We went on the 2 day sail. During the sail we stopped a few times to see local people and villages. The real beauty of this tour is the authentic... read more experience. There were very few tourists, in the villages we were the only ones. At night we stayed on a beach that we had to ourselves in very comfortable beds and everything was thought of throughout the way.
Our guide Chit was very pleasant and had well knowledge about everything we saw. Do yourselves a favor and go on the 2 day trip. You won’t regret the amazing experience. Big appropriation to the boat crew which was also wonderful and comfortable, we even had beds inside the boat for resting throughout the sail. Wish we could do it again, maybe in the future.

  Truly a very special experience to spot the dolphins in their natural habitat! So beautiful! But also all other activities are more then worthwhile! Lovely to visit the local communities... read more and relax on the boat and overlook daily life along the shores. Great experience and highly recommended!

  Had a great time experiencing culture in the village (who knew there were so many ways to use the longyi) , travelling to Mingun, eating great food (the food provided... read more by the villagers were better than the top rated restaurants in Mandalay. We found out from our guide that they were asked to use less salt and oil which brought out the taste of the ingredients better) and sleeping overnight in tents! Chit was a great guide and shared with us tons of fun facts about dolphins and Myanmar.

The most magical thing was seeing the dolphins~ We were lucky enough to experience 4-5 dolphins joining in cooperative fishing on the first day. We even got to see a baby and mummy dolphin swimming close to us (the fishermen observed the mummy dolphin wanted to join in fishing but the baby dolphin was sticking too close to mummy. I hope it was a great learning experience for the baby dolphin who was watching the community fishing as much as it was for me. Unfortunately, although the first day was full of dolphin sightings (even from the ship) , we didnt get to see any on the 2nd day. As this is wildlife, i would suggest that one choose at least the 2 days tour to maximize the chance of seeing dolphins!

Through the tour, I could feel the efforts made to preserve the dolphins population, promote community fishing and help educate the villagers! The project is around 2 years old and is still struggling to raise funds to protext the dolphins, so do join the project! You get to save the environment and be part of something magical!

  Can't recommend this trip enough. It was a really good mix of activities with some free time on the boat mixed in. I definitely wanted to see the dolphins but... read more birdwatching was also high on my list and I feel I got a good amount of time in and saw some great birds.

We actually saw dolphins very early on while on the main, large boat, before we even went out with the fishermen. Going out on the small was great, seeing how the fishermen work with the dolphins, seeing a fish skid across the top of the water out of nowhere because a dolphin flicked it with his tail to let the fishermen know where the fish were.

That part was a little hard on certain parts of the body because we were out in the small boats longer than planned. There was an issue with the propellor of the main boat that needed to be fixed, so once the fishing was over they too us in the small boats to the camp site. It took about 5 hours or so for them to fix the boat and get it up to the campsite. It was one of those experiences in this country where something has gone wrong, no clear idea of how or when it is going to be fixed, but if you roll with it and have faith in them you know it will work out fine, and it did. They handled it very well.

Everyone in my group and the other group with us took naps in the tent once we got there and I had a fun time around a fire with the guide and the women from the village who prepared our dinner. I got to practice my Burmese and push my vocab to the limit while being giggled at around the fire for a couple hours before everyone else woke up.

The bed in the tent was more comfortable than the one in our guesthouse in Mandalay.

The village visits were interesting and the meals cooked by the wonderful villagers were fantastic, not a huge difference in variety from village to village but it was really good so that didn't matter.

The sort of trip I would easily consider doing again.

  We went on this trip and although we booked a group trip there wasn't anybody else on the boat that day. The tour departed from the riverside in Mandalay.... read more It is a very relaxing and informative day and you soon realise how passionate these people are about the Irrawaddy dolphins.
After about an hour we saw our first group of dolphins, then further up the river we saw another group. The fishermen came from their village to meet us and we were fortunate enough to see the dolphins co-operating with them to fish. This was a wonderful, once in a lifetime opportunity. We had a tasty local lunch on the boat.
On the way back we stopped at a local village where we were greeted with snacks and drinks. Then the local ladies showed us bamboo hat making and for me how to balance a large pot on my head. Then they showed both my husband and myself how to where a longyi. They were so friendly and welcoming, it was lovely.
The day was wonderful, informative (although not over the top), relaxing and we were so lucky to see the dolphins. Please do this trip rather than any others which are just commercial, this group are really trying to protect the dolphins.

  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

  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

  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.

  I came to write an article about the traditional cooperative fishing with the dolphins for a Swiss magazine and "Living Irrawaddy Dolphin Project" facilitated the trip and helped me to... read more get all the information I needed - very much appreciated! Furthermore, I was impressed by...More