Archived Testimonials: Nature Safari India
2008...
Iain Rankin
Hi Sharad:
We are now back in Canada and our jet lag is passed so we thought we’d send you a note on our trip as promised.
First off let me say we were very impressed by the service that Abhishek and the rest of the team provided. From the moment we arrived in Delhi through the safari camps (Nepal and back), someone was there to meet us every step of the way. This made our journey easy and we felt safe throughout the whole adventure. Nothing was too much trouble for Abhishek and he made changes and minor adjustments to our plans and restaurant reservations happily and with ease. The personal attention you paid by calling periodically to see how things were going was very much appreciated.
The main purpose of our trip was for tiger safaris and we believe, considering how elusive this magnificent creature is, we were very fortunate to have as many sightings as we did. We saw three tigers up close and personal and another three either fleetingly or from a distance. Of course we saw many other magnificent animals and birds and captured some amazing photographs.
We chose you to arrange this trip because we believed you could customize a trip specifically suited to our needs as we did not want some kind of compromised prepackaged plan. You certainly did this. Not only did you listen to what we wanted but over a two-year period, you were patient and responsive through our many changes. We very much appreciated this and the hard work and planning you put into this highly tailor-made adventure became obvious as our trip unfolded.
There is nothing easy about travelling in India. Distances between camps are long and infrastructure is poor in many places but considering all of these facts of life challenges, you planned our trip with meticulous attention to detail and got us where we wanted to go in the best possible way available.
Our four favourite places to stay were Chitvan, The Oberoi Agra, The Dwarika, and Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge. Each experience was very different of course but each of these places was very special and memorable in their own right. The Oberoi in Delhi was also amazing. Tiger Tops was our favourite safari experience; however, their accommodations were terrible. This has nothing to do with you (the owners of Tiger Tops have some improvements to make if they want to sustain their clientele).
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for all your excellent work. This was a trip of a lifetime and one Viive and I will not forget for many years to come. It was a pleasure working with you. All the best and pass on our regards to Abhishek.
Best,
Iain & Viive
p.s. If you would like a testimonial from us or to use any excerpt from above, it would be our pleasure.
Joann Balzer
Dear Abhishek,
We are safely back in the US, but Bob and I didn’t want a moment to pass by without thanking you for putting together such a superb safari experience for us. Everything worked out so beautifully, and we have memories to cherish for a lifetime.
My friends are planning to stay at Tiger’s Den Bandhavgarh in 2009 and I wanted to make sure that they got the driver that we had. Additionally, the driver is supposed to email me some photos of the tigress and her cubs (BIG cubs) crossing the road. He is young and handsome (like you), wore a Mercedes Benz cap, had his own camera (Nikon, I believe), sorta looked like a fashion model with a five o’clock shadow. Can you please give me his name and email address too, if you have it, as I desperately want to have his photos.
More to come, THANKS FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR ALL.
Toby Austin
Hi Sharad,
Just a quick note to say thank you very much for arranging the trip; we had a fantastic time and the organisation was of the highest quality. Although I have travelled quite extensively, my wife has travelled less so, and was slightly concerned. However, from the first moment we were met at the airport by Abhishek, your staff soon reassured her.
All the guides were good, but particular mention should be given to Jakat at Bandhavgarh and Michelle’s guide in Delhi (who I only breifly met.) Vinod, our main driver, was also good company!
Bandhavgarh and Kanha were the obvious highlights and it is hard to choose between the two (they are quite different experiences.) The lodges at both of these places were were also superb. Our only regret was that we could not stay a few days longer at each.
In the end, we saw a total of six individual tigers, a leopard, and just under two hundred birds. We also took home some great memories of India.
Toby (and Michelle, Tom, and Sam)
Thomas Reese
Hi Sharad & Abhishek.
Just sending a few lines to thank you for the marvelous trip you planned for us. Pretty much every detail ran smoothly and the trip exceeded our expectations. The hotels, the guides, the drivers, and the service were all excellent. Even when our train was 5 hours late arriving in Umaria, the driver and the van were there at the train station waiting for us when we arrived. There was always someone there to meet us and see us off at every step of the way.The chefs at Tiger’s Den and Chitvan changed their menu to accommodate our tastes. The guides for the city tours and the game drives were all great and made sure we saw all of the important things. The entire program ran so well it is difficult to recommend any ways to improve it. You have done a great job in making sure everyone associated with the trip made us feel comfortable. The level of service was at the highest standard. And all the planned activities made for an exciting way to dicover wonderful places. And of course, it was so nice to meet the two of you. You obviously put a lot of work into the trip, and it is very much appreciated. If any of our friends consider a trip to India, we will recommend you without hesitation. If either of you should visit the Chicago area, we would be happy to see you again and show you all the great places around here.
Thank you again,
Tom
Gill & Geoff Symmons
Hi Sharad
It does not seem long ago since we booked the trip and now it is over, only memories and many pictures.
We would like to thank you for all the time and hard work you must have put in to organise the wonderful trip for us, everything was perfect and fell into place. We cannot thank you enough, there are not enough words to express what we felt, the joy at seeing tigers in the wild, 18 of them, was just unbelievable. We would like to thank all the staff in all the resorts for their help, kindness and friendship that made us feel so welcome. Special thanks to our excellent driver, Beejay, what a lovely man, so helpful, friendly but professional, his driving enabled us to relax and enjoy the scenery.
The trip was a good mixture of culture and game drives, so that we could see the best of both worlds and to enjoy your beautiful country. The hotels, resorts, game drives and even the trains were all excellent.
We would highly recommend your company to anybody wishing to visit India, the organisation, professionalism and timing of the trip were of the highest standard and we could not have wished for anything better. Many, many thanks again for the best holiday we have ever taken.
With kind regards.
Gill & Geoff Symmons
England
CAB Associates
I apologize for the tardy response but I had a terrible cold and cough when I got back…..We were quite pleased with all aspects and especially the diligence to service provided by Nature Safari…The service and diligence to detail was excellent, the guides, drivers and representatives were always on time and helpful, 100% + of the time…..The lodges and other accommodations were more then we expected, the guides were excellent and very knowledgeable regarding the birds and mammals. Overall I would have to give the trip and your services a high rating.
An overall rating for the entire trip would certainly be a Ten (10) out of a possible 10.
Joy Davies & Chris Green
Dear Abhishek
We have now returned home after a wonderful holiday in India. The trip was an excellent combination of culture and nature – it was great to escape to the nature parks for a few days after being in the bustle of the cities. And we were fortunate enough to see 8 tigers, including a mother with her 3 cubs!
We would like to thank you for the very efficient planning and execution of this trip – someone was waiting to meet us at every point, and everything was organized like clockwork. The only hitches were related to the trains – the 4hr journey to Ranthanbore actually lasted 9 hours due to technical problems, and the overnight train was 2 hours late leaving Agra. Despite this, we still enjoyed the experience of this form of travel.
We were very happy with the accommodation and facilities everywhere with one exception. The Park Hotel in Delhi, our 1st hotel in India, was a big disappoinment because on both Friday and Saturday night, a disco went on until about 3.30am and 5.00 am respectively. It was impossible to sleep as the beat of the band reverberated through the walls of the building with a continuous thumping noise which permeated the room.
I telephoned the concierge on the 1st night and was told it would end soon. It did not. I finally managed to sleep with my fingers in my years and a pillow over my head. Saturday night was worse – louder and longer. My partner Chris was ill and neither of us could escape the din. I telephone reception at about 3.00 – I was told they would reduce the sound and that it would finish shortly. I phoned twice more. The last time, at about 4.30am, I demanded that the manager come up to the room to hear the noise. I was then offered a different room. But as we whad to be up early for the departure to Ranthabore, there was no point. I would never recommend this hotel to anyone, particularly at the weekend.
This did not spoil the rest of our holiday however, and we would like to thank you again for providing a memorable and enjoyable experience of India. So much so, that we are determined to come back at some point and visit other parts of the country.
With warm regards
Joy Davies & Chris Green
Steven Sardo & John Parente
Dear Sharad,
We have safely returned from an outstanding trip and are grateful to you for making our first experience in India so amazing! India can be intimidating to even the most experienced traveler, but from the moment of initial contact, you provided prompt and courteous guidance that was invaluable in planning the perfect holiday.
The execution of our trip was flawless…we were met everywhere promptly, and no detail left unattended. As you know our itinerary included Delhi, Bharatpur, Agra, Kanha, Bandhavgarh, and Khajuraho. We really appreciated the flexibility of our tour and dining options in Delhi, and the extra birding opportunities available as the water level was low at Bharatpur. The lodging everywhere was superb, the service likely the best we have had anywhere. The food authentic and wonderful. We loved tracking wildlife at the national parks, yielding great tiger viewing as well as surprisingly good leopard and jungle cat sightings. The cell phone service you arranged for us during our stay was unexpected and much appreciated.
It was a great pleasure meeting you and Abhishek personally during our stay, your skill and extraordinary dedication to your clients’ satisfaction really sets you apart. Truly outstanding! We look forward to working with you again and will highly recommend you to all.
With kind regards and best wishes,
Steven Sardo & John Parente
Scottsdale, Arizona USA
Stuart Shaw
Dear Sharad / Abhishek,
We just got back from a wonderful trip to India. Everything went well and we made all our connections even though three of the trains were several hours late. We had a great time at Bandavgarh and the Tiger Den Resort where we saw two tigers. The park was very busy and we felt that the number of vehicles in the park should be limited so that there is a better chance of seeing tigers. I believe we were exremely fortunate to spot the tigers and a lot of people must have left disappointed without seeing any tigers due to the number of jeeps racing around. I have attached a picture we took of B2, the biggest male tiger in the park. After all the train travel we needed a good rest and enjoyed five days relaxing at Benaulim in Goa.
If any of our friends are planning a trip to India I will certainly pass on your details.
Thanks and regards,
Stuart Shaw and family.
2007...
Caroline
Dear Sharad and Abhishek,
I am aware it is a bit late, but I herewith wanted to thank you once again for the terrific organisation of our holiday in your beautiful country. In case we would like to come back for a tiger safari, we will certainly contact you again to make the arrangements. We will also recommend you to our friends in case they plan to visit India. I will also leave a recommendation on your website.
I was also wondering if you could help me to get in contact with an owner of a shop in the old town of Khajuraho. It was a very small shop and the owner sold old bronze items and it was also possible to have statues made like the ones you see on the temples of Khajuraho. We were brought to this shop by your local agent and I would really appreciate it if you could help me to get in contact with the shop owner.
For now, I wish you and your family a happy New Year and I am looking forward to hear from you again.
Best regards,
Caroline Don
Tara
Dear Sharad and Abhishek,
Thank you for arranging our tour so efficiently. We had very good sightings of the Tiger. Out of the 5 Game Drives that we went on, we had sightings on 4 of them. The only time we did not see the Tiger was when we were supposed to go on elephant back. We waited at Centre Point but as there were no reported sightings, had to return without seeing the Tiger.
Thank you Sharad for you sensitivity when conveying the news about the passing away of my mother. She was a heart patient and used to get Angina pains but from 10th December until I left, she was in good spirits and looked and felt well. I called her from New Delhi Airport while waiting for the flight to Kajuraho and she said she was fine and that everything at home was fine. That is why it was such a shock when you gave me the news. I guess God did not want me to see her in a coffin but to have a good memory of her.
We were very comfortable at Tigers Den Resort (TDR) . Gyanendra was extremely kind and helpful. The boys who waited on us at table went out of their way to please us. You have a great team there. The food was superb. I will certainly recommend TDR to my friends and anyone who wishes to visit Bandavargarh.
Today is my first day at work and I have loads to do so I will stop now.
With best wishes,
Tara
Christer Stormyrbakken
Dear Sharad
We want to thank you for helping us plan and arrange our visit to India. We had a great time and enjoyed all aspects of our stay. All the people we got in contact with through Nature Safari were friendly, helpful and proffessional. We are hoping to come again one day and we will certainly not hesitate to recommend Nature Safari to anyone looking for help planning a trip to India.
Kind regards
Elisabeth and Christer
John Field
Dear Sharad and Abhishek,
Thanks: the service you provided for us could not have been bettered. We had a memorable two weeks round Rajasthan, and the chief credit must go to your choice of Laxman as our driver. He was exemplary in every way. Given the nature of Indian roads and traffic, it was amazing that his driving never gave us the least concern or anxiety: he was safe and careful and considerate to a degree I hadn’t imagined possible. In addition he was thoughtful, good-humoured in all conditions, and very good fun to spend time with. He is a good and remarkable man, and I was sorry to learn that after dropping us all in Delhi he had to head straight back to Jaipur to begin another tour. I hope you find opportunities to give him much deserved rests in between spells of driving duty. Thank you, Abhishek, for your patience that night in Delhi when the hotel failed to give you information about where we were. You were very level-headed at a time when you were under pressure with other obligations. So I am enormously grateful for all your professional support, and hope to keep in contact with you. Thanks and good wishes. John.
Dawn Belotti
Dear Sharad and Abhishek
I want to thank you both for a wonderful visit to India. I was fortunate to choose Nature Safari as my travel company. This was my first visit to India and I had no worries about anything throughout my visit. Both the Tuli Tiger Resort and the Tiger Den were lovely places with pleasant staff and beautiful grounds. I was fortunate to have seen two beautiful tigers in Kanha and both a tiger and a leopard in Bandhavgarh. Of course I saw plenty of other wonderful Indian wildlife in both parks. I look forward to traveling with Nature Safari again in the future.
Dawn Belotti
New York
Peter van Dijk
Sharad and Abhishek,
In the first place, we want to thank you for the wonderful journey into India. It was a beautiful and very pleasant vacation.
Nature safari is in my opinion a highly professional organisation. Everything was good arranged. Hotels and resorts are good. Assistance on arrival and railway stations have been a great help for us. We have seen what we asked for: Lions and Tigers ( a lot of tigers) and a leopard as bonus.
As promised I send you the tiger photo’s. If you want I wil send you a dvd of the whole journey.
Very warm greetings,
Janny and Peter
Jennifer and Irvin Falk
Dear Sharad and Abhishek,
I have been very remiss in not contacting you following the excellent tour we had with you earlier this year.
Both Irvin and I consider it to have been one of the highlights of our travelling. The organisation was superb and we were always met and taken to our next destination. As one gets older this is quite important as worries can easily set in. My late decision to include Udaipur was never forseen as a problem and all the arrangements worked like clockwork. It was a very wise decision to visit there as we both loved the palaces and the lakes.
The safaris ,too, were excellent and although we didn’t see tigers at Ranthambore we were very fortunate at both Bandhavgarh and Kanha. All the drivers and guides involved were very knowledgable and because Irvin has quite bad problems with rheumatism which affected him getting in and out of jeeps,they could not do enough to offer their assistance. I must single out Dr Siva, the naturalist from Kanha who absolutely made the safari there for us. He took us outside the park where we saw Sarus cranes which come down from the Himalayas and again he was with us when we saw a pack of wild dogs attacking a young deer. His knowledge of ornithology is marvellous and I have now become interested since my return to UK. The accommodation was good and adequate for our needs. We did have a small hiccup at Kanha but following a telephone conversation with Sharad everything was resolved within half an hour. The customer service is second to none and it is good to know that if there are any problems Sharad is on the ball immediately to address the issue. I would most certainly travel with you again and I have in fact recommended your company to my friends.
Thank you all once again and my apologies for the delay in writing to you.
Jennifer and Irvin Falk
Heather-Belle
Dear Sharad & Ashwani
I am emailing some of the pictures all taken by Malcom Hill and hope you enjoy them. Ashwani could you please show the ones with Sham and Divendra the driver to them, as I said I would send them to you to show them.
We cannot tell you enough how fantastic the trip was and so well organised. Every little thing was thought of and that’s marvellous.
The tigers especially the one walking towards us for 500 m. was sensational – nothing can compare to that tingling feeling you get because they are wild and you don’t know what they will do next. Is this for real, you have to keep asking yourself – but believe me its real. Your heart is beating so fast while you are viewing this magnificent animal – WOW its great. An experience that’s eteched in your mnd forever.
We have already told many of our friends that if they are interested in doing such a tour to contact you in the near future.
Thank you once again for such a good time.
Warm regards
Heather & Malcolm Hill
Gemma McGuinness
Hi Sharad
Sorry it has taken so long to email you but since arriving back in the UK e have both been ill. But were getting better so I thought I best email you to say what a fantastic time we both had in India.
Firstly, can I say thank you so much for all the emails that we received from you up to our holiday. You were always prompt and any query that we had you dealt with quickly and put our concerns at rest.
As with anything that you book on the internet you always have to be careful and you always have doubts!! We certainly did even up to us getting off the plane in New Delhi! We honestly thought that there would be no one to meet us, and it was such a relief to see Abhishek their holding a placard with my name on. From that point on all our concerns were put aside. Abhishek was so professional and friendly that we instantly felt at home!!
Everything that we had discussed with you was all taken care of, and our hotels were out of this world. We not once had a problem with any of the the hotels, each member of their staff were so kind and obliging, they went out of their way to make our stay memorable.
Transport around India was exceptional also, our driver Amit for the first 4/5 days was excellent, he spoke very good english and we found by the end of our journey with Amit that we wished we could keep him for our entire two week holiday. He was so kind, respectful and if we needed anything he was always there to help. He was even concerned when I was not feeling well, and always asked how I was and whether I needed anything. He was amazingly punctual, was always there a little early and if any of our tour guides were even a one minute late he was apologising. We were on holiday and being one minute late was no problem for us at all. He was an amazing driver and one that if we were to return to India would love to meet up with again, to say another big thank you.
Our tours around India were fantastic, unfortunately there were a few tours that I didn’t make due to not feeling well. Steve enjoyed every one of these tours, he ahs taken some amazing pictures and all of which have some amazing stories behind them. Our tour guides were always very kowledgeable and tried their up most to give us as much information as they could and answer any questions that they had. They even helped us get some amazing pictures by telling where to stand in order to get an amazing shot. I believe that without these guides we would most probably not know as much as we do now about India even with our lonely planet guide to India. Can I also recommend to anyone that visits the Taj Mahal that the most amazing time to see this spectacular place is a sunrise, what an amazing sight something that I will always remember.
As you know Sharad our main aim of this trip was to see Tiger’s and that we did! Kanha national park was a wonderful back drop to tiger’s homes. Seeing that scenery at 545am was wonderful and we were fortunate enough to see three tiger’s during our time there. We also most of all need to praise our naturist Sanjey, what a fountain of knowledge this man has, anyone who is lucky to have Sanjey as their naturist is in for a treat. This man can spot the most minute bird in a tree from so far away, he is so enthusiastic also that with every animal we saw we begun to be as enthusiastic as him. We were so pleased with Sanjey that we plan to stay in touch with him and maybe if we come back to India in the future we will make a stop to see him!
Bandhavgarh national park was by far our best game drives, we were amazed to see 9 separate sightings of tiger’s and in total 13 sightings of tiger’s, one of which we sat and watched for two hours on our last day. Our two drivers were brilliant and as we didn’t want to do elephant rides they gave us the ultimate experience of tracking the tiger’s ourselves by searching for their footprints and listening out to the alarm calls. We have some amazing pictures that are the envy of all our friends. I never imagined how close I would get to a tiger and at one point we were pretty close, if I reached out my hand I would have been able to touch him.( But
as he was known as the lady killer I refrained from stroking!!)
Thank you also for our train rides, at first I must admit I was sceptical but our first journey was brilliant as we were with two other english people so we had a lot to talk about and our second journey was great also as we had our own room. These were both a great experience and I would definately try them again.
Back in Delhi on our last day saw us taken an infamous rickshaw ride, this was an experience that I will never forget, one that at times I thought we were going to crash but what a quick way to get around old Delhi! We both thoroughly enjoyed this trip and our cyclist was so welcoming and helped us get some brilliant pictures of religious places of worship.
What more can I say Sharad? Our holiday with your company has been an experience that I know we are not going to forget in hurry, particularly as Steve and I got engaged while we were in India, so this holiday will always remain in my heart whenever I look at my engagement ring. Memories that we will continue to tell our friends and family. We have already sung your praises to many people and we have recommended you to others if they ever think about going to India. We almost wish that you did holidays all over the world as we are almost certain that we would use your company again and again and again. The service was first class and the holiday was by far one of our best.
Sharad, thank you so much for giving us a holiday of a lifetime, and if we decide to return to India in the future we will definately look you up again and taylor make a holiday with you.
Please could you pass on our thanks to the rest of your team and the company’s that we used through out our holiday. I hope that you can use some of this on your website and I more than happy for any other travellers to email me for feedback if they need their minds putting at ease!!
Thank you so much and as soon as we get our pictures sorted we will email some to you so that you can use them on your website.
All our heart felt thanks over and over
Gemma McGuinness and Stephen Orchard
Venetia Fitch
Hi Sharad and Abhishek
Just to say thanks again for our wonderful trip, I enjoyed every minute of it! It’s back to work tomorrow to earn some more money for our next adventure! I have been asked to enquire wether you arrange similar trips around southern India? Today I E mailed the Lonely Planet Guide, asking them to recommend your company in the next publication of their India Guide and telling them why I thought that they should do so. I hope it works!
Thanks again.
Best wishes Venetia
Happie Datt
Dear Sharad,
It gives me great pleasure to share the wonderful experience we had during the Tiger Safari at Bandhavgarh Wild Resort with our friends.
For every trip that is successful, there needs to be someone attending to the little details like entrance tickets, transportation, accommodations, guides, etc., etc. Your professionalism in attending to these very details within the one week that you had to make all the arrangements, we thank you. From the time you arranged to have Prem pick us up from my residence in Delhi, till the time we returned back after 5 days, all arrangements for the train tickets & seating, the stop at Agra to see the Taj Mahal, the Agra Fort and the Baby Taj and back on the train for the night journey to Bandhavgarh, Tiger Den Resort and the return journey, we experienced no wasted time and were always being met by courteous staff at each point.
Kudos to Mr T, as Tirath was known to his guests was both a courteous and fun-loving guide and willing to detour to the far side of the park, so that we would not miss the opportunity to spot the young tiger cub moving about making his way at dusk towards the water hole! We will also not forget Mr Tiwari and his staff for taking care of our room and meals at the Tiger Den Resort.
We are recommending this to our friends, encouraging them to use your services to take care of the details! We appreciate your integrity and professionalism – invaluable in a country in which, everyone you bump into the streets seems interested in parting you with your money without regard to value received!
Thank you and if you should branch out from safari tours, I am most interested in adventure trekking from Rishikesh to the HemKunt and the Valley of the Flowers. I enjoy hiking (back packs and tents) and would like to spend 3-5 weeks in the mountain ranges during the summer season.
Sincerely,
Happie Datt
Lone Kirkwood
Dear Sharad and Abhishek,
We have arrived safely back and are slowly sorting through pictures and memories. Thank you for organising a great trip.
“We spent 16 days primarily visiting National Parks and Sharad and his team ensured the extensive logostics worked perfectly. There were someone to meet and greet at every juncture. Knowledgeable guides and helpfull staff were everywhere. We were thouroughly briefed at the start and everything went smoothly throughout the entire trip.
We visited Corbett, Bandavgahr and Kahna and saw lots of wildlife, not least 9 Tigers which was the main goal of the trip. So all in all a great success.”
Hope this is the sort of thing….please note my new mail adress – new job!!
don’t forget we are interested in Bhutan i 2009….probably looking at Mana (is that what it is called? very close to Kasaringa) and Kasaringa, Bhutan and home via Kathmandu….
Med venlig hilsen/ Best Regards
Paula & Thomas
Hello Sharad & Abhishek and all @ Nature Safari.
Well we arrived home safely after the amazing trip organised by you, we have many happy memories!
We had a fantastic time and couldn’t have hoped for a more organised trip – we were met at each port of call and transferred to all the lodges / sites as promised without any worries at all.
We got to see a few Tigers – which was fantastic- obviously there is no guarantee – but we were fortunate in seeing them both from an elephant and from the vehicle (good views for photos).
The lodges were comfortable – we particularly enjoyed Tuli Lodge. The rooms were spacious, the patio area was bright and airy and it had a nice swimming pool.
Bandhavgarh was also very nice – the service here was much more personal and friendly.
I would not hesitate to recommend your services to anyone I know who was thinking of visiting India.
I have attached a few of my fav. photos for you as requested.
Many Many thanks again – it was great dealing with you all.
Do you organise trips other than to India?
We may be looking to go on safari in Zambia at the end of the year, and if you can assist or recommend a tour operator that would be great.
Warmest Regards
Paula & Thomas
Guido Parma
Dear Sharad,
I was really impressed by the punctuality and all the services of your company and by the friendliness and the professionality of your collaborators. My first trip to India has definitely been well organized and I spent nice and interesting days. I got to see the tigers and I had the chance to take some good pictures of birds, places and other animals. In Bandhavgarh, surprisingly, I didn’t have many chances to spot tigers (just one good spotting from the jeep), probably due to the fact that my stay was shorter there than in Khana.
The Tiger Den Resort was very comfortable with a very cordial and familiar atmosphere just as Tuli Tiger Resort was, which also offers very well prepared guides for safari. In fact I did eight spottings of tigers, six of which from the jeep and one very near, about 5 meters, for 25 minutes.
Certainly I will contact you in the future to organize some other vacations maybe in Gir and Kaziranga. Until then, thanks for everything!!
See you
Alain
Good evening Sharad,
Coming back to France (after a long queue at the airport 2h 1/2….) we would like to say to you that our trip was excellent and that the care you took for us was very well appreciated. Thank you Sharad to you and all your team
From the 1st minute we arrived at Delhi till we left from 15 days later, all people of your organization were there at the right time, no delay, all drivers drove us through roads and traffic in good condition, very kindly and in time.
Guides were also helpful and for some of us, it was nice to have some French speaking ones sometimes (for me as well, less work to do for my fellows…)
Hotels were also as expected and very nice (next time we should go more to “havelis”, there is some kind of spirit in)
Even with the booking missed for our internal flight at the end of the trip, the back up solution was a very good experience (what a drive here…!) and left us enough time to enjoy.
May be some improvments to be done for the packed picnics, (train, minibus) but not a big deal , we were not starving
Wildlife : we saw 5 tigers in Khana (by elephant only) and 10 in Bandavghar both by elephant and from the jeeps, so as this was the main topic of our trip this was excellent. Sharad you must try to offer some elephant ride to see tigers during 1 or 2 hours, searching and following the cats, it will be top of the top…!
I will surely recommand Nature Safari to anybody wanted to go to India, and believe us , we have some experiences traveling around the planet…
From all of us 8 again thank you for this very good organisation, and next trip to Paris, I will be pleased to be your guide for a city trip……..
Best personal and warm regards
Alain + “French independant group”
Jennie Palmer
Dear Sharad,
Good to hear from you again. Now that we are back in the UK and returned to work, our holiday seems like a long time ago!
I must thank you for helping us to organise our Nature Safari Tour. Everything went smoothly and according to plan. We were met at the hotel in Delhi on our arrival and issued with tickets, vouchers and an itinerary. For each of our connections we were met by our driver in plenty of time. The train journey and our internal flights all ran on time and without any problems.
Our first stop was at Tiger Den, Bandhavgarh. The hotel was comfortable, we were well looked after and the safaris were very good. Indeed, we had sightings of tigers on our very first afternoon drive in the National Park, and on many subsequent safaris. We also sighted a jungle cat and many other species.
Next, we visited Tuli Tiger Resort, Kanha. This hotel was exceptionally well run, with excellent Naturalists on hand to answer any questions about the flora or fauna of Kanha National Park. Here, the safaris were efficiently organised and we had many excellent sightings, of tigers of course, but also of the rare barasingha, dhole and gaur. In fact, the highlight of our trip was when my husband watched a pack of dhole attempting to attack a herd of gaur. At Tuli Tiger Resort we upgraded to stay in the luxury tents, which I would recommend to anyone!
Lastly, we visited Pench Jungle Camp. This was a relaxing place to stay, on a smaller scale and with fewer tourists. The tents were adequate, if a little chilly at night, but we were provided with extra blankets and hot water bottles to keep us warm. We were once again well looked after, and the safaris were very good. On a tiger show we saw a tigress and her three cubs relaxing following a chital kill – what an amazing sight. The birding in Pench was also excellent. On our last day we were lucky enough to be allowed to hire an elephant for a morning ride through the jungle. Our priority was to try to see a leopard (having had our fill of tigers already). Our wishes were granted as we followed a young leopard through the jungle – thanks to our highly skilled Mahoot – an amazing end to our wildlife holiday.
The photos from our trip are available to view online at http://www.dougjen.net/index.asp?location=India+2007&keyword=&pagesize=24&view=0 (the first photos are of Agra before we arrive at Bandhavgarh). You are welcome to use any of our images on your website.
Many thanks once again. This was our fourth visit to India, and the first time we had ever seen tigers, leopard and so much more. We have very fond memories of our trip which we will treasure forever.
Kind regards,
Jennie and Doug Palmer
Sarah St. George
Dear Sharad,
Thank you for your e-mail. I have been meaning to write and thank you for all your help. I am happy to share my experiences with the Nature Safari.
My family and I travelled to India this past December. I was overwhelmed with the idea of planning a trip to India. I knew we wanted to go to the Bandhavgarh National Park�and contacted Sharad at the Nature Safari to make reservations. His response was immediate and he offered to help with planning the rest of my trip. He was fantastic, and he ended up booking train reservations, drivers, guides and hotels for our trip. Planning this from the United States would have been impossible without his help. Prior to leaving I was anxious if indeed all my reservations had been made – this group is extremely honest and reliable, and my worries were for nothing.� Upon our arrival we were even more pleased with the staff and service of the Nature Safari. They were prompt,�courteous and extremely helpful. A special thank you to Abhishek who was always available to help us with our needs!�
Seeing Tigers in the wild has been a life-long dream for me and our trip to Bandhavgarth and our stay at the Tiger’s Den surpassed my expectations. It was the highlight of our trip. We had a fantastic guide/naturalist, Jagat, he was extremely�knowledgeable. His ability to track tigers and his expertise of the wildlife and park made our experience exceptional. We were blessed with seeing 11 tigers during our 5 days, a dream come true.
It’s my pleasure to highly recommend the Nature Safari to anyone thinking of traveling India.
Sarah St. George
United States
Carol Thompson & Mike Brock
Hi Sharad
Just a quick note to thank you so much for the arrangements you made which gave us such a fantastic holiday in India. All the logistics worked perfectly, your staff were always on time, friendly, knowledgeable. The itinerary was great, met our wishes absolutely – seemed like we had a new adventure every day, without being rushed. We managed to see 13 tigers, and were amazed at the culture, history and beauty of the buildings in Agra and Jaipur. Even the long car drives through the countryside were fascinating. Hotels all well chosen – the Neemrana was a perfect ending, what a place! We both absolutely loved the part of India we saw, and will no doubt come back to see more of your beautiful country at some stage.
Can’t thank you and your team enough
Best regards
Carol Thompson & Mike Brock
Kamcilla Gaunt
Dear Sharad
Finally the trip report! Apologies for taking so long to get round to this.
Firstly thank you very much for arranging a fantastic holiday for us. Everything went very smoothly and we enjoyed the holiday very much. Most importantly of all we saw tigers in the wild!
Guides:
The arrangements at each destination and transfers were all very good. The guides were good, in particular, My Janesh in Delhi, Mr Mueen Khan in Agra and the guide in Mumbai – unfortunately I can’t remember her name. Our driver for the first part of the trip, Umesh, was excellent. Unfortunately we don’t know who his boss is – so we were not able to say how pleased we were with his services but if you can, we would appreciate it if you could inform his company how pleased we were with his driving.
Hotels:
The hotels were great – in particular the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur. We were quite pleased that we could spend an extra morning there (since Ranthambore was closed).
We were disappointed with Tiger Den – mainly because we had a bit of a disaster when we got there. We arrived after an overnight train journey (which, by the way was fine. It would have been a lot better if we could have had the 4 berth sleeping bit – instead of beng scattered around – but it was fine). Anyway when we got to the hotel they put us in the new “deluxe suites” – which were anything but deluxe! The buildings had obviously just been completed and smelled of wet paint, the floors were just concrete with some vinyl placed on it, it was freezing, and the rooms weren’t connected to the generators so there was no electricity and no hot water come out of the shower (the room didn’t have a bath). I was
horrified – and must confess burst into tears! After breakfast I met the the managing director (Shalendra?) and asked to be shown the rooms in the cottages which was infinitely better so we moved into those rooms. We had them in separate cottages for the first night and then next to each other for the next two nights. According to Jennie and Doug Palmer (who are also using you, I believe) the rooms were a mere foundation when they got there a few days before. They really were uninhabitable. If you send other clients there make sure you ask that they be placed in the old cottages. Once we were settled in the older rooms everything was okay. I did try to call you when we got there but my mobile phone didn’t work and the receptionist – who I couldn’t really communicate with- connected me to someone else! On the plus side our guide at Tiger Den was fantastic. The resort was completely packed (with some unfortuante people staying in the new rooms) and the park was very crowded too so our guide kept us away from the melee and we managed to see a tigress with her 3 cubs who were terrrified of cars. We were the only ones on our side of the road when we saw this. It was amazing.
I’m surprised at the difference in the standard of accomodation at the other parks (Ranthambore and Kanha) and Bandhavgahr. I see that you have another resort. Royal Tiger Resort, at Bandhavgahr on your web site. Is Tiger Den better than Royal Tiger Resort? Also I believe the new Taj resort, Mahua Kothi, opened in November. I’m sure that would be up to usual Taj standards. Although we did see the extremely large Taj vehicle several times in the park and according to our guide nobody on it had seen a tiger!
It was a pleasure to get to Kanha and the luxury Tuli Tiger Corridor tents. We were the only people in the tents on the first night and the solitude was real pleasure. Again our guide at Tuli, Inderjit, was really good. I’m not sure whether you asked for specific guides – and if you did, thank you, they were both excellent.
The other hotels were all great. As I told you on the phone, The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai didn’t have 2 sea-facing rooms so gave us the Neptune Suite instead which was fantastic.
So, all in all, it was a great holiday. The only disappointment was, as I mentioned before, not doing the trip the other way round – i.e. first to Mumbai, then Kanha and Bandhavgar and finally Agra, Jaipur, Ranthambore and New Delhi. According to the guides the park always gets extremely busy between Christmas and New Year and this year was even worse. The worst effect is that all the animals keep away from the roads. There were no tiger shows on 2 of the days we were at Kanha and one at Bandhavgahr. The guides said the time to come back is a week after New Year. Everything quietens down after New Year and after about a week the animals start coming out again.
However we did see tigers – so we were happy with that. I think the parks must be really amazing places to visit when they are not so crowded so we shall have to make a return trip at some time!
I think the only other thing we would do differently is try to spend more time in the various places and even skip something out if we were short of time. Two reasons for this: firstly I’d forgotten that the kids do like doing nothing except sitting at the pool on their holidays and secondly, I would have liked to have got more of a feel for some of the places. I would have liked to have spent more time in Delhi – I don’t think I really got a feel for the place. The extra night in Agra was a real pleasure. It gave us a bit of time to relax between travelling and the kids really enjoyed the facilities at Amarvilas. I think everything would have been extremely tiring if we had gone to Ranthambore for 3 nights as planned.
Anyway, we had a great time and again thank you so much for arranging the holiday for us. Please don’t hesitate to use us as references and I will certainly recommend your company to anyone I know coming to India.
Please give my regards to Abhishek and do keep in touch. I will take a look at your website from time to time and we will be back in India at some time in the future. We will be in touch then.
Thank you.
Best wishes
Kamcilla
2006...
Suren Senewiratne
Mr Sharad Vats
Nature Safari India.
Being a keen wild life enthusiast & photographer i would like to contribute a short note on the Safari to Bandhavgarh – Kanha arranged by your company for us recently. I have travelled to India many times since the late 80’s & visited most of the wildlife parks, some of them on several occasions on tours arranged by numerous Indian travel agents. I am delighted that our last visit was refreshingly different from the earlier bad experiences in the hands of unscrupulous travel agents trying to make a fast buck.
We have finally found a knowledgeable, capable & most importantly an honest & reliable travel agent. He provided us with vehicles, lodges and other ground handling arrangements to perfection in accordance with our contract. We were indeed fortunate to have excellent sightings of 19 tigers including a family of five and 2 sloth bear during our six day visit, thanks to the excellent tracking & anticipation of well trained guides provided to us.
I take great pleasure in recommending Shard & staff at Naturesafari as a trusted, reliable and hospitable agency to handle travel in India.
With Warm Wishes for your continued success
Suren Senewiratne
London
Mary Heys
I found Nature Safaris and Sharad and his team while searching Internet in 2005. I saw on the site that they also had links to Care for the Wild, WWF, and was impressed that they even contribute towards conservation. I have a tiger adopted through Care for the Wild and so of course I checked up on Sharad and company with CFW! Sharad doesn’t know – but now he does!! I got a very good recommendation and so I went for it. I had a wonderful 2 weeks in Bandhavgargh and Corbett (although Sharad quite rightly tried to discourage me from doing both, and so far apart, in such little time – never again!!) It was wonderful and Tiger’s Den so warm and friendly and my guide excellent that of course I came back again this year (2006) but only to Bandhavgargh this time and of course I’ll come back next year!!! Nature Safaris are a wonderful, small but serious and very personal company and they care very much about their clients. I could go on and on and on!! I have aleady been to India and other parks twice before so I have a comparison. I am a Nature Safaris fan!!
Mary Heys/Rome/Italy
Pam Flanagan
Dear Sharad,
Please accept our apologies for the unforgiveable delay in writing but many thanks to you and Nature Safari for arranging our wonderful holiday in India.
Our guides and drivers were knowledgeable and efficient and we were looked after so well. Not just taken to the relevant arrival/departure points but personally escorted to trains, planes, hotels, etc., and there was always a friendly face waiting at the end of a journey.
Our 4 days on safari at Bandhavgarh were the highlight of our holiday. The superb wildlife and scenery, the charming bungalow at Tiger’s Den Resort, the hospitality of the staff, our lovely driver, Tee, who made sure each jeep safari was different and full of interest, and 3 sightings of tigresses and cubs, made it a truly memorable experience – we are so looking forward to our next visit!
The entire holiday was so well organised and we are happy to give Nature Safari our full recommendation.
With kind regards to you all,
Andrew and Pam Flanagan
Canham Katie
Hello !
We would like to thank you for the excellent service that you provided us with before and during our recent trip to India.
From the point of booking Yogesh was extremely efficient and dealt with all of my holiday queries quickly and accurately. This excellent level of service continued when we arrived in India. Mangreet who met us at the airport and stayed with us until we boarded the train was very helpful and made us feel very welcome to India. I could continue to list all the aspects of what was arranged for us because it was all of a first class standard. Thank you.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in India and at the Tiger Den resort where the standard was good and the staff were very friendly and helpful.
We would certainly recommend your company to other people wishing to travel to India. In addition we had many wonderful sightings of tigers during our stay !
Having really enjoyed our trip and visiting Tala I would be interested in trying to develop a link with the local village school. Do you have any ideas as to how I could do this ? If not I can always write to Tiger Den directly and ask for their help – am I right in thinking that they do not have an email connection but do they have a fax line perhaps?. It is not a problem if not because I can always write a letter to them . What I was hoping to do was to get to know a member of staff at the school by writing to him/her and asking if there are items of stationery or other resources that the school needs and to help them out by sending these out from the UK. I would be interested in knowing whether you think that this would work. Having enjoyed our trip so much and having been made to feel so welcome by the people I would like to show our thanks on a practical level if at all possible.
Thank you and kind regards,
Katie Canham
Tim & Sharon Matthews
“Dear Sharad,
We have now returned from our two week trip to India and thought we would drop you a line to say thank you for the amazing trip you organised for us. It went smoothly from start to finish, and everyone was so friendly and helpful.It was particularly lovely to see friednly faces again on our return to Delhi!
We had a wonderful time, and enjoyed seeing the tigers very much. The two weeks went so quickly, and we didn’t want to come home!
We would certainly recommend your services to anyone else wishing to travel to India, and believe that you offer great value for money.
Hope to see you again on our next trip to India.
Thanks again and kind regards,
Sharon & Tim Matthews
Guernsey, UK
” Tim & Sharon Matthews
P. C. Benson - Buzzard
Dear Alain from Paris,
I have done 6 trips with Sharad, having just returned two weeks ago from the latest. I have taken people with me on several trips and everyone has raved about them. Some of those people plan on going back again. Sharad and his team are amazing and have yet to make a single mistake of any kind in our trips. Sharad has contacts throughout India and can arrange most any type of trip you want. I am continually chopping and changing my schedules and Sharad always has great suggestions and sorts out my needs. You have no worries with Sharad and I think you will love your trip. I am going back to India in December and again in March and Sharad will make all of the arrangements. Your February trip should be great as it is a good time of year, especially if you have an interest in birds. We have seen plenty of wildlife on our trips, including 18 tigers on one trip. You will not regret using Sharad to arrange your trip.
Enjoy it.
Pat Benson
Matthew & Helen Webb
Sharad,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, but I’ve been busy with work since we returned from holiday.
I just wanted to let you know that we had a fantastic time in India and were very impressed with all of the arrangements that you made for us during our stay in Kanha. The Tuli Tiger Resort was stunning and the staff were very attentive and helpful.
I’ve recomended Nature Safari to a numbe rof my friends in the UK who are interested in a similar holiday.
Thanks again for all your help andI hope your business continues to prosper.
Best regards
Matthew & Helen Webb
Simon Unitt
I had been fishing in India three times previously, but this time was going with my wife Alison, and we wanted to travel around a bit more than I had done previously. I contacted Nature Safari and Sharad quickly offered advice on options within my outlined criteria. I paid a deposit of about 25% and it was at this point that the nagging doubts crept in. Would there be anyone at the airport when we got there? Were all the bookings actually made? I read some references from Nature Safari’s web site, just like you are now, and despite my concern, didnt email any of them to get an independent opinion. Please dont hesitate to contact me if you would like a first hand chat about Nature Safari’s service. You really dont have to have any doubts. We arrived in Bangalore at 5 in the morning, and were met by Sharad’s representatives, who talked me through the information pack and tickets that Sharad had put together for us. From that moment, every single transfer, camp, flight, etc: that Sharad had arranged was spot on, including the hotel in Goa which was absolutely first class, at a less than first class cost. Alison and I have visited quite a few countries, and I can honestly say that this was the most well organised trip I have ever made, and all the thanks for that go to Sharad and Nature Safari.
I had just one problem, which was that the fishing camp had mistakenly charged us for 2 anglers, when infact Alison should have been staying at the nature visitor rate. I argued the case with the camp manager, but to no avail, and not wanting to spoil such a fantastic trip, decided to let it go, but I did mention this to Sharad. I dont know how, but Sharad has secured me a refund from the fishing camp, and even refused to accept any gratuity for doing this. I cannot speak highly enough of the excellent, and professional service we received, and we will definitely contact Sharad and Nature Safari again for our next trip to India in a couple of years.
Best wishes
Simon
Gareth Jones
Dear Sharad,
INDIA February 2006
My daughter and I have just returned from a 2 week trip to India arranged through Nature Safari. What a treat! From the beginning with early e mail replies, choosing our own itinerary and very competitive prices things looked good. This was reiterated when we arrived in Delhi. From being picked up at the airport by Yogesh, through all the taxis, trains and hotels everything went like clockwork taking the stress out of travelling. The first part of our trip was visiting various places such as Bharatpur, Agra and Khajuharo, and the second part was an attempt to see tigers. Sharad suggested the little known Bandhavgarh for 4 days and Kanha for 3. What an inspirational choice – 11 different tigers on our first five game drives!! (and credit to Raghu our driver).
The two resorts of Tigers Den and Tuli Tiger in Bandhavgarh and Kanha respectively were fantastic and very relaxing. All the staff at both resorts including Mr Tiwari manager of Tigers den and Mr Singh chief naturalist of Tuli Tiger were pleasant, helpful and informative. Sharad was in touch with them during our stay to make sure everything was ok. All in all a fantastic and well arranged trip to a lovely country.
I intend to return to India in 2 years time with my wife for a longer holiday and will have no hesitation using Nature Safari again – I look forward to it immensely!!
Thank you,
Gareth Jones
Harper, Nildo
Dear Bob,
Regarding your questions about Sharad Vats from Nature Safari, I would highly recommend his company and his services.
I’ll give you a little background on myself. For almost 12 years I worked as a wholesale travel agent setting up contracts with hotels, tour operators and other travel suppliers throughout the South Pacific and Asia. A few years ago I changed jobs and I am no longer involved in travel. This past year I planned a trip to Bhutan and India to celebrate my 50th birthday and you can imagine how carefully and with what hesitation I looked for a tour operator to handle my individual travel needs for this very important trip. I know what’s out there, I know how difficult travel can be in India for first timers, and I was extremely concerned about finding a reputable, honest and “easy to work with” tour operator for my trip.
I can honestly say we found that person to be Mr. Vats. We really enjoyed the travel arrangements made by him and his company. He’s very easy to work with, very honest and trustworthy, and made an excellent itinerary for us, along with some great hotel reservations, and used expert nature guides throughout the trip.
We highly recommend him — we are very lucky that someone suggested him to us. Our trip arrangements were handled expertly and professionally by him and his assistant. He had a driver waiting for us at the Delhi airport, then met us that first night at our hotel to go over our itinerary. Throughout the trip he or his extremely capable assistant stayed in contact with us by cell phone and they also monitored our guides and driver everywhere we went to make sure things were running smoothly and glitch free.
I’m not sure if you are interested in nature or cultural highlights — we covered both thoroughly. However, we did not go to see tigers (we went at the wrong season of the year) as our main focus on this trip was bird watching, and that was superb. Sharad has promised to plan a great return trip for us in the future to go see tigers.
I can honestly say that you won’t go wrong if you use Sharad for your travel arrangements. We definitely will use him again in the future.
Have a great trip!
Nildo
Dipa and Ian Beckett
Hi Sharad
I hope you are well. I just wanted to write a quick note to you to say ‘thank you for the brilliant organisation that went into our three week holiday in India.’ We were very impressed by the high level of service and professionalism which we experienced throughout our holiday from the all of the local representatives, tour guides, and drivers. The service was always prompt, courteous, and helpful.
In particular we would like to specifically mention Nandu, our driver – he was an excellent driver and we felt completely safe whilst travelling around the country for the first two weeks of our holiday, on the hectic roads in India.
We met many people on our travels who had travelled to India with some of the large international tour operators. They always commented that they felt’ rushed and herded like cattle’ from one tourist attraction to the next with little time to really see, appreciate the beauty and learn about the place – often spending no more than 30 -45 minutes at major attractions such as the Taj Mahal.
We were very lucky, having chosen your organisation to arrange our local tours. We never felt rushed. In fact we were always refreshed and relaxed wherever we went with plenty of time to spend at each location. In fact we spent about 2 ½ hours at the Taj Mahal – there is so much history to learn and the view is spectacular when the sun is setting.
The hotels which you recommended were wonderful. Each hotel was of a different style and ambience – from British colonial in Delhi, to ultra luxury in Agra, to rustic charm in Rathambore on safari, to modern in Jaipur, and a palace in Udaipur!! Followed by Kerala for the third week was a great way to unwind and relax.
The true measure of customer service is when a problem occurs and how it is rectified. There was only one instance when we had a problem while we were in India – and that was with our hotel room in Udaipur. We were amazed by the speed at which the problem was dealt with by yourself with the hotel management team – within 20 minutes from our initial call to you we were moved to another room in the hotel. This was fantastic customer service – particularly considering we called you at 8:40pm and it was the day before Christmas Eve!!
Overall we had a truly amazing holiday – one which we shall always have very fond memories of. A key factor in this was the service Nature Safari provided directly and indirectly through the local agents. We shall be in touch in the future when we next travel to India and we shall certainly be recommending Nature Safari to all our friends who are interested in travelling to India.
Warm Regards,
Dipa and Ian Beckett
BECKETT, Dee
Shamilka Boralessa
Hi Sharad
We just got back after a wonderful holiday at Tiger Den – Given that the holiday was organised in all of one week we would like to thank Sharad, Yogesh and Team for a fantastic job. It was so well planned and thought of – Especially given that we were picked up and dropped off to the train station and similarly picked up and dropped off at the airport without any hassle.
Patrick at Tiger Den was simply wonderful as well – Pls pass on our comments to Tiger Den as we would highly recommend both Nature Safari and Tiger Den to all are friends in Sri Lanka.
Thanks again and we look forward to using your services again.
Warm regds
Shamilka
Jeremy
Sharad,
Sorry I couldn’t phone before leaving Delhi but I had to rush into town from the airport hotel for a second meeting about a film. The trip was fascinating and a great success. We all enjoyed it enormously and it was really efficiently organised. So, many thanks for that.
If you’d like my specific comments about various hotels and facilities, I’d be happy to send them. The hotels were great and people very helpful and kind. A great holiday.
Have a happy New Year.
Jeremy
2005...
Anne-Maria Cann
Dear Sharad
We are now back in the UK and would like to send our sincere thanks to you and your team for helping us have a marvellous holiday. We were very impressed by the thoroughness of our intinerary, the attention to detail was excellent – nothing was left to chance. Not only were we were looked after every step of the way, last minute changes we requested during our trip were accommodated with speed and efficiency – your service couldn’t be bettered. We also appreciated the way that you kept in contact with us during our time in India – a nice personal touch which made us feel more like welcome visitors and not just clients. Our tiger sightings were fantastic (Bandhavgarh thoroughly recommended) and we feel privileged to have seen these wonderful creatures in their natural habitat.
We read your tribute to Challenger – he was truly a magnificent animal and were glad we had the opportunity to see him but sorry that it was in such sad circumstances. We have tried to send this email with photos of Challenger attached but it has been returned by your mailbox as ‘over quota’. We have also tried to send some more photos which you may like to use on your site and although we’ve not had them returned, we are not sure if you have received them or not, perhaps you can let us know. We will be happy to send photos again if you would like them.
Thank you again for all your help and also for the wildlife book, it’s a wonderful souvenier of our visit.
Anne-Maria & Paul Cann
Guildford, UK
Harper, Nildo
Dear Sharad & Yogesh,
Just a quick note to thank you for our great travel arrangements while in India. We arrived safely home late last night and haven’t unpacked yet. We loved our week’s stay in India — everything worked out perfectly! And thanks Yogesh for your kind attentions, even for getting up so early on our last day to see us off at the airport!
Due to the airport strike, we barely got out that day — as the plane was taking off, we saw that there were no other planes at Terminal 2 — obviously no additional flights took off after ours departed. That was a close call! But thanks to your assistance with Air India and recommendations of being at the airport early, we made it out just in time.
Thanks also for providing Dilip as our driver throughout the trip — he safely maneuvered through every type of traffic and brought us back in safety and comfort.
We really appreciate everything you did for us and for the great friendship that we have established and strengthened during this trip. I will be writing you more comments and discussions about the trip in the near future, and as promised, when we write our little newsletter to our friends & family about our trip, I will put in a great recommendation for your professional travel services in India, and also send you a copy of the newsletter.
Will write more later.
Thanks again,
Nildo & James
Robert Phelps
Dear Sharad,
“We wanted our India trip to emphasize wildlife and nature (and of course we hoped to see tigers!), but we wanted also to get a feeling for the diverse spiritual and cultural history of India and her people. With the limited time we had available for travel these goals seemed almost too much to ask. But as it turned out, from start to finish our India trip was a resounding success, thanks mostly to the superb planning and professional care provided for us by Sharad Vats and Nature Safari Ltd. At each camp, national park, and historic site, we felt like we were treated as VIP’s. Transfers were generally seamless, and Sharad Vats arranged and kept viable backup plans in place in case we experienced flight delays or cancellations due to weather. We were always met on time by a friendly and knowledgeable guide upon our arrival into a new train station or airport, and the personal sightseeing tours arranged for us in cities and historic areas were outstanding and truly informative. Our hotel and camp accommodations (most of which were suggested or recommended by Nature Safari) were always of very high quality and comfort, as was the food and service. Our car transportation arrangements were uniformly excellent and our driving days were quite comfortable, despite the inherent difficulties of road travel in some of the remote regions we visited. To top it all off, we were fortunate beyond our hopes in sighting tigers and other wildlife in the parks, due especially to the superb skills of the naturalists and trackers arranged for our visit by Nature Safari. We arrived home with photographs and memories to last a lifetime! I recommend most highly the expert services of Sharad Vats and Nature Safari Ltd. to all serious travelers who seek the best experiences that a cultural and wildlife-oriented visit to India can offer.”
(Robert Phelps, Professor of Biology, San Diego Mesa College, San Diego, California, USA), email: Robert Phelps. [email protected]
Toshiko Kushiki
Dear Sharad,
Tiger, tiger, tiger, we met a tiger!
Unbelievably beautiful tiger is in front of us, 5m ahead of us. He watched me, and I watched him. I visited several national parks in India, of course including Ranthamnbore. But I had the best experience in Bandhavgarh National Park. Much more chances to see tigers, good trail to the Fort learning Hindu gods and history, and a nice friendly lodge, Tiger Den Resort.
We all enjoyed staying Tiger Den Resort. With beautiful gardens, spacious rooms with hot water and especially the foods were excellent. Shailendra and all the staff at the Resort were so kind and helpful. We saw tigers every day.
Sharad, thank you very much for all your efforts and services. You are the most reliable operator in India.
I organized the tour to India so many times, and I feel getting tired of it. But I would like to come back here again next year. It is worth spending so much time and money. It is worth traveling a long way by train to Bandhavgarh.
Toshiko Kushiki
John Knighton
Dear Sharad
As promised, our thoughts on our trip :
Travelling with two young children in India for the first time we were delighted to see so much wildlife and enjoy such a wonderful experience during our two weeks. Our itinerary was so well organised as to make the whole trip unforgettable. The efficiency, consideration and friendliness of the Nature Safari and Tiger Den staff, especially, made us feel that we were amongst friends and made the wonderful experience of seeing tigers in the wild all the more enjoyable. I would recommend a similar trip to anyone, without reservation and will definately be booking through Nature Safari again. It is great to know you can trust someone to organise things exactly the way you want, especailly when travelling as a family.
All the very best
John
2004...
John Barker
Hi Sharad,
There was a 2 hour delay leaving Katni but we were only 1 hour late into Bombay (not too bad considering the distance covered).
May I say that the whole experience from the booking (which can be a little daunting over the internet) to the actual tour was fantastic and handled in a very professional and thorough way – The ‘Temples and Tiger Tour’ which I basically followed was superb, each place being incredibly interesting with the reassurance that all reservations and more importantly transfers to the various airports, train stations and hotels are taken care of, which were absolutely faultless – Thank you!
I have also passed on your business card and my commendation to the TCI representative here. I hope he will be able to refer more clients to Nature Safari.
Best of luck in the future and thank you for a wonderful holiday.
Kind Regards,
John Barker
Sushil, Hiten & Jimmy
Dear Sharad,
Greetings from cold & wet Nairobi.
“We came with a focus on seeing the World’s biggest cat in the wild & where it belongs. Living in Kenya we are used going on safari & being amongst wild game but India’s wilderness is a whole different scene. Thanks to the Nature Safari’s team we were able to experience this timeless wilderness with the Tigers. Our arrangements were well handled & we would recommend their services to all who want to see India’s wild side. We will definitely come back! “With best regards,
Sushil, Hiten & Jimmy
Nairobi, Kenya
Patrick Benson
Hi Sharad,
Sorry for the delay in thanking you for, as usual, a fantastic trip. The ladies loved it and Margaret is speaking of possibly another round. Beverley is a good advertisement and I suspect we will get a few people from Wakkerstroom, now that the “guinea pig” has tested the waters. I have also met a couple of people here at Kransberg that are quite keen.
Patrick Benson
Chris Milne
Hi Sharad,
I hope you and your family are well, I’ve been looking at my diary to organise a trip for Helen and I next year and have come up with the 4 to the 19 February 06. We were happy with our last itinerary and are more than happy to go to the same parks again but wonder if you have any suggestions as to the best places to visit that time of the year with wildlife photography in mind. Look forward to hearing from you, Chris
Chris Milne
