DIVING DEEP INTO CORAL & LOVE / ONBIRD PHU QUOC (Adventure Snorkeling & Proposal)

GUEST REVIEW ABOUT THE PRIVATE SOFT-ADVENTURE SNORKELING EXCURSION

The beautiful words that Mr. Reef give us! (Read the review here)

It’s not easy to put into words, how much this company cares for the environment. From training to preparation and utilizing skills to retain the beauty of these corals, OnBbird is the ONE.

I had done a significant amount of research prior to exploring Phu Quoc and the name” OnBird” always came up.

From that moment forward, I started to plan and organize the adventure.

We communicated back and forth to ensure the optimal day for water/weather conditions would be present and this worked out flawlessly.

Communications were organized, pick up from the hotel was smooth and on time and we were off on our journey!

Now this is where it gets special…. I had asked OnBird about the possibility of helping set up a proposal dinner for my wife-to-be. It was a challenging mission but OnBird made it all possible for us. The setting, the weather, the lights and dinner were all perfect! We had a private beach and table set up for us and well in the end….she said YES!

That’s why it is so difficult to have words for this group. They are the souls of the island, the ones who share the story of the land and to have OnBird and the team organize this for us was certainly a priceless moment in our lives.

We will be back again! Alongside our new family and friends at OnBird to continue the celebration of life and the great people/island of Phu Quoc!

FIRST TOUCHES WITH ONBIRD FOR A SPECIAL SNORKELING TRIP:

Mr. Reef messaged us via Whatsapp on 8 November 2022:

The first message: 

Hello: D
My name is Reef Pilgrim.
I am visiting your beautiful country from Canada!
I am here with my lady and we are planning on being in Phu Quoc from 13th until 16th November.

Is it possible to see what I can do for Private Tour packages to the less known areas?

I am planning on proposing to my girlfriend. ☺️❤️

The Second message: 

The honour is all mine. I am very happy to come across your guided tours and passion for the islands. You come all very highly recommended ❤️🇻🇳😉

The third message: 

I am on the website now.

I am going to be staying at Mango Bay. Sustainability is very important to Me and something I am passionate about. I know your tours are focused around that.

We are not experienced snorkelers but open to the experience.

Cooking BBQ would be amazing on a private beach.

I would like to make it romantic for my lady, as she will soon be my fiancé ☺️🤞🏼

After reviewing the special request from the Canadian guest, on the light of water conditions and unexpected possibilities, coral spots, we offered the Private Soft-adventure Snorkeling Excursion (our newly roll-out experience) to explore the old part of Phu Quoc Island in the North and Coral Jungle Reef, the healthiest coral reef in Phu Quoc Island as well as enjoy the sunset atmosphere in a peaceful ambiance. 

SPEEDBOAT RIDE ALONG THE IDYLLIC COASTLINE OF PHU QUOC

Our guide and car went to Mango Bay Resort for the pickup and then we headed for the speedboat, after speedboat embarkation, we enjoyed a smooth trip along the idialic North-west coastline of Phu Quoc Island before arriving at Half-moon Beach for a short briefing about the geographical features and coral information as well as get familiar to snorkel gears and some proper ways to handle issue raised in snorkeling time for the safety and environmental protection.

EXPLORE THE HEALTHIEST CORAL REEF IN PHU QUOC

We left Half-moon Beach for the Coral Jungle Reef, which is one of the best coral reefs worth exploring in Phu Quoc (read more about Coral Reefs in Phu Quoc Island based on OnBird’s coral observations). Alive coral account for 99% at the Phu Quoc Coral Jungle Reef, our guide Alex accompanied Reef and Britney in the water during the snorkeling time to explore the corals. We saw anemone clusters shining after absorbing the sunlight. Coral Jungle Reef is one of the best place to see coral tentacle vividly as they are very active in a such good environment as there are not much human-affected like in South Phu Quoc.

The underwater visibility was very good on the date up to about 8 – 9 m, we can see polys of cauliflower extending to catch sunlight. It was amazing to explore coral gardens in the Coral Jungle Reef which is difficult to see in Southern coral reefs of Phu Quoc Island. Our underwater guide took guests to explore Table coral garden, Flowerpot coral garden and cauliflower coral garden.

Reef and Brittney was very surprised at looking at flowerpot corals in a close distance when they are extending tiny thousand of tentacles to catch pray, we always explain to guests that coral grow strongest in the shallow water (1-7 m) but not deep water so snorkeling and advanced snorkeling are the best choice to see corals.

At the Coral Jungle Reefs we can also see some big Giant Barrel Sponges due to frequently visited strong currents, so it is not always safe to explore this coral reef, so underwater guides as well as an advanced water conditions tracker which OnBird provides is necessary for a safe and good snorkeling experience.

Hard corals, especially cauliflower corals dominates the Coral Jungle Reef so it will look like you will jump into a jungle of cauliflower corals, they appear surrounding you. Sometime we see soft corals like Toadstool leather coral and Finger Coral. By the time of snorkeling, we had a beautiful water and especially pretty calm so non-experienced Brittney managed to explore the reef with her boy friend and our guide.

PRIVATE ISLAND – PRIVATE AMBIANCE – PEACEFUL ATMOSPHERE

Alike OnBird’s experiences, the trip is arranged to avoid crowded places thereby the couple was completely share the experiences together without any annoyance from group tours.

ROMANTIC DINNER MEAL BY THE SEA END UP AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

After the snorkeling trip we head back Half-moon Beach for the romantic dinner setup on the beach for the couple and Reef would propose his wife-to-be, Brittney in a private ambiance.

Our speedboat stop at the Half-moon Beach and drop off our guide and the guests for shower and dress up. By the time Reef and Brittney set foot on the beach, Brittney still did not know about her husband-to-be plan, after shower time, we invited guests 2 welcome drinks, by 5H30, time had come, Reef held Brittney’s hand and strolling along the beach to the setup area (100m away). Brittney discovered the candlelight afar, started crying, Reef took her inside the heart-shape candlelight, he knelt down and gave her the ring….

The couple had an unforgetable dinner in Phu Quoc Island between the natural, not like Southern Phu Quoc Beach where you no longer see original beaches.

We really appreciate the trust that Mr. Reef give us, the words that he gave our team is a valuable inspiration for us to bring more beautiful experiences:

“It’s beyond remarkable what we accomplished together, I’m so honoured to have shared this moment and because of the team at Onbird, it was executed flawlessly! Brittney is so so happy and the pictures you took and sent, along with the video was UNBELIEVABLE. I can’t put it into words what this means to me and to us.

This is something we will cherish for the rest of our lives and I feel like I have a real family and friends here in Phu Quoc now.
Not only was the tour one of the best days in our lives, the entire build up to this moment was PERFECT. Im going to spend some time doing the reviews and all but I cannot begin to THANK YOU ALL FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.
I am still in shock at how it all happened and again, the pictures. The video, you all went ABOVE & BEYOND any expectations. I love you all so much!”

We collage the memories with Reef and Brittney in a footage below, have a look and don’t hesitate to reach our team to craft your own special event.

[SMALL-GROUP] SOFT-ADVENTURE SNORKELING to explore CORAL JUNGLE: the healthiest coral reef in Phu Quoc (max 6 – 8 pax)