Hi, been diving Vietnam for five years and both locations will be a disappointment. Halong, if the operator is still in business.....CURRENTS with limited visibility, not much to see underwater, I had a look at the ops website and rang a friend up there...Local staff, cough "divemaster" cough, ( I got my card cheaper then you got yours hahahaha) is the highest rating you will find, basically forget safety, first aid training, probably no oxygen on the boat....Insurance included ? LOL....nothing is insured in Vietnam.....very generous 35 minute dives, probably because their compressor is such an old piece of junk it will not fill the tank to 200 bar....pardon my cynicism but I have seen far too much of it... I just spent $2500 on filters for my compressors and I know many local ops use Kotex. ( I am NOT kidding)
Phu Quoc, Most operators dive in the north, which is just not worth the time, unless you have nothing else to do. One operator dives exclusively in the south, there are two sites there worth a visit, turtle island and dry island.....but this operator is among the most dangerous in Vietnam. I have worked for most of the shops in the country and I am finally opening my own, on a much more beautiful island then Phu Quoc...come on over and see me on Con Dao.
