rickshaw. Apparently bag-snatching is a thing, even though it never happened to me, but I also keep a ninja grip on my slash-proof purse, and have a finger strap on my iPhone that attaches it to my hand.
Want to know where you can get the travel gear I use? Find it here: Travel Gear
4. Learn The Word “Nai” and Use it
You’re going to have a lot of people trying to sell you things in New Delhi, from photos in front of popular landmarks, to ball-point pens while you’re stopped at a red light. You can say “no thank you” all you want, but that’s just going to make you sound like a tourist even more.
A girl on my Snapchat who lives in India advised me to use the word “Nai” which means “no” in Hindi. Although English is widely spoken in New Delhi, if you use this word in Hindi, it shows you know your shit, and aren’t down for being haggled. It also works really well with warding off men.
5. Pre-Agree & Bargain Prices for Taxis and Rickshaws
I absolutely hate bargaining, but in New Delhi, and most of India, it’s necessary. Taxis and rickshaws will always try to overcharge you, which is why it’s up to you to map where you’re going before you get in, and calculate a fair rate for the distance.
If you’re leaving from your hotel, ask the front desk how much a rickshaw or taxi should be to your destination, then ask the driver for a little lower than that, because there’s a good chance the front desk person is related to one of the drivers, and trying to help them out.
If the driver says no to your price, simply say “Ok, I’ll ask someone else” and move on to one of the other 10,000 rickshaws, however there’s a good chance he’ll cave as soon as you start to back away.
If you don’t feel like bargaining or getting hassled, Uber is also available in New Delhi for a fixed price!
6. Know That if a Driver Recommends a Place, It’s Because they Get a Commission
There’s a good chance your taxi or rickshaw driver will seem like he’s super nice and recommending cool places to see or shop for your benefit. Well, he may be, but it’s also a known fact that drivers get commission just for bringing tourists to a shop to have a look. Knowing this, I knew to either sternly say no to additional stops, or if the driver was really nice, and I had extra time, I told them to take me to all the shops they get commission at so they can earn a little extra money.
7. Don’t Take a Taxi Alone at Night in New Delhi
This was a piece of advice that almost every local messaged me before my trip. I didn’t even risk it, and honestly, didn’t really spend much time out at night for my own safety measures. The good news is that there is Uber in New Delhi, and it works quite well!
8. Stay at a Hotel that’s Central to Everything in New Delhi
Since I had been warned so many times about not going out alone at night, I decided to stay at a hotel that was central to everything, and also had cool stuff to do at night. The hotel I chose was The Lalit New Delhi, which is located in the popular shopping district called Connaught Place.
It’s probably the safest part of New Delhi that you can stay in, and The Lalit is walking distance to many popular markets and sites such as the India Gate, and a short Uber ride to many more. The Lalit also had a BOMB Indian restaurant, as well as a 24-hour buffet style restaurant serving the best Indian food, and western food as well.
Another reason why I chose The Lalit was because it has New Delhi’s “number one nightclub” called Kitty Sue inside of it, so I didn’t have to even leave the comfort of my hotel to check out some night life.
Hotel Tip: Use the map feature on Booking.com to search for hotels near certain landmarks, airports/train stations, and areas!
9. Make Sure You Carry Cash & Understand Prices
At the moment, the conversion rate for $1 USD to Indian rupees is 67 rps. Make yourself a cheat sheet of conversion numbers, or use my handy dandy useful travel planning sheet so you can easily know how much you’re spending. Also make a note of the typical prices for certain things.
For example:
- Tipping should only be about 10%
- Rickshaws should only be between 60 – 350 rps ($1-$5)
- Scarves should be no more than 250 rps (~$4)
- Sarees cost only 100-600 rps in smaller towns, but expect to pay double or more in central cities
Also, hardly anyone accepts debit and credit cards, so make sure you get out enough cash at the airport, lock most of it in your suitcase, and get change for small bills to carry around with you. Most people/places also don’t ever have change.
10. Don’t Be Weirded Out if People Want to Take Selfies
When I first read about people wanting to take photos with tourists/travelers on someone’s blog, I thought she was saying it only happens to women. But nope. My dude travel buddy got asked to take selfies just as much as I did, and in fact, when I was with him, people would ask him for permission to take a photo with me first (to which of course I replied, “Psh, he doesn’t own me!”)
Getting asked to take selfies is not always for malicious or creepy purposes (although it did slightly creep me out when guys would ask for one alone instead of in a group), in fact I got asked to take photos with a lot of women and children as well, including some from Middle Eastern countries!
From what I was told (yes, I had to ask why taking selfies with “tourists” was a thing) it’s because light skin isn’t common, and back in the day it was considered a symbol of royalty, and also because well, we look like what you’d see on TV, and apparently the poster children of “selfies”… Again, that’s just what I heard, otherwise I’d feel completely obnoxious and fairly racist for even writing that!
11. Do NOT Drink the Tap Water in New Delhi
I know I said saying “you’ll get sick if you go to India” is a stereotype you should avoid, but I did see advisories about not drinking the tap water on tourism sites, so I wanted to add it to this list of tips. Yes, there’s a chance that the tap water can be contaminated since a lot of it is re-purposed, but what the heck else are you supposed to do in an area where water supply is low, and there’s millions and millions of people?
The solution: drink bottled water, or bring a self-filtering water bottle like I did, but maybe only attempt using it when you really need to, and with the tap water from hotels.
12. Do Try As Much Indian Food as Possible
Not gunna lie, before I went to India, I hadn’t really tried much Indian food! Now, all I can say, is IT’S SO GOOD!!! Since I had no idea what any of the names meant, or what anything was that people were recommending to me, I made my own little “taste-test” with the buffet at The Lalit, to see which foods I did and didn’t like. Turns out I’m a massive fan of Paneer Butter Masala with garlic naan.
Oh, and here’s an important little tip: you’ll see something called “lassi” on every menu. Lassi is a yogurt drink that Indians drink to “keep the tummy happy”, AKA the probiotics help balance the spice from the food, and keep you from shitting your pants. Drink lassi. Every meal.
13. Learn a Little Bit of Hindi
I try to learn “Hi”, “How are you?”, “Thank you”, and “Good bye”, in the local language of anywhere I travel to, and I did the same for New Delhi. Again, although most people speak fluent English, knowing just a few words in their local or traditional language can be extremely helpful as well as respectful!
I can’t tell you how many times I got big smiles and asked, “You know Hindi?!” just by saying “Namaskar”, which is the Hindi term for “Namaste”, which is their version of hello, but really translates to “I see the good in you”.
Another word to note is “dhanyavaad” which means “thank you”, although most people again would just use the English word.
14. Get a Portable Wifi Hotspot or SIM Card
Since I had it in my head that I always needed GPS on my phone, and a way to contact people in case of emergencies, I went ahead and invested in a portable Wifi hotspot called Skyroam, that gave me unlimited data and wifi everywhere I went in New Delhi.
It was super easy, super useful, and made me feel super safe, so for those reasons I’d highly recommend looking into renting or buying one (you can see more info about it here). My dude travel partner insisted that local SIM cards were the way to go, and yes, they seemed to work just fine, except we had to constantly stop at a Vodaphone shop to get them refilled, and he used my Skyroam hotspot most of the time anyway. Just saying.
15. Get to Popular Sightseeing Spots in New Delhi Early AF
There’s a lot of cool sightseeing spots in New Delhi, which means they are bound to get crowded AF throughout the day. Unless you like crowds and people in your pictures, try to get to those places as early as possible; you’ll also avoid the many peddlers and people trying to sell you photos and whatnot!
For more tips on how I get my travel photos with no people in them, check out this post!
Have any questions about New Delhi or any tips to add? Please feel free to leave them in the comments below!
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