Your wildlife experience in India

[Pckts]

(05-16-2017, 09:19 AM)sanjay Wrote: Wow pckts much awaited post and finally you put it nicely.
After reading your post, I can guess Africa is more tourist friendly and wildlife their is amazing, You as a tourist (from a third country) feel more comfortable in Africa. The native of Africa is more involved in wildlife than In India.

Animal comparison was good, And I hope we will have more views with our member with time. You Lion and Tiger comparison was very fair and it tell us that comparing these two is still the biggest uncertainty of animal world from beginning of time.

Now, Can you write about cost and expenses comparison  ?

It is an important factor for many to decide their plan their visits to these countries

Your rating and reviews about the lodges, tour operators and facilities you used ???
This is also an important factor.

Costs are more on your specific destination desire, length of trip and amenities.

For Instance, when booking a trip to either destination you must first do your due-diligence.
Get recommendations and research first, then when you pick a time frame, destinations and activities you must next look into companies who can provide your desired holiday/vacation.
Getting bids is important if you're looking at pinching pennies but in my opinion, the most important thing is that you trust the company you choose. That means you speak to them regularly, read their reviews and if they are recommended by someone else you trust, even better.
In Africa, a good guide is very important, you drive around with them all day long, you go from place to place in the same jeep that you go on safari in, the guide must be able to show you the sights and know where to go to find the views you want to see. Make sure you express your desires to the company before they assign you a guide.
In India, you have a driver assigned by the resort usually and a forest guide assigned at the gate usually, if you are lucky enough to have a private guide like us, even better since Indian forest dept. officials didn't really speak English, so communication would of been difficult. But guides and drivers in the reserves I went to are only tipped if they spot Tigers, so they all talk, they all know where tigers have been spotted, their tendencies and daily sightings. They are all locals, they've lived in these locations all their lives, they know the forest better than any one else. You must trust their instincts, no matter how much you think you know best, they know better. In kahna and pench, you have to book your zones before you enter so I suggest being up to date on the latest sightings and locations, Tadoba you are more free to drive around but again, where you stay will dictate what area you go to. Since the reserves are large, you'll only get to see a small % of a small % of forest that is open to the public, so rather than driving hours to a gate just to try and spot a specific tiger, better you are close to a gate that offers many different sighting opportunities.

My Ratings on the Tour operators and facilities we used for either Africa or Indian is a 10+!
I was so lucky to have great guides with me and awesome company, but it wasn't easy to find. I did a lot of work, I compared many things, talked to many people and got a lot of recommendations. It's not easy to get from the U.S. to these places and not cheap either, you need to treat it like a business venture. But this is an investment in yourself, not your 401k, but I promise you won't regret the investment.
Don't just pick a place cause you like a photo and chose the first person you talk to, make sure you educate yourself before investing.

If anyone decides to take the plunge and go to either, I will be more than happy to provide you as much info as needed.
Go for it guys, you'll be so happy you did. Reply