My husband and I just returned from a 30 day trip to India and Bhutan with Overseas Adventure Travel. The company did an excellent job with this trip. Everything was perfectly coordinated, our guides were helpful and knowledgeable, they made sure that the food was to our specifications (plain and lots of cooked vegetables), and noone got sick. The trip was balanced between big cities and countryside and the pre and post trip (to Bhutan and Kerala and Cochin) were well worth it. The main part of the trip went to Delhi, Agra, Rathanbore Tiger Sanctuary (where we saw three tigers), Khajuraho and Varanasi. Our small group of eleven people had a wonderful time.

Nothing like one's first time in India.
I think I have yet to hear of someone who went with OAT and didn't rave about them.

How rigorous was the trip? On average hjow many nights in most hotels. Did it feel rushed? Lots of driving? Was there lots of walking? My dream is to send my parents on this one.

What are your greatest moments? On my trip the Taj and tigers were two of the best. Seeing three tigers was pretty good.

Any digital pics to share?

Thank you, for letting us know how your trip went. I want to take this trip next year,and have been wondering how people liked it.

I have the same questions as, waynehazle. So won't repeat those. Glad to hear the food was good, and that no one got sick.
What kind of clothes did you take? What was the best part of your trip? What did you like the least?

Again Thank You

We are considering taking this trip in November. We took the OAT trip to Jordan and Egypt last November. I agree- they are a top notch company. Was the hike up to the monastery in Bhutan amazing? Did you take High altitude medication?

Partypoet,

Could you elaborate on your tiger sitings? We are thinking of going to India (and that park) for our next trip.

How close did you get to the tigers? Were you able to focus on them long enough to get good pictures? What other animals did you see? How many vehicles were around at any one sighting? Did you go on two game drives each day or just one?

We have just returned from Africa so we are trying to keep a realistic outlook. We understand that Ranthambore(sp?) won't be anything like where we are coming from and just want to keep our expectations in check.

Thanks!

I had forgotten this posting, but was just browsing and found your questions. If you are still interested in answers, here they are:

To Waynehazle - the trip was not that rigorous. We had people who had physical problems but they didn't have problems with the pacing. We were in most hotels 2-3 nights. I found so many moments inspirational, but going to Varanasi was something I could never have imagined. It was highly emotional and so very beautiful. Of course, the tigers and the Taj were highlights, too. The whole trip was one big highlight. And yes, I have digital pictures posted on www.webshots.com under irmart.

To Dottie - we took clothes for warm and cold weather, since Bhutan can be as cold as 30 degrees and Kerala can be in the 90's. It was a lot to pack. If I were to do it again, I would take less of each. Everything was extremely casual. Everyone went to dinner in their day clothes.

As I already said, the whole trip was a highlight. If I could change anything, which of course, I can't, I would eliminate the dust. DUST and DIRT were the downsides of the trip. Almost everyone's camera broke down at some point because the dust is so fine that it gets into everything.

to Wanderlust 5 - no, we didn't take any high altitude medication because we really weren't in that high an altitude. The hiking to Tiger's Nest was a bit strenuous, but we all made it, including 80 year olds. We weren't rushed by our guide, and paced our selves accordingly. The scenery was beautiful and we all had a little celebration when we reached halfway. We didn't go all the way to the top.

to Ericka - we were told that we would not see tigers, but in fact we saw a mother and her two nine month old cubs. They walked DIRECTLY in front of our jeep. There were only two jeeps from our tour, and the park was quite free of traffic. The drivers have to follow a certain prescribed path, but when our driver heard on his walkie talkie that there were tigers, he turned the jeep around. While we were watching the tigers, a few other jeeps arrived. We were able to watch them for about l5 minutes. Yes, we took pictures, but it was difficult to focus because they were in the distance. When they walked in front of our jeep, none of us was prepared and by the time we turned the cameras on, they were behind the bush. You can see my one clear picture on webshots. The Rathanbore experience is nothing compared to Africa. We went out twice, however we saw the tigers almost immediately and nothing else compared in excitement with that. We saw langur monkeys, spotted deer, marsh crocodiles, and several beautiful birds but not nearly as many as in Africa.

partypoet, I am still interested,and thanks for posting. It's good to know about the dust. Would keeping a plastic bag over the camera help?

Loved your pictures,it looks fasinating. Thanks for sharing them.

Putting a plastic bag might help, but so many of us were so fascinated at every turn that we hardly ever had a chance to put our cameras away. I would recommend bringing two cameras. If one gets dirty, you'll still have another one in reserve.

Hi, I travel often to India and Nepal. My two favourite tiger reserves are Bardia in Nepal and Kanha in India. I have seen tigers in other parks, but these combine all that a wildlife lover can expect.
The Indian parks will open at the beginning of October. Good luck.

What time of year is it best to travel to Agra , Veranasi etc , we also plan on doing it with Overseas Adventure Trave.
We are leaving on Oct 5, 2006 for Kenya, Tanzania on Safari with them, I have a group of 13...that is nice, as we will share the extra trip..that they give.
Then we are goijng to Antarctica with OAT ON JAN 30, 2007... Looking forward to both trips...BUT CURIOUS AS TH E THE RIGHT TIME TO DO THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE... iNDIA FASCINATES ME...We have so far been to Mumbay and Goa on our own...it was wonderful
JoAn

The best time for the Golden Triangle of India is from the end of October to mid-December, and then the end of January to the end of March. This can be combined with a trip to any of the wildlife reserves in the northern half of India.

I will be planning a trip with OAT to India around Feb 2008... looking forward to it.
What I do is try to get at least 11 persons or 13 and get a free trip , but I share that free trip money with our traveling friends...Does anyone know what time of year it is best to do that trip? It would be the Golden triangle...and looking really forward to it...I have heard so much about Veranasi...bet that is quite the place to visit on that trip.

We leave Saturday for DE then on to NY for our flight out on Monday...we'll be in Bhutan and India a month..can't wait for this trip!

We just got back from Kenya and Tanzania with OAT had a great trip... we also went to the Masai Mara and saw the migration , it was super.
now I am planning to go to Tibet for August 2007 any suggestions??? I would also like ot combine it with Napal if possible, has anyone done tours for those areas?

Question for partypoet. Was it cold in Bhutan in January during your OAT trip? I loathe the cold and am hesitant to go somewhere where it would be freezing during the day.