Phú Quốc · Vietnam · Reef · Coral garden
Hòn Đồi Mồi
Rock canyons and hard coral from the surface to 12 m
Area photo: trungydang · CC BY 3.0
Turtle Island, off the north-west coast, is one of Phú Quốc's shallow northern sites: a reef that runs from just below the surface to 12 m, with big rocks forming canyons at 7 to 10 m between hard coral formations and anemone colonies. Tropical fish and fusiliers hold over the coral. The northern sites are all shallow, which is why they are used for beginners.
Also known as Turtle Island.
Where it is and how deep
10.3225° N, 103.8410° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The reef starts just below the surface and bottoms out at 12 m, so the entire dive sits in daylight and there is no depth to manage. Big rocks break the ground into what the operators call canyons, at 7 to 10 m — gaps and alleys between boulders that you follow rather than squeeze through — and hard coral formations with anemone colonies fill the space between them. It is a site you cover slowly, not one you swim across.
The fish are the small resident kind rather than anything passing through: tropical reef fish over the coral heads and fusiliers moving in loose groups. The three main northern diving locations are all shallow, which is exactly why operators bring beginners here — the dive is long, calm and easy to run at a crawl.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows Phú Quốc: October to May is the dive season, best from November to April; June to September is the rainy season, when seas turn rough and several centres close.
Dive videos
Diving on Turtle Island at Phu Quoc, Vietnam · Alexandre Patchine on YouTube
Turtle Island, Phu Quoc: 15.11.18 · Harrison Fuller (Harry's Diving&Travels) on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Turtle Island on Phú Quốc?+
The reef runs from just below the surface down to 12 m. Like the other northern sites it is shallow throughout, which keeps dives long and makes it suitable for beginners.
What do you see at Hòn Đồi Mồi?+
Hard coral formations and anemone colonies, with big rocks forming canyons at 7 to 10 m, and tropical reef fish and fusiliers over and around the coral.
Sources
- Phu Quoc Dive Sites — Flipper Diving Club
- Phu Quoc — Wikivoyage
- Hòn Đồi Mồi (OpenStreetMap) — OpenStreetMap
More dive sites in Phú Quốc
Up to 20 sites around 13 coral-ringed islands
Reef
Two shallow coral sites: nudibranchs at 12 m, macro to 18 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Huge schools of snapper over large hard-coral tables
Shallow coral bay used for snorkelling and night dives
Connected to the large Ao Tum coral garden off Ngamkho Beach
Shark Fin's shallow coral gardens and nudibranch zones