There (to Ranthambore) and back again (in 3 days!)... - Had a great experience with Trek India Tours! They were well organized and were communicating with me well in advance of the tour dates to arrange reservations and coordinate schedules. Accordingly, things during the trip went really smoothly: the car and driver between New Delhi and Ranthambore were all arranged; hotel reservations were in place; tickets, permits, vehicles, and guides through the National Park were ready when I got there. The trip itself was a lot of fun! Very different experience from city travels like New Delhi or Jaipur: Much more rural, of course, but also much more focused on nature and wildlife. Loved the experience of seeing so much diverse wildlife in the park. —- A few notes that I wish I had when I was booking: 1. The drive from New Delhi is about half a day. If you’re planning at any point to go south to Jaipur, I think it’s a bit of a shorter drive from there, so consider booking from Jaipur-to-Ranthambore for less time on the road, depending on your scheduling and itinerary. For my trip, specifically, I had to be leaving from and returning to New Delhi, so this schedule was exactly what I needed. 2. Tiger sightings are not guaranteed! I got EXTREMELY lucky to see them on both of 2x safaris, BUT I’ve been told there’s only a 1 in 6 (some say 1 in 10) chance of seeing one on any given trip into the park. However, there’s a lot of wildlife to be seen in the park (jaguars, antelope, eagles, etc.), and hopefully you can enjoy seeing them in their habitat as well. Even if you see a tiger, 95% of the safari will be looking for / at other animals. If you’re 100% fixated on having a tiger sighting, consider booking a longer (5- or even 7-day) tour. As the itinerary says, the 3-day trip only has time for 2x safaris, so you need some luck to see a tiger in just those outings. I met others in the park who were all in on tigers, so they’d booked 7-10 safaris in their week-long tours. Of course that will increase your chances. 3. Highly, highly, highly recommend visiting Ranthambore Fort. Since the drive down from New Delhi is about half a day, the Fort visit fits perfectly into the 1st afternoon itinerary, and the fort is amazing. Lots to explore there, including temples, parks, and markets. And the fort itself is incredible. Built into the mountainside are these layer and layers of massive fortifications - like something out of Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings -, really awe-inspiring. 4. Jeep vs. Canter: I’d recommend jeep only if you’re traveling with a party of 3 or more… I think the jeeps seat 5, so booking a private one for one person is probably overkill. The canters (open top buses) can fill up, as others have pointed out, but they keep the seating to two per bench on either side of the vehicle so it’s not like a can of sardines. It’s most inconvenient when there’s a sighting everyone’s excited about and it’s on the far side of the bus- then it can be hard to see over the people in the bench across from you. But otherwise I found the canter relatively comfortable. Both vehicle types will have a dedicated ride-along guide. 5. Five-star vs. Three-star: I’d recommend upgrading to the 5-star (unless you’re on a really skinny budget). It’s not merely an upsell -- The towns around Ranthambore are much more rural than cities you might be visiting, so there’s a lot less to do “around town” in the evenings after getting back from the park / after dinner. Expect to spend quite a bit of time in the hotel in the evenings. I spent a lot of time relaxing on the hotel grounds, and having the extra space and common areas makes a difference. Also, the streets outside the hotels can get very noisy, so larger grounds (and the corresponding setback of the rooming building itself) helps mitigate some of the noise. 6. Try to arrange for a bilingual driver, unless you have someone in your party who speaks Hindi (or, even better, is a local). The driver - in addition to driving - acts as a guide and troubleshooter along the way, as well, so having them be able to translate helps a lot. While it was easy to get by in English in New Delhi, it was really necessary to have translation on this trip, as many of the interactions had to be done in Hindi. 7. It will be much colder on the morning safari than you might expect. I went in November, and sweaters/jackets (some people brought blankets) were a must in the morning, even though it was comfortably short-sleeve warm in the afternoons. Remember that both the canters and gypsys are open-top, so you’ll get some additional wind chill when the vehicles are moving. Also, it was dewy in the morning when I went so the wet/damp added to the morning cold. 8. Misc. notes: I’ve heard safari guides can be hit or miss, but both of mine were pretty good. Decent at tracking and spotting wildlife, provided some color and commentary about the animals, knowledgeable, etc. Also, the park is divided into 10 “Zones”. They are different sizes and I’ve heard some are “better” than others for seeing tigers (e.g. some zones have lakes that tigers like to drink at, things like that). You can probably find more about these odds online, but I didn’t bother optimizing for it. I’m not even sure how much control the team has over which Zone you end up ticketed for, but you can look into it. —- Hope these are helpful in planning your trip. As I said, I had a blast and found working with Trek India Tours really smooth, easy, and enjoyable. Would definitely travel with them again!

A very smooth round-trip from Delhi to see tigers in Ranthambore - We were thrilled to see tigers in Ranthambore on this 3-day round trip from Delhi. Everything being organised in advance (our lovely driver Arjun, hotel, meals, and Safari trips) went smoothly and made the whole experience very relaxing.

I was lucky enough to see... - I was lucky enough to see a male tiger and a male leopard, due to the experienced driver and guide of my particular safari tour.

All over a decent trip - The tour was run smoothly and as described. Good communication. The driver arrived on time. The safaris were comfortable, safe, and pleasant. However it is not easy to find tigers. I went to three safaris with one each in the morning and afternoon before one is found. I would suggest at least books three safaris or more.

elusive tigers! - its a good company. they cater to all your request and very accommodating with the demands of 10 people in a group which is not easy. might need improvement with the choice of hotel.

Exciting Ranthambore safari - The Ranthambore safari was an exciting experience. there’s no guarantee of tiger sightings each time since it’s a nature reserve and not a zoo, and we were able to have a sighting just once out of 3 tries. However seeing all the animals going about their business in theory natural habitat was pretty awesome. Trek India Tours tour manager Mr Raj and his assistant Mr Sunil were very hands on and accommodating. They are very receptive to feedback. No request was too small. They have many offerings of other possible stops along the way (Delhi-Ranthambore drive and vice versa takes about 6 hours each way). Just know what you want and say no if you’re not interested.

Ranthambore Experience - The trip was smooth overall considering we were 10 in the group with members of the family having knee problems, Raj our driver and guide was very considerate and accommodating making sure of our convenience. He and his assistant also provided us water, snacks, and wet wipes which was a plus. I particularly loved the side trip we made to the women’s village who specialized in handmade textiles and clothes. One thing to be improved on was the hotel selection as it was 20 mins away Ranthambore. It was a nice hotel but I would have preferred to stay somewhere nearer.