Cruise was very relaxing although weather was slightly hot. Our guide "Chit" was knowledgeable & kind! We took the small sampan out to search for the dolphins. It was a... read more long time but finally managed to catch a few glimpses of the endangered irrawaddy dolphins...More

  Day trip on local very comfortable boat. Dolphins are came, but you must be a very quick photographer to take them. Telephoto or binocular are fine. Also our choice to... read more see village is nice experience (There is possible to see monastery on oposite side) Our guide Mr. Nein Lin Oo is very pleasant interpreter, debate was also about practical life in Myanmar. Nice day, recomend.

  My wife and I booked a private 1 day tour (we wanted to do 2 days, but only had 1 extra day in Mandalay). We booked in advance, Paul... read more was very responsive via email. On the day of the tour, Ko Nyein our tour guide picked us up at the hotel and also took us back in the evening. We first took a larger 2-level boat to the location where the dolphins "hang out", and then transferred to a smaller boat. We spotted many dolphins and witnessed how "cooperative fishing" worked. U Maung Lay the "dolphin whisperer" and another fisherman demonstrated from another small boat, which was very interesting to watch. You need to concentrate and be very fast to take photos, as you cannot predict where exactly dolphins might appear. We just wanted to be quiet, in the moment, and soak in the experience of seeing the dolphins do what they do. We had lunch on the boat, brought from the village, which was as expected. We went to Singyun Village, met with villagers and learned about bamboo hat making, etc. A special and unexpected treat was, we saw part of a local family's child's Buddhist "novitiation" ceremony. The villagers also treated us to snacks and teaf leaf salad, etc. Before returning to Mandalay, we chose to visit Mingun's "Mya Thein Dan" pagoda, as we had already seen other pagodas and the big bell during a previous trip. Ko Nyein and the family who operated the boat offered to take us further up river or to another village, but we declined as we didn't feel like packing too many things into one day. We would have been perfectly happy just to be on the boat, as the entire experience was so tranquil, enchantingly peaceful, and the scenery so beautiful. Ko Nyein and U Maung Lay were very knowledgeable, and the boat family were accommodating. This is a great tour if you want to learn about the dolphins, the conservation efforts, and rural Burmese life and the agriculture industry around the area, mainly peanut farming and some rice. Strongly recommended, and do two days is you can. …

  My wife and I booked a private 1 day tour (we wanted to do 2 days, but only had 1 extra day in Mandalay). We booked in advance, Paul... read more was very responsive via email. On the day of the tour, Ko Nyein our tour guide picked us up at the hotel and also took us back in the evening. We first took a larger 2-level boat to the location where the dolphins "hang out", and then transferred to a smaller boat. We spotted many dolphins and witnessed how "cooperative fishing" worked. U Maung Lay the "dolphin whisperer" and another fisherman demonstrated from another small boat, which was very interesting to watch. You need to concentrate and be very fast to take photos, as you cannot predict where exactly dolphins might appear. We just wanted to be quiet, in the moment, and soak in the experience of seeing the dolphins do what they do. We had lunch on the boat, brought from the village, which was as expected. We went to Singyun Village, met with villagers and learned about bamboo hat making, etc. A special and unexpected treat was, we saw part of a local family's child's Buddhist "novitiation" ceremony. The villagers also treated us to snacks and teaf leaf salad, etc. Before returning to Mandalay, we chose to visit Mingun's "Mya Thein Dan" pagoda, as we had already seen other pagodas and the big bell during a previous trip. Ko Nyein and the family who operated the boat offered to take us further up river or to another village, but we declined as we didn't feel like packing too many things into one day. We would have been perfectly happy just to be on the boat, as the entire experience was so tranquil, enchantingly peaceful, and the scenery so beautiful. Ko Nyein and U Maung Lay were very knowledgeable, and the boat family were accommodating. This is a great tour if you want to learn about the dolphins, the conservation efforts, and rural Burmese life and the agriculture industry around the area, mainly peanut farming and some rice. Strongly recommended, and do two days is you can.

  We took the two day tour with camping/ glamping for the overnight. Despite a romantic name, Mandalay was a little underwhelming so this experience was a highlight of the... read more area. First of all, we saw loads of dolphins and plenty of episodes of the dolphins...More

  Our day began with a short ride to the boat dock where we took a boat crewed by a local family and our guide Chit along the Irrawaddy river past... read more the towns of Mingun and Sinjun. We then transferred to a small boat and followed the local fishermen as they communicated with the dolphins. The dolphins work with the fishermen and being the fish to them so that they can cast their nets for their catch. It is amazing to see the dolphins surfacing briefly and then circling the boat. We had about 90 minutes to watch this and learned that although still very much endangered, the number of dolphins is increasing slowly through the Living Irrawaddy Dolphin Project.

We had lunch back on the larger boat which was provided by a local village. We then spent some time in Sinjun where we had refreshing snacks and drinks and learned how to tie a longhi in many different ways and got to see how the local women make the conical bamboo hats. We received 2 of those hats as gifts.

We then sailed over to Mingun and visited Hsinbyume Pagoda which was delightful.

We sailed back to Mandalay as the sun was setting after a most wonderful day.

  First of all, I am Myanmar citizen who lived in Yangon for whole life.

I don't even knew there are dolphins in the Aeyyarwaddy .I was travelling across... read more Myanmar for a month,doing my bucket list. I found this tour by chance,someone from Reddit recommended to me.I booked the tour on spur of the moment and I don't have any expectation or rather that i don't have much expectation.
Did I enjoy the tour? Oh, I surely did.

I went there in last November which is over a month now and yet I am making an effort to write a good review here, because I found their Business card in my wallet. I'd plan
to go again next year.

Do you love the environment?
Do you want to help people?

Just go book a tour when you are in Mandalay. I believe in responsible vacations and, that I am helping people by my vacation. This tour checked both. They operating responsibly for the environment as well as helping locals.

  We saw the dolphins but were a bit disappointed not to see the cooperative fishing as it was our main purpose to the trip (as we are living in Mandalay).... read more I would enjoy to go again but only for this. Nevertheless, even if we did...More

  We had an incredible day on this trip. Sitting in rattan chairs on the deck sailing 3 hours up the Irrawaddy in the sunshine, watching life on the river. Visited... read more a fishing village which was charming and worthwhile. Just before lunchtime we saw some river...More