Exclusive hotel & boat
Your own boat and rooms, not a shared pool.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Cruise the creeks of the world's largest mangrove delta
Licensed boats, forest-department guides and permits handled end to end. Departures every day from Godkhali jetty, October through March.
Daily
Departures
Oct-Mar
Best season
3 hrs
From Kolkata
5+
Years on the delta
4000+
Guests hosted
4.8/5
Average guest rating
100%
Permits handled by us
Experienced guide & crew
Local naturalists and a full boat crew.
Safe & secure journey
Licensed boats, life jackets, first aid.
Delicious food
Fresh Bengali cooking, all meals included.
Memorable experience
Tuned to the tide, not to a fixed clock.
Tour packages
Pick a trip, or tell us what you have in mind
Private and sharing boats on every route. Each package includes the boat, forest permits, guide and all meals. Call or send the form below for current pricing and availability.
8 to 10 Hours
Day Safari
A full day inside the reserve for travellers short on time.
On request
- Godkhali jetty departure, 8–10 hours on the water
- Sajnekhali & Sudhanyakhali watch towers
- Breakfast, lunch and evening snacks on board
- Forest entry permit and guide included
- Private or sharing boat
Most popular2 Nights / 3 Days
2 Nights / 3 Days
Our full tour — the complete route at the tide's pace.
On requestper person
- Day 1: Sajnekhali, Sudhanyakhali, Bonobibi Varani, Sundar Khali
- Day 2: Dobanki canopy walk, Netidhopani, inside-forest canal safari
- Day 3: Village life, Jharkhali rescue centre, Hamilton Bungalow
- Exclusive hotel and boat, experienced guide and crew
- All meals — see the full menu on the website
- Check-out 4:30 – 5:30 pm
Any dates
Private Boat Charter
Your own boat and crew, on a route and schedule built around you.
On requestper group
- Families, photography groups and corporate trips
- Choose your own departure date and pace
- Extra time at the towers for photographers
- Custom menu and dietary requirements
- Kolkata road transfer available as an add-on
Pricing depends on the season, group size and whether you take a private or sharing boat. Tell us your dates and we will send an exact quote.
About the delta
A forest with no roads — only tides, creeks and boats
The Sundarbans is the largest contiguous mangrove forest on earth, spread across the Ganges–Brahmaputra delta. The Indian side covers roughly 4,200 sq km, of which the tiger reserve and national park form the protected core.
Our safaris follow the permitted creek routes out of Godkhali jetty, timed to the tide rather than the clock — which is why our boats reach the watch towers before the crowds and before the forest goes quiet for the day.
We have been running trips here since 2021. Every boat is forest-department licensed and life-jacket equipped, and every departure carries an approved naturalist who grew up on these islands. Permits, meals, stays and transfers are arranged before you arrive, so the only thing you handle is turning up.
Getting here
Kolkata to Godkhali jetty is roughly 100 km — about 3 hours by road. By train, take the Sealdah South line to Canning, then a 1.5-hour road transfer. We can arrange door-to-jetty pick-up.
When to visit
October to March is the peak window: cool, dry and the best sighting odds. April to June is hot but quiet. The monsoon is green and dramatic, with some route restrictions.
Why people come
The only mangrove forest on earth where tigers swim between islands
A sighting is never promised — no one can promise you a tiger. What we can promise is the creek, the tide, the kingfishers, and a guide who has been reading this water since childhood.
2 Nights / 3 Days
Where the boat actually takes you
Our full tour route, day by day. Day trips cover the Day 1 stops in a single 8–10 hour run. Exact stops shift with the tide and forest department permissions.
1
Day 1
Into the reserve
- Sajnekhali & Sudhanyakhali Watch Tower
- Sarak Khali
- Bonobibi Varani
- Khalisi Varani
- Sundar Khali
2
Day 2
Deep forest canals
- Dobanki Watch Tower & canopy walk
- Netidhopani Watch Tower
- Chora Gazi
- Deul Varani
- Nabanki
- Panchamukhani
- Inside-forest canal safari
3
Day 3
Village life & heritage
- Local village life & heritage sightseeing
- Jharkhali rescue centre
- Hamilton Saheb Bungalow
- Becon Bungalow
Private and sharing boat packages are both available on every route.
Food on board
Every meal, cooked fresh on the boat
This is the full 3 days / 2 nights menu — nothing is an add-on. Vegetarian, Jain and no-onion-garlic versions are arranged on request at booking
First day
First day
- Breakfast — Welcome drink · Luchi with aloo choka, dal curry, tomato sweet, suve tea
- Snacks — Sunflower poori / fish farsan / fry, tea
- Lunch — Rice, dal, doi, potato fry, mixed vegetable, cabbage curry, ilish, mochar dalna curry, chatni, papad
- Snacks — Puri, chicken pakora, tea
- Dinner — Rice, roti, dal, alover vegetable, mutton kosha
Second day
Second day
Breakfast - special Paratha or/Luchi Potato kosha,Books egg, Sweet,Tea.
- Snacks — Flowers farsan / jawan fars fry / french fry, tea
- Lunch — Rice, salad, dal, veg fry, mochar veg, fish moilee / chingri malai, potol or doda dalna, aloo posto, chutney, papad
- Snacks — Jhalmuri or puri, egg chop / vegetable pakora, tea
- Dinner — Rice, roti, dal, chicken, salad
Day three
Day three
- Breakfast — Luchi, potato / labra, chana masala, sweet
- Lunch — Rice, dal, piyazer vegetable, doi eel fish and potato posto curry, chutney, papad — or Biryani, chicken kosha, salad.
- Snacks — Cold drinks, tea, cake
On the water
Hours of creek, timed to the tide and not to the clock
Our boats leave Godkhali when the water says so. That is why they reach the watch towers before the crowds, and before the forest goes quiet for the day.
The experience
What a day on the delta actually looks like
Long slow cruises broken up by towers, walks and food. Nothing is rushed — the tide sets the pace and the forest rewards patience.
Creek cruising
Narrow tidal channels where the mangroves close overhead and the engine cuts to a drift. This is where the delta shows itself.
Watch towers
Raised hides at Sajnekhali, Sudhanyakhali and Dobanki overlooking sweet-water ponds where deer, boar and the occasional tiger come to drink.
Breathing roots
At low tide the mudflats bristle with pneumatophores — the snorkels mangroves use to breathe. Whole islands of them, as far as you can see.
Birding from the deck
Kingfishers, storks, cormorants, minivets and green pigeons, all photographed from an open upper deck with nothing in the way.
Reading the forest
Your guide reads pugmarks, alarm calls and tide charts. Half of what you see out here you would have cruised straight past.
Night skies
No city glow for a hundred kilometres. Overnight guests get a deck, a cup of tea and a sky most visitors have never seen.
Wildlife
What you may see out there
Sightings are never guaranteed in a mangrove forest — but this is what the delta holds, and what our guides put you in the best position to find.
Royal Bengal Tiger
Around 100 tigers range across the Indian Sundarbans. They swim the wide channels between islands and are famously hard to see — dawn at the watch towers gives you the best chance.
Fishing Cat
Twice the size of a house cat and completely at home in water. Camera traps catch them far more often than people do, which makes a live sighting something to remember.
Estuarine Crocodile
The delta's largest predator, up to six metres long. At low tide they haul out onto the mudbanks along the wider channels and lie still for hours.
Spotted Deer
The tiger's main prey, and the reason you watch the treeline. Their alarm call carries a long way — when the deer start barking, everyone on the boat goes quiet.
Kingfishers
Seven species live here. The black-capped and brown-winged are Sundarbans specialities; the common and pied kingfishers you will see hunting all day along the creeks.
Mudskippers & Fiddler Crabs
The mudflats come alive between tides. Mudskippers walk on their fins and fiddler crabs wave a single oversized claw — the delta in miniature.
Water Monitor
Up to two metres long, often draped along a branch above the water or swimming across a creek with just its head showing.
Wild Boar
Common on the banks, rooting through the mud at low tide. Often the first large animal you see on a morning cruise.
Green Vine Snake
Bright green and pencil-thin, almost invisible against the leaves until it moves. Harmless to people.
The forest itself
Six mangroves worth knowing by name
The Sundarbans is not one tree but dozens. These are the six you will see most, and the ones your guide will point out first.
Sundari — Heritiera fomes
The tree the forest is named after. Its hard timber once built boats across Bengal; today it is a protected species and increasingly scarce.
Baen — Avicennia officinalis
One of the commonest mangroves here, and the source of the pencil-like breathing roots that carpet the mudflats at low tide.
Golpata — Nypa fruticans
The mangrove palm. Its fronds thatch roofs all over the delta and its sap is tapped for sweet toddy.
Kankra — Bruguiera gymnorrhiza
Recognisable by its red flower and knee-shaped roots that arch out of the mud before diving back in.
Hetal — Phoenix paludosa
A low, spiny mangrove palm that forms dense thickets. Tigers use it for cover, which is why guides watch it closely.
Harkocha — Acanthus ilicifolius
Holly-leaved and pale blue in flower, growing right at the waterline. Used in local medicine for generations.
Why travel with us
Locally owned, licensed, and straight with you
Licensed, safety-first boats
Every vessel is forest-department registered, life-jacket equipped and carries a first-aid kit and a spare engine.
Guides who live here
Our naturalists are from Gosaba and Pakhiralay. They read the tide charts, the alarm calls and the pugmarks.
Permits handled for you
Forest entry, camera and boat permits are filed in advance. You send IDs; we do the paperwork.
No hidden costs
The quote you get includes boat, permits, guide, meals and stay. Nothing is added at the jetty.
Small groups
We cap shared departures so everyone gets deck space and a clear line of sight from the towers.
Local livelihoods
Crew, cooks, guides and lodges are all hired within the delta. Your trip stays in the community.
Our boat
Licensed, life-jacketed, and crewed by islanders
Private or sharing, a single day or two nights on board. Tell us your dates and we build the rest of the trip around them.
Guest albums
From our most recent departure
Upamanuya Sir &Dr. Sanjay sir.4 day safari
From our trips
Photographed on these creeks
Tigers, kingfishers, crocodiles and the boat you will travel on — all shot by guests and guides on our own departures.
Guest reviews
What travellers say when they get back
“We did the 3-day package in December and it was flawless. The boat was clean, the food was genuinely excellent, and our guide spotted a crocodile and about fifteen bird species before we'd had breakfast.”
Plan your trip
Practical things worth knowing before you come
Getting here
Kolkata to Godkhali jetty is roughly 100 km — about 3 hours by road. By train, take the Sealdah South line to Canning, then a 1.5-hour road transfer. We can arrange door-to-jetty pick-up.
When to visit
October to March is the peak window: cool, dry and the best sighting odds. April to June is hot but quiet. The monsoon is green and dramatic, with some route restrictions.
What to carry
Light cottons, a hat, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, binoculars, a power bank, and an original photo ID for every guest — IDs are mandatory for forest permits.
Good to know
Mobile coverage is patchy inside the forest. There are no ATMs past Gosaba. Alcohol is not permitted in the reserve, and drone use requires separate clearance.
FAQ
Questions we get asked most
Will we definitely see a tiger?
No operator can promise that, and you should be wary of any who does. The Sundarbans is dense mangrove and tigers are famously elusive — perhaps one trip in ten yields a sighting. What is guaranteed is crocodiles, deer, extraordinary birdlife and a forest unlike anywhere else in India.
How do I book, and what do you need from me?
Call or WhatsApp us on +91 91444 29989 or +91 75850 75387, or send the form below. We confirm availability, then share a written itinerary and quote. Once you accept, we take an advance to block the boat and permits, and we need a clear photo ID for each guest before departure.
Is it safe for children and older travellers?
Yes. Boats are stable, covered and life-jacket equipped in adult and child sizes, and the watch towers have gentle ramps or short staircases. Tell us your group's ages and we will pace the itinerary accordingly.
What is the cancellation policy?
Our current cancellation and refund terms are sent in writing with your quote, before you pay anything. Ask us when you enquire and we will spell them out for your dates — they vary a little between peak season and the quieter months.
Are meals included, and can you handle dietary needs?
All meals are included on every package — the full three-day menu is published on this page. The default is Bengali home-style cooking with fish, prawn and mutton. We handle vegetarian, Jain and no-onion-garlic requirements comfortably if you tell us at booking.
Can you organise a private or corporate trip?
Yes. We run private boat charters for families and groups on any date, and have hosted corporate offsites of up to 60 people. Send us your dates and headcount for a tailored plan.
Plan your safari
Tell us your dates — we'll send back a plan
Fill this in and we reply within one working day with an itinerary, a quote and boat availability. Prefer to talk? Call or WhatsApp us directly.
Phone+91 91444 29989
Alternate phone+91 75850 75387
Emailgmb.sundarbandeltasafari@gmail.com
OfficePakhiralay,Gosaba, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal 743370
WhatsAppOpen a chat with us
Things you may like to carry
Torch · Your regular medicines · Umbrella or a light raincoat · Drinking water · Non-slip shoes · Sunglasses · Binoculars · Camera · Cap or hat · Power bank