Overview

Journey 5 hours discovering the unique nesting habitat of Hawksbill sea turtle at around Hawksbill Island (Hon Doi Moi), west of Phu Quoc Island which has long been mistakenly called Turtle Island. Experiencing peaceful ambiance of Phu Quoc. The tour is limited to a small group of 6-8 Pax in maximum and operated only 4-5 months per year for the reason of protecting the coral reef and natural habitat.

Hawksbill Sea Turtle’nest Discovery or Doi Moi tour is a Soft-adventure Scientific Snorkeling tour run by Turtle Island Dive (which was launched by OnBird Soft-adventure Sea Journeys). This soft-adventure tour is number one in terms of the variety, healthy status and coral cover of the coral reef. According to the biodiversity scale used by Turtle Island Dive, this is one of the heathliest coral reefs in Phu Quoc Island so far.

Hawksbill Turtle island which is known widely as Turtle Island for a long time due to the misperception of sea turtle species by local divers then they named it wrongly. Hawksbill Island is the highest coral coverage coral reef in the Phu Quoc coral reef system, is located about 1 kilometer west of Phu Quoc Island. It is renowned for its pure fringing reef beauty and formations resembling terraced rice fields.

Snorkeling & Diving tour started in Phu Quoc since 2000s by locals by simple long-tail boats, it has become very popular and attracted people around the world who love snorkeling and diving, but overtime it has become more mediocre to do snorkeling & diving in Phu Quoc due to the weakness in the conservation of marine ecosystems. The numbers of good-looking coral reefs are in dramatically decline. Coral reefs in Phu Quoc are facing severe threats (overfishing, massive tourism, amateur local tours…) that jeopardize their survival and have already led to degradation and destruction especially in South Phu Quoc. Hawksbill Island – Sea Turtle Habitat Discovery tour started in Phu Quoc in 2022. who love soft-adventure & scientific snorkeling tours. The adventures that explore coral reefs have become highlights tours in Phu Quoc since then.

Hawksbill Sea Turtle Nest Discovery is a scientific snorkeling tour into the underwater habitat to discover and explore one of the largest habitats nesting to sea turtles in Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam, see the beauty of marine life, coral formations such as cabbage corals, cauliflower corals, flowerpot corals, mushroom corals, staghorn corals, and table coral gardens…. Guests will also have opportunities to contemplate a large marine life through the fringing reef, encounter unique shallow water reef and conquer the low tide of Hawksbill Island just up to 0.3 – 0.3 meters shallow.

Hawksbill Island (Doi Moi island) was announced as the largest natural coral reef among 21 coral reefs in Phu Quoc Island in the 2000s by the Vietnam biologists team and confirmed by the Vietnam Institute of Oceanography.

Conquer the Phu Quoc’s largest fringing reef with spectacular scenery that changes every day.
The reef is so big that an ecosystem has been formed with a vast area of different coral species.
Explore the unique table coral kingdom in the reef.
Explore very shallow coral reefs depending on the tide level
Visit Turtle Nest, where the Hawskbill go in the breeding season.
Each tour includes 8-9 Guests, 2-3 underwater guides as well as 2 safety assistants, 2 boat crews, carrying belongings, and snorkeling equipment.

Itinerary

Hawksbill Island – Sea Turtle Habitat Discovery tour is one of the most interesting soft-adventure snorkeling tour operated by Turtle Island Dive in Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam. The coral reef expedition contains snorkeling through the reef slope and fiat reef with depth gains from 8m to 0.4m, multiple coral gardens crossings (10 to 50 meters wide with knee-deep water in normal conditions) passing various terrains under the water.

Photos & videos

Scientific Snorkeling in Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam

Weather and Water condition

Phu Quoc Island, like many southern areas of Vietnam, has 2 main seasons in a year (dry and wet season). For many reason including weather and water condition, Hawksbill Island – Sea Turtle Habitat Discovery tour is only operated from Octorber to the end of March every year, the rest time of the year is also Sea turtle breeding time thereby we leave their habitat untouched, the Doi Moi island Discovery tour will be temporarily between April and October. We also recommend you not to visit there by yourself for safety reason between April and October.

From Hawksbill Island – Sea Turtle Habitat Discoveryto March, the weather may be quite cold. If there are sunny days, you may see sunbeams illuminating Hang En Cave campsite.

From April to May may be one of the best times of year when the weather becomes nice and warm, landscapes and scenery turn green, and flowers bloom. This is also the time to see clouds and mist forming in the cave.
From June to August are the warmest summer months. However, most of the time the trek is under the tree cover and inside the cave with temperature from 22 to 25 degrees, so it is not too bad at all. Swimming in the underground lakes is the best experience of this season.
Each season contains its own unique features, unlike any other caves in Vietnam’s national park. Doi Moi or Hawksbill Island has its own weather system. Please read more about weather in Doi Moi at “Weather of the seasons in Doi Moi Island”. In addition, Guests can check the weather in Phu Quoc and water condition in Doi Moi Island with us directly for best preparation for the Hawksbill Sea Turtle Nest Discovery.

Preparation

In order for you to have a great trip, Turtle Island Dive recommends you to take appropriate exercise to have good physical fitness. Furthermore, take time to prepare the items you need to bring for the Son Doong expedition including: trekking clothing, sun protections, trekking shoes and backpack. Anything extra can be stored in the transfer car.

Adventure level on tour

After more than 5 years of operating low-reef impact & discovery-oriented snorkeling tours in Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam, OnBird Soft-adventure Tours designed an adventure scale to help guests choose the right tour for their physical fitness, ability, and snorkeling & diving skills. This scale is not applicable to other tours not run by OnBird or Turtle Island Diving. From levels 1 to 6, OnBird hopes that our guests will make the right choice for their adventure tour. For example, if you exercise regularly and trek often, you can confidently choose level 6 and the Hawksbill Island – Sea Turtle Habitat Discovery trip. We are sure you will complete it proudly.

Hawksbill Island – Sea Turtle Habitat Discovery: Adventure level 6 · Hard
Requirements: Good physical fitness, snorkeling experience, shallow water buoyancy control skill
Activities: Long treks, river crossings, rocky terrain, climbing steep slopes with and without safety equipment.
Number of Guests per tour: Maximum 8, age 13-65 years old.

17km trekking on jungle and mountain trails, elevation changes up to 800m.
Multiple river crossings both inside and outside the cave (knee-deep or more depending on weather conditions).
3 nights camping in the cave (the first night in En cave, the second and third in Son Doong).
8km caving including: climbing with safety equipment, and extensive rocky terrain.
90m descending to the cave entrance with a steep slope of 45 degrees with support from safety equipment, safety assistants and the cave expert.
90m ascending up to the Great Wall of Vietnam with a ladder, steep slopes of 45 degrees with support from safety equipment, safety assistant and cave expert.

Communication on tour

Hawksbill Island Expedition tour is set at the highest adventure level among the cave tours in Vietnam. The trip is to go into the core zone of the national park, far away from medical assistance, doctors and hospitals. The tour follows jungle trails, up and downhill many times with no path for bicycles, motorbikes or cars. The entire journey will have no phone signal, wifi and usual communications.

Each Turtle Island Dive tour, including Hawksbill Island, is equipped with a emergency phone to keep in touch with the Operation team in case of emergency. Guests can still use the internet and phone on the boat during the tour. During the tour, the safety staff will communicate by phone with the crews.

In order for the guest to safely explore the caves, Turtle Island Dive has developed an “emergency response procedure”, ready for: cave rescue, cave evacuation and first aid in case of emergency. Every year, we organize many training courses for first aid, rescue, evacuation etc. We have established rescue teams for each tour operating area. The equipment for rescue is chosen and imported from Britain and France, and designed for cave rescue and evacuation. Due to the remote location, the rescue team and medical assistance may take several hours to reach the casualty. Therefore, the safety of guests is Turtle Island Dive’s top priority. During the booking process, Guests are required to fill in details about health, physical fitness honestly on their own so that the cave experts and tour consultants can give useful advice. Guests are requested to update their health condition to our Adventure Consultant 45 days prior departure of the tour.

Safety on tour

This is always Turtle Island Dive’s top priority in order to ensure the safety of both guests and staff during any trip. Turtle Island Dive only uses international standard equipment, selected, inspected and maintained by our diving & snorkeling instructos. Underwater guides and safety assistants are responsible for operating these devices.

To qualify for using these devices, they have to pass professional training courses and pass the strict skills tests. Otherwise, they will not be allowed to lead the tour. .

Adventure safe tips

Any activity carries risks, but with adventure tours, these dangers and risks are even higher in comparison with other types of tourism. There could be: floods, insect bites, snake bites, accidents, illness or many others. You can learn more about: “dangers, risks and how to avoid them”

What to expect

This tour is designed for tourists who love adventure, underwater marine and new challenges. Hawksbill Island (Doi Moi island) – Sea Turtle Habitat Discovery is a “must” to do in Phu Quoc Island.

Turtle Island Dive is proud to be the industry pioneer to introduce a new term “scientific snorkeling” to snorkelers, divers when visiting to Phu Quoc Island and decide to gain a real snorkeling experience. We take external factors (including water conditions, lighting affect) into account to find out in the best timeframe in terms of water conditions, lighting affect for the snorkeling experience as well as to open our chance to visit the best spots in Phu Quoc Island.

There are people who rarely exercise or snorkeling, but once they decide to go exploring the open water of Hawksbill Island (Doi Moi), they exercise more often and participate in more outdoor activities to improve their health and physical fitness.

The itinerary of the Hawksbill Island (Doi Moi island) – Sea Turtle Habitat Discovery is designed so that each day has a similar duration and number of challenges so that all guests who are well prepared should complete the trek comfortably. With the temporary disconnection from computers, internet, smart phones or daily business, visitors will have more time to enjoy nature and harmony.

During the tour, guests will be expected to complete the trekking activities by themselves.

This tour requires a huge amount of logistics to ensure that guests will have a comfortable trip.

Tour booking process

Hawksbill Island (Doi Moi island) – Sea Turtle Habitat Discovery tour requires a large amount of arrangement for both guests and Turtle Island Dive. Reading the tour information carefully will help guests make the right choice. The tour booking process includes the following steps:

Read tour programs carefully and consider your fitness to join this tour.
To reduce cost, not any tour operated by Turtle Island Dive published on any OTAs which requires a lot of commission fee which eventually will be passed on to the guests as well as eroding business resources which we would like to spend for natural protection tasks. (Please note that this tour is just operated 4-5 months per year).
Ensure all experiences and activities of the Son Doong Expedition tour are suitable and something you really want to do.
Fill in the online booking form by yourself, please give honest answers about physical fitness and health conditions.
Once booking is sent, Turtle Island Dive Consultant will contact you 48 hours to review the information given and guide you on the next steps. If you do not get any response from Turtle Island Dive after 48 hours, please give us a direct call or check your email’s spam box.
Once the booking is approved. Our consultant will send you the invoice, and 50% of the tour fee will be paid to confirm your booking.
After the tour is confirmed, our consultant will maintain regular contact and provide assistance for you to prepare for the big trip.
45 days before departure, our Adventure Consultant will contact you to get updated physical fitness, health conditions and snorkeling & diving skills.

Terms of tour cancellation

Only 1,000 guests are allowed per year, so the tours are sold out quickly. Therefore, guests are requested to pay 100% of the tour fee after reservation for a confirmation.

Hawksbill Island Expedition tour requires good physical preparation and well prepared trekking items. Last minute cancellations will greatly impact the operation of the tour.

To ensure that Turtle Island Dive can find a replacement if there is a cancellation, the terms are:

The cancellation must be done 90 days before the departure if guests would like to receive a 100% refund (A fee of 7 million VND will be charged for booking and reservation confirmation ). Departure date change can only be done if there are spots available.
Guests will be charged 50% of the tour fee if the cancellation occurs 45 days before the departure.
Guests will be charged 100% of the tour fee if the cancellation occurs less than 45 days before the departure.

To change participants in the Hawksbill Island (Doi Moi island) – Sea Turtle Habitat Discovery tour (not recommended), a booking service fee will be charged. Please see more details in “Terms of tour cancellation”.

Price includes

The Hawksbill Island (Doi Moi island) – Sea Turtle Habitat Discovery tour cost is US $61 per person, and the tour services as follows:

Pick up and drop off at Duong Dong, Phu Quoc (Extra surcharge for areas in Bai Truong, Cay Sao, Bai Khem)
Speedboat ride on the sea
Team members: 1 – 2 underwater instructor, captain, crew.
Tour is limited to 8 PAX in maximum (No under 12-yrs- kid, No above 65-yrs-adult)
Beverage and drink: We will provide cold water during the trip and fruit, fruit juice after snorkeling time at a private beach.
Safety equipment: We will provide all high-quality snorkeling and safety equipment such as: open-heel fins, semi-dry snorkel, anti-fog diving mask, marker buoyancy and others.
Travel Insurance: We will purchase travel insurance for travel as required by Vietnam Tourism Law. The maximum compensation per case is 30 million VND. We recommend that guests purchase their own comprehensive travel insurance.

Note: For private options please contact for details

FAQ

How can I protect my electronic devices when crossing rivers, or swimming through the caves?

All electronic devices will be collected and stored in a dry box (25cm high, 15cm diameter) by our tour guide before swimming. Please bring your own dry-box or dry-bag if you have really big cameras, just to make sure! Also, please note that you will carry the camera by yourself if you have a professional and big camera, the same for its tripod.

Why do I have to sign your Release Form?

What can I do If I want to talk to/contact a consultant?

Turtle Island Discovery (Small-Group: Max 8-9 PAX)

1.280.000₫ / 1 Pax

OVERNIGHT TOURS

1.280.000₫/ 1 Pax