personally with only two weeks i would prefer to concentrate on the towns and cities

Seeing a tiger in the wild is incredible, but I would recommend one of the parks in India’s Madhya Pradesh province: Kanha National Park or Bandhavgarh National Park (outside of Khajuraho). Both are a quick flight from Delhi or Agra.

Bandhavgarh and Kanha are the only two wildlife parks in India that offer you the opportunity to ride into inaccessible (by car) areas of the park on mahout-driven elephants to view tigers up-close during the day (this is called a “tiger show”): In addition, both parks have a large tiger population, making them the two premier spots in India for sightings.

Have a great trip!

We did Agra - Jaipur - Ranthambore - Delhi on our first trip to India. It was maybe 3-4 hours from Jaipur to Ranthambore on rural and quite scenic roads. We saw a tiger but there are not many at the park and probably less now. The fort is also interesting. If you have 2 nights it is worth it just to escape the cities...

If I recall, the drive from Agra is about 5-6 hours. We took an overnight train from Udaipur then the morning train back to Delhi afterwards. We stayed at Sher Bagh when we were there. A very nice luxury tent camp. Not quite as nice as the Aman resort next door, but only 1/3 the cost. We went on several drives, but never saw a tiger.

If you do go, take gloves and a warm jacket. It was freezing cold on the morning drives in early December, even with the hot water bottles that Sher Bagh gave us.

More details in the middle of this report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/lcuys-second-india-trip---dec-2005.cfm

Both are a quick flight from Delhi or Agra.

Do tell, Approach_Guides, about the quick flights from Delhi to Bandahvargh. Also, has the airport in Agra reopened?

We flew to Khajuraho (a great stop in and of itself!) and then drove to the park. The Times of India recently reported launching a 40 min flight from Agra to Khajuraho. Here are a few links:

Bandhavgarh Park
http://www.bandhavgarh-national-park.com/how-to-reach-bandhavgarh.html

Times of India:
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-21/mumbai/35952899_1_air-india-return-flight-three-destinations

Yes it's a quick flight to Khajuraho but it's followed by a five hour drive to Bandhavgarh!

Anyone been to Panna Tiger reserve? That one is (I think) only aobut one hour drive from Khajuraho.

Thank you all very much for your prompt and helpful responses.

Craig, I just read your excellent India TR from '05. I am considering the 3 hour (or so) ride to Ranthambhore from Jaipur (rather than the long haul to the other area). Also, Lcuy, your description of Sher Bagh tented camp sounds good. Craig, I think that I recall from your TR that you stayed there too. Can we hope/expect to see any other wildlife in the park, in addition to tigers?

Again, many thanks to all.

Craig did stay there...i went based on his recommendation! We never saw a tiger. It was pretty disappointing, but did see lots of other animals and birds. I don't regret going at all, but would still love to see a tiger in the wild someday!

I have been to Panna in 2001 at end of March (hot season). We drove about one hour from Kajaraho in pre dawn cold and searched the park by car and found several fresh prints (very impressive). Driver spoke with the mahouts and we saw 3 tigers up close in 5 minutes. Amazing! We were told that we might have to go on the elephant so it was not a surprise and it was very inexpensive at the time. I encouraged my husband and daughter to remain at the hotel, since few tiger sightings had been reported on the internet at the time, but they told me we would see them for sure and were back at the hotel by 10 so really did not lose any touring time. I understand that there are fewer tigers there today, but I would give it a try since all you would lose is a few hours of sleep. India is a wonderful travel destination with or without tigers.
Bonnie

So is the best way to get to Kajaraho by plane? Or can one be driven? Does one go there from Jaipur or Agra or Delhi? Thank you.

Thank you Bonnie!! Panna and Khajurao are on my list for the next trip.And i agree--while seeing tigrs is great (I've had the luck to see one on the lake's edge nr Kabini) it isnt a deal breaker for me if i don't . India is great either way!

Re TIGERS IN INDIA. Hi sorry to disappoint future visitors. There are no Tigers in Panna N P. They were all killed off by so called poachers, with the help of the park officials..

We went to Ranthombore in Jan 2013.. Bad time to go. Spent 5 nights, 8 game drives. Not a single tiger or even a trace of one. I think the Ranthombore Tigers have 'Vanished" may be to the Rug makers of Tibet, as they love to wear Tiger skins, but this has reduced a bit when the Dalai Lama condemned this activity some time ago. So I think there are very few tigers left in Ranthambore NP. Probably nil.

Been to Bhand.. NP three times, saw Tigers on most of the games drives in 2006, 2007, 2008.. I have no news of recent tiger sightings. Watch this site for visitor reports.

All the best for tiger sightings in the future.

FRom Ulinda . Australia. Tiger Lover .

I was in Ranthambore 2 years ago. My group never saw a tiger, but other groups did. There are only 2 or 3 left in the park according to rangers. So it's not something you can count on, and while I thought the park experience fun, if the only reason you're going is to see a tiger in the wild, you may very well be disappointed. It's a very long, dusty drive to the park, and to be honest, I didn't find any of the scenery to be particularly scenic or beautiful in any way, but I was there in mid-October, and it was pretty dusty.

We think that we will probably eliminate Ranthambhore from our
itinerary since it sounds like viewing a tiger(s) would be very unlikely! Thank you all for your helpful advice, as always.

We are now wrestling with alternative itineraries.

I'd heartily recommend Kajuraho. I found it to be the most beautiful, tranquil place I visited in India. The temple complex is really nice and beautifully landscaped.

About Kajuraho:
How would one get there?
From which city is it most accessible?
How long is travel time - flight and/or driving time?
What are accommodations like?
(Tigers seen there often)?

Included in our itinerary at present are:
Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur

Thank you.

Consider Varanasi instead of Kajuraho. Kajuraho was definitely not a high point for us, though it made for an enjoyable afternoon. The next day we headed out for Bandhavgarh where we did see tigers:

http://www.fodors.com/community/africa-the-middle-east/bruce-and-marija-accompanied-by-450-indian-school-children-search-for-tigers-in-bandhavgarh.cfm

Most people fly to Kajuraho. It's really isolated and difficult to reach by road, and then they fly on to Varanasi, which is what I did when I visited India. But if you are already going to both Jaipur and Udaipur, you may not have time to do both. Another options would be to add a Himalayan foothill destination like Rishikesh to your itinerary. It's reachable on a reasonably short train ride from Delhi.

Despite the palaces, I was not really entranced by Jaipur even though it's a major destination in the Golden Triangle.

Doug,there are 40 plus tigers in the reserve.Its said it cant hold more.Sightings are common.Well,patience and luck do play a crucial roll.In my case I saw 4 tiger in one afternoon's game drive.I agree it was sheer chance.Here is a small TR and a video link.
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/the-tigress-i-met-at-ranthambore.cfm

Inquest,

I just enjoyed reading your TR and viewing your video link. Thank you very much for posting!

We are seriously considering adding Ranthambhore back to our itinerary, going there from Agra. Then we'll go on to Jaipur.
(We think then that we'll eliminate Udaipur b/c of the time necessary to drive there and then back to Delhi). We'll probably end up with a stay at Neemrana or Samode Palace (on the way back to Delhi).

Thank you so much.