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.

  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

  What a great day! Back in December, my partner and I were lucky enough to be the very first tourists to experience the Living Irrawaddy Dolphin Projet 1-day trip. We... read more didn't have enough time to do their usual 2 or 3-day trip, but Paul and...More

  I spent with a friend 1 night and 2 days along the Irrawaday chasing the dolphins with this tour. The experience was great! Don't expect a 5 stars hotel service... read more but everything is comfortable and definitely enough to enjoy the experience at the fullest. The...More

  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

  What an amazing experience - such fun and such comfort. Thank you Chit - you are an excellent guide.

  This is a top notch experience from any angle. As a tour it's excellent, with temples, traditional farming and fishing, and rural landscapes. As a cultural experience, it's... read more superb. You interact with a family living on the boat as well as a tour guide with...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.

  You can experience an amazing contact with the people of the fishermen´s villages. Very nice. Also you can see the Irrawaddy river dolphins colaborating with the fishermen, something unique in... read more the world. If you make the trip you are supporting this way of life and...More