I understand I need to cover up arms, legs, cleavage etc, but could do with some ideas of what I should pack for my trip to India.
Hi All,
Its my first trip to India and Ive been reading through the forums on female travellers in india and can see that I need to be careful of what I wear, what I need to cover up....but just wondering what stuff you packed?
Did you wear long dresses you bought at home? (would a long dress with capped sleeves be acceptable?), lightweight trousers with a top?, 3/4 length trousers? (too short?) or did you wear traditional Indian garments?
I'm not sure where to start with my packing list so figured I'd find out from you :o)
Thanks,
Eve
Reply to this Hello Eve 😊
Long flowy dresses and light trousers to wear under and sandals are what I usually wear in India when it is hot. It usually hot, but can get cold in parts of the North in winter. Yes, capped sleves are OK. Lots of Indian women and girls wear them. But there is sunburn to consider if you are pale skinned. Sleeves can be useful. Indian trouser and tunic suits for women are also a good option. You could wait until you get to India to buy them, if you want.
Mel
Reply to this PS. In some places like Mumbai, you could wear less conservative clothes if you want. You could skip the trousers and just wear a light dress and sandals. Even above knee dresses would likely be acceptable in morst parts of Mumbai. This also applies to parts of Goa. You could also venture onto many beaches in Goa in a bikini. They are used to Western tourists there.
But, even in these places I tend to just wear the long flowy clothes, because I dont want to risk bringing judgement upon myself based on what I am wearing.
Reply to this Hi Eve,
Congrats on the trip! In the larger cities I felt more comfortable in travel pants, a light colored linen shirt or cap sleeve t-shirt. I am by no means conservative, but there is a lot of touching and the personal space barriers are much closer than in the US. To give you an idea, I am going to China this week and will wear almost exclusively knee length dresses or skirts. I still would not wear my dresses in India, unless they were longer mid calf, and even then, I think I prefer to travel in the standard issue zip off travel pants (although I really hate them!)
In the smaller communities and villages, I had a punjabi suit (tunic/pants) made at the market, for about $4 dollars. This was very fun, you pick through some beautiful cloth and come back in 2 days to a great garment. I still have my suit from my 1st trip--10 years ago! A side note: was delicately, the cloth will shrink!
Reply to this Hi Eve, you can decide what to pack based on which places in India you are traveling too and what months you are traveling in.
The remaining tips are already there in blogs and what Mell and Tracy have mentioned here.
Reply to this In metro cities like delhi, mumbai, you can wear less conservative clothes if you want. places like goa(mumbai, delhi also) even above knee dresses and shorts are acceptable. there are lots of western tourist in goa You could also wear bikni onto many beacehs in goa. Infact you can venture shorts and skirts in most of the parts of india but if you dont want to risk bringing judgement upon yourself based on what you are wearing try to avoid short dreses like places rajasthan, and agra and try to wear long flowy clothes. never wear conservative clothes if you are planning to visit villages. you can wear trouser, pants etc there. sleeveless are no problem at any place even at villages
india is a land of diversity. at the same time at one place you find weather cold but the other place you may find hot. So tell first what places you are planning to visit. on that base too you can decide what to wear and what not.
Reply to this Thanks everyone...your advice is really appreciated!
Eve
Reply to this You might not want to wear short clothes if you plan to visit Bihar or Uttar Pradesh either.. If you want help getting around places in India.. visit
(the owner of the travel firm is a nice guy and he helped me out during my stay in Rajasthan, India) Reply to this 
