We did the 2 nights tour with Living Irrawaddy Dolphins travel and we had a wonderful experience! Luckily there were not many boats around! Our group was small,... read more four people, which made our experience personal and tailored to our needs. We stayed in a private...More

  What an amazing experience. Chit was an informative guide and created a great experience. We saw dolphins on the first day in two different locations! The glamping was also great.... read more The tents were pitched along the river next to a local village. The village was...More

  Joined 3-days tour in December 2018. Comfortable river cruising on the boat. Fantastic cooperating fishing with dolphins by skillful fishermen. Beautiful sunset over the river. Warm hospitality from villagers.... read more Very much fun campfire with villagers in the dark. Shining stars through the breaks in the...More

  We had such a fun trip with Chit and his team floating up the Irrawaddy earlier this month. It was incredible getting to see the dolphins up close and we... read more saw a number over the course of the 2 day trip - whilst this isn't guaranteed - the team make every effort to work together with the local communities and fishermen to share sightings. It's a good mix of being able to experience a little flavour of village life, boating time and fishing with the expert fishermen who have been honing their craft for decades, their commitment and skill is amazing. Camping on the sandy island was one of our highlights and it was so comfortable to be in the tents as other reviewers have said, definitely more comfortable than our night in Mandalay, everything was set up for us already when we arrived at the island and we could relax, have a beer and watch the sunset. Absolute bliss! Thank you to them all for their kindness.
2 things to keep in mind:
- If you don't do a private tour, you spend 24/7 pretty much with your fellow tour-mates, so get ready to make friends! If this does not appeal, consider the private tour option. Our friends opted for the private tour and also highly recommended, that gives a little bit more flexibility around how long you spend in each location also.
- Check the itinerary closely, the dolphin tour includes a visit to Mingun, if you're travelling in Mandalay beforehand, it may be worth saving that trip so you don't end up visiting twice and use the time to see other fun things in Mandalay instead.

  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

  We had a fantastic day sailing along the Irrawaddy River, stopping off to eat food, see how the villagers live and watch the bamboo hat weaving process with their hands... read more (and feet!) Then off to meet the Fishermen who collaborate with Dolphins! Learning all about how they do it whilst sailing along the river. We then changed boat and went searching for the Dolphins. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see them in action but the day was really nice and a fantastic way to see Mingun and a part of Mandalay you very rarely get to experience.

  Though I am typically inclined to skip tours in favor of my own plans, I am so glad we had this amazing experience! We did the full 3 day tour... read more in early May, spending two amazing nights beside the river. The area is so beautiful...More

  The experience of traveling in the boat and visiting the villages involved in the project was simply awesome. The best thing was the people. Both people in charge of the... read more trip and people in the villages were really kind and they explained us all related...More

  From the first time I found this tour/experience online, I thought “this is something I must do!” and now, after having enjoyed it, I simply say to myself “this was... read more the best decision I’ve made in this trip to Myanmar!”.
Its nature oriented shape, its cultural uniqueness and responsible driven approach to local communities and nature made me definitely decided to change my initial Myanmar route to include it. And it was the WISEST DECISION I’ve made in this trip.
We’ve chosen the two days private tour mainly because we are very keen on our timings and we love privacy – things that you pay more, of course, because the private tour is not cheap – and we’ve made the right decision again.
Since the first moment to the last minute of the tour we always felt very well and happy.
The tour boat is great, with a few rooms and a toilet in the lower deck and a spacious and comfortable upper deck from where you can relax and enjoy the boat views on route along the calmness of the Irrawaddy river. The tour team, from our excellent tour guide to the main boat team, were very professional and friendly. Our amazing and polite tour guide had a lot of knowledge about everything and was keen to share it with us balancing the time in between the relaxing moments at the top deck when we wanted just to be on ourselves, and the moments where information was needed to be explained by him, which was really nice. All the necessary information has been provided to us, since the start useful and very detailed briefing to the explanations when we visited the villages and the spots during the tour.
The food was great; simple but tasty and great. Each meal was provided by a different village and made from local products.
The dolphin sub-tours were made in small boats like the ones used by the local fishermen and we could spot a lot of dolphins and we saw the cooperative fishing as well, which left us really happy to witness such amazing activity.
The night in a tent was fun. It’s an “almost glamping tent” with a very good bed inside and you need to use the toilet in the boat a dozen of meters walking from the tent. In the evening people from the nearby village from the other side of the river join us at the camp site and create a small bonfire we can join and have a nice moment with them after which we have the dinner at a table near the tent, under the dark night sky. It’s really nice and fun.
The bottom-line of this tour?
It’s something I just tell you: DO IT!
You’ll visit real people in real villages; you’ll eat real food made by that lovely people; you’ll witness such unique fishing way that cooperates with the local dolphins; you’ll be away from crowds and you really feel part of it. And you end up HAPPIER because this is a RESPONSIBLE tour that HELPS the local small communities paying them for the services they provide to us and it does everything on PROTECTING the dolphins environment.
CONGRATULATIONS Living Irrawaddy Dolphin Project for what you are doing!