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As an Indian I thank you for speaking the truth regarding the safety of women in India. No need to sugar coat the situation. India is not a safe country for solo female travellers. I won't recommend that either to any female foreigner reading this comment.

No, Claire you don't need to be polite about it. As an Indian male, I'm sorry to say that uncomfortable situations for women in India are a BIG problem. Thank you for making an honest video about it while being so respectful! Kudos!

My husband and I went to New Delhi December 2022, and every experience you had was spot on with our experiences. The train station in Agra was one of the worst experiences. I could tell the locals were getting upset with how much we were getting harassed by tiny children. My husband is a red head and I am blonde and we were pulled into photos constantly. At the Taj Mahal, an Indian woman grabbed my arm and pulled me off of a tall cement curb and I fell to the ground. She did not apologize and pulled me off the ground and pulled me in for her selfie photo. I was really disturbed by this. I documented my trip on my channel too!

Is India safe for women?? Me as a Indian - No !!

I am an Indian currently living in Europe and I totally agree with whatever you've said. I come from a relatively modern family and was living a decent life back in India but only after coming to the West did I realize how unsafe India is for women and especially if you're solo travelling. I can travel solo without a single worry here in Europe, wear whatever I want, be out at whatever hour, and I can't even imagine doing any of it anywhere in India. But nevertheless, we're slowly improving and hopefully one day, I'll be able to proudly say that India is completely safe for women!

Hi Rhett and Claire, I watched so many of your travel vlogs before traveling to India recently and I just want to thank you so much for helping me be prepared for the experience and knowing what to expect. I really had such a great time

You did not have a bad encounter and experience only because you had a intimidating companion to protect you.

Awesome video guys! Love that fact that the video was fair and real, rather than just one side about a topic! Awesome tips we'll be using when we go! 😁👌🏻

Ur review was perfect Sister. Bad things are everwhere. No one is immune to that. U gotta have precautions and preparation going abt what you want to do in a big country like. We are proud of you and my country.

Claire, thanks a lot for takling this topic. Despite of the many hater comments below, the content was very helpful for me as a solo female traveller planning to visit India! I cannot thank you enough!! ❤🙏🙏🙏

Kudos to you guys spreading the truth, I think your review of the whole situation is practical enough. Coming from someone who migrated from India to United States, I really appreciate the amount of money that one can make here but safety wise it's horrible, I'm really terrified of the horrific gun violence here, really. Every now and then I keep hearing about a shootout nearby or some burglary even in the popular areas of New York and New Jersey and now I suddenly feel how safe it really was back home in comparison. The point is every place is unsafe unless you know how to avoid trouble and protect yourself. I don't carry my laptop to college sometimes as a precaution to avoid losing it in case I get mugged by someone, cause these cases are so common here. I can only imagine what a mess this place would be if it had a population of 1.4 billion with millions of them carry guns around.

It's take courage to speak truth! Well done.

thank you for being so honest, subscribed!

You should have visited South India, South India is totally different from North and is safer than North India.

As an Indian living in India, I totally agree with the points you have made. Thankfully violent crimes, specially against tourists are very rare. Still, its better for solo women travelers to be in a group or maybe hire a local guide. By the way, where is this beach that you are filming this video at ? it's gorgeous !!

Hey Claire! I had followed your past videos of this India series, especially the trip to Ladakh and loved the way you guys covered it! Also seen some Indonesia vlogs. Please cover Vietnam. Wanna see the country through your lenses! Just came across this video and here is my thought on it. I met a woman traveler in Budapest (2018), she was from Slovakia. She was with a female friend from Montenegro. The Slovak lady visited India 2 years prior with another female friend. She told me right at my face that she hated India. When asked the reason, she said she was groped by few guys while taking a group photo (just like you guys experienced) at a historical palace in a city in Rajasthan. Someone put their hand on her shoulder without asking her and someone touched (rather, felt) her bums! She felt it was intentional and not accidental. Even more, someone touched her friend's bosom while taking the group photo! You can imagine their horror! The woman from Montenegro simply didn't want to visit India. So, I can totally understand and connect with the points that you made about safety. Indian women also face similar ordeal in their own country and it's a real fact! Nevertheless, happy that you enjoyed seeing the varied landscapes and the hospitality there! Next time, please visit Southern India and North East India. Trust me, you will have much better experiences.

Good one, as an indian i can agree you on your views, i have few europen friends and my wife is european too, they said in banaglore and hyderabad the staring is a much less or they always said felt safe travelling in in south more than north , hopefully you will be back to india and compare diffrent parts of india and let the world know if there is any truth is the statment. great content:)

As an Indian man i can definitely say that India is not safe for women so to any solo female traveller i would recommend to have good weapons, self defense training and if possible a good large dog to have while in India.

Great video (so far! I haven’t finished watching yet!) 🥰

The answer is no. I took a two-week trip to India with my wife, but we ended up returning to Thailand after just four days, before I lost control of my anger 😡 . I don't want to go into much detail, but in one word, it was (CREEPY)! One of the Country that women should stay away.

Hey guys ...my wife and I are from South Africa, living in Centurion....and we pretty much want to follow the same journey you guys have....start a channel and travel, you guys have really inspired us to take the leap...we have even started taking editing courses 💪 Curious to know what you guys record on and what editing software you use.

Thank you and totally love that you are so honest about the experience. Please stay so genuine! 12:35

I appreciate your honest feedback. We will take this in a positive way. So that we can improve and learn .

Very interesting and informative topic 🙏🏽 thank you Claire ❤❤

Appreciate your feedback, it will help others travellers👍 India is a big country which contains 1 billion people!!! So you will find all types & variety😅 moreover Indians are still live with strong attachments with tradition, culture & religion, so especially dress and how we carry ourselves is very important because we will be judged base on how we present ourselves, Even Though it shouldn't be like that anymore in this new developed world😅 travel safe👍

Thank you for the truthful review!!!

This was a well thought out video. Wise Advice. One thing we might add is don't look like a tourist. Blend in with the locals. Don't bring attention upon yourself. Be nice and be firm. If you want to travel solo . The use of a hired local guide will help you navigate the harrassment . It also helps the local economy. India is a great country to visit, but like any country in the world don't ever let your guard down. Enjoy and Be Safe. Love you Guys🥰🥰🥰 Harriet, Jim and Yuki. Richmond, Va.

Just a tip, if you come again in India. Just try to avoid these boy groups that hang around pretty much every where making Instagram reels, KZfaq videos and what not. More often than not these kids (because most of them are even below 18) will accidentally brush up with you if you get too much friendly. Don't let them take your photos, trust me (for past 5 or 6 years they are most common around Delhi) on this. I always tell this to my friends who are not from Delhi.

As a Indian tq for giving a honest review . Because of your honesty your channel will grow very good in future . All the best ❣️❣️❣️

as an indian i am really sorry for the things you faced here 🙏

The more visitors we get, the more it becomes normal for us. So keep coming!

I respect your opinion but India is not just Delhi and Agra. Infact these cities including Mumbai should be in a no go list if you're travelling to India. These Delhites and UP waale always bring shame to our country 😔

Thanks for the honesty!!! Do visit South India also there are lots of sites to visit

Asking this question India is safe? Is like "is Europe safe"? This is a big country almost a Continent so safety in few cities is not guaranteed especially in some north part states where you'll get so many staring! But north east, South states are generally safe.

Your opinions is best for india we appreciate it 🥰😍

Claire, I am a Canadian of Indian origin. It depends on which part of India you are traveling in. India is a huge country, almost a continent with different states, languages, culture, and ways of life among its people. So that experience can differ from person to person; especially if you happen to be white. The stares, though not pleasant , are purely out of curiosity. I can tell you as a brown person that I don't feel comfortable touring a white majority city or nation due to the unwelcome stares I have gotten from people. I went to Iceland once, and it was one of the WORST experiences of my life. Racists everywhere !! The woman running a bar where I went for a drink even asked me if I was just visiting or if I was there to take away their jobs. I don't even have to start about USA, UK, Australia, South Africa, where non whites are still viewed and treated badly. I would take a stare based on curiosity any day over stare based on racial mistrust and hatred.

Hi, your videos are amazing and actually helped me a lot already to confirm whatever my boyfriend told me about India! I'm currently planning to visit my ldr boyfriend from North India, we never ever saw us before except on video calls and pictures, and now it's time for us to meet after over 1 year together. Since he is currently studying and has to do an internship during his semester break, I'm planning to visit him. I'm European, which means that I'm white as Calc and have long blond hair, so I already accepted my faith with the pictures and stares. Also, I'm relatively young and have, so far, never traveled alone. I'm really eager to see India itself regardless of my boyfriend, to clearify that im not only going for him. I will have him around at all times during my visit. That should make me pretty safe already, right? Also, I'm good with languages, which makes communication no problem either. He says that I will be completely safe with him, but my family is really concerned about my plans. They heard a lot of bad things about India. Even tho I trust my boyfriend, I still am concerned if my family is right that I shouldn't go (alone, at least). That leads me to my actual question: Do you have any advice on what you'd do in my case!? Maybe you've experienced similar things and can tell me how to be safer in India? Are there any safe guides I can book with whom I don't have to go through whole India in a big group of travelers -obviously I rather wanna stay in one bigger city where I'm near my boyfriend. Thanks to anyone who will read this far and maybe even give me any feedback. Have a nice day, and thanks already:)

I personally loved India!! I travelled alone as a woman for three months from north to south and it was fine. But yes, respect the local conservative culture, wear long, loose clothing , but don’t let the little nuances bother you. Yes they stare, yes they want your picture, yes they’ll harass you for money or sell you something, but I just ignore all of that. It’s part of traveling. It’s what makes India so different from other countries, therefore so precious

Watching this, because hubby and I are planning to go there Dec 2023 for two weeks. Thank you very for your honesty ❤

sorry guys for u r discomfort , u know india is such a huge country with 1.4 billion people more than entire population of africa , so sometimes some stupids people are their but most of indians thinks foreigners are some celebrity , they dont want to harm u guys just they want to tell at their home that they met a foreigner today , thats all

I work with an Indian physician who grew up in Delhi. He said women should never travel alone to India. My adult son is accompanying me. I downloaded your resource pack! Thank you! 🇺🇸❤

This is called TRUE review 👏

Being an Indian female here, you are correct about wearing shorts in public places. I mean (as a local in Delhi) even I wear a short dress when I'm with my brother or taking my car. Can't travel wearing shorts in metro, even in women compartment. Even ladies stare at you like they'll burn you.

Waiting for you to come again in India especially in south india 💞💞💞

its not racist to say no to this. its just facts. some horrendous stories emerges from that part of the world...

Well Done Rhett and Claire. This is the accurate picture.

Really insightful. I'm from Shimla, Himachal. I have noticed that people in state, such as, Delhi, Rajasthan, Mumabi, U.P are pushy and don't have basic etiquette on how to behave in a compony of other. And these are the states I have 1st seen people begging and population so much that I can't even see the sun. But you might have noticed it too that people in mountains(J&K, h,p and northeast India) and Goa don't care. They won't take pictures and stare. As you might have noticed in you ladak trip.

In most of the stories it was the local guide/cheap hotel staff manager who assaulted the female traveler. But in a group it is less likely to happen. Due to the recent incidents in last few years police department is criticized about safety of woman. Although cops may not be really helpful in such cases but some sexual offenders were encountered(shooting criminal while making an attempt to escape) by cops in last years.

honest response. even as a Indian man, i feel uncomfortable when people start staring at me. there is something about Indians and stares.

Where is this beach located the one you are filming this video from?? Its beautifully blinding and i love it....

Next time come and visit south India like Tamil nadu & Kerala more than north you guys will LOVE south India❤

I think you coming out of India still alive and safe is one of God's miracles

As usual you guys are the most genuine youtuber, so rare these days. Love you both!

LOL.... So relatable today after what happened with spanish tourist with her husband... The Answer is : NO.!!!!!

I think India is one of the most beautiful countries in the world And you can travel to it

The only reason she wasn't touched is because she had a man with her...if she was alone, it would be very different. 😢

Loved your feedback....

It's sounds funny but there are more dengerous countries in American continent, Africa and in Europe too. But for women it's kind of true , bc sometimes I have to travel with women for some reason and yeah people stare so bad sometimes that I had to say I'm their relatives or their boyfriend. It happens few days back when me and one of our youth member she was older than me, were going to a seminar so many people thought that we are couple so they screamed to us and also a woman in a metro was constantly looking at us so bad . But we literally laughed so hard at them 😂.

solo travelling in india can be super unsafe. my parents still wont agree to let me shift to delhi or mumbai for studies and its understandable.

Anyone know the name of the song or music that plays around 10:50?

I would say South India and North East India are safe as safe as Southeast Asia even for Solo female travelers. most unsafe place in India is Delhi after that unsafe would be parts of Bihar, UP and West Bengal.

@Rhett and Claire, I Wish you would have visited South India, your perspective and experience in India would have changed a lot. Next time you plan for India please do visit Karnataka and other southern states.

You must come to Kamakhya temple ,in India 😊.

Ive been to 38 countries and India has to be the worst ive been to in terms of basic manners. Even as a man I was stared at even whilst eating which is incredibly rude. Sellers and tuk tuk drivers followed me and wouldnt take no for an answer. Asking for selfies from strangers ive never experienced before apart from india, what do they even do with these photos?! Must say the south of india i found people were less intrusive and well mannered so it could just be a north india thing

@mihir You are right from Indian perspective but think from their side they are in India for visiting only tourists places what they see what they feel what they are experiencing they are going to tell everyone.

Me and my friend are tall and fair Indian males and we get asked for selfies sometimes. With everyone having a smartphone now it has become a norm for people to think that it would be cool to show off a selfie with a foreigner to their friends. Acute selfishness because they do not consider the discomfort caused. Indian youtubers should use their soft power to preach against this but alas! they are too busy counting their views. Regarding the female solo travelling situation I have a different opinion - my ex was a big solo traveller and she has travelled across India. Yes she gets lots of attention and yes guys approach her but she has never faced a situation where she felt threatened. I also see lots of female Indian solo travellers in India nowadays. The equation changes once you are a female foreigner. You may want to limit solo travelling to the northern Himalayan States, Rajasthan, North east India and Southern India. In central India if you must travel then book a Taxi guy recommended by a trustable source and limit the travel to popular destinations only.

Yaah best recommendation is to travel with your partner or any male friend you got. I am not a big guy but my presence is enough to stop anyone approaching my girlfriend even in crime infested regions of Delhi. India is a mix bad of good and bad stuff and I hope in coming decades boys and men in India start to mature a little bit.

Im Indian but i must tell you India is still not safe for solo women traveler, but we are working on it,,

Is India safe for women? No !!!. Next question please.

I am Indian and I think some parts of India are not ready for tourists yet. Tourists please read about the places you are going to visit preferably hire a tour guide after reading their reviews on trip advisor. Its shameful that some of the fellow Indian illiterates and literate fools don’t understand ethics, manners and personal space. But trust me not all places are same. In Europe someone visiting Paris and experience some scam or pick pocketing then based on that saying entire Europe is unsafe to travel. So please check which places are safe to travel. I recommend north-east and south India, they are relatively (not 100%) tourist friendly.

Can you make a video on safety in South Africa? Plan to visit it soon

I request to all foreign whoever about to come india. Please avoid high density area like old markets you will get nothing there and people will harash you to buy products. And am really sorry to hear that .

Please visit south India, people are more civil in this part of the country, relatively safe

Hi Claire, I am from the US and currently on a solo trip through Southern India, week 9 of 12 week trip. So I understand why this video came into my feed. I agree to everything you said in this video. Just wanted to add one point. Before coming here, my Indian friends back home suggested that I travel to Southern states (especially Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu) and to avoid northern parts of India, as it is much safer. So that is what I would would also suggest. I would definitely return to India next year for a tour of Nothern India, not solo though, but with a couple of friends. One thing that is common though for both south and north is the insane and crazy traffic and the honking (especially the motorcycles and scooters). You can't escape that.

Thankyou for visiting a country that 17.7% of the world population call 'HOME'. Until before 77 years India was under colonial rule and 80% of the people was in poverty with 88% of the people unable to read or write. Prior to Indipendence their was no India, but a lot of principal nations. So when we talk about India as a nation it can never be compared to any other country but rather to the whole of Europe or middle eastern countries or the African continen. Even still India will be more diverse in culture, race and language. A 76 year old country with 7 major religions, 122 major languages and 1599 other languages is certain to be chaotic. Not state to state but district to district the culture, food and terrain and characteristics of India can change. Though their were certain rulers in the past that ruled a vast majority of India, the major share of time saw mini rulers indigenous to certain areas. The culture and religious practices of the people ruled by one ruler was different to their neighbouring kingdom, so answer to most questions about India changes from one place to another. 1 ) Safety : India in total is not very safe for tourists. Now that certainly doesn't mean that every foreigners who enter India are gonna get raped, assaulted or robbed. With colonizations that lasted 200 years India lost two centuries of development and saw the depth of poverty. Anywhere poverty thrives people lose morality and crimes start accumulating. When someone starve he is more likely to steal than die of hunger, even more when his loved ones are starving. Same is the situation with any other crime, when you hate your living conditions you are more prone to committing a crime. The second reason would be the very large population of the country. When there is huge population, the competition for resources are tougher and people goes to extremes like corruption to get resources like wealth and pleasure. But the most important reason of all was absence of records and lack of awareness. When India was formed a lot of the people were displaced since Pakistan and today Bengladesh was seperated from India based on religion. These massive displacement caused the government to tract information and details of the citizens, which means a large majority of the people living in the country had no official documents to prove their existence. This made tracking down of any culprits very hard. When criminals escape justice they are more confident to commit offenses , this not only cause them to commit more crimes but also sets example to others. Lack of awareness from a victim to file complaints also strongly contributed to development of crimes. When an Indian girl was raped or molested she kept her silence fearing society. This also caused in development of criminals in the country. But all these are changing. India is now growing at a speed that no country can even dream off. Indian economy is doubling itself over a time gap of 8 years. Literacy is 77.7% now and povert rate is only 16%. So as each year pass, India is becoming safer for tourists and locals. An another reason for crimes against women in India is due to sexual poverty of the country. Indian culture was aligned as a monogamous system where every person is to have sexual relationship with one person throughout their life. This system was very noble and crucial for proper development of offsprings in the society. Sex outside the marriage was seen as a big taboo. Overtime this practice survived with one change, yes a change in marriage age. Earlier the marriages were happening at an young age, like less than 18 for boys and less than 16 for girls. This resulted in very early pregnancy of the girl, affecting the health of both child and mother. So government rules and change in the social norms were made to tackle this issue. Marriage age of men gradually moved to late twenties. This meant a country full of 25 year old virgin men with sexual curiousity. What better cause for all the sexual crimes ?. But hopefully this is also changing. Sex outside marriage is no longer illegal and sociaty is also changing it's view. Last but not least, the safety differs based on regions ... One cannot expect every place on this huge country to be equally welcoming to outsiders. The odds of facing a crime against tourist will be low in some areas will be heigher than others. For example you cannot expect the same exposure at a state like Madhya Pradesh or Jharkhand with less than 2 % of the population holding a passport to a state like Kerala where 21% people have visited atleast 1 other country. Also even in the same state safety in a city like Mumbai or Nasik cannot be compared to rural eastern Maharashtra. Overall Indians are the most patriotic people in the World, you can see it yourself from all the views and interactions any video regarding India gets. We constantly want to acknowledge our development and make everyone feel safe here. But there are dangerous people everywhere in the World who would do evil things, even in India. Tourists should also take care of themselves. Even the most safest places can pocess a risk. Some years ago a woman solo traveler was raped and murdered in a the most tourist friendly state Kerala. The incident occured when the tourist went with two strangers to a island to smock weed. Please avoid such risks. Drugs are illegal in India and when tourists deal with drug sellers, remember that you are already contacting with the rule breakers in the society. Overall with little precautions and care India can be visited without any issues. Happy Travel.

These are safe cities in India for women:- 1-Kolkata 2-Mumbai 3-Chennai 4-Hydrabad 5-Surat 6-Ahemdabad

Short answer no... But there are few places where it is safe to do so even as a solo traveller.

as an Indian girl, I recommend foreign females to travel in groups if you ever want to visit India.

you have not seen best of Indian architecture. best of them are in South India.

interesting information

India might not be the safest country but it's definately safer than US people don't carry guns casually with them.

lol. How long did it take you to find the cleanest, quietest spot in Goa to make this video?

I sent this video to hubby and he ask me where is that beach. 😂😂😂 Is that in Cape Town S.A? Please drop the name of the beach.

Claire, you are not plain looking, you are beautiful! Your husband has to be proud. Greetings from New York.

Well if you are a person with normal black hair congratulations you cracked the code coz this matters a alot how you will be treated.

clairey you're beautiful that's why they stare lol, still uncomfortable tho! I lived in India before and I know what its like :P I'm glad you had some good experiences also. I'd love to go to /pakistan but bit worried as I've heard it's worse in terms of staring and Im already very self conscious lol ! You make such good, informative and helpful videos, so thank you for that guys :D xx

Asking for photos should be a north indian problem . Not in south india

It's not just travelling, it's everything, going to school, college, coaching classes, and working job - everything is a challenge but we need to survive as there is no option

Ya as an indian male also i don't recommend solo female traveling India, because it is nearly impossible to control the mindset of 1.4 billion people, just get a trustworthy guide u will be fine, though south india might be better in terms of safety but not delhi, rajasthan or mumbai with such huge population.

You are exceptionally lucky; however, keep on visiting the country and one day you will hit the jackpot !

Hii I’m also from Johannesburg looking to study abroad and my parents recommended India im a little worried as how it would be as a female studying there

The answer is Noooooooo!!!

My biggest concern is getting from Mumbai to Goa … any ideas ?

This is the same message I hear from nearly every female traveller in India 😔👎 such a shame

If you have to make a video asking this question it is not safe - for you~

Thak you

Calling your own country a third world and yet i see no abusive comments by south africans is something i like about people outside of india. In India people are so narrow minded that criticising india is kind of a war zone here

I will share my experience after I'm back as a solo female traveler on a private tour.

Those pictures they ask yo for are often used for shady purposes.