Pakistan travel diaries

I have travelled to Pakistan twice now and will continue to travel there every other year with my husband to visit his family and friends. I though I would share my top tips and the best places I think you should visit in Karachi.  I know there are plenty of other places to visit in the north and in Lahore etc, but I haven't been there yet and so I cannot recommend anything.  Hopefully I will be able to in the future.  I absolutely love visiting Karachi as it is such a culture shock to my own and I love that!  I love feeling as though I am in a different world, eating different food and dressing in different clothes.  I always wear Shalwar Kameez as it is so comfortable and you can buy some beautiful pieces out there.  I have broken these down into top tips at the top and then categorised places to visit underneath.  I hope you find this post useful and it inspires you to travel more!  My top tips below might have a few scary tips in there, but like many other countries, there are safety hazards that you have to be aware of. If you follow the rules and are respectful and careful, then you will have an amazing trip.

Top tips:

1) Don't walk anywhere, it is really important that you either get a driver to take you door to door or you pay for a cab, which is called a Careem over there.  I still wouldn't recommend you doing that alone if you are female.  This is purely for your safety.

2) I wouldn't recommend travelling anywhere alone, make sure you go anywhere with friends.

3) Buy a cheap phone over there and Sim and top up as you can't use your phone over there and you can't buy an ESIM, which we usually do when going abroad.

4) Don't drink any of the water, it will make you ill so buy bottled water.  Beware of having too much rich food or oily food.  Enjoy the food, but have some meals that are lighter in between.

5) The best time to travel to Karachi is Jan through to March as it's before Ramadan and it's a bit cooler.

6) Dress respectfully, as a Women you will want to cover up to not attract unwanted attention.  I personally really enjoy wearing Shalwar Kameez in the day and then might wear Western clothes that's modest for Dinners.  You will need to always have a scarf with you as it is sometimes required for you to cover your hair.  This is mainly for safety reasons or to dress modestly in areas you don't want to draw attention to yourself.

My visiting recommendations:

1) Restaurants and Cafe's - My favourite restaurant to eat at in Karachi by far is Kolachi.  It's so magical with all the white wild birds which float around and almost look like lights.  I hope you can see this from my pictures.  The restaurants on the national highway in Karachi are so big and this one is no exception.  My favourite thing to eat here is the chicken Makhani, it is so delicious.  

2) Go shopping - There are loads of shopping experiences you can have in Karachi and I really recommend you making the most of it as it is very affordable if you are used to the GBP currency, due to the PKR being so poor at the moment.  I love shopping at Dolman mall, especially in Khaadi but I also really enjoy going to the markets.  My favourite markets are empress, Zainab, Gulf and Saddar markets and I spent a lot of time going through and finding hidden gems.  Scarfs, jewellery and home furnishings are great here and just so cheap!! You could bring so much home!  

3) Go to Port Grand - This is a really safe and fun place to go to as a tourist as you can actually eat the street food there and sit on a Charpai.  We spent ages there eating the food and drinking Kashmiri Chai!

4) Visit a Mosque - The best mosque to visit in Karachi is Tooba mosque, I was blown away when I saw it.  It really is so spectacularly beautiful.

5) Go on a site seeing tour - If you contact Super safari in advance, which you can find on facebook, then they will organise a bus ride tour.  This is amazing as a tourist as their busses are iconic and you can get to ride on one!! They will choose your itinerary and it is a really fun day out!

6) Spend the day in the Spa and having beauty treatments done.  It is so cheap so you might as well make the most out of it.  I recommend Neelos Spa and then for hair and makeup go to Nabila's.  A blow dry was so cheap in Karachi at £3 in most places, that I hardly did my own hair!!  Happy feet is also an incredible place to get a super intensive pedicure.  My feet came out as soft as babies.

7) Bahria town - Bahria is just around an hour drive away past the national highway, but it’s a really great experience. It’s a very built up area where they have recreated the Eiffel Tower and also have a zoo! It’s a great day out!

8) Visit a museum - My next recommendation I haven't actually been to but I really want to and will be on my next visit to Karachi.  I’d really like to go to Mohatta palace museum, it looks incredibly beautiful!

9) Finally, you can't go to Karachi without riding in a Rickshaw or eating Paan!