Wildlife Safari India November 7th 2009

Hi do let us know how it is - I'm going next Feb - any hints and tips would be appreciated!

Good to hear from someone else who is going! I'm booked on group flight from heathrow so will see you when we get there (or at least the sunday morning, think we are landing at 1.25am so doubt you two want to meet the rest of the group then!)

I'm pretty much sorted just actually need to pack (which is the bit I'm not looking forward to!) then I'm flying down to heathrow to stay overnight on the Friday. Can't believe it's only three weeks to go, booked back in February and it has just flown by since then!

I will definately try to report and hints/tips I pick up for anyone going on a later date, I've been trying to find tips prior to my trip as well as it is also my first time to India!

I considered booking direct from Manchester but decided as I'm travelling alone I'd rather be picked up the other end with the majority rather than trying to negotiate my own way from Dehli airport hence booking the direct flight.

I also figured that if there are delays or other problems with flight then I'm not alone (had this happen last time I travelled - 3 hour delay at heathrow due to snow and then missed connecting onward flight but nearly everyone on the trip was on same group flight so we were at least in the same pickle all together!)

I'm trying to pack light this time, but somehow I always seem to find something else I think I need (which I probably wont but I'm very much 'just in case' kind of girl!)

I was told the trip was fully booked when I rang with concerns about the flights being BA (with all their problems etc), but looks like may not be now as advertising as limited online now.
My two other similar type travels have been with 6 and 10 in the group so was thinking 16 would seem like a lot of people! I guess we will just have to wait and see!

The brochure and website both have flights listed as via Bahrain on Gulf Air but when I booked and asked for the group flights I was told it had been changed to direct flights from Heathrow with BA which was a lot easier and less travelling time, although to be honest it is long enough direct anyway! I'm secretly hoping someone at BA check in will take pity on me and offer me a free upgrade to business class!

My main concern now is jet lag, I had it really quite bad travelling back from Quito last year, and travel to Dehli is the same direction which is supposed to be the worst way to go, so I'm really worried I'll be suffering the first few days! I don't even remember being back at work after the last trip due to being so tired!

I got my e-ticket and joining instructions in post on Tuesday, so now it seems even more real!

I'm going to attempt to pack this weekend so I can see how much I've got and decide what not to take! I'm just struggling on the clothes front, I wish I was male as it always seems much simpler for men!
I'm trying to decide whether to pack very light and expect to either buy clothes there (as advised by a lot of women on other forums) or just wash them very often! What are the two of you doing in this respect?

Have you got your visa's sorted out now?

Two weeks tomorrow and the travels begin!!

Hi Laura, I'm booked on this trip too, with my partner Angela. Really looking forward to it. We're flying out on the 6th so should be there a bit before the group flight (we're landing late morning of the 7th). Not sure which hotel we're staying at in Delhi - we've not got our joining instructions yet. Maybe the Hans Plaza? We're picking up the our Visas some time this week. We've also been adviced to take anti-Malarials for the southern bit of the trip, not sure this is strictly necessary, but we'll go with that advice.

Hope your planning for the trip is going well. Looks like the trip is nearly full now! First time in India for both of us, although Angela's been to Sri Lanka before.

Steve

Laura, We also booked ages ago in March. It's been a long wait! We're now flying out of Glasgow instead of Edinburgh (thank you BMI), connecting in London for an overnight flight to Delhi. You did the right thing getting group flight, we've had real hassle with our flights this time. That will teach us for booking them via Expedia instead of direct!

Anyway we're looking forward to the trip and shouldn't take too long to pack, since it should still be reasonably warm there - certainly a lot warmer than here. We couldn't find a guidebook for the all areas we're going to, so for once we're going without one (the new Lonely Planet India is massive!!). Our visa application is now in but apparently will take up to a week to get (direct from the Consulate service in Edinburgh).

See you on the 7th or 8th!

Steve

Didn't realise the flights were with BA. We're on Virgin Atlantic, the main reaosn we chose them was that the return flight was daytime and would get us back to Scotland on the same day (hopefully), something the Adventure Company couldn't offer. It also gave us a bit more time to recover when we get to Delhi.

I know what you mean about missed flights, we very nearly missed a group flight a couple of years ago, at xmas, due to the new security measures and fog (and Gatwick being such a terrible airport). It was a lot less nerve-wracking since we knew the whole group would also be having the same problems.

We also noticed that the trip went from full to not so full, must have happened when they were asked for the final balance of the money - yet another advantage of using the group flight. We've changed trips a few times with Explore, just because we fancied somewhere else at the last minute and they make it so easy and cheap to do.

We've been on a few of these style trips before, with the likes of Explore, Exodus and GAP. It usually ends up a pretty good balance of people, we've had anything between 7 and 16 people. Sixteen is a lot and calls for a particularly good guide for it to work properly. But it's pretty rare not to get a good guide. It's always interesting to see who turns up, usually it works out fine. Although trying to remember everyone's name is a nightmare!

The threat of flying gulf air was the reason we went for Virgin Atlantic! We might have taken the group flights if we'd known it was BA. You're right flying east always seems worse, we went to Panama at xmas and the jet lag was horrendous! We've also been to Ecuador in the past - great trip!

Not long to go to India now anyway!

We also got our joining instructions earlier in the week and Angela picked up our passports (with visas) today which took about a week to process. So we're pretty much ready to go.

As for packing, I tend to pack in about an hour a day before we leave. I try to travel light, although there might not be much on sale on in India that I'd want to buy, apart from a few teeshirts. I'll probably pack for hot weather and assume it won't rain on us. I might get wet!

Two weeks from now we'll be on our way .. not long at all!