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THE SOFT-ADVENTURE SNORKELING & ISLAND HOPPING EXCURSION WITH 2 BRITISH TRAVEL BLOGGERS

Snorkeling & diving in Phu Quoc Island - Northeast Coral Reef

1. ABOUT THESES 2 BRITISH TRAVEL BLOGGERS

The couple Molly and Matt own the YouTube channel Dabble and Travel, launched in December 2018 with more than 32,800,000 video views and 202,000 followers. Couples mainly share the unique experiences they seek, choose or participate in during their travels in different cities and countries around the world, they find their unique way distinct from many regular travel bloggers. Oftentimes, this couple looks for interesting experiences that few people know about in the places they go to to bring a different perspective of the place, the land, the beauty of that place. In early 2022, the couple chose to make a journey to discover Southeast Asia with 4 countries: Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.

Snorkeling & diving in Phu Quoc Island - Northeast Coral Reef
Matt tryied to dive to see corals and anemones at the Northeast coral reef, Phu Quoc, Vietnam

During this trip to Southeast Asian countries, the couple mainly selected famous tourist destinations in each country, including islands such as Davao, El Nino, Guimaras, and Manila of the Philippines. -lippin and Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Ha Long, Phu Quoc, (Vietnam)…In which in Vietnam, after visiting famous tourist attractions Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Ha Long Bay, the couple continue to Phu Quoc at the beginning of June (the beginning of the rainy season in Phu Quoc). In this Phu Quoc discovery trip, with a limited time and unfavorable sea weather, the couple’s schedule was shortened to only 3-4 days. The couple chose to stay at Cassia Cottage and participate in a short snorkeling journey at South Phu Quoc Island (Short-snorkeling) in the morning (according to the advice of water conditions on the date which were monitored and tracked by OnBird 4 – 5 days prior to the trip), with OnBird to explore 2 coral sites: Phu Quoc Coral Mountain and Phu Quoc Northeast Coral Reef, however, because they wanted to visit islands such as Mong Tay or Fingernail Island and May Rut Island for vlog material, thereby OnBird customized the schedule at their request.

The couple chose Cassia Cottage, one of the oldest resorts, located in Duong Dong Ward, Phu Quoc. The resort has a unique architectural style with green areas that are paid great attention. Matt and Molly contacted OnBird the day before coming to Phu Quoc to sign up for a snorkeling experience with OnBird. The couple’s travel period is the summer days in Phu Quoc, OnBird conducts a hydrological test to select the date and time frame of departure in calm water to bring the best coral exploration for the couple.

Snorkeling & diving in Phu Quoc Island - Northeast Coral Reef
Molly took pictures at a stop on the snorkeling trip with OnBird Phu Quoc

About skills: Matt has good swimming skills and comfortable with the open water while Molly is not a very good swimmer and is a bit afraid of water, she required us for lifevest while snorkeling.

The car and tour guide came to the hotel to pick up the couple early to keep up with the calm water time of the day due to the forecast that there would be strong waves in the afternoon. The weather was sunny all morning, the sea water was relatively calm as forecasted.

2. THE HIGHLIGHTS, IMPRESSION GAINED ON THE SNORKELING TRIP

Private speedboat tour in Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam
Matt and Molly got back on the speedboat after the snorkeling time, the water was clear and quite calm for the perfect experience

At the first point of the journey, OnBird’s tour guide teaches Matt and Molly safe and proper snorkeling skills and double-checks their adaptability in the water to make sure it’s safe to do snorkeling and watching corals in either shallow and deep waters.

Travel blogger practice snorkeling skills and safety guides before snorkeling in Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam
Matt and Molly prepare to practice swimming skills and safety guides before experiencing coral exploration with OnBird Phu Quoc

At the Coral Mountain, the ideal underwater visibility reaches 7-8 m, there is no plankton in the water. Molly and Matt were so amazed at the stunning beauty of Coral Mountain and enjoyed interacting with the Button Corals, Matt said in his video: never seen before in my life. Thanks to being familiar with the shallow water at the first point of safety guide session, the couple had a safe experience at Coral Mountain without any accident causing coral breakage or damage due to shallow water.

At Matt and Molly’s request, we had a short visit onto Mong Tay island or Fingernail Island and May Rut Trong island, 2 out of 15 islands in the An Thoi archipelago, Phu Quoc, to film their video of Phu Quoc vaccation.

The current condition of Mong Tay island is dramatically different from 2017-2018, it is now no longer as wild as it was before, and quite crowded, most of island’s main beach is now occupied by a massive seafood restaurant to serve thousands of tourists everyday, the beach is also too small while there are too many speedboat park at the dock. The toilet area is very dirty and located right besides the kitchen. We have no longer recommend this island for guests for many years. Also, in the tour itineraries to avoid crowds of OnBird have not suggested a schedule that includes Fingernail Island for visitors for a long time.

 

 

At the second coral spot, the North-east coral reef, the underwater visibility was also pretty good of 8-9m, the calm water creates ideal conditions for exploring the coral city of South Phu Quoc Island, Phu Quoc, Vietnam (it is almost impossible to visit the reef in the dry season due to very strong current and wave). Matt and Molly are overwhelmed by the diversity of the North-east coral reef, where there are more than 20 different species of coral.

 

3. VIDEO OF THEIR VACATION IN PHU QUOC ISLAND INCLUDING THE SOFT-ADVENTURE SNORKELING

We invite you to watch the experience of snorkeling with OnBird of Matt and Molly. For the purpose of protecting coral reefs and avoiding irresponsible exploitation, OnBird restricts revealing specific coral locations in our soft-adventure snorkeling trips.