Not to hijack, but has anyone done a tiger focused safari in India? Any recommendations for operators or lodges? I am still hoping to go to Kenya in January, but I may need to go to India for a family matter, so I'm thinking I may try to see a tiger while I'm there.
Here are very reputed and excellent tour companies. i personally know and have traveled with them multiple times, so can vouch for their knowledge and helpfulness.
1. Catman Kronicles (https://catmankronicles.com/) - founded by Harsha. He is a phenomenal guide and is well know for his ability to find a tiger
2. Toehold tours (https://toehold.in) - One of the oldest operators founded this company. Jayanth is highly dedicated and knowledgeable, so is his team (Harsha used to be with Toehold, till he moved out and founded his own company)
3. Sudhir Shivaram - award-winning photographers, runs workshops across India and is very famous in Indian wildlife circuit.
There are more great operators, but these are the ones I have traveled often and you cannot go wrong with any of them.
Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Panna are the best National Parks to view tigers. Kabini is a very beautiful place, with many tigers and leopards too.
berimbolo wrote:
Not to hijack, but has anyone done a tiger focused safari in India? Any recommendations for operators or lodges? I am still hoping to go to Kenya in January, but I may need to go to India for a family matter, so I'm thinking I may try to see a tiger while I'm there.
Where in India are you going to be? I am leading tours there and more than happy to help put you in touch with the right people.
big country wrote:
Where in India are you going to be? I am leading tours there and more than happy to help put you in touch with the right people.
We'd be flying into Delhi and eventually making our way to Punjab. Something between Delhi and Punjab would be preferred, but I'm not sure if its possible.
I'd do some research on Nepal and/or Thailand for tigers...India is overrun with people in safari type vehicles racing up on wildlife. Nepal and Thailand are not overrun yet with tourists looking for tigers...but you have to do your research for where to go, and whom to hire for tours in those two countries.
As for anything Gura Gear -- great Lightweight material on their packs...BUT they use ten cent zippers (not YKK). Have a look at this backpack - I think it is better made: https://www.goruck.com/collections/gr3
rdcny wrote:
I'd do some research on Nepal and/or Thailand for tigers...India is overrun with people in safari type vehicles racing up on wildlife. Nepal and Thailand are not overrun yet with tourists looking for tigers...but you have to do your research for where to go, and whom to hire for tours in those two countries.
As for anything Gura Gear -- great Lightweight material on their packs...BUT they use ten cent zippers (not YKK). Have a look at this backpack - I think it is better made: https://www.goruck.com/collections/gr3
I'd only be doing tigers in India because I have to go there for a family thing. If that wasn't the case, I'd save my money for another trip to Kenya or something crazy like Antartica.
Went to Bandhavgarh National Park and stayed at Tiger Den Resort. Resort was okay, not great. They arranged everything for the safari at Bandhavgarh National Park. We did see a tiger, but wasn't the greatest sighting.
I travel to the region a few times each year and I honestly would reduce the amount of gear to:
Canon R5 x2 - no 80D
EF 600mm F4 II with the RF 100-500mm - no 70-200
OR
RF 100-500mm and EF 70-200mm III - no 600mm
Only the EF 1.4 and EF 2x extender III - leave the RF 1.4 at home
Sigma 14mm F1.8
Gopro Hero 9
Trail Camera
Rode VideoMic NTG
If you choose to bring everything then be prepared to check some stuff in - especially if your connection is through either Europe or Kenya. winowiner wrote:
Great thread!
I leave this week for a month in South Africa, Botswana and finishing at Victoria Falls.
Self driving and picking up a Land Cruiser in Joburg. Headed to Kruger for 5 days and then up to Khama Rhino, Moremi, Khwai and Chobe. Then will head to Victoria Falls to raft the Zambezi. Been a bucket list item.
Flying business on Ethiopian from US. Any experiences with them and baggage? Will be taking a Thinktank Airport Security v3 and a Thinktank Shapeshifter 17. With a lot of weight...
Have camera bags packed and am bringing:
Canon R5 x2
Canon 80D
EF 600mm F4 II
RF 100-500mm
EF 70-200mm III
EF 24-70mm II
EF 16-35mm III
Sigma 14mm F1.8
EF 1.4 extender III
EF 2x extender III
RF 1.4 extender
Gopro Hero 9
Trail Camera
Rode VideoMic NTG
For stability, I am picking up a Gimpro Door Mount in Joburg, will have a Lenscoat beanbag and a Manfrotto Superclamp.
Will have Promediagear Katana Jr Gimbal, Sirui ball head and Manfrotto 502 fluid head.
Along with storage, laptop, batteries, etc... etc...
Will also bring a tripod/monopod. I want to take some milky way shots and the tripod and also be a monopod and can use that for low angle shots with phone remote shutter.
Feel like I'm bringing the kitchen sink, but I am self driving so feel I have the room. Just wonder about Ethiopian Air and the weight.
We did a few tiger safaris in Ranthambhore National Park and had successful sightings.
We stayed at the Oberoi Vanyavilas Wildlife Resort and it was truly a luxurious and enjoyable experience.
Hopefully that would be an option for you during your travels in India. I would add that the Oberoi resorts are some of the nicest and most accommodating when compared to other worldwide destinations.
berimbolo wrote:
We'd be flying into Delhi and eventually making our way to Punjab. Something between Delhi and Punjab would be preferred, but I'm not sure if its possible.
I've been to India in 2019 for a tiger trip. Very different than going on safari in Africa but I loved it. We joined a photography oriented group trip and did a week in Bandhavgahr first, then an extension with just the two of us at Kanha for a few days. 19 drives in total, and on each drive we had sight of a tiger (although sometimes it was just a glimpse).
Seeing a tiger in the wild for the first time did cause a bit of a meltdown in my brain; simply could not comprehend the size and impressiveness of these cats
I just got back from a tiger safari in Ranthambore. I highly recommend the Ranthambore Regency (https://ranthamboreregency.com) they are not as luxurious as the Oberoi mentioned above, but they are a nice, very clean property that caters to photographers, has an amazing level of service and all for a good price. If you contact them directly they can arrange all your safari's, and arrange a driver to transfer you to/from the Delhi airport to the property. They make it very easy.
Lara_F wrote:
I just got back from a tiger safari in Ranthambore. I highly recommend the Ranthambore Regency (https://ranthamboreregency.com) they are not as luxurious as the Oberoi mentioned above, but they are a nice, very clean property that caters to photographers, has an amazing level of service and all for a good price. If you contact them directly they can arrange all your safari's, and arrange a driver to transfer you to/from the Delhi airport to the property. They make it very easy.
Lara_F wrote:
I just got back from a tiger safari in Ranthambore. I highly recommend the Ranthambore Regency (https://ranthamboreregency.com) they are not as luxurious as the Oberoi mentioned above, but they are a nice, very clean property that caters to photographers, has an amazing level of service and all for a good price. If you contact them directly they can arrange all your safari's, and arrange a driver to transfer you to/from the Delhi airport to the property. They make it very easy.
Ranthambore is on the travel list for my wife & I. Which lenses did you use the most? Is a 600mm overkill?
ChicagoJeff wrote:
Ranthambore is on the travel list for my wife & I. Which lenses did you use the most? Is a 600mm overkill?
Yes, 600mm is a good lens to have as is a 400 mm, but I would also consider a 70-200 or 300 2.8, as tigers will many times be very close to the vehicles. If you both have 2 bodies and 2 lenses each, then you will have fantastic coverage.
Depending on the season and the zone you go, the landscape can vary a lot from dense forest to wide grasslands. I'll post some pictures when I get to my workstation.
600mm is not overkill. Reach is important however a large aperture is also a consideration because there are circumstances where the tigers may be reclining in the foliage. There may also be areas where the safari vehicle may be in a densely tree covered region when viewing the tigers. The light may not be optimal in these situations. The tigers may also be out in the open and the 600mm would be ideal. Viewing circumstances and frequency of tiger sightings are variable. The tigers are breathtaking to see and it will be a very worthwhile experience.
ChicagoJeff wrote:
Ranthambore is on the travel list for my wife & I. Which lenses did you use the most? Is a 600mm overkill?
ChicagoJeff wrote:
Ranthambore is on the travel list for my wife & I. Which lenses did you use the most? Is a 600mm overkill?
It's really similar to Africa where the distance of the tiger to you can vary a lot. A 600 would work well for one body and I recommend a 2nd body with a 100-500 or 100-300. Also I would bring a 1.4x that you could add to the 600 at times.
Here are the usage for my lenses:
800mm (400+2x) - 40% of photos
560mm (400+1.4) - 16%
400mm - 10%
100-300 - 33%
I also used a Sony RX100 for a few wide angle shots of the environment. I didn't feel that bringing and changing to a wide angle lens was worth the dust for the few times I did this.
Also consider the time of year you go. I went in the dry season (May) so you can see much further. If you are there when it's still green the grasses and trees will make long distance viewing more difficult. I would still bring the 600 as you might be shooting across water, but you might not use it as much then.
ChicagoJeff wrote:
Ranthambore is on the travel list for my wife & I. Which lenses did you use the most? Is a 600mm overkill?
I was in Ranthambore in April. I took the RF600 F/4 as well as the RF100-300F/2.8. I had the 1.4x on the 100-300 for most of the time though I did have it on the 600mm a bit as well. You can't leave the roads in the park so there were times when I needed all the reach I could get. I'll post a couple of examples:
I'm curious about cary on regulations. I know there are size maximums, but I've never seen a carry on get weighed. (And only measured a handful of times.). But it's also been quite a while since I made a connection in Europe. We are flying Delta/KLM (maybe Air France?) with connections in Amsterdam and Paris. Do I need to be concerned about the weight of my carry ons, or just their dimensions? I got a freight seat on our Safarilink flights to and from our camps, so I'm not worried about those flights. I suspect I will take two carry-ons with me with my gear. I just never thought about the weight of them until I've seen others talk about it here. Delta doesn't list any weight requirement either, just sizes. Has anyone had an issue with weight of their carry on bags?
I fly KLM a lot to Africa since I'm living 30 minutes away from Amsterdam; never had any issues with carry on weight restrictions. I carry a TT Airport Accelerator which isn't the biggest bag, but fully packed weighs about 14kg (including a 400mm, 100-500, extender, body with grip, etc.)
Air France/KLM will occasionally weigh bags, but I've never personally had it happen. If you are concerned about weight, you can put batteries, grips, and chargers in a vest or jacket that you carry on. That should reduce weight quite a bit.
