Ranthambhore Safaris and Culture with Ramathra and Taj Mahal

We had a 13 day tour to India, mostly wildlife as this was what we wanted and a little element of city & culture. Day in Delhi staying at the Imperial, apart from noisy traffic getting to the el it was an iconic place to be, so much hitory and staff who had been there 30yrs and proud of what they did. then onto 5 days at Ranthambor - 2 incredible Tiger sightings with so many other species, onto Agra and the Taj Mahal and then the Saptura National Park. Great time was taken in the planning, we were given lots of options as to how to make the trip up including time of year and how to maximize wildlife sighting.

Three weeks in India with the fantastic wildlife photographer and teacher, Trai Anfield, concentrating on finding and photographing tiger and leopard, as well as experiencing all the cultural ders of this extraordinary country. The trip exceeded all expectations. We stayed in a wonderful selection of safari lodges, tented camps, forts and palaces, experienced the food and customs of the regions, visited and spent time with the local people and were in Udaipur to celebrate the paint festival, Holi. Out of all the game drives we did over the three weeks, on only two did we return without having seen either tiger or leopard. A truly outstanding experience in every respect, made even more special by the dedication of Trai Anfield to make sure that her clients had the best possible tuition and opportunities to take the photograph of a lifetime. Excellent in every respect. Everything worked perfectly. The booking arrangements, information and assistance before the trip, local guides and local arrangements all worked extremely well and the trip content, compiled in collaboration with Trai Anfield, was outstandingly brilliant.

We have recently returned from a 16-night trip to India, organised by Wildlife Trails. It was a tailored trip, encompassing safari in Kaziranga and Corbett with city breaks in Mumbai, Kolkata and hi to catch some IPL cricket. Essentially we were on a 16-night, 5 centre itinerary, no more than 3 nights in any one location, involving many and varied transfers by road, rail and air. The chaos which characterises India, and is certainly part of its charm, can cause frustration for travellers – unless they are travelling with Wildlife Trails, who have partnered with ground agents in India who have the knack of short-circuiting the chaos and arriving everywhere with comfortable punctuality, every time. A thoroughly professional service, enabling our party of 4 to fully enjoy the wonderful experiences India has to offer. We had dedicated wildlife drivers/guides during our stays at both Kaziranga and Corbett – in both cases they were very friendly, we were very well looked after by them, and they greatly enriched our experience of the wildlife. We were blessed with tiger sightings at both Kaziranga (2 different tigers on 2 different days!) and Corbett – where we close enough to the tiger to consider it an encounter rather than a sighting. And Rhino galore (including being amongst a sizeable herd on elephant safari), and wild elephant galore, and deer, and monkeys, and fabulous birds. Accommodation at both National Parks was very good, as were the meals. During our city breaks we had guided tours of each city. Our guides were all punctual, very knowledgeable and friendly – our experience of all 3 cities was certainly enriched by our guides. The agents and drivers who assisted with our transfers to and from airports and railways stations were unfailingly polite and helpful – we were delivered to our seats on the train in Kolkata and met at the carriage door when we arrived 19 hours later in Delhi. Kirsty from Wildlife Trails worked with us over several iterations of our itinerary – always offering positive suggestions and responding promptly and fully to our questions. Putting the trip together with Wildlife Trail was a pleasure in itself – and I’m very happy and impressed to be able to say that everything went according to plan. We would all four have no hesitation in recommending Wildlife Trails to anyone considering a wildlife adventure in India.

WE had 2 nights in Delhi at Claridges, perfect as always, 3 nights at Kipling Camp,excellent staff, guide, rooms and best of all picnic by the river to bath the beautiful 'Tara' the phant. Went on to Bandhavgargh 'Bandhav Villas' where we have stayed 5 times, treated like Royalty, the rooms have been upgraded, 6* service and most of all 22 Tiger sightings including mother and 3 cubs, wild dogs and other wild life. What else can one ask for? We have used 'Wildlife Trails' now for at least 7 times. They are very knowledgeable, flexible, good listeners as to what you want to do/see, have really become our 'travel friends'. They arranged tours to India, Sri Lanka and Tanzania for us. They have give an excellent service and have good 'local partners' to be there for you.

It was a great itinerary that allowed us to see all the iconic and unique wildlife of India in the company of excellent guides, thoughtful drivers and accommodation hosts. In Gujarat we saw wild , birdlife including migrating bar headed geese, asiatic lions - which are not as easy to see as you might think and need persistence, Black buck, Indian wolf & jungle cat with leopard, tiger and a very fast moving sloth bear in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The accomodation was excellent particularly Blackbuck Lodge @ Velavadar and Reni Pani @ Saptura and everywhere had top notch hospitality. Travel was by car, train and plane - travelling in India takes some acclimatisation but the drivers and meet & greet guides were very professional and made it as easy as they could! overall it was a well put together holiday which flowed and allowed us to experience India and Indian wildlife at its best. Very efficient and put together; a well thought through itinerary.