India Travel Essentials: Female Traveler Guide
Here is the ultimate travel guide of India travel essentials for female travelers. Follow this guide and pack with me as I get ready to go back to India! Luckily I have left plenty of my own things in India already, but I do know what is absolutely necessary for anyone starting out on their journey.
Packing for India may depend on which region you are traveling to of course. For this instance, I am mostly focusing on traveling to the Golden Triangle. However, it can be applied to any location in India as well.
Don’t make any packing mistakes and join me as we pack together for a perfect trip to India. Here I’ll provide the most essential items to pack for your trip to India as well as some extras which will make your travels even more enjoyable.
Let’s dive right in!
India Travel Checklist
First I will cover the most essential items for our trip to India, such as clothes and necessities. DO NOT OVERPACK. That tip goes for anywhere you travel to. But in this case, you’ll really only want to bring what’s necessary. Everything in this list are must-haves for India.
Clothes
- T-shirts – anything that keeps you cool but also covers the shoulders.
- Long sleeved t-shirts – breathable loose fitting shirts or button down shirts.
- Pants – loose fitting pants such as bohemian style harem pants. Jeans are also a good option if they’re not too tight. Do not bring leggings unless you plan on wearing a dress or a lengthy shirt along with it. Your legs should be covered always.
- Sweatshirt– just one is enough. You never know when you’ll need it. Especially if you’re traveling from November-February.
- Long skirts/dresses – like I said, you can wear dresses with leggings or tights underneath if the dress is too short. Just have your legs covered. Make sure that the dress is modest and is culturally appropriate (no slits/no cleavage/don’t show too much skin)
- Shorts (indoors only)– for men, wearing shorts outside is debatable but this is a definite no for women. Bring shorts only if you plan to wear them in your place of stay. You will attract a lot of unwanted attention if you wear them out.
- Comfortable shoes– one pair of sneakers, and one pair of sandals/flip flops.
I know a lot of people want to go to India in style, but really it’s not necessary. I know you’re planning on taking a million pictures every day as India is gorgeous and you want to really capture it all. But I want you to travel authentically as well. Don’t spend your days trying to style up for the aesthetics of India. Just pack the travel essentials for India and focus on the actual enjoyment of traveling such a beautiful and culturally rich country. In the end, what’s important is that you wear what is comfortable and appropriate.
Necessities to bring to India
Electronics
- Chargers
- Converters and adaptors
- Battery bank
Medicines and vitamins
- Probiotics– you should be taking these a couple of weeks before your trip as well. Make sure your body is prepared for the new environment when it comes to digestion and gut health.
- Stomach medications– make sure to bring anti-diarrhea medications or anything you can take for any stomach issues that you might run into.
- Pain meds– definitely don’t forget these!
- Decongestant medicine– I suggest this only because you might be more vulnerable to getting sick in a new environment. And when you do, you’ll want to have the right stuff so nothing can ruin your trip. Cough medicine is readily available anywhere but personally I have never been able to find anti-congestion medication, so I would bring that with you if you have it in your country.
- First aid kit– you should bring this anywhere you go really, but especially in India, you’ll want to make sure you have what you need in the moment you need it.
Necessities
- Tampons and pads– there’s a limited amount of options and tampons are definitely harder to come by.
- Sunscreen– in India there’s plenty of sun to burn the pale skinned vampires out there, me included. Though to be honest I got more sunburns living in London than the entirety of living in India. Kind of odd. But really it’s a necessity for all skin types. Always cover up.
- Face wash– this only goes for the gals who have a specific skin care routine or if you’re particular about the certain brand that you use. If you’re like me and you just don’t care, there’s plenty of face wash to be found in India.
- Shampoo– same as before, if you are picky with your shampoo brand, always plan to bring your own.
- Deodorant– this you can find easily as well, but you’ll want deodorant for the plane trip as well just to stay fresh.
- Hair brush/hair ties– to keep in your carry on.
- Tooth brush/tooth paste– though they do have your normal brands for tooth brushes and tooth paste, this is also something you’ll want to have at the airport to freshen up.
- Shower towel– you’ll really want to keep your own towel handy. Pack a lightweight towel so that it’s not taking up too much room in your luggage.
- Body wash soaps– liquid soaps are definitely easier to travel with than bar soaps. Though if you’re worried about waste, you can find plenty of bar soap in India.
- Reusable water bottle/filtered water bottle– this depends on where you are staying in India. You’ll want filtered water to avoid Delhi belly. If you’re unsure about the water situation I would recommend getting a filtered water bottle. Personally, I’ve never had a filtered water bottle since it was never that necessary as we already have a water filter at home. The tap water is safer in depending on the area as well. I would say in Jaipur it’s ok for brushing teeth, but definitely not for Agra or Delhi.
- Hand sanitizer– it’s not always easy finding a public bathroom or sink to wash your hands, so it’s always good to carry hand sanitizer wherever you go.
- Bug spray– this is an extremely essential item for traveling anywhere in India. Every night on my first trip to India was disrupted mosquitos. Even when I was completely covered, mosquitoes would leave a million tiny little bites around my ankles. Make sure you have the right protection to avoid too many bites.
Documents
- Passport
- Copy of your passport
- Visa
- Plane tickets
- Travel insurance
Now that we covered all the important necessities for traveling India, here are a few more lists of miscellaneous items and extras to bring for your trip. These are all travel essentials that you should consider. Anything else in addition is based on your own personal preferences. But as I said before, this should be enough for anyone on their first trip.
Additional items to bring to India
Miscellaneous
- Ear plugs– I hope you didn’t plan to go to India to find peace and quiet. Make sure you bring some earplugs in case you’re staying in an area with busy traffic. Vehicles use horns to communicate instead of turning signals in India.
- Dental hygiene– floss, toothbrush holders, mouth wash.
- Reusable bags– for shopping or just to have handy.
- Disposable period product bags/menstrual cup– I never had to use bags to keep period products until going to India. You’ll learn that the bathroom set-up in India is quite different from western countries. And with the lack of toilet paper, period product bags make things way easier. If you’re careful with waste, you might want to bring a menstrual cup instead.
- Shower shoes/flip flops– another bathroom related difference with India is that most of the time the bathroom floor is wet, so you’re better off wearing shower shoes every time you go to the bathroom.
- Sandwich bags– for packed meals if you don’t want to worry about finding food on the go.
- Laundry bag– to separate your dirt clothes.
Extras
- Journal/travel journal
- Camera
- Books
- Earphones
- Your favorite go-to snacks
What NOT to bring
- Swim suit
- Shorts
- Short skirts/short dresses
- Crop tops
- Tight fitting pants- unless you plan to use it with a long shirt or dress
- Too much jewelry/makeup/accessories
Things you think you need but don’t actually need
- Toilet paper – you can find this at plenty of stores, and trust me, you’ll want to learn how to deal without it anyway
- Bug swatter – I’m not a bug person, but in India you just learn to live with it
And that’s everything you need as far as travel essentials go for India. Everything else is up to you.
It really depends on your kind of traveling as well. If you’re looking to traveling to multiple cities and you want to go by train or bus, you need to back lightly. You should only pack what I have listed for a backpacking trip.
If you plan to go to the far north or north east part of India, you’ll need more layers to keep warm. But the same travel essentials apply for all areas of India.
The most important thing you will need no matter where you are in India is flexibility. Just go with the flow. Everything will be okay… as long as you have chai and a spoonful of chini.
I want to wish you the best of luck for your first trip to India! And thanks for packing with me!
Maeve
Ram ram!
We’re Maeve & Kart – an introverted American girl with a love for letters, flowers, and chai on one side, and an introverted extrovert nature enthusiast Indian boy with a sweet tooth on the other.
Get yourself a cup of tea and a spoonful of chini and settle in.
We write for all aspiring travelers, folks in long distance and multicultural relationships, and those kindred spirits out there looking for advice on life in India as a foreigner.
As an American/Indian couple, we are currently living together in India in a cross cultural relationship as a result of one of few successful long distance love stories.
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Maeve & Kart
Our Long Distance Story
We are Maeve and Kart – a long distance married couple from America and India.
To all kindred spirits out there trying to navigate a multicultural or a long distance relationship, you’re not alone. Learn from our own experiences of how we finally found each other from across the world and remain together living with a blend of both cultures and languages.
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