Pandaw River Expeditions is the pioneer of boutique river expeditions throughout Southeast Asia.
The Pandaw experience is all about exploring remote and often hard-to-navigate rivers and coasts in specially-designed luxury small ships. Each ship, hand-crafted in brass and teak, is an object of beauty in itself. A Pandaw adventure is very different from that offered on an ocean-going cruise. The ships are small scale, and the atmosphere is informal, and very friendly.
The unique design of Pandaw’s small but powerful shallow-draft ships, beautifully hand-crafted in teak and brass, allows them to sail through a tapestry of remote rivers and coastal routes in Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and China.
The original company, known as the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, founded in 1865, was acquired by Paul and Roser Strachan in 1995. Renamed Pandaw, following the discovery and acquisition of this last remaining Clyde-built steamer, the company has consistently cruised through new frontiers, pushing the boundaries beyond its original home of Burma. Pandaw brought its unique concept and style to expeditions along the Mekong River through Indochina in 2003, inaugurated new river cruises on the Ganges in India during 2009 and pioneered the first routes on both the Red River in Northern Vietnam and the Upper Mekong through Laos into China in 2015.
RV Bassac Pandaw
Pandaw believes in giving back to society. Paul Strachan, Founder & CEO, established the Pandaw charity in 2008 to support education and healthcare efforts in Burma. The charity is entirely sponsored by donations from Pandaw passengers and a profit share from Pandaw River Expeditions. 2018 Sees the River Cruise Pioneer Boost its Fleet, Debut a New Burma Itinerary & Expand Sailings for its First Classic Motor Yacht.
2018 is set to be an action-packed year for Pandaw River Expeditions. The South-East Asia river-cruise pioneer will welcome a brand new ship to its fleet, launch a new expedition - “The Great Irrawaddy Delta“, and expand departures for its “Mergui Archipelago“ itinerary, Pandaw’s first foray into ocean cruising.
Laos pandaw
Pandaw’s newest addition, RV Sabei Pandaw, will join the fleet in November 2018, becoming the company’s third ship on the Mekong River in Laos. The new ship will be the 17th vessel in the Pandaw fleet, which navigates the fascinating waterways of six South-East Asian countries.
The RV Sabei Pandaw, which will feature fourteen classic Pandaw staterooms and an open plan saloon with flexible indoor or outdoor dining, will begin by sailing the 10-night “The Laos Mekong” itinerary, from 11 November 2018. From September 2019, it will move further along the mighty Upper Mekong to China's Yunnan province, to sail the 14-night “The Mekong: from Laos to China” expedition.
Pandaw Up and Close
This four-country expedition will visit Laos, Thailand, Burma and China, with highlights including the ancient Laos capital of Luang Prabang, visits to tribal villages and national parks, and simply experiencing the dramatic and wild river itself. The double decked vessel will be 45 metres long and designed to meet the navigational challenges of shooting the rapids in the Laos gorges.
At the same time, it will have the shallow draft to enable year-round passage across Yunnan into China. Prices for the 10-night Laos Mekong cruise, featuring the new RV Sabei Pandaw ship, start from US$4,200pp, based on twin-share. Prices for the 14-night The Mekong: from Laos to China cruise, start from US$6,808.50pp based on twin-share.
Sunset on the Upper Mekong
The cruise price includes local transfers, entrance fees, guide services (English language), gratuities to crew, main meals, locally made soft drinks, local beer and local spirits, jugged coffee and selection of teas and tisanes, mineral water. International flights are additional. Pandaw Founder, Paul Strachan believes that of all the Pandaw rivers the Upper Mekong is the most exciting, “There can be no waterborne experience to match sailing through Laos. The fast river with its continual spate of white water, the jungle clad peaks, the gorges; then there is the friendly welcome in every village, the ethnic diversity and the cultural riches. Traversing the remotest parts of four very different countries you see all of South-East Asia, lost and timeless”.
