{"id":1968,"date":"2017-06-07T09:08:26","date_gmt":"2017-06-07T09:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vuelveaviajar.com\/?p=1968\/"},"modified":"2023-10-14T12:22:43","modified_gmt":"2023-10-14T12:22:43","slug":"solo-female-travel-in-south-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vuelveaviajar.com\/en\/solo-female-travel-in-south-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Solo Female Travel in South India"},"content":{"rendered":"

Interested in traveling to India as a solo woman, but having safety concerns? I have been there and can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. My advice is to consider starting in the South. Although Southern India is less touristy than the North, it is also more relaxed and great for making the first contact with the subcontinent. Read on to discover some tips about solo female travel in South India.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Although I have always been a great advocate of traveling alone as a woman<\/a>, and I don\u2019t take people who talk negatively about places they have never been too seriously<\/a>; I have to admit that I was unsure about traveling to India on my own. The country has an infamous reputation as an unsafe destination for solo female travelers and even I -who considers myself an avid traveler and quite open-minded- had some doubts about visiting India alone. But this year, thanks to the insistence of my friend Sara, I finally decided to give it a try.<\/p>\n

The truth is I don’t feel entitled to talk about how it is to travel alone as a woman around India. It is a huge country and I only visited some places in the South. But I can tell you about my experiences traveling solo in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. I can say that my trip could not have been easier! Maybe I was prejudiced and I had prepared myself for the worst, but in a way, I was even disappointed that everything was so uncomplicated.<\/strong> I think one of the reasons I traveled to India was that I was longing for an adventure and, in part, I was hoping that I would face many more challenges than I actually did.<\/p>\n

In this post, I would like to talk about how to travel to and around South India as a solo female; hoping to dismantle some myths, give some advice, and encourage traveling to India without fear to any woman curious about this country. I have not been in the North yet, but I can assure that Southern India is amazing and definitely safer than you imagine.<\/p>\n

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Solo Female Travel in South India\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

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01 | South India Itinerary<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

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One of the biggest mistakes most travelers to India make is wanting to visit a lot in a short time. India is so vast, with so many different cultures and traditions, that it is impossible to visit all of the country at one time. In my opinion, it is always better to see little and well, than visiting too many places with rush and stress. For this reason, I decided to visit only two states: Tamil Nadu and Kerala.<\/p>\n

For my first trip to India, I chose not to visit the most tourist places, leaving the Taj Mahal, Jaipur<\/a> and the Golden Triangle for future trips. I also decided to skip the big cities, as the unpleasant things about India; the dirt, poverty, noise, crowd, and traffic, are most evident in the cities. I was looking for an India of astonishing color, temples, traditions, music, dance, culture, nature, and people.<\/p>\n

For these reasons, I decided to start in South India. Although much less touristy than Northern India,\u00a0Southern India is supposed to be quieter and perfect for the first contact with the subcontinent.<\/strong> I flew from Istanbul<\/a> to Chennai and visited Mamallapuram and Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu; then took a night train to Kerala and visited Varkala, Alleppey and its backwaters, a yoga retreat near Kochi and Fort Kochi.<\/p>\n

Tamil Nadu, with its ancient temples, is the Hindu soul of the country. What I enjoyed the most were the scenes of everyday Indian life in the coastal town of Mamallapuram. Kerala, with its backwaters, surprised me with its tropical beaches and scenic landscapes. This state of communist tradition is also culturally diverse. In addition to stunning nature, there you will find lots of Hindu temples, mosques, churches and even synagogues.<\/p>\n

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A scene of the backwaters of Alleppey (Kerala)<\/p><\/div>\n

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02 |\u00a0Visa<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

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If the duration of your trip to India is one month or less, you can apply for an online visa\u00a0(eVisa) and obtain it upon arrival at the airport. Like almost everything else in India, the website is a bit slow; but with a little bit of\u00a0patience, you should not have too many problems. You can apply for your eVisa for India here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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03 |\u00a0Useful Information<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

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