Fear, pray, travel: Women, men and couples dive into how they try to travel safe

We are the descendants of wanderers The silk route etched our lands even as our sailors sailed uncharted seas Itrsquos this wanderlust that seems to have revived since the COVID19 pandemic with Indians taking to solo trips travelvlogging hikes and even the growing popularity of vanlifeA November 2024 report by Bookingcom and Mckinsey titled How India Travels estimates that Indiansrsquo total travel expenditure will hit 410 billion by 2030 This will make the country the fourthlargest tourism spender globally This number was a much lower 150 billion in the preCOVID eraThe travel bug seems to have bitten women particularly hard with Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travelrsquos Womenrsquos Travel Trend Report 2025 revealing a 35 per cent increase in demand among female travellers Interestingly the report also marks a 17 per cent rise in interest in solo travel among women Solo traveller Sharanya Iyer travelled to Hampi in 2016 for her first solo trip PicAshish RajeBut our renewed appetite for travel is tainted by the sobering reality of the risks that go with itThe Hampi gang rape 10 days ago has raked up harsh questions that have remained unanswered for decadesmdashIs India safe for travellers particularly for women making a go of it on their own Or is the countryrsquos travel culture still too nascent when compared to Europe or even other Asian countriesSunday midday reached out to travellersmdashwomen men and couplesmdashwho have traversed the length and breadth of the country and asked them how they ensure their safety Each one has a unique take Some say violence is everywhere while others say it all depends on where yoursquore travelling to but all agree that the Hampi incident is nothing but ldquobonechillingrdquoSiddhartha Joshi has been travelling for 22 years and says that the difference in travelling with a women and alone is starkldquoWhen I read about the Hampi incident it hit too close to home My first ever solo trip back in 2016 was in Hampi and I have been in the area where the survivors were stargazingrdquo says Sharanya Iyer solo traveller master scuba diver and digital creator trulynomadly from ChemburShe refuses to indulge in the narrative of ldquoWhat could they have done differentlyrdquoSafety for a woman traveller still depends on the luck of the draw ldquoYoursquore only travelling solo successfully until something happensrdquo she says adding that when she goes abroad most foreigners tell her that India is on their bucket list but they are concerned about the safety all the sameLili Dreikhausen and her partner Aire Parani travelled from Auroville to Italy on their bicycles in 2024Iyer has always been a cheerleader for women travelling solo in India especially Hampi but right now ldquoWhile I will continue to travel solo I am trying to figure how to keep advocating for itrdquo says Iyer ldquoWomen especially often ask me about the Spanish woman who was gangraped in Jharkhand in March 2024 as well as the Kolkata RG Kar Hospital rape case I cannot dismiss their concerns but I also want to encourage them to come to Indiardquo she adds Last year a BrazilianSpanish couple on a motorbike journey through Asia was camping in the forest in Dumka Jharkhand The woman alleged that she was raped by seven men while her husband was held down and thrashed The incident had sparkednational outrageAround the same time German national Lili Dreikhausen 32 and her Italian partner Aire Parani 29 too were cycling across the country with their indie dog Schnuck in towSaroshh and Reet JakhariaDreikhausen who was raised in Auroville Tamil Nadu counts herself as an Indian in every way possible but to a strangerrsquos eye her blonde hair and Caucasian features set her apart Despite this Dreikhausen says they had a very pleasant 11 months cycling from her hometown in Tamil Nadu to Paranirsquos village Rasai in ItalyldquoMaybe because Schnuck was with us and her trailer was attached to our bicyclesmdashpeople reacted to us with laughter throughout our journey in India I always felt saferdquo says DreikhausenOne trick that she suspects contributed to their safety is where and when they set up their tent ldquoSince we were on bicycles we couldnrsquot venture into overly remote spots and we stayed close to the roads Even though we had to stay near roads we felt safe outside the headlights We quickly learned that we must set up our tent after dark if people saw us set up our tent their curiousity would draw them to usrdquo Dreikhausen tells us over a phone call from ItalyHardi PatelHaving Shnuck gave them another advantage since Indians have a ldquohealthy respect for dogsrdquo she says ldquoIn fact one night a man approached us while we were getting into our tent but kept his distance when Schnuck barked We later realised that he had probably come to tell us that they were burning the stubble on the field so it was good that we packed up and moved onrdquo she addsSafety should also be viewed in the context of where one is travelling Dreikhausen says ldquoWhile I believe you must be open to the people and experience you cannot be gullible either In India not just the language but the culture too changes from state to state so you have to be aware of the context of the place you are travelling inrdquo she says ldquoBut that is true no matter where you travel in the worldrdquo she adds as an afterthoughtSiddhartha Joshi 44 grew up in Uttrakhand and resides between Bengaluru and everywhere Joshi has been travelling solo for the past 22 yearsmdashlong before the term was popularisedmdashand has successfully monetised his wanderings through his social media and photographyJoshi admits that there is a vast difference in the experience when hersquos on his own versus with his female partner ldquoMale privilege allows me to take more risks alone than when Irsquom travelling with a woman I also book our hotel in advance to reduce risksrdquo he says ldquoOn the other hand I just returned from a 15day trip with a guy friend and wersquod book our rooms on the spot thinking lsquoWhatrsquos the worst that can happenrsquordquoAre women solo travellers robbed of the footloose and fancyfree experience ldquoII donrsquot think you can say that as a blanket statement But yes I can strike a conversation with a stranger on the bus or join someone for a drink at the hotel bar without a second thoughtrdquo says Joshi ldquoOn the other hand many women solo travellers too find a way to make the best out of their trip though I do think they sometimes have to work a bit harder for itrdquo he saysItrsquos much the same with Mumbaibased Saroshh and Reet Jakharia a couple that found love over travel Since they started travelling together Jakharia has realised just how much his partner has to plan ahead ldquoThings I used to never think ofmdashlike booking a hotel in advance or seeing that our flights donrsquot land at odd hours or being thorough in reading the hotel reviewsmdashare now a must when I travel with Sarahrdquo he saysldquoNot that men donrsquot get into trouble I have had issues with people who drunk But I canrsquot imagine how scary it must be for a woman travellerrdquo he adds Saroshh recounts her experience in Goa last year where she and her friend were harassed ldquoI rented a scooter so in case things got weird my girlfriend and I could just hop on and get out of that situationrdquo she recallsDoes she feel shortchanged compared to male travellers ldquoYes I can never be bindass and travel I am a TypeA personality I book hotels in advance I do my homework and I donrsquot go to remote places or go out after dark in a new place This was an adjustment for Reet but he has been very understandingrdquo she tells us from Norway where she is on another solo tripItrsquos because of Jakharia that she has tried to take more trips in India recently she admits ldquoReet likes to travel in India so Irsquom trying to be more open to it But I feel that the government needs to step in and make safety a priority for those who want to experience the countryrdquo she says ldquoWhen I went to Meghalaya I realised there was hardly any police patrolling at known tourist areas Lights and sanitation are missing at even the famous mountaintops India is a great place to travel but the government is unable to bridge the gap between the demand and infrastructurerdquo she addsAhmedabadbased Hardi Patel had started her travel business Velvet Escapes when she was 21 Now 39 she has both men and women in her clientele but she specialises in womenrsquos group trips Patel talks about the changing trends she has witnessed in the last 16 years ldquoWe are seeing younger women coming to usmdashsome as young as 15mdashand they want to experience it all There are still some cases of anxious husbands asking about the itinerary and the safety of their wives on these trips but it comes from a place of love The fact is travel is still a big deal for women which is why I love what I do I wanted to ensure that women travellers have another woman guiding them on where they can go and where they shouldnrsquotrdquo she addsThe concerns over safety and lack of adequate infrastructure notwithstanding women travellers are determined to make the worldmdashand the countrymdashtheir oysterldquoTravel is the best way to know yourselfrdquo says Iyer ldquoI cannot imagine not doing itrdquo she adds410 bnEstimated travel expenditure by Indians by 2030source Bookingcom and Mckinsey reportWhat happened in HampiTwo women including one Israeli national were gangraped on the night of March 6 while they were stargazing near Hampi One out of the three men accompanying them died after being pushed into the Tungabhadra River canal Three men have been arrested in the case