Our Tours

  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 had a beautiful day cruising up the Ayeyarwaddy River on a very comfortable boat which resulted in seeing dolphins. The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly and we felt... read more very informed. After a delicious lunch in a village, we saw dolphins. So amazing. We...More

  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

  I checked off an item from my my bucket list, which was meeting the Irrawaddy dolphins. I contacted WCS, the living Irrawaddy dolphin project. First, we headed to Sinkyun Village... read more along the Irrawaddy river. Around 10am, we found 3 or 4 dolphins in the Tha Phan Nout area. So, we followed them with a skillful fisherman(U Mg Lay). He has been collaborating with dolphins for fishing since 1984. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to see them again at that time, even though we spent 2 1/2 hours in the river. After that, we studied the villager’s life at Sin Kyun Village. Around 4pm, we planned to head back to our hotel when something happened. A huge group of dolphins were playing near our boat. That was the most breathtaking view I have ever seen. More than 15 dolphins were swimming, fishing, and splitting the water. Never have I ever had that kind of moment in my life. I really appreciate everyone, especially our tour guide— Ko Nyein, a fishermen leader— U Mg lay, the gracious Sin Kyun villagers, and so on. …

  A very good couple of days on the Irrawaddy river. Village excursions and visits to monasteries and to the attractions in Mingun were interesting and worthwhile. Lovely leisure... read more time spent on the boat cruising the river - lots to see. Trips in the small fishing...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.

  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

  This was one of the highlights of our whole trip. The company is very professional and - most importantly - they always appeared to put the welfare of the... read more dolphins first. We were lucky enough to see them on three separate occasions during our 2...More

  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