Kabini River Lodge vs Cicada, three questions

hadleydog

My wife and I are planning a visit to Nagarhole in January. I have been looking at either Kabini River Lodge or Cicada Kabini (Orange County is unavailable our dates).

1) Guaranteed space on jeep safaris? Cicada makes a point of saying they do not guarantee space on the jeep safaris. I'm curious to find out if this just to cover themselves in the rare event that something happens or do guest who check in later in the day frequently find themselves out of luck. Does anyone know if KRL guarantees all guests a spot on a safari? They make no mention on their website as far as I can tell.

2) If the price is the same, which would you prefer? As a foreign national, my rate for KRL is US$320 (Rs15360) for two people. Cicada (once you add in the safaris) is Rs16470 for two. Cicada looks newer and more luxurious, but I've been to places before that don't quite measure up to photos.

3) Who has better food? What can I say, I like to eat.

shahronakm

I have been to Kabini River Lodge during Nov. 07. But no experience of Cicada. But will try to answer your querries to the best of my knowledge.

1] KRL guarantees place in the jeep safari & the costs are included in the tariff. Suppose if you are staying for one night then they offer you one jeep & one motor boat safari along with coracle ride. Now if you are staying for more than one night you can choose you option. We had stayed for two nights so we opted for three jeep safaris & one motorboat safari along with one coracle ride. Later ones are good for bird watching. I am sure Cicada would also be offering the same thing. As you said my they wantto cover up for thing beyond their circumstances.

2] Cicada would be more luxurious as compared to KRL, but the later is also luxurious with bath tubs in it's room. Of course no bath tubs in tents but don't know about cottages. If the prices are same then most people would prefer Cicada.

3] Food was OK at Kabini, but service was good. The place they serve food (Gol Ghar) has nice river views. Can't comment on Cicada.

Hope this helps.

Ronak.

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hadleydog

Thanks for the input, Ronak. I had decided to go with Kabini River Lodge but have had trouble making the reservation via email. Then yesterday I discovered that Orbitz has Cicada Kabini on their site for only $170, and that is theoretically for two people and not per person. I am tempted to give it a shot but am wary that is too good to be true (I was quoted $270 from Cicada last week).

James

shahronakm

Try it out, but check all details before booking.

Ronak.

Muhabbat

@hadleydog,

I am also considering KRL vs Cicada vs Orange County. Where did you end up going Cicada or KRL ? Would love to hear your experience..

danield

I just returned from a 10 day trip to Nagerhole and Wyanad. I stayed at Jungle Inn, which was a very good experience. Laid back, pleasant folks, green focus. Prices very reasonable. There is also another place called King's near by, but their prices (I don't know if it is worth it since I did not stay there) are almost two-three times. You can check both places out and compare. They serve the same biosphere for viewing.

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hadleydog

Do not book through Orbitz. They have no relationship with Cicada and any reservation they make will be a phantom. We found this out when I tried to confirm our res with Cicada Kabini the day before we left by train for Mysore from Madurai. Kabini was booked but fortunately they were able to get us a cabin at Cicada Bandipur (turned out to be only half full which was great for getting on uncrowded jeep safaris twice a day). Bandipur is an unbelievably beautiful place.

We really enjoyed our stay at Cicada. Kumar, one of the naturalists, is an exceptional guide. We did not see any tigers, but I did manage to spot a leopard. The accommodations were excellent. We stayed in one of the stand alone A-frame cabins. We were also impressed with the quality of the food. The first dinner we hit the buffet and loaded up on some terrific vegetarian from a huge selection. About halfway through this feast the waiters started showing up at our table with meat dishes: roasted fish, fish curry, lamb. We had so much food I felt foolish.

Cicada also has a bar which we, as the only drinkers at the resort that week, had all to ourselves. It even sported a specialty cocktail list but unfortunately the bartender was completely incapable of making anything more complicated than a shot of whiskey. So no Indian Brandy side car I am sad to say. The masala peanuts with a couple of beers, however, was one of the best things we ate in India!

I would recommend booking mid week. I believe the resorts can be significantly more crowded on Sat & Sun. There are a limited number of jeeps allowed in the park every day. We were lucky, going on Wed & Thu, to not have to compete for space. Make friends right away with the guides (Kumar, if he is still there) and they will likely find you first when taking names for the safaris.

Muhabbat

@hadleydog,

Thanks for your detailed response. Based on this, I believe you did a walk-in at Cicada. Were the prices offered at par with their tariff on the website or did they offer anything better.

Muhabbat

@danield,

Thanks for pointing out Jungle Inn. Certainly looks interesting..

hadleydog

@Muhabbat

I just reread my reply and realized I completely mixed up the lodges. It was only nine months ago, you'd think I would remember the names of the places we stayed. Anyway, I went back and fixed the post. We stayed at Cicada Bandipur. Our original reservation was at Cicada Kabini. Sorry for the confusion.

We did not get any kind of special rate. I do not believe Cicada offers any discounts. At least they didn't last January, but practically everything travel related seems to be discounted these days. We paid about Rs12000 per day at Cicada Bandipur. That is for everything, with all the extras (safaris, etc). Cicada Kabini is more expensive.

One other thing, I recall that Kumar told us that Kabini was a better place to see wildlife (especially elephants) during the winter dry season. There are no large bodies of water in Bandipur and a lot of the larger animals move north. That said, we saw everything the park is known for except the elusive tiger.