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Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers  

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115 Reviews

4.7 out of 5

Reviews

Good trip which could be great

We thought we should start by explaining why we would score this trip a 4 rather than a 5;

1. On the game drives seating is allocated so you have no say on who you share a drive with (other than your partner) or what zone you visit. As a result, the groups often go to different zones and there didn’t seem to be any rationale as to who was doing what and when.
2. There is some seat rotation however we found this to be extremely limited, therefore out of our 10 fellow travellers we didn’t spend any game drive time with 6 of them.
3. Because of point 1 and 2 we had the understandable issue of some people experiencing better spotting (especially tigers) than others. Our group seemed to have the least sightings and were happy for the others but a tad jealous. That said we had a great group, who were very respectful and with our encouragement were happy to share their experiences and photos, which we loved.
4. Vijay joins a jeep on each game drive and due to the need for a local guide, regardless of whether Vijay is with you or not, when he joins your drive the 3 in the back tend to have an uncomfortable time (this seemed to be the overall view of the group). Although Vijay rotates which Jeep he joins, for us, we had a group of 3 jeeps meaning that for a 1/3rd of the time we had 5 in the jeep not the advertised 4.
5. As with all of these trips there are a few travel days, which was absolutely fine, however the opportunity to mix up the groups up wasn’t taken.
6. As a consequence of the above points we had limited quality time with 6 of our 10 fellow travellers, which was a shame.

Putting the above points aside, we wouldn’t want to give the impression that we didn’t have a great time because we did. In the end we saw 16 tigers which was far more than we thought we would. The majority of these came in the last few drives and we were really pleased we took the option of the additional drive, during which we saw 3 tigers, 2 of which were mating.

We also saw a huge array of other wildlife although we didn’t see a leopard.

The hotels were perfectly fine, although we would agree the food option as a tad repetitive.

Loved the train journey and what really adds to this trip is the visit the Taj Mahal which is a true wonder of the modern world.

Most Inspirational Moment

Has to be the 90 minutes we spent with a young male tiger, on game drive 15, it was incredible!! We were lucky enough to be first on the scene and because of this and due to it being in one of the smaller zones we didn’t have to go through the “jeep scum” that takes place in the bigger zones.

Thoughts on Group Leader

It seemed to us this is a pretty tricky trip to lead, given the pressure to ensure everyone has the “once in a life time” tiger experience they are hoping for and the added stress of the train journey. During our trip it was Tracey’s birthday and without asking Vijay organised a birthday cake and even bought her a present, which was very much appreciated. We thought he managed the subject of tips well and gave the group the option of allowing him to manage this which everyone agreed was the best option. Vijay provided the group a summary towards the end of the trip detailing how the tip money had been spent which was a little unnecessary but a nice touch. We both loved how excited he got when a tiger was spotted and he waited at the lodge entrance for all the jeeps to return and was always keen to hear how successful the drives had been. Overall, we would say Vijay was an excellent group leader and we both enjoyed his company.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Read Jackie’s review “its not all about the tigers” with interest as in reality its really difficult to avoid the trip from not being so. We can only suggest you remain patient and enjoy the wildlife that you do see. Out of 16 tigers we saw, our first sighting was on drive 8, with 4 being on drive 15 and 3 on the additional drive. The trip notes are pretty decent and offer any additional info you may need.

It wasn't all about the tigers

A well organised and interesting trip but we had disappointing tiger sightings. All the hotels and lodges were of a very good standard for India and the staff helpful and pleasant. The food was good and not too spicy, though a bit repetetive. The lodge at Bandhavgarh was very good with an excellent swimming pool and beautiful gardens.

Most Inspirational Moment

Giving my bananas to the elephants. Seeing the Taj Mahal Seeing the 2 tiger cubs

Thoughts on Group Leader

Vijay organised everything very well and ensured we were all at the right place at the right time, though at times it was not easy to understand all he said. He took care of all the tipping, which made life much easier.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Plastic is not allowed in the parks, so take something else to protect your camera from the dust, which is worst in Bandhavgarh. You need the smaller 3 round pin plugs, but the European 2 round pin works everywhere. The lunches were all served buffet style at 500 rupees and were very similar to the evening meals. It was possible at Pench to order from the a la carte menu but the order took a long time, at Kanha it was buffet only, but at Bandhavgarh it was possible to get omelette and delicious chips. Take mosquito spray and anti histamine and hairdryer if needed.

Worth every penny

Its difficult to write this review without repeating what everybody else has all ready said. We had some fantastic tiger sightings that frankly left me breathless, we also saw sloth bears, leopard and fantastic bird life. Some people saw more some saw less, but that’s always going to be the case on these types of holidays.
The quality of the guides and drivers is hit and miss, but Exodus has little control over this as they work for the park.
Hadn’t appreciate that the jeep allocation was so tightly regulated. Who is what jeep, is decided when the jeeps are booked, and passports are checked on each drive to ensure that’s the case.. but you are moved around so your not sat with the same people all the time.
The accommodation on the whole was better than expected, although some people seemed to have problems getting hot water a few times. Being welcomed back of every drive with a warm flannel and cold drink was very welcome.
Everybody gets a bit stressed just before the overnight train, but once we were on and settled it was okay, and I slept okay, and the bedding was clean, and didn’t feel the need for a sleeping bag liner. There was a western and Indian style toilet in every carriage, been in worse on UK trains.
Make sure you stock up on snacks before you get on the train as the packed lunch taken with you was uninspiring.

Most Inspirational Moment

For me it was being eye ball to eyeball with a wild tiger walking towards me. Still get the shivers now, just thinking about it. For my wife, getting to touch and feed the working elephants as they passed our jeeps.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Krishna has great, fed us loads on info on Indian culture, and the wildlife. Kept our spirits up when the tigers wern't playing ball. and took care of the minor problems quickly. My wife is Type 1 diabetic and found the brunches a bit late for her sugar levels. Once we had mentioned this , Krishna sorted out some extras to eat before we left in the mornings.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Its cold on the first few hours of the morning. Take hats, gloves and a warm jackets. The one afternoon we didn't take waterproofs, we had a storm. So pack them every day. Yes its as dusty as they say, so be prepared for that. Getting small bank notes was an issue, buy some small items(sweets or water) in Delhi airport to try an get some smaller notes. Card machines at resorts not always working. Take cash. In two weeks we spent about £750, mainly on lunches, beers, snack and tips (and a couple of souviners). For info a beer was 350 rupees. We also tipped some of drivers and guides a bit more than suggested

Amazing experience

Absolutely brilliant holiday. Have waited so long to see Tigers in the wild and this trip did not disappoint. Would definitely go again.
We were so lucky as had good , even exceptional signings in all three reserves. All of our group had sightings some more and better than others , but no one was disappointed.
We also saw a leopard , and sloth bears , jungle cats, and so much more wildlife. The lodges were all good, the food in Penchants being the best, although all were a bit the the same. Breakfasts were on the drive and were a bit uninspired I have never eaten so many boiled eggs. The one day we had samosas was great.
Hotel in Agra good the one in Delhi not so .
The overnight train trip was an experience! enough said!

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing my first tiger in the wild of course, but also seeing a leopard albeit at a distance.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Krishna was great, very caring and went out his way to help if anyone had a problem.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take some protein bars for the breakfasts, the morning drives are cold so take layers , also all the drives are dusty so take covers for cameras and something to cover your mouth and nose especially if you have any respiratory issues. Be prepared for long bumpy drives, and lots of sitting around just listening for any alarm calls and waiting , and be prepared to be disappointed, as you will not see Tigers on every drive, they are elusive, and you may only see glimpses of them through the jungle . Enjoy the rest of the wildlife especially some of the beautiful birds. Take plenty of tissues , and be prepared for the Indian style toilets . Also remember to just watch the tigers not always through a lenses.

Nothing short of amazing

So first, I need to state unequivocally that if you love wildlife, and in particular tigers, then you need to do this trip. The tigers are exquisitely beautiful and the thrill of tracking them is fun in and of itself. I am already dying to repeat this trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

My first tiger sighting of course!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader was Vijay and he was great. He worked so hard to get everyone to see a tiger, and he clearly loves his country and is eager to share his knowledge with the group.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I think anyone doing this tour needs to understand clearly how it works to avoid disappointment and frustration. So tiger safaris are not at all like African safaris - the tigers are solitary animals ( not like the lions that gather in prides) and while their numbers are increasing, most of them reside in what is called the core area of these reserves. The tourists (you and me) are not allowed in the core, so the truth is you are looking for a very finite number of tigers that are residing in the tourist area of the parks. Finding them is no easy task, but your drivers and guides in the parks will (if they are good, and not all of them are) work hard to find them for you. Secondly, your tour group will be broken up into groups of 4 for the game drives, and each group does not necessarily go to the same place. The jeeps are given proscribed zones and routes, so it is entirely possible that part of your tour group will see tigers and some may not. In our group, we had 2 people that didn’t see any tigers till about 2 days before the tour ended, and there were 6 that went about 2/3 of the way through the trip with no sightings. Needless to say, for those not seeing the tigers, it is hard to enjoy the time when the others are seeing them. But if you understand how this works in advance (and I did not think this was at all clearly spelled out in the tour literature) then you will be better prepared for it. No one can control the appearance of the tigers, so to some extent it is the luck of the draw, but it’s best to fully understand how the game drives work. And PS since most days you have breakfast in the reserves, you will get tired of hard boiled eggs and cheese sandwiches, so think about packing some protein bars to take along instead!

First Class Trip

Excellent opportunities to see not just Tigers but many other mammals and birds as well. Helpful staff and good lodges and time just flies by. Others have rated this trip highly and deservedly so.

Most Inspirational Moment

Viewing a tiger fairly closely over a period of about 90 minutes

Thoughts on Group Leader

Vijay was excellent. Nothing was too much trouble and his knowledge and experience was invaluable, even to the extent of finding a suitable battery charger in rural India.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The trip notes warn you it can be cold early am and late pm but it can also be cold during the day in February. Take layers, take a buff for the dust, possibly a bag to keep the dust off cameras. A head torch is quite useful too.

India Tiger Safari

I agree with all of the previous tiger trip review comments so I am not going to rehash them..

I saw 10 * Tigers, 3 * Leopard, 4 * Sloth Bears, 1 * Jungle cat & lots of other wildlife, deer, birds etc.

I didn’t see a tiger until 8/15 game drives so don’t panic as everybody on my trip eventually got a great tiger experience.

The morning game drives in February are cold so definitely bring Jumpers, hats, gloves etc.

I would finally like to tell you the best months to see tigers according to the drivers which are April / May when the Tigers cool down at the water holes. Of course the temperature then is 45 degrees Celsius.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing your first tiger in the wild is amazing. I still don't know how our driver spotted him driving at 20 kmh & seeing him through the brush. The Tiger was 30 foot in the brush & just watched us as we took photographs. My digital camera struggled to auto focus (Did eventually & great photos) so I would advise anybody else to have knowledge of focusing methods for there camera. I certainly had to read the manual.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was Vijay Chansoria & he war brilliant. Honestly he couldn't do enough for the whole party. His knowledge of wildlife was amazing, especially birds.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you go on this trip in February then wrap up warm for the morning game drives as it is very cold for the first 2 hours.

Absolutely Amazing.

This trip from start to finish was just absolutely amazing.

Most Inspirational Moment

The first time we saw a tiger. What an unbelievably beautiful moment that was. The first tiger we saw on this trip was in Kanha (we saw 2 cubs in the distance in Pench but they were spotty little blurs) was a male tiger named Chota Munna. Another jeep had seen him cross the road and pass into the forest when we arrived. We just saw the bushes move and thought we had missed our chance. After 20 minutes or so of alarm calls and driving around the area he was believed to be moving, there he was, all of a sudden, strolling through the clearing and then crossing the road in front of us and continuing down the road for a good 5 minutes or more. That just blew my mind. To see this amazing animal walking through his home in all his glory was magnificent. We were to be blessed twice more in Kanha. Once more that day as we were leaving the lunch area a female tigress Choti Mada was walking down the road, we were one of only 3 jeeps to have been lucky to see her. On our last morning drive in Kanha, we had what our tour leader Vijay described as a once a year sighting. We heard alarm calls, and then there she was the beautiful Dhwajhandi (daughter of Choti Mada), she crossed the road, scenting as she went and passed into the grassland, we sat and waited for quite some time and were super lucky in this time to also see a Sloth Bear bounding across the grassland, after the bear passed we sat and waited on the other side of the grassland, listening to her roar, most jeeps gave up and left, but we insisted on waiting, we knew she was there. And then, alarm calls, the remaining jeeps all started their engines and we went further up the grassland road to where the deer were now running and calling, and then she was there, strolling through the grassland and past the deer. She walked across the road near our jeep, stopped for a bit, then continued at this point she was behind us and we got to watch her and she sauntered down the road, scenting as she went, rubbing herself on a tree and then eventually going back in to the forest. This whole experience lasted over 2 hours. We were so incredibly blessed to have witnessed this amazing sighting. I will forever be grateful for this trip. We also saw 3 more tigers when we were in Bandhavgarh, Spotty, Solo and Tara. All female tigress. We were lucky to see Tara twice. In all we saw 8 tigers if you include the cub blobs, 2 sloth bear and so many deer, birds, monkeys etc. It really was the trip of a lifetime. I won't be coming down off that high for sometime.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Oh Vijay was just truly wonderful. He is the best group leader I have ever had. He was so knowledgeable, passionate and committed. Every time we saw a tiger, it blew him away too, which was really touching. We were lucky to only have a group of 7, but he just did a marvelous job. I would 100% do another tour in India if Vijay was the leader. His passion for wildlife and knowledge of birds was phenomenal. He is a complete asset to your company.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack thermals. It's only cold in the morning game drives, but you will need it, that and also some sort of windproof jacket. They give you blankets, but don't rely on them. You will need something else to keep you warm in the early mornings. Another thing you should 100% pack is something to cover you nose & mouth as the dust is pretty crazy.

Saw a Tiger

Great trip for wildlife lovers which gives you the best opportunity to see a Tiger.
Visiting 3 National Parks allows you to see a variety of landscapes, the full range of Indian bird and wildlife.

Most Inspirational Moment

We all saw lots of evidence of Tigers including paw prints and alarm calls, and even caught glimpses of Tigers as they crossed road, or were asleep in the bush. And then finally on game drive number 15, that's over 60 hours on safari, with 5am starts and getting bounced around and covered in dust in the back of a jeep...we had a great clear close sighting of a magnificent Tiger. Fantastic.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader Krishna was excellent, helpful, informative and with a great sense of humour.

Advice for Potential Travellers

We took up the opportunity to do two extra optional game drives. The more time you spend in the parks then the better chance of seeing a Tiger.

L Thomas

Wonderful trip. Just the right mixture of wildlife and culture. Can’t describe the feeling when we first saw a tiger at close range. At a loss for words. Sloth bear also made it a fabulous trip

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing a tiger at close range for the first time was awe inspiring. Literally couldn’t speak. X

Thoughts on Group Leader

Vijay was fabulous. Made us feel very safe and helped us integrate with the local people .

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a bit more money than you think you will need. Most of our money went on beers each day!!!