Phu Quoc

Phú Quôc is a mountainous and densely forested island of 574 km². It is 48 km in length from south to north and has a population of approximately 103,000 people (2012).

Phú Quôc Island served as a base for French missionary Pigneau de Behaine from the 1760-80s and at one time he provided shelter here for Prince Nguyen Anh (later Emperor Gia Long) when he was being hunted by the Tay Son rebels. During the Vietnam War there was little fighting here but the island was used by the South Vietnamese Army as a prison for captured Viet Cong.

Phú Quôc is not part of the Mekong delta and also doesn’t share the delta's extraordinary ability to produce rice and fruit due to the low quality of its soil and inaccessible terrain. It is, however, home to the best fish sauce (nuoc mam) in the world, and is also reputed to produce high quality pepper and fantastic seafood.

Another point of interest in Phú Quôc is the island's native dog. This dog was a wild animal that was trained as a hunting dog by local people. These days they are very domesticated and it's unusual to go anywhere on the island without seeing one. These animals have unusually sharp teeth (as they tear their food when they eat it rather than bite), and have claws that over the years have been optimised for catching prey and are razor sharp.

Phú Quôc Island and its beaches were voted "The Cleanest and Most Beautiful Beach in the World" by ABC News in 2008. However, this has changed dramatically. Insiders call the island "the world's first rubbish dump on which tourism is run" or "the island, where nature and rubbish grow together" because of the excessive pollution (mainly plastic bags) outside the tourist resorts.

As of 2020, parts of Phú Quôc have become a huge construction site for high-rise residential areas, several new towns and suburbs. There are plans for a complete rebuilding of Dương Đông city center, and to replace the existing small PQC airport. The new international airport south of Dương Đông opened in early 2013. The main north-south road between Bai Thom and An Thoi is already being upgraded to a 2+2 lane highway, a new all-weather road from Dương Đông to Gan Dau is ready as far as Cua Can, which has a new bridge. A golf course and a casino are planned in the north. Phú Quôc is becoming something completely different.

Phú Quôc Island has a tropical climate with three seasons: high, shoulder, and low.

• High season: During Nov-Mar, the daily maximum temperature typically averages about 31°C, and the daily minimum temperature (before sunrise) about 23°C. The skies are generally sunny, with possibly some light high cloud in early morning that clears by mid-morning, and the humidity is at its lowest for the year.
• Shoulder season: During Apr-May, the temperatures are a bit higher than during the high season, and the humidity around 80-85%. Crowds are fewer during this time and there are good chances of reasonable weather.
• Low season: The period between Jul-Sep is dominated by the monsoons.

Visitors from any country arriving in Phú Quôc by cruise ship do not need a visa for stays of up to 15 days. A passport with at least 45 days' validity is required. Visitors arriving by plane can get a 30-day tourist visa free of charge, even if they'd otherwise need a visa to enter Vietnam.

• Walking: One of the joys of the top-rated Long Beach accommodations is that everything is so accessible. Base yourself at Mai House or the Tropicana and you can walk to everything and happily fill a three- or four-day holiday doing nothing at all. Camp down at La Veranda and you might not emerge.
• Local buses. Route 11 has service every 30 min from Dương Đông down Long Beach to An Thoi. There is also service to the airport. 20,000-30,000 dong. (updated Feb 2020)
• Motorbike: There’s no doubt about it, if you’re young enough (at heart anyway) you’ve got to try seeing some of Phú Quôc on a motorbike. They can be hired for USD5-12 a day from your hotel/resort. There is no paperwork, no insurance, and no deposits. You negotiate if you break or lose your bike. There is a request that you refill with fuel when you finish. Roads are mostly red dirt and full of potholes. As in much of Asia, there are no traffic rules in the usual European or North American sense: you are responsible for not hitting anybody or anything, and you are responsible for anyone else hitting you, and that's about it. You are supposed to drive on the right, but not everybody always does that. So there you have it, not entirely safe, but an awful lot of fun. Don't fret too much if you run out of petrol or get a flat tire. You’ll be amazed how fast a local will stop to help you. Puncture repairmen are plentiful on the island and will leap at the chance to come to your aid for a small fee. See also Vietnam by motorcycle.

If you do find yourself in a bit of strife with your rental, there are a few repair shop on the island that will mend your bike at a price cheaper than at the place you rented it. One place that does this, is Gia Phu at 25 Tran Phu in Dương Đông (Linh- +84 93 813 7988). Depending on the severity of the damage, it could save you a lot of money.

Motorbike taxis are about 200,000-400,000 dong or USD10-20 for a day trip. Be sure to be precise as to how many hours and locations you want to see with the driver. It's difficult to really lower the price for a half-day or less.

• Jeeps: After a motorbike, your next best option is a Jeep with driver. Given you pay for petrol, it can work out a little more than a half or full day’s hire of a taxi, but well worth it. Call Jeep For Rent locally at +84 93 9402 872. USD30 for 6 hr, USD50 for 24 hr.
• Taxi: Taxis are plentiful in Long Beach, but there can be a tiresome delay. As of Dec 2019 there are plenty of taxis, and Grab works well in the main centers of population. Booking taxis by the day is often a better bet. They’re more expensive than you might be used to in Saigon. There are small yellow taxis that have a flag fall of 5,000 dong (Dec 2019) which is as cheap as the cheapest Saigon taxis. All taxis use meters, and you pay what the meter shows. Short trips in Dương Đông are up to 60,000 dong. For a full day and a given itinerary you make a flat deal, e.g., 650,000 dong for around one-half of the island, which may be what you would end up with also if the meter were running. It seems that you mostly pay for the distance driven; the driver sleeping in the drivers' hammocks does not cost that much.
• Boat: Saigon Phú Quôc Resort have their own large boat you can charter from Long Beach. Otherwise all resorts run tours with charter boats. Cost varies depending on number of passengers.

• The roads going round the northwest corner of the island are an interesting ride on a motorbike. The roads are quiet and safe, and also the unpaved roads are easy to ride (just be careful of loose sand in some places). You can stop for coffee or lunch at the 🌍 Chez Carole Resort. (updated May 2024) to see the views at the mouth of the 🌍 Cua Can River. (updated May 2024). There are nice quiet beaches at the westernmost shore of the island, and the road east from Ganh Dau goes through dense forest. There are dozens of large colourful fishing boats in front of Ganh Dau in the afternoon.
• At the southern tip of the island is the fishing of 🌍 An Thoi town. (updated May 2024). There are some fishing boats to see. You can hire a boat to take you to the small islands south of Phú Quôc from there.
• 🌍 Sunworld Cable Car. A 30-min cable car trip takes you 7.9 km over several island and pearl fishing farms to the Sunworld Hon Thom Water Park. Beautiful views. 300,000 dong roundtrip. (updated Feb 2020)
• 🌍 Sao Beach (southeast corner of the island, a couple of kilometers north of An Thoi town). The prettiest beach on the island, with a restaurant/cafe and beach lounging. (updated May 2024)
• 🌍 Suoi Tranh Waterfalls (A couple of kilometers east of Dương Đông town there is a path (slightly more than 1 km) through the forest). This is a major attraction when it has been raining. There is barely any water during the dry season from Nov-Apr, but the rock exposed by the river is interesting, and you can hear the sounds of the forest. You can plunge into the pool under the 2-m waterfall at the end of the path. (updated May 2024)

There are pearl farms on the west side of the island south of Dương Đông town. The Phú Quôc Pearl Farm is about 10 km away, and they have a cafe/restaurant and a shop.

• There are a couple of pepper farms that can be visited. The pepper plants is grow hanging from a long pole, with small green peppers on them. You can buy pepper products there to bring home as souvenirs.
• Some of the fish sauce factories can be visited.

🌍 Phú Quốc Prison (Coconut Tree Prison). abandoned wartime prison (updated May 2024)

Ask your hotel for an island tour, which may include visits to a fish sauce factory or the nature reserve.

• 🌍 Sunworld Hon Thom Water Park, Hon Thom Island (via the cable car listed in "See" above). A modern water theme park (opened in 2019) with massive water slides, swimming pools restaurants, and a beach offer snorkeling and scuba diving. A free buggy takes you from the cable car to the beach (turn right after you exit the cable car). (updated Feb 2020)

There are ATMs in Dương Đông town around night market area. If you want to exchange money, the nearest bank is 500 m from the Night Market.

Main articles to buy are:

• Fresh seafood
• Pearls
• Dương Đông Market, Dương Đông town (northeast of the city, past the night market). 
• Dinh Cau Night Market, Dương Đông town (west of the city, near the ferry landing). Later, try wandering around the night market where locals mingle with tourists, a place that offers a selection of goods, pearls, seafood, and a playground for children. There are many options for food at the market, with fresh seafood laid out next to each restaurant for you to check out while you're making your choice of place to sit and eat. 

• The Dog Bar, 88 Tran Hung Dao, Dương Đông town (next to Chez Carole), ☏ +84 90 381 4688. Till late. Serves good burgers and pizzas, as well as a range of Western, Vietnamese, and seafood dishes. Watch live sports, play pool, or darts, or just listen to live music. You can book dive and snorkelling trips there with Rainbow Divers and Anh Tu. They have cold beer, mixed drinks and cocktails and a friendly English-speaking staff. 
• Ganesh Indian Restaurant, 97 Tran Hung Dao, Dương Đông town. The food is OK, but not quite up to the standards you can experience in countries like the UK or Australia. 
• Other Indian restaurants on Phu Quoc include New Delhi and the excellent Sher-e-Punjab (Dec 2019).
• Gio Bien Restaurant, Ganh Dau commune (on the beach in the north of the island). Offers a great selection of fresh seafood dishes and Vietnamese dishes. The beach is beautiful and metres away from your table. The caramelised fish hotpot for lunch or dinner is a treat. 
• Night Market, Võ Thị Sáu, Dương Đông town. From 18:00 there are lots of small restaurants open on the street of the night market. It's the place to go for seafood. From 20,000 dong. 
• Ocean Bar and Grill, 60 Trân Hung Dao, Dương Đông, ☏ +84 77 399 4268. Excellent service and food. The seafood is fresh and cooked to order and the staff are highly trained and attentive. Michelle, the owner, speaks to every customer about their meal and keeps a photo and book of comments from all patrons. 
• Rory's Beach Bar, 118/10 Tran Hung Dao. As you walk past on the beach the Aussie owner, Rory, will tempt you with promises of ice cold beer ("Too cold to hold!") using his loud hailer. He delivers, with two draught beers on tap. There's plenty of room to sit and relax on the deck, around the bar or on the beach-front. Prices are mid-range with draught beer around 35,000 dong, cocktails hovering around 100,000 dong and meals averaging 120,000 dong. 
• 🌍 The Rabbit Hole Irish Sports Bar, 118/2/1 Đường Trần Hưng Đạo, Khu Phố 7 (off the main road (Tran Hung Dao) on the west coast, towards Long Beach), ☏ +84 90 605 89 90, therabbitholeirishbar@gmail.com. Daily 10:00-02:00. English-speaking staff, outdoor seating, air-conditioned indoors and free wifi. Western and Vietnamese specialties. A selection of big screens showing sports, pool table, a Professional UK darts board, regular poker games, a NES Classic with 30 classic games, Jenga, and Connect 4. Also serving Guinness, Magners’ Cider and many more Western and local beers, fine whiskeys and signature cocktails. (updated Aug 2023)

Unlike most other Southeast Asian destinations, there is a substantial risk that all (affordable) hotels are fully booked when you arrive, so it is advisable to book ahead. This certainly applies in Jan-Feb, the dry high season as the island gains popularity.

Budget accommodation can be hard to come by but the best bet is to head to the south end of Long Beach. In low season en suite bungalows can be found for USD10 and rooms for USD8. The cheapest lodgings are Nhat Lan, Viet Thanh or Lien Hiep Thanh. They are at about 40 min on foot or 10 min by motorbike taxi (10,000-20,000 dong) from Dương Đông.

• Amigos Guest house, 118/10 Tran Hung Dao (Long Beach, next to La Veranda), ☏ +84 91 770 7456. Immaculate bungalows with hot/cold water, air-con, fridge, satellite TV, queen bed in each. On the beach and it has Amigos Restaurant and bar. Free Internet and weekly promotions ongoing. There is a children’s play area. 
• Bamboo Cottages, Vung Bau Beach (Reachable by taxi or motorbike). Bamboo cottages are on the northern beach of Vung Bau. Most of the 19 concrete bungalows have sea views, The Woodhouse might be the last beach hut on Phú Quôc. Entire property is solar powered and surrounded by lush gardens and trees. Restaurant serves organic food (40,000-140,000 dong). Kayaking and snorkerling for free, motorbikes available for rent. Activities such as free Tapas or free drinks every day. USD 75-150 (high season, low season 50% off). 
• Cassia Cottage (Long Beach in the west of the island.), ☏ +84 77 384 8395, reservations@cassiacottage.com. Cassia has seaview and garden cottages. USD85-170. 
• Chez Carole. Resort with one dozen bungalows, in a pretty remote location on the coast at the mouth of the Cua Can River, about 15 km north of Dương Đông and the airport. Access partly on slow, unpaved roads. There is a swimming pool, restaurant, bar, gardens. There is no beach, but small sandy islands at the mouth of the river are a short swim or boat ride away. Kayaking and canoeing. Good for a quiet short holiday, without no crowds nearby. From USD160. 
• Eden Resort (on west side of island, down Tran Hung Dao Rd, about 3 km south of Dương Đông and the island's airport), ☏ +84 77 398 5598, reservation@edenresort.com.vn. The spacious guest rooms feature a contemporary design, with a largish bed, flat 32" TV (lots of channels, but most with quite poor picture quality), side table/desk, 2 armchairs, minibar/fridge, air conditioning and a balcony. The bathroom has a bathtub. The main building has elevators, which are nice if your room is on the 3rd floor. The resort is along a sandy beach and ocean, with a restaurant poolside and a small bar. There is free Wi-Fi, and a small gym. The site has nice smallish gardens. The beach south of the resort is undeveloped (there are a couple unfinished older buildings a short distance away, and occasionally some small fishing boats at the beach). The beach north of the resort is being developed to villas and is under construction (as of Dec 2011), and about 200 m further north there is another large hotel, with a line of bungalows close to the beach. The views from the rooms on the northern side are not particularly good. The beach at the hotel is clean and suits well to sunbathing and swimming. There aren't many trees to provide shade. Provides transport to and from the airport. USD150. 
• Lang Toi, Sao Beach, ☏ +84 77 397 2123, langtoi_restaurant@yahoo.com.vn. There are only two hostels on the most beautiful beach, Sao Beach, and this one offers air conditioning and hot showers. On a full-moon evening you can watch the moon rise from the sea as Sao Beach is on the east side of the island. From USD60. 
• 🌍 Little Garden Bungalow, 113/5 Tran Hung Dao, ☏ +84 297 384 51 26, littlegardenbungalow@gmail.com. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. Just south of Dương Đông town, the hotel has bungalows placed around the its pool garden. There are trees all around ensuring shade all day long. Close to restaurants and Dương Đông town, some 500 m to the beach. Rooms have air conditioning and wifi. 26 rooms. From USD 35. 
• Mai House, ☏ +84 77 384 7003, maihouseresort@yahoo.com. Fourteen stylish, high quality thatched villas dotted around gardens on the beach, fully equipped with sun loungers. There's no fridge in the villas and no pool, but air-con, safe, tea/coffee maker, beach towel furnished, free Wi-Fi in lobby and restaurant. The restaurant menu is good. Breakfast included. USD50 low season, USD90 high season.. 
• Mango Bay Resort, Ong Lang Beach (about 10 km north of Dương Đông town), ☏ +84 77 981 693, mangobay@hcm.vnn.vn. A peaceful resort between the sea on one side and a forest preserve on the other. The resort beaches are small, but the adjoining beach is as yet undeveloped for tourism and features a decent reef for snorkelling. This is a low-key resort, where the lawns are mowed by a herd of cows with wooden cowbells, and the spa opens directly onto the lawn running down the sea. Bungalows are set back from the sea and separated from each other. There is a vegetable and spice garden on the property, and much of the food served is grown there. There are several styles of bungalows, each with its own connected outdoor bathroom. USD90-150. 
• Paris Beach Resort, Cau Ba Phong, Cua lap, Duong To (from Dương Đông go down Long Beach (south) and look for the sign on your right; if you see Eden Resort on your right, you just missed it), ☏ +84 77 399 4548. Check-out: 11:00. Nice staff, very friendly owners, and one of the cheaper resorts. Owned and run by a French/Vietnamese couple, both professors, who enjoy running a hotel and having guests. Food is great and prices all rather reasonable. If there is no room at Paris Beach, try Beach Club Resort right next door and vice versa. USD20-40. 
• 🌍 Peppercorn Beach, To 8, Ap Chuong Vich, Ganh Dau (Near Ganh Dau village just before Gio Bien Restaurant), ☏ +84 77 3989 567, info@peppercornbeach.com. On the quiet northern shores of Phu Quoc, Peppercorn has eight spacious air conditioned luxury bungalows sitting just metres from the beach. All bungalows have terrific views of the Cambodian and the Vietnamese mainland in the distance. USD110-160. 
• Saigon Tourist Phu Quoc Resort. The oldest large hotel on the island, close to the center of Dương Đông and most of the tourist restaurants. From USD200. 
• La Veranda, ☏ +84 77 398 2988. 43 rooms and villas spread around a pool and French-style colonial building. USD25-250. 
• Viet Thanh Bungalow, Khu Pho 7, Dương Đông (south of west Long Beach, same lane as La Veranda), ☏ +84 12 298 6654, vietthanhphuquoc@yahoo.com. Mosquito nets, hot showers. Free Wi-Fi (only front bungalows). USD6-15. 
• 🌍 Salinda Resort and Spa, Cua Lap Hamlet, Duong To Commune (By airplane), ☏ +84-773990011, contact@salindaresort.com. 121 deluxe rooms, villas and a presidential suite, all with contemporary architecture. €200. 
• resort phu quoc Daisy Resort, Tran Hung Dao Street, Ward 7, Dương Đông town, +84 84773. 844 412. email: info@daisyresort.com.
• 9 Station Hostel, a very large hostel. Hostel has a great common area, pool, billiards, and foosball. Very clean and great decor. Same owners as the fancy Lahana Resort next door although all facilities are separate.

Your biggest risk on Phú Quôc is getting sick or being involved in an accident. When setting out on a motorbike trip, ensure you have a basic first aid kit and your hotel telephone number with you.