Our Tours

  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 just came back home and I can definitely say that my 2-day experience with the Dolphin Project was a highlight of my travel in Myanmar. This lets you see... read more a totally different aspect of the country that you would not even think of. Getting...More

  This was a wonderful trip, it’s a small organisation and we were able to be quite flexible as all on our trip wanted to see as much dolphin related activity... read more as possible, and didn’t worry too much about other village and craft related activities. They...More

  It was definitely one of my highlights in Myanmar! Taking a break from pagodas/stupas after 3 amazing days in Bagan, I opted to do this tour instead of probably the... read more usual Mandalay route as I really love dolphins! The 2-day tour brought us along Ayarwaddy river and we were fortunate enough to see dolphins both day 1 afternoon and day 2 morning and them trying to do cooperative fishing with the fishermen! On Day 2 we even saw a small pod and possibly mother and calf!

But as many reviews mentioned, the tour is much more than dolphins, you got the chance to explore the villages living along riverbeds of Ayarwaddy, and learn how to make WELL USE of a longyi (not just wearing it!), enjoy amazing food prepared by the generous locals and monastery, staying overnight on the secluded beach on the river with a camp that has a double bed mattress prepared for you, enjoyed a bonfire with your groupmates and local villagers, and enjoyed a glass of Myanmar wine which you can purchase on the boat, knowing how to do fishing the Myanmar way, also exploring Mingun to see the largest brick structure in the world... could never recommend enough to this tour!

Kudos to our guide Chid and the team to make this tour a very comfortable one for us, but whats equally, if not more, important is their effort of saving the Irrawaddy Dolphins, which are currently endangered in Myanmar due to electric fishing. It does go a great length to keep this amazing mammal alive as well as the heritage of cooperative fishing and I applauded everyone for their dedication into it.

  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

  Taking this trip in the hottest month in Myanmar turned out to be a great idea. As a group of 4 we opted for the 2 days/ 1 night trip... read more and enjoyed the cooling breeze and beautiful scenery as we slowly made our way up...More

  This trip was definitely one of the highlights of my time in Myanmar. The team made every effort to ensure we had a great time and that everyone on the... read more trip had the best possible experience. The boat's great and sleeping in the (super comfortable)...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.

  I would really recommend this trip to everyone! The first day started with the pickup at our hotel. We went to the river and went on board the boat. The... read more boat was of good quality. First we got an introduction about safety followed by our...More