Our Tours

  My husband and I did the 3-day Explorer. I don't even know where to begin. This trip was so amazing on so many levels. First of, I have... read more to talk about the cooperative fishing. Do you know that there are only THREE place in the...More

  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.

  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!

  Who knew there were dolphins in the Irrawaddy. This was a fascinating trip and truly off the beaten track. We were fortunate to see a pod of eight dolphins. We've... read more been in Myanmar over five years and thought we had seen everything. This was special...More

  What a great company & great day trip. We did the 1 day tour as that was all the time we had. Unfortunately we didn't see any dolphins which is... read more unusual from reviews I have read. This was due to the rain which was heavy...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

  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 weren't to sure about this tour as it was a part of our pre organised package. From the minute we stepped on the boat, we got great surprises. We... read more were lucky enough to have heaps of dolphin sighting throughout the trip. The village visits were fantastic, interesting and hands-on and didn't feel forced. The tour used local vllage people for catering and shared the love among several villages. The food was some of the best we have had in Myanmar. All the staff were amazing, helpful and knowledgeable. Our daughters 3 and 5 were catered for and the guide won their hearts. The tent accommodation was more confortable then some hotels we had stayed in. Overall we really loved how we were able to support several local villages and dolphin conservation. We got the surprise of so many dolphins, so much culture and historical sites. A really fantastic way to experience this part of Myanmar.

  I strongly recommend this experience ! We had the chance to see two groups of Irrawady dolphins and we saw fishermen collaborate with dolphins to fish : unbelievable unti ... read more you actually see this. Nice tour in the communities afterwards ! Do not leave Mandalay without...More