Phu Quoc Island Hopping Tour Review: Is It Worth It?
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This is an honest Phu Quoc island hopping tour review for your travel planning.
I did a Phu Quoc island hopping tour during my last full day there via Klook. After spending my previous days tackling the mega theme parks in the north and south, I wanted to see whether Phu Quoc’s offshore islands and coral reefs could live up to the tropical hype.
The journey has been reasonably good in terms of price versus value. For a day trip ranging between 30 to 50 USD, it covers round-trip transfers, boat transit across multiple islands, two snorkeling stops, and a full lunch.
I would recommend you to take this tour if you have a spare free day on Phu Quoc Island—after you have already explored the island’s more unique icons.
Below is my complete breakdown of what to expect, how it compares to other diving and snorkeling spots across Vietnam and Southeast Asia, and whether you should book it.
🦒🦒🦒 Multiple Island Hopping Options Available ! ✅
Klook / Trip.Com / GYG
Phu Quoc Island Hopping Tour
Most Phu Quoc island hopping tours include pick-up, 3 or 4 islands hopping, two snorkeling session and a free lunch. I used Klook during my last visit for a tour ~ USD 30 and found a quite decent.
What To Expect In The Tour?
While I booked my excursion on Klook, there are also very similar island hopping packages available on other major booking platforms like Trip.com and GetYourGuide.
Regardless of which operator or platform you pick, the itinerary pattern is more or less the same across the board:
- Morning Hotel Pickup (7:00 AM – 8:00 AM): An air-conditioned shuttle bus picks you up from your hotel in central Duong Dong or along Long Beach and drives south to An Thoi Port at the southern tip of the island.
- Boarding the Boat into the An Thoi Archipelago: From the harbor, you board a large two-deck tour boat or speedboat and head out into the An Thoi Archipelago—a scenic chain of 15 islets scattered across the Ocean.
- Visiting 3 to 4 Southern Islands: Most standard routes stop at three or four islands throughout the day, typically including Fingernail Island (Hon Mong Tay) for sightseeing and beach photos, Gam Ghi Island (Hon Dam Ngang) or Buom Island for shallow coral reef snorkeling, and May Rut Island for beach lounging, clear shallow waters, and water sports.
- Two Snorkeling Sessions & Included Lunch: You get two dedicated snorkeling sessions where the crew provides masks, snorkels, and life jackets, plus a multi-dish Vietnamese seafood lunch (typically steamed shrimp, braised fish, stir-fried morning glory, omelette, soup, and rice) served either onboard or at an island beach restaurant.
- Paid Optional Water Activities: At the floating ocean sports pontoons and beach stops, you can pay extra for optional activities like parasailing, jet skiing (waterbike), sea-walking, or ordering freshly caught live sea urchins and seafood.
The Parasailing Highlight: Unbeatable Value
The single best highlight of my entire boat trip was not the snorkeling—it was the parasailing.
At the ocean sports pontoon near the islands, I did the tandem parasailing for 1,800,000 VND (~72 USD) for two people, which included professional drone video footage. Having traveled extensively, this is so far the cheapest parasailing deal on the island, and probably one of the cheapest compared to other resort islands across Southeast Asia.
The crew strapped us into the tandem harness on the launch platform, and within seconds the speedboat reeled out the towline, lifting us high above the turquoise bay. From several hundred feet up in the open sky, the panoramic views over the emerald islands and coral reefs were fantastic. Even better, their drone operator flew a drone right alongside us in mid-air to capture cinematic aerial footage of the entire flight. If you join the island hopping tour, budgeting extra for the parasailing is 100% worth it.
🦒🦒🦒 Multiple Island Hopping Options Available ! ✅
Klook / Trip.Com / GYG
Paid Activities In The Tour
The paid activities in the tour is also reasonable that includes waterbike, Pikachu boat and also the Parasailing. I did the parasailing, and it is one of the highlights in my Phu Quoc tour.
How Is The Tour Compared To Other Places In Vietnam?
I have done similar island hopping and snorkeling tours in multiple coastal cities across Vietnam.
Compared to all the others in the country, my experience in Phu Quoc is by far the BEST. The tour price is very similar across Vietnam—ranging from 30 to 50 USD per person including hotel transfers, snorkeling gear, and lunch—but the underwater quality in Phu Quoc is noticeably superior:
- Compared to Nha Trang: As I shared in my Nha Trang scuba diving review, the water visibility around Nha Trang’s islands was murky, and much of the coral was bleached or dead. In Phu Quoc, the water visibility is way better, and you can actually see a lot of healthy, intact coral formations right from the surface.
- Compared to Da Nang (Cham Islands): Both the fish variety, water clarity, and coral diversity in Phu Quoc are a lot better too. The only thing that the Da Nang island tour did better was serving a more hearty, generous seafood lunch on the island compared to the more standard meal in Phu Quoc.
If you are traveling inside Vietnam and want to get out on the water, Phu Quoc easily takes the crown.
Compared To Other ASEAN Countries?
Yet, when compared to other ASEAN countries, Phu Quoc (and Vietnam as a whole) is still far behind in terms of marine species, water clarity, and overall underwater magic.
For example, compared to the Philippines—like the reefs I covered in my Bohol island hopping review—it is a totally different league. If I had to rate the underwater experience on a 1-to-10 scale:
- Bohol (Philippines) sits at a solid 9 out of 10, with vibrant coral walls, sea turtles, and massive schools of fish.
- Phu Quoc (Vietnam) sits at around a 3 or 4 out of 10.
In fact, if you are thinking about paying extra for scuba diving in Vietnam, it is basically worthless compared to its neighbors. You won’t find giant pelagic encounters like my Oslob whale shark watching tour in Cebu and Bohol.
Similarly, compared to the Maldives—which is the undisputed king of water activities, as I showed in my best Maldives excursions guide where you swim directly with nurse sharks, manta rays, and stingrays—the Phu Quoc tour feels much more like a casual, standard sightseeing boat ride.
Is Phu Quoc Island Hopping Tour Worth It?
Yes, it is still worth it given the low price ($30–$50 USD) for a comprehensive full-day outing that gives you island cruising, some casual swimming with reef fish, a free lunch, and access to cheap water sports.
However, if you have limited time in Phu Quoc (for example, less than 5 days), I would recommend you go for other unique icons on the island first:
- The Lemur Interaction at Vinpearl Safari: As I highlighted in my Vinpearl Safari Phu Quoc review, stepping inside the enclosure to have furry ring-tailed lemurs hop onto your shoulders is the most unique animal interaction I have had across 80+ countries.
- Sun World or VinWonders: Riding the world’s longest over-sea cable car at Sun World Hon Thom or exploring the northern complex—which I compared head-to-head in my VinWonders vs Sun World Phu Quoc review—delivers a much bigger spectacle than the boat tour.
The island hopping tour in Phu Quoc is decent and relaxing, but it simply doesn’t have much of a “wow” factor if you have already snorkeled in places like the Philippines, Thailand, or the Maldives.
🦒🦒🦒 Combo-Ticket Is Also Available! ✅
Two Parks In A Day
Buying online is usually cheaper than the official website or walk-in. There are multiple two-park (safari+Vinwonders) ticket online. I chose the 2 park in 1 day plus meal one during my visit. But if you don’t want to rush the one with 2 day (1 park each) on Klook is also a good option.
Conclusion: Should I Take The Phu Quoc Island Hopping Tour?
Yes, but only if you have finished all the major land attractions first.
At least, that is exactly how I planned it—saving the island hopping tour for my last full day during my 7-day trip to Phu Quoc. With a full week on the island, spending a sunny day out on the boat and flying high on the 1.8M VND tandem parasail was a great way to wrap up the vacation.
If you are an outdoor and water activities lover like me, just be mindful of your expectations. Don’t use the standards of diving paradises like Bohol or the Maldives to judge it; treat it as an affordable, laid-back island cruise and you will walk away happy.
Frequently Asked Questions About Phu Quoc Island Hopping
- When is the best time of year for a Phu Quoc island hopping tour? The dry season from November to April is the best time to go. The sea in the southern An Thoi Archipelago is calm, skies are sunny, and underwater visibility for snorkeling is at its clearest. From May to October (the rainy monsoon season), boat trips can be choppy and water clarity drops.
- Should I book the tour via Klook, Trip.com, or GetYourGuide? All three platforms—Klook, Trip.com, and GetYourGuide—offer nearly identical 3-island and 4-island itineraries operated by local fleets in An Thoi. Compare the daily promo prices across the three and pick whichever gives you the best discount or bundle (some packages also bundle the Hon Thom Cable Car on the return leg).
- How much does parasailing cost on the Phu Quoc island hopping tour? Tandem parasailing for two people costs 1,800,000 VND (~72 USD) at the floating water sports stop, which already includes drone video recording—making it one of the best-value parasailing deals in Southeast Asia.
- What should I bring for the island hopping day trip? Pack swimwear (wear it under your clothes in the morning), a quick-dry towel, reef-safe sunscreen, sunglasses, flip-flops or water shoes, a waterproof phone pouch, and cash in Vietnamese Dong (VND) if you want to do optional water sports like parasailing or jet skiing.
