Phu Quoc Travel Guide For First-Timer

Phu Quoc Island is located in the Gulf of Thailand, about 400 km west of Ho Chi Minh City. This place attracts tourists both domestically and abroad due to its diverse tourism forms, with rich marine resources, abundant islands; and a diverse marine and forest ecosystem. The Phu Quoc sea area has 22 large and small islands, with a total area of about 589.23 km2. Which, the largest island is divided into the north and south islands. Duong Dong town is located in the center.

 

The ideal time to visit Phu Quoc Island is from November to April. This is the dry season in Southern Vietnam, with little rain, calm seas, gentle waves, and warm sunshine suitable for outdoor activities. This season is suitable for holiday tours, but not for guests who go hiking or trekking.

 

 

May to October is the rainy season, sometimes with typhoons, but Phu Quoc Island is still crowded because it falls during the summer vacation. If you go to Phu Quoc Island during this season, you should go around the end of April, when it is less crowded and the weather is still beautiful, and prices are not too high like in peak season. October is also a transition season, so it rains less.

 

Phu Quoc island has a small airport that mainly operates domestic flights from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. It also has international flights from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Phnom Penh. Phu Quoc's airport is about 15 minutes away from the center of the island. Some high-end hotels and resorts often have free shuttle bus services from the airport. 

 

In addition to direct flights, visitors have more interesting options when traveling from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc such as motorbikes, cars, coaches, speedboats, or ferries.

 

First-time visitors to Phu Quoc should take a speedboat to avoid seasickness. There are two routes to Phu Quoc, the journey from Rach Gia is about 120 km and takes 2 hours and 30 minutes, and the journey from Ha Tien is about 50 km and takes 1 hour and 30 minutes. You should depart from Ha Tien to shorten the travel time on the sea, and the ticket price is also lower. Please call the station in advance to buy tickets, and make sure the schedule is on schedule.

 

If you take a bus, you can depart from the center of Ho Chi Minh City. There are many high-quality trips to Ha Tien, and the fare is about 150,000 VND to 230,000 VND per person, depending on the bus operator. Some high-quality bus companies you can refer to are Phuong Trang, Mai Linh, and Kumho.

 

The most popular means of transportation on Phu Quoc island are taxis and motorbikes. Usually, taxi companies and car rental services offer packages to explore the south and north of the island in half a day or a day for between 500,000 - 700,000 VND. The driver will take you to the most popular attractions.

 

In addition, you can rent a motorbike for 100,000 - 150,000 VND a day, excluding gas. Guests need to reset their ID or citizenship when renting. Before moving, you should carefully check the brakes, turn signals, and lights.

 

There are buses operating on most routes and attractions from the airport, to Duong Dong town, An Thoi port with fares from 10,000 to 40,000 VND. However, the tourist spots are far from the main road, so going by bus will be inconvenient.

 

The tourist attractions in Phu Quoc are divided into 4 main areas: the central area in Duong Dong town, the south island, the north island, and the east island. Depending on the schedule, you should spend at least two days if you want to explore all the fun spots on the island.

 

Phu Quoc National Park covers an area of more than 31,400 hectares, home to hundreds of species of animals, plants, and diverse ecosystems of mountains, forests, seas, waterfalls, and streams. Here, you will discover the lush vegetation and admire pure streams such as the Tranh stream, Da Ban stream, and Da Ngon stream. If you join the 4-hour tour, you will conquer the top of Nui Chua, with an altitude of 565 m, and admire the vast and colorful landscape of the park.

 

 

Located about 15 km from Duong Dong town, Rach Vem fishing village, or "starfish kingdom" is one of the favorite photo spots of tourists. In addition to the clear blue sea, this place is also scored by many starfish. December to April is the time when the sea is calm, and the water is clear, so it is easiest to see starfish. 

 

Raft houses and wooden bridges facing the sea are also one of the highlights of Rach Vem. Here, visitors can also enjoy a variety of fresh seafood, which is cheaper than the central area. However, because most of the raft houses are processed by local people, they do not have elaborate decorations.

 

One of the most famous attractions in the north of the island is Vinpearl Safari, which takes care of more than 3,000 birds, mammals, and reptiles of 175 species. Safari is divided into 2 open zoo areas, for visitors to visit the petting area and the semi-wild area, taking visitors by specialized vehicles. Here, visitors with their families and friends learn about animals in their natural habitat. Nearby is the VinWonders entertainment complex with many fun or adventurous games, the aquarium is suitable for both children and adults.

 

 

 

Ganh Dau Cape is a land protruding into the sea, located northwest of the island. Due to the long road and not many tourists visiting, Ganh Dau cape has a wild beauty with rocky rapids of many shapes and clear blue beaches. During the journey to discover the North Island, visitors can visit pepper gardens, and buy specialties from Phu Quoc as gifts. Suggested pepper gardens are in Khu Tuong, where most pepper is grown, on the way to Bai Thom commune. In addition, on the way to Ganh Dau, there are many pepper gardens for you to visit and take pictures of.

 

Bai Sao is one of the most beautiful beaches in Phu Quoc, located in An Thoi town, about 28 km from Duong Dong town. It has clear blue water, outstanding on the fine white sand strip more than 7 km long. Coming here, visitors can relax on the sandy beaches, listen to the sound of the waves at dawn or swim in the sea, and save beautiful photos. In addition, this place has calm water and calm waves, so there are many water sports activities, especially kayaking. 

 

Bai Truong is about 20 km long and is one of the most beautiful sunset spots on pearl island. Here, visitors can visit the Sunset Sanato Beach club. This place is decorated with many scenes from bamboo wood such as the bridge leading to the sea, the herd of water elephants, the shell house, and the swing... for visitors to save beautiful images in the orange-yellow afternoon light.

 

Dinh Ba and Dinh Cau are the two most sacred destinations in Phu Quoc, located in Duong Dong town. Associated with many legends about Uncle Quy, Uncle Tai, Lord of Jade Queen, and Thuy Long Thanh Mau, this is the place where fishermen come to pray for peace, for good weather, and for a good fishing season. On January 15 every year, big festivals are held here.

 

Dinh Cau cape is the most beautiful place to watch the sunset with cliffs shaped like mountains reaching out to the sea. The sunset on Dinh Cau Cape is most beautiful from May to September. At this time, both the sky and the sea surface blend into a soft blue color that looks very impressive.

 

Phu Quoc Prison is located in Cay Dua hamlet, An Thoi commune. The relic is a tourist attraction that attracts tourists. Some scenes have been restored to recreate history; They Open from 7 am to 5 pm daily and free tickets.

 

Phu Quoc Night Market is located on Bach Dang Street. This place operates from 5 pm to 11 pm on weekends, including many stalls selling fresh seafood, and local specialties such as fish sauce, sim candy, pepper, and handicrafts. In addition to sightseeing and shopping, do not forget to enjoy the fresh seafood dishes sold and processed at the market. Some other suggested dishes are ice cream rolls, egg tarts, and jaggery beefcakes…

 

In addition to the places mentioned above, the south of the island also has a number of attractions such as a fish sauce factory, a pearl farm, and a sim wine factory.

 

Hon Thom is the most exploited island for tourism, with beautiful beaches, coral diving, fishing, squid fishing, kayaking, and jet skiing. In particular, there is a water park with 20 thrilling games Aquatopia Water Park for visitors to have fun with their families.

 

If you love scuba diving, you can go to the ECO Beach area on the island. There is a package of 950,000 VND per person, experience for 20 minutes with a closed hat. If you choose an air tank like a diver, the service price is VND 650,000 per person. In addition, visitors can choose to add filming or underwater photography services.

 

 

To get to the island, visitors depart to the cable car station. The station, designed and built in the ancient Roman style, is a favorite photo spot of many young tourists. After that, you will be able to ride on the world's longest three-wire cable car, a total length of 7,899 m. From the cabin, visitors can see the clear blue sea and peaceful islands with boats going up and down.

 

In addition to booking tickets in advance, visitors can buy tickets outside the entrance to the cable car station. The price of the cable car package, water park, and lunch buffet is 600,000 VND for adults and children over 140cm tall. Guests from 100cm to 140cm tall buy tickets for 400,000 VND.

 

In addition, visitors can book an island tour to visit Hon Thom and the rest of the islands. In which the tour of 4 islands: Hon May Rut Trong, May Rut Ngoai, Gam Ghi, and Hon Mong Tay in the An Thoi archipelago is a popular choice.

 

Guests will be picked up at the hotel in Duong Dong town to An Thoi port and visited by canoe and snorkeling at Gam Ghi island. Services include filming packages and underwater shooting. However, the 4-island tour often moves a lot. Travelers with seasickness or poor health can choose a 2 or 3-island tour with fewer activities.

 

If you want to be more adventurous, you can explore Hon Dam, which is known as the Robinson island of Phu Quoc. Hon Dam has no internet, electricity runs from solar energy, and the whole island has only a few bungalows made of bamboo and wood, the back facing the sea.

 

If you are a fan of seafood, you should go to Phu Quoc around May to November. This is the beach season for locals, so there will be a lot of fresh seafood, and the price will also be lower.

 

Herring salad: The first dish on the culinary list you must try in Phu Quoc is herring salad. This dish is sold throughout restaurants and eateries from high-end to popular. Herring is preliminarily processed, rolled with vegetables and rice paper, dipped with fish sauce, absolutely no fishy smell.

 

 

Ham Ninh crabs: The crabs here are not big but are rated by diners as delicious, sweet and fresh. Depending on the time, the price of crabs will range from 200,000 VND to 500,000 VND per kilogram. You should choose 6 to 7 crabs per kilogram, if you like to eat egg crabs, you can choose females, if you eat meat, choose male crabs. The best way to prepare it is boiled crabs with salt, pepper, and lemon.

 

Horn scallop: Connoisseurs often love grilled chili with salt and pepper. The salty taste of salt, the spiciness of chili, and the sweetness of the horn scallop mix create a very special flavor. Compared with stir-fried and boiled dishes, grilled horn scallop still retains their crispy and chewy texture, so it is the most loved ones by locals.

 

Sea cucumber: is one of the famous specialties in Phu Quoc. This dish is popular with diners because of its high nutritional value and is considered a high-class food. Fresh sea cucumber is often processed into stir-fried dishes with bitter melon, and sweet peppers or stewed with goat meat, and pork. Many people also use sea cucumber to cook porridge, improving health. Because it is a high-class food, the price of sea cucumber is also quite expensive.

 

Bun Ken: Not all places have bun ken, not only the name but also the taste of this type of vermicelli is also very strange. Bun ken usually uses rice vermicelli, small fibers served with herbs, laksa leaves, cucumber, and grated papaya... 

 

Melaleuca mushroom: This mushroom usually grows after the first rains of the season in the Melaleuca forests in Phu Quoc. Mushroom season lasts just over a month, so visitors are not always able to enjoy this dish. The delicious dishes you should try are boiled chicken with mushroom soup or fish balls cooked with mushrooms.

 

Sea urchin: In the Central region, fishermen often take meat and eggs with spices and then stir-fry them before putting it in the porridge pot. In Phu Quoc, the sea urchin that has just been caught will be cut, split in half, washed, and placed on a charcoal grill, adding onion fat to be eaten. In addition, visitors can also enjoy some other dishes such as lemon urchin, grilled urchin, and porridge.

 

 

Abalone: Phu Quoc abalone is famous for its nutritional value and is considered a remedy in traditional medicine. Fresh abalone can be processed in many rustic dishes such as boiled, grilled, fried, and cooked porridge ...

 

In addition, Phu Quoc also has many attractive specialties such as myrtle honey, sim wine, pepper, fish sauce, king crab, a grilled snail with salt and pepper, grilled scallops with onion fat, grilled squid... can be easily found in the budget to high-end restaurants.

 

Unlike Nha Trang with beaches that are easy to access from the main road, to Phu Quoc visitors often have to go far to get to the beach. So if you want to be quiet and relaxing, you should stay at a resort, villa, or bungalow near the beach.

 

You can choose a beautiful resort by location. In the North of the island, there are Vinpearl Phu Quoc Resort, Nam Nghi Coral Peninsula Phu Quoc, and Fusion Resort Phu Quoc. In the middle of the North Island and the center is Movenpick Resort at Waverly Phu Quoc and Mango Bay Resort on Ong Lang beach. 

 

 

On the east side of the island, there is Rocks Beach Boutique Phu Quoc, in Ham Ninh commune, which just opened in early 2022, and is likened to "miniature Maldives".

 

In the middle of Duong Dong town, there are Lahana Resort Phu Quoc, L'Azure Resort & Spa Phu Quoc, Anja Beach Resort, Pullman Phu Quoc or InterContinental Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort. 

 

JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay located on Khem beach or Premier Village Phu Quoc is the outstanding accommodation in the South of the island.

 

- Accommodation in the peak season is often sold out, you should book in advance.

- Some places in Phu Quoc do not allow visitors to visit, you need to absolutely comply, do not go into prohibited areas.

- Ferries and speedboats in and out of the island usually run at fixed hours. You should ask carefully about the operation time so as not to miss the train or car.

- If you are seasick, you should prepare some medicine because you have to move a lot at sea.

- If you ride a motorbike through the forest, you should find a map of Phu Quoc in case you get lost.

 

This is the end of our blog, hope this article can help you better prepare for your visit to Phu Quoc. Coming to Phu Quoc, you will surely always find yourself in exciting entertainment activities or spending relaxing moments on this beautiful island. 

 

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