marymoess

My husband and 2 children, ages 17 and 18 and I are going through Europe for 3 weeks this summer. My 18 year old son, who is not a seasoned traveler, wants to fly from Rome to India by himself as the rest of us fly back to the States. He is interested in Kashmir, specifically Srinagar, Leh and Kargil. He has never even been out of the US before so ths trip seems very extreme to me. It could also be life changing and so I am not sure how to even approach this. He is researching everything now. Any advice this forum can give me would be appreciated. Thanks!

Kathie

Given that your son is not a seasoned traveler, planning a first trip to India, indeed, Kashmir, alone does seem extreme. I would think he might want to practice solo travel - doing all of the research and making all of the arrangements himself - somewhere else first. Is he taking any responsibility for planning any of your European trip? That could be a good beginning. He could be in charge of researching public transport in each city you visit, for instance.

Leh, while isolated, is pretty safe, but not all of Kashmir is. While things are politically calmer there than they were some time ago, a colleague of mine was abducted and murdered there a number of years ago. I'm not an alarmist when it comes to travel, but Kashmir does not seem like a good first solo trip for an 18 year old to me.

jacketwatch

No way. India is a challenge for seasoned travelers but a relative babe in the woods would be in over his head unless he has a private escort. I am going to India in Oct. for my 7th time and my response would be the same as when our 16 yr. old son asked us to vacate our house so he could have a party for all his friends. Forget it! JM2C

Jaya

NOOO! I could give a list of things that could go wrong. I too have been to India many times and have family there. Bad idea. There are better/safer ways to have a life changing experience. And Kashmir? Too risky for an inexperienced, lone traveller.

hawaiiantraveler

No

I would be more interested in why he is so interested in Kashmir and India

thursdaysd

Agree with the others. At 18 he is certainly old enough to travel alone, but India is not the place to start. And Kashmir is still too volatile for many seasoned travelers, although Ladakh should be safe enough. Either he needs to practise somewhere calmer first, or he should visit India with a group. Possibly Intrepid or Imaginative Traveller or Peregrine/Gecko.

Guenmai

I don't think he has enough travel skills to navigate India, solo, at age 18. And what about general life skills? What might work in the life skill area here at home, doesn't always work out everywhere else.

I was out and about at age 17, a few weeks before turning 18, and I'm female. But, back in the day I did Europe. A lot of my friends were also out and about at that age and traveling solo. I used to meet a lot of young people my same age traveling all over Europe. We would be gone for nearly 3 months straight. This was back in the early 70s and before there were cell phones or the internet. Now, parents can keep in touch with kids easier, but I still wouldn't want an inexperienced 18 year old going off to India solo.

I'm sure there must be plenty of groups for young people to join to travel to India.

Happy Travels!

hawaiiantraveler

Like I said it's obvious he has no travel skills to travel to India so why is he asking to travel to Kashmire India????
The fact that you are questioning us and not your son about his intentions is bringing up many warning signs to me.

Elainee

I think you need a special visa to go to Kashmire now. Big warning sign. Why does he want to do this? Religion? Drugs? Not a good idea at all.

thursdaysd

Really, there is no need to go overboard about the kid's plans. Back in the day (i.e. the 60s) lots of kids went overland to India. The thing is, they gained travel experience on the way. I don't hang out on the Lonely Planet boards, but I am sure there are gap year English and European kids now who go to India. This young man just needs to get a little travel experience first, and to forget Kashmir.

What would be wrong with an interest in religion? Many people go to India to practice yoga, what's your issue with that? And no one needs to go all the way to India if what they want is drugs! Sheesh!

BillT

No No a thousand times no! There are far too many issues for a newbie to deal with in India.

jacketwatch

OP: I see you are new here and I hope you got the information you wanted. Sometimes younger people want far flung adventures seeking the exotic and the unusual. I remember those days.

However I say again this is too much at first but most of us when we were teens saw no limits.

Cheers, Larry

crosscheck

I have two sons, 19 and 22, and have noticed that Asia is now very much in vogue again with kids, the way it was when I was that age. At least a dozen of the 19-year old's friends have gone to SE Asia or India as post h.s. graduation or gap year trips.

Not cheap, but a compromise would be to go with a group, and then maybe travel for a few days with one of the kids he meets on the tour. We know many kids who regularly use Rustic Pathways for service trips (my older son went to Costa Rica with them twice as a young teen, but several of his friends went on longer gap year trips). Their excursions to the Leh area look amazing (includes a Dalai Lama encounter), but are very pricey. They are, however, very flexible and you can ask about shorter or custom trips. http://www.rusticpathways.com/india

Another great program is Where There Be Dragons - they run Princeton's bridge year program in India - phenomenal. One of my son's friends is in up near Tibet with them now after spending two semesters in Varanasi. They have a center in Leh which your son might be able to use as a base.

He can also check out some of the overland tours for youth such as Intrepid. I don't have first hand experience, but we ran into a group in Ecuador and it seemed like a cool adventure. Run by Australians and will probably appeal to like-minded travels.

Good luck to your son - nothing like getting bit by the travel bug when young.

thursdaysd

Thanks crosscheck - I really felt there was too much cold water getting thrown around here. Those all sound like excellent suggestions.

lcuy

I wouldn't say no to India, but I would really discourage Kashmir for a first time traveler.

crellston

My son went on an around the world trip aged 18 during his gap year before med school and had a terrific time. The trip was the making of him. He got extremely homesick on his first couple of days on arrivals in Bangkok, met a few other backpackers and never looked back. The guys he travelled with have been friends ever since.

I can't really comment on Kashmir as I haven't been there and India itself is not a place I would be happy having an 18 year old daughter travelling, but if there are concerns about certain places, check out the travel warnings from your government.

Other things I would do would be to sort out contact protocols, i.e. Skype, cellphone, email and predetermined contact times. Also a good backpackers travel insurance policy and maybe even an emergency debit or credit card that you can top up if necessary.

The following website has some good points on addressing concerns http://www.artoftravel.com/06fears.htm

Other sections of the website also have some useful info.

As one great man once said "in the end what we regret most are the chances we never took"

marymoess

Thank you all so much for all your great feedback and suggestions! We are not saying no to the trip at this point but we are saying no to him going alone. My husband might go with him but they are still in the early planning stages. Thanks again.

jacketwatch

That sounds better. Smart move I think. Come back for more suggestions of you need to.
Cheers, Larry

galactus

I'm sorry but I would still say no to Kashmir, period. You can get a similar feel of the northern ranges in the safer state of Himachal Pradesh. I'm not even sure tourists are allowed in Kargil.

Mike_Budhani

18 years old, and want to start from Jammu and Kasmir ? And wanted to visit alone ? I would say no to Kasmir specially Kargil area. Leh laddak could be a better option to visit but it's not for the seasoned traveler. I would like to suggest a solo tour to Kashmir, Leh and Kargil.