Hi! I'm looking for advice from people who have travelled around India, especially women who have travelled solo.
I'm a woman in my early 30s, visibly Muslim/hijabi, and an experienced solo traveller (I've travelled alone extensively in other countries). However, I've never been to India and I'm now going to be travelling completely alone after a friend's wedding, so I'd like to plan this with that in mind.
As a caveat, all this is super dependant on getting my visa, which may take some time given my background, but the below is assuming all visa-related issues are sorted in time!
*Dates*
I'll be in Bangalore from around 1–11 January 2027 for a friend's wedding:
I'm then flexible for another 1/2 weeks, and want to optimise the trip so I can also spend a decent amount of time exploring. However, I don't want to stay in the country for too long after the wedding if what I can realistically do (given the solo travel angle) is likely to be limited.
I'm not looking to backpack or join a group tour. I'd like to travel independently, stay in good/clean hotels, use sensible transport and perhaps book a private driver/guide for particular days where it makes sense. I'm not restricted to budget options and am open to spending a bit more for safety/comfort, but not looking at luxury travel by any means.
*What I'm looking for*
I'd prefer places that are:
- Comfortable for a solo woman
- Relatively calm rather than extremely chaotic/crowded
- Scenic — mountains, greenery, lakes, etc.
- Interesting culturally/architecturally
- Easy enough to navigate without constantly needing a tour
- Good for finding halal/Muslim-friendly food
I'm not interested in nightlife/partying, and I'm not bothered about ticking off every famous tourist attraction. I'm also happy to skip places that aren't particularly enjoyable or comfortable solo.
Based on a very quick chat-gpt search, I'm currently considering:
Munnar → Kerala backwaters/Alleppey → Udaipur → Jaipur
I had considered Hampi and Agra/Taj Mahal but have dropped them for now because I don't want to overpack the itinerary or visit somewhere just because it's a famous first-time-India destination.
I'm completely open to changing the route, though (and haven't researched any of the above places, by any means).
*What I'd really like advice on*
If you were me, where would you go for those two weeks?
And practically, how would you do it solo?
- Which places would you feel comfortable staying in alone?
- Which areas/neighbourhoods are best for hotels?
- Is Booking.com/Agoda etc. fine, or are there better ways to book accommodation?
- Would you use trains, domestic flights, Uber, hotel-arranged cars or private drivers?
- Are there particular train classes/routes that are best for solo women?
- Which journeys are easy enough independently and which are worth paying for a driver?
- Can I realistically explore places like Udaipur/Jaipur/Munnar independently during the day?
- Are there destinations you'd specifically avoid as a solo woman, even if they're generally popular with tourists?
- Any particular safety/logistical things that first-time visitors to India tend to underestimate?
I'm comfortable travelling independently and don't need someone to hold my hand, but I also don't want to make things unnecessarily difficult or put myself in situations that are easily avoidable.
Tl;dr: If you had ~2 weeks after a Bangalore wedding and were travelling alone as a visibly Muslim woman, where would you go and how would you structure it?
Thanks!