There's a particular kind of freedom that comes with solo travel — no group votes on dinner, no waiting for anyone else's alarm. But that freedom comes with its own homework, especially when you're navigating unfamiliar cities alone. Kyley Warren, an editor at USA Today's 10Best who has taken nine solo trips across Iceland, Paris, the Dominican Republic and beyond, has distilled her hard-won experience into a compact safety kit. We've pulled out the most useful lessons and thought about how they translate for solo travellers setting out from India.
The four things worth packing before you leave home
The items Warren swears by are refreshingly unglamorous — no expensive gadgets, no bulky gear.
A **portable door lock** is the one she reaches for most. It slides into the strike plate of any hotel door and prevents it from being opened from outside, even with a key. She was sceptical until a stay in Amsterdam where she woke at 3 a.m. to someone toggling her doorknob. Now it goes into every bag, every time.
A **personal safety alarm** — small enough for a pocket — emits a siren loud enough to disorient anyone nearby and draw immediate attention. It costs very little and weighs almost nothing.
**Apple AirTags** (or equivalent Bluetooth trackers) have crossed over from luggage-loss prevention to everyday carry. Slipping one into your daypack means your real-time location is always logged somewhere — useful if your phone dies or goes missing.
Finally, an **RFID-blocking passport holder** protects the digital data on your passport chip and credit cards from contactless skimming — a low-profile threat that is very real in high-footfall tourist areas.
Why this matters for a solo travel audience in India
India's solo travel scene is growing fast, with more women and first-time independent travellers hitting the road each year — doing Spiti on a Royal Enfield, catching early trains through Rajasthan, or navigating the chaotic charm of Old Delhi alone. The safety conversation here is nuanced and often under-resourced.
The portable door lock is arguably the single most transferable item on Warren's list. Budget guesthouses and heritage havelis alike can have older lock mechanisms, and having a physical backup is simply practical. Personal alarms are already stocked on Indian e-commerce platforms and are worth keeping on your person on overnight trains or in unfamiliar neighbourhoods after dark.
RFID skimming is a growing concern in crowded metro stations and tourist markets in cities like Jaipur, Mumbai and Agra. An RFID-blocking wallet or passport sleeve costs a few hundred rupees and removes that risk entirely.
As for AirTags — if you're on an Apple ecosystem, the live-location feature doubles nicely as a way to share your whereabouts with a trusted contact back home, a habit that any safety-conscious solo traveller should build in regardless of destination.
The mindset behind the kit
What Warren's list really reflects is a philosophy rather than a shopping checklist: small, deliberate preparations that quietly reduce the mental load of travelling alone. None of these items are panic purchases — they're the kind of calm, considered tools that let you focus on the actual experience rather than running worst-case scenarios in your head.
For solo travellers in India, that same mindset applies whether you're exploring Hampi's boulder fields or wandering through a night market in Pondicherry. Trust your instincts, keep a trusted contact updated, and make the few small investments that let you move through the world with a little more ease.