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Kerala travel safety advice


Kerala travel safety advice

  • Though Kerala is much safer than other parts of India, it doesn't mean that it is the world's safest place. Kerala has its share of criminals. Pick pockets are quite common in heavily crowded areas like buses, festival grounds and city shopping areas. Don't trust your hotel cleaning staff with your costly belongings. Also women are advised not to walk in revealing costumes. Nightlife is only available in major metro cities which too emerging. Take care not to roam in late quarters of night, especially alone.
  • Strikes, protest processions and hartal (voluntary closure of activities as protest) are common in Kerala, considering its high political awareness and socialist leanings. Tourists may get suddenly caught in hartals or road blockades due to protests which may make you stranded in airports or railway stations. All political parties announce the date and details of protests much in advance in leading dailies. So regularly follow leading English dailies while in Kerala, and keep buffer days. On hartal days, normally all forms of transport keep off from roads from morning till evening. So be prepared to walk to your hotel or wait in airport or railway station till evening. Alternatively, Kerala police operate free buses under police convoy to transport tourists and urgent passengers to important areas in major towns and cities.
  • To be on safe side, foreigners are requested to register and submit their itinerary at the Foreigners Registration Office (FRO). Likewise it's absolutely important to carry passport copies all the time, as after the Mumbai attacks, police security has been stepped up.
  • While in trains or buses, do not interact with lone strangers, or at least not more than normal, and it's absolutely important not to eat or drink anything which they offer. However, interactions with families are considered to be safer.
  • While boating insist on being offered life jackets. Many boat operators ignore Government regulation of statutory issuance of life jackets while boating, which could prove risky, as most of the Kerala's water bodies are deep.
  • Though Kerala does not have many touts or so-called Guides, a few people from outside state do encounter this problem at some tourist centres especially Hill stations like Munnar, etc. Do avoid them completely as many nowadays are small time thieves and crooks from other states who look for prey. Hence avoid them completely and say a firm NO.
  • Nudity in any form is frowned upon for both genders and the rule applies more especially to women. It's okay for men to be bare-chested in public, though it's not appreciated much except at the beach or rural areas. In beaches or rivers, women can wear swim-suits or covering towels around the body, but bikinis are a no-no. Though there is no gender segregation in beaches, rivers ghats or swimming pools, gender segregation is maintained in temple ponds and certain public ghats.
  • Though Kerala ranks highest in alcohol consumption, consuming alcohol in public is frowned upon. Even wine or beer consumption is also considered as liquor in Kerala, which too is frowned upon in public. However, privately it can be consumed. Women consuming alcohol is socially frowned upon, hence women entering into bars, etc., results in too much glaring. However, the recently opened public pubs / lounges and posh bars in premium hotels are a natural choice for women to consume liquor openly. But this choice is limited to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
  • Use bottled water, as tap water is not so safe even though it's purified, and stay in decent hotels even if you have to shell out some extra money. However recently homestays have been safe.

  • The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Kerala


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    Kerala Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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