Go with a plan.
Numbeo's Safety Index puts Kolkata at 53/100 for crime — that makes it read sketchier than India's national picture overall (55/100 vs 56/100).
City page · part of India
The one number a country page can't give you
What people who actually live in Kolkata report
Numbeo aggregates thousands of resident-submitted perception surveys into a per-city Crime Index (higher = worse) and its inverse, a Safety Index — the only real city-granularity crime signal feeding this page, alongside India's national advisory, political, health, and police-trust data.
Crime Index
46.9
Safety Index
53.1
Sub-scores
Same real inputs as India's national page, with crime swapped for Kolkata's own Numbeo number above.
Local know-how
Staying safe in Kolkata, specifically
- • Kolkata is one of the safest metropolitan areas in India, and the people are friendly and helpful, unlike in most of India's other large cities.
- • Visitors outside the city are often magnets for beggars, frauds and touts.
- • All shops in Kolkata get closed by 10PM, except pharmacies. The shops in Salt Lake and New Town are allowed to open till 11PM.
- • Police: The Kolkata Police is the white-uniform police force serving the city proper.
- • Emergency numbers:
Legal status (national law)
Legal since 2009–2013, again since 2018
Source: Wikipedia — LGBTQ rights by country →Pack this, know this
The little things that trip people up
Plug & voltage
C / D / M · 230V
Driving side
left
Emergency
police: 112 / ambulance: 112 / fire: 112
Tipping
In India there has traditionally been little or no tipping, and today tipping is unusual outside of fancier restaurants where up to 10% is appropriate. The fancier restaurants may also levy a service charge of up to 15% apart from government taxes. Some restaurants have also started placing jars at the cashier for people to drop in some change if they feel so, but this is a rather rare phenomenon.
SIM / Data
It is very cheap, especially with the proliferation of low-cost operator Reliance Jio, which has forced the mainstream operators such as Airtel and Vodafone Idea to follow suit. Prices for packages including mobile internet are mentioned above. 5G networks in India now cover 85% of the population. 4G (LTE and VoLTE) networks cover 95% of the population of India (covered nearly everywhere). 3G is a
Cash vs. Card
In many cities and towns, credit cards are accepted at larger hotels, retail chain stores and other restaurants and stores. Small businesses and family-run stores almost never accept credit cards, so it is useful to keep a moderate amount of cash on hand.
How this compares to India
Numbeo's Safety Index puts Kolkata at 53/100 for crime — that makes it read sketchier than India's national picture overall (55/100 vs 56/100).
See the full India page and all receipts →