Sandwich Bird Tours

Acknowledgements ...

Customer Comments

Thank you for the fantastic experience we had in November. We covered so much ground at breakneck speed that now it is difficult to recall all the amazing sights, sounds (and smells) we encountered. Fortunately our pictures are a lasting reminder and having whittled away the repeats and out of focus shots there is still a good lot of viewing, with every picture telling a story. Like the monkeys sitting gazing at us like little old men, the intense excitement (which was contageous) of our drivers and guides when they brought us to our first tigers, the huge crowds on the Ram Ganga river for a festival, the variety of birds everywhere, the welcome we received at all our lodges, the translucence of the beautiful Taj Mahal, the fun we had as a party, - even the traffic jams were something to behold. The sight of the snow capped Himalayas on the horizon when we were up in the hills was unforgetable, but still only a part of the overall imprint which India made on me. It is a fascinating country, so different from our European experience that one trip is really not enough. Thanks again. Sonia December 201

Sandwich Bird Tours

byBrian Short, November 4, 2008

I have been fortunate to travel widely; I have done so on my own and with various top tour names. I have been on 10 of John's tours as far afield as New Zealand, South America, South Africa, but more often to the Indian subcontinent where we have ridden elephants predawn, rafted in dugout canoes to zodiacs, luxury coach to safari jeep to Tut-Tut.
John spends a lot of time planning his tours, ensuring we travel both comfortably and close to the birds. Always ensuring we eat well and keep well and safe. We have stayed in some wonderful accommodation, seen many wonderful sights, taken midday breaks but still had some of the longest bird lists available due to his excellent pre-planning and birdwatching ability.
For me the focus is birds; that is not to say I haven’t enjoyed the sightings of Tiger, Leopard and Lion and countless mammals it is birds that enthral me most and John has that uncanny knack of getting us to the right place at the right time.
His tours should appeal to a wide spectrum of abilities and interests as these are all accommodated. That is not to say we are not up before dawn everyday and long days cannot be followed by rewarding night excursions, but this is not always compulsory and those too tired can usually be accommodated.
The end of day log over a beer or two always with humour is a good wind down from a hard day and each tour is captivated in a colourful summary received not that many days after the tour

I have been on many of John's birding trips to several destinations. These have been excellent value, very well organised indeed. The itinerary is mainly aimed at finding birds, but is always flexible allowing you to see scenery, culture, photo stops etc. A priority of John is to make sure that you never go without food. Depending on location, a breakfast is a must, this is followed by a lunch stop in a restaurant or a good packed lunch. Then comes the evening meal which is always first class, most of us return several pounds heavier.
The accommodation is always of a good standard or the best that is available in the area in which we are birding. Also John uses local guides, these I have found to be excellent, often their knowledge of birds is astounding, thus giving you a high species list.
I would just like to finish off by thanking John for the past trips and look forward to all future ones.
GC. Dover

I've been lucky enough to have travelled with John to Nepal twice, India twice, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Costa Rica and New Zealand. Together we have added some 1,500 new bird species to my list. John is a character, a one off you might say. He manages to combine intense bird watching with wider activities, excellent accommodation and travel arrangements which enable people of both genders and wide age ranges to mix and have fun. Laughter and new birds are the order of the day, every day. Miraculously what on the face of it may appear a laid back approach achieves a longer bird list and variety of experience than any other tour I have been on and I have been on many. John has introduced me to elephant rides in search of Tiger and Rhino, dug out canoes and inflatable down crocodile infested rivers, flights in light aircraft over tropical jungle, lodges with views over the ocean and tropical storms, dust, more dust and assaults on the senses that will remain with me forever. I look forward to the next one hopefully with my wife!
BJS, Broadstairs

Our first trip with John's group was to Sri Lanka. The pre trip party was a good idea as we met most of our fellow travellers then and did not feel so “new” when we boarded the mini bus for the airport. The trip more than exceeded expectations and the sight of a Leopard was so exciting! There followed trips to Nepal and Brazil which were just as thrilling and we are looking forward to the visit to Scotland in May, and, hopefully, Peru in November.
A&S R, Meopham.

I have travelled with John to Goa and Sri Lanka. Both times my expectations were very much exceeded in so much as the variety and numbers of birds seen. The trips were extremely well organised and the itineraries suited both experienced and novice birders. John and his guides first class local knowledge was shared openly and in a friendly way at all times.
JW, Horsham, West Sussex

I truly recommend his services and value his friendship.
BS, Broadstairs, Kent

After about ten tours Jim wrote the following:

Another well organised trip, excellent accommodation, food, birds and animals.
"A man of many words"

JAL, Deal, Kent. December 2007

We looked forward to our first trip with John to India with great excitement.

We were not disappointed – as bird novices we valued the experience of John, our fellow travellers and local guides. So many beautiful birds, hundreds of Demoiselle Cranes, Crab Plovers and the animals, where do we start. The Wild Ass, Blackbuck, Asiatic Lion, (male walked past our jeep) Wolves etc. but by far the best day, family of Wild Dogs playing and grooming, Wild Boar with young and (whilst watching a Crested Serpent Eagle) our park guide spotted a Leopard high in a tree stretching, yawning and eventually jumping to another tree, all this before breakfast. Then, that evening, a tantalising first glimpse of Tiger. Kanha was a magical place at first light, the swirling mist and swaying pampas grass. Throughout the trip we enjoyed great company, excellent accommodation and food. Poland and Nepal next can’t wait.

P & J Gravesend, Kent. Jan 2008

Some thoughts on Nepal 2008 - it was a wonderful trip - good company, good birds, excellent scenery including distant views of Everest and opportunties to experience a culture close-up, made even more interesting by being in the country at the time of their first truly democratic election for decades.

I and S H, Sandwich Kent, April 2008

Dear John We would like to thankyou for another great trip to Nepal in April 2008 As usual it was very well organised The drivers and guides were first class and the birds and other wildlife were excellent. This was the third tour we have had with Sandwich Bird Tours. Previously we have been to Peru and the Pyrenees They were all a very high standard. We would not hesitate to recommend you to anyone interested in birds and other wildlife All the best Margaret and Robert Brooks, Kent July2008

Our Acknowledgements - A few words of thanks:

Thanks are due to our tour leaders and guides who have helped to make our tours so successful. In particular Suchit Basnet, Tika Ram Giri, Badri Chaudhary and Som G C in Nepal and all the office back-up staff in Kathmandu.

In Goa our guide and driver Lloyd Fernandes has greatly helped to make our holidays such fun. His permanent smile is enough to keep everybody happy at least for the fortnight we are there.

Simon Ellis and his guides ensured a great trip to Costa Rica as did Brian Vanderwalt and John McAllister in South Africa.

Rattan Singh, our guide in Northern India, is a gentleman and a pleasure to travel with and thanks also to Mohit Aggarwal who organises our India tours.

Our great friend Amila Salgado in Sri Lanka who also ensures a fantastic trip both in terms of organisation but also his company throughout the tour.

In Brazil I need to thank our hosts Andy and Christina Foster who made us so welcome in their lodge. They looked after us extremely well and Andy showed us some amazing and difficult to find birds. Thanks also to Braulio Carlos in the Pantanals for a fantastic week there.

Thanks also to Karen Baird and Chris Gaskin for their company and help during part of our New Zealand tour and Dennis Buurman of Albatross Encounters in Kaikoura.

I would like to thank Ian Hodgson for his help with tour leading to Costa Rica and Peru, for his superb diary write-ups in some of the reports and his help with the organisation of some of the tours.

Further thanks to Eustace Barnes for his organisation and tour leading in Peru and his help and company in Spain.

I would like to thank all our tour participants for without them there would be no trips. I have enjoyed traveling with all of them judging by the amount of repeats they have enjoyed the tours also. One of our clients has traveled on 9 out of our 12 tours and is booked on further trips.

Thanks are also due to Brian Short, Derek Etherton, Graham Crick, Steve Barnes, Amila Salgado, Heather Willis and John Wilks for some of their photographs which help to illustrate this website.

Finally my thanks go to Steve Cowhig for his hard work in designing and setting up the previous site which was a pre-cursor to this one and to Sue and Bob of Open Sandwich Design for getting this one up and running and maintaining it.

John van der Dol