Phu Quoc is a gorgeous archipelago in the Gulf of Thailand, Kien Giang province. This Pearl Island is well-known for its stunning beaches and clear water, a paradise for beach lovers.
The fishing villages of Ham Ninh, Ganh Dau, and the An Thoi archipelago are also not-to-miss places here.
Fishing Village on Phu Quoc Island
In general, you can rest assured to travel to Phu Quoc at any time of the year thanks to the pleasant weather with the annual average temperature of 28 degrees Celsius.
Be noted that:
Phu Quoc is recognized as the "Kingdom of pepper" in Vietnam. It has contributed to the ranking "leading global exporter of black peppercorns" of the country.
Phu Quoc pepper is famous for its pungent aroma and rich in flavor compared to those grown in other parts of the country.
Let's rent a motorbike or car to come to Khu Tuong Pepper Garden, the largest area of growing pepper in Phu Quoc. Coming to the garden, you will get lost in the endless green of the pepper tree.
You can join your hands with the farmers to grow, fertilize, water, and harvest the peppercorns. Dried pepper makes a unique gift to your loved ones.
Visit the largest pepper garden in the Mekong Delta
Location: About 15 km north of Duong Dong town.
Ganh Dau is a cape jutting out of the Northwest Sea of the island where forests, mountains, and seas remain intact.
The peace here is great for those who want to escape from the bustling city life. There is a particular charm and lots of things that are worth exploring here.
To reach Ganh Dau from Duong Dong town, you take a motorcycle to run back up the Northern Island.
Getting out of the town, you will be on the red soil roads lined with pepper gardens and tranquil villages. You will also pass by a primeval forest belonging to Phu Quoc National Park.
Ganh Dau has a bow-shaped beach stretching for 500 meters. The beach is lined with many coconut trees and shielded by Mount Bai Dai and Ham Rong. The sand is fine; the water is clear; the sea waves are warm and pleasant; all make a wonderful beach for swimming.
Ganh Dau offers plenty of corals surrounded by the shallow reef that is full of marine creatures, an ideal spot for snorkeling.
From the cape, you can see the borderland between Vietnam and Cambodia. Ganh Dau is also a heaven of seafood. It is easy to buy some seafood like shrimp, fish, or squid from the fishermen and pay a little more to have them cook for you.
Location: Ganh Dau commune, about 30 km north of Duong Dong town.
A 5-minute walk from Duong Dong market, you see Dinh Cau Cape, a symbol of culture and religion in Phu Quoc.
Dinh Cau is a beautiful spot that visitors cannot miss once visiting Phu Quoc. Dinh Cau Cape stands a temple built to honor Thien Hau, the Goddess of the sea. It also works as a lighthouse.
There is a short stone stairway of 29 steps taking you to the temple where you can enjoy the sea breeze and admire the amazing sunset.
Dinh Cau Night Market is a busy market with more than 100 stalls stretching over 200m on Vo Thi Sau Street. The market is next to the beach and about 100m from Dinh Cau Cape.
Opening from 17:00 to 22:00, Dinh Cau Night Market sells various types of souvenirs, handicrafts, cosmetics, jewelry, and pearls.
The most attractive is still the culinary area serving seafood dishes. You can try crab, oyster, clam, squid, seafood porridge, seafood rice, and fish cake soup.
Explore Dinh Cau night market
Hon Thom (Pineapple Island) is the largest island in the An Thoi archipelago located south of Phu Quoc. It is also well-known for being the world's longest overseas cable car, an amusement park, and 4 beautiful beaches.
Hon Thom is home to an underwater discovery zone where you can dive or go underwater walking to watch the corals. The island bills itself as an eco-tourism destination with picturesque aquaculture areas, pearl farms, some resorts, and places to stay.
Location: 30 minutes by boat from Phu Quoc pier.
Phu Quoc's forests are home to many waterfalls and streams which gives this land the name "Emerald Island". To discover this beauty, head up to the 4 main streams that have waterfalls: Tranh, Da Ban, Da Ngon, and Da Dau stream.
Suoi Tranh (Tranh stream): Made up of small streams, weaving through canyon forests, full of water from June to September. This is a beautiful natural landscape that makes for a perfect picnic spot.
Suoi Da Ban (Da Ban stream): Consists of many large and flat rocks like tables lying in series. A nice wooden suspension bridge along with the harmonious nature makes Da Ban one of the attractions that should not be missed when visiting Phu Quoc National Park.
Suoi Da Ngon and Suoi Da Dau (Da Ngon and Da Dau stream): These 2 streams are majestic and mesmerizing places with numerous waterfalls. Located east of Duong Dong Lake and though the lake has been spared as a restricted military zone, you can still hike around to visit the streams.
Explore Suoi Da Ngon
Phu Quoc Island is home to many beautiful beaches with fine sand and clear emerald water. Standing out of them is Bai Dai (Long Beach), the most beautiful beach on the island.
Bai Dai is also voted by BBC as one of the 10 most pristine and beautiful beaches in the world. The beach has a coastline of 1500m long, lined with rows of tall palms.
The weather here is always pleasant with sunshine and sea wind making for an ideal destination.
Location: Northwest of the island. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour by motorbike from Duong Dong Center.
Nguyen Trung Truc Temple is the largest temple in Kien Giang Province dedicated to Nguyen Trung Truc, a hero in the 1800s French war. The temple was built in 1993 and was recognized as a culturally significant site in 2011.
This temple is a showcase of artifacts and relics related to the hero and local culture. Every year, on August 28 of the lunar calendar, the people of Phu Quoc come here to commemorate his death anniversary. The scene of the burning and sinking of the L'Esperance ship will be reenacted by the locals.
Location: 25km from Duong Dong town.
Head to Tran Hung Dao Street in Duong Dong Town, and you find the Coi Nguon Museum standing on a small hill. The museum gives an overview of Phu Quoc through thousands of antiques and artifacts.
All of them have been collected by Huynh Phuoc Hue for over 15 years. More than 3,000 items including 300 sets of bibliographies will tell you stories about Phu Quoc island. The museum also displays handicrafts from driftwood and sea snails and sells souvenirs and pearls.
Get outside and hike up the hill, you see a sea eagle sanctuary protecting numerous beautiful white and blackbirds. Along the path to the sanctuary are many romantic traditional houses on stilts where you can rest for a bit.
Bai Sao Beach: Bai Sao is one of the most beautiful beaches in Phu Quoc. Its smooth white sand stretches more than 7 kilometers in gentle curves. Bai Sao also possesses clear waters, gentle waves, a nice background of palm trees and jungle, and some bars to enjoy cocktails. A relaxed tropical lifestyle and location for easy access to the An Thoi archipelago make for an ideal place for a day trip.
Bai Sao Beach
Location: about 30km from Duong Dong town.
Bai Khem Beach: Bai Khem attracts visitors with wild beauty, white sand, warm water, and a pleasant breeze. You can relax on the beach or admire the underwater "Aquarium" with colorful coral reefs.
Do not miss to enjoy some seafood. Here specializes in selling grilled fish dishes and herring salad at quite cheap prices. You can visit Cuc Man restaurant to taste the Bien Mai ginseng dish and relax in the hammock. At Bai Khem, you should also visit the pearl farming area, which is very interesting.
Location: 25 km from Duong Dong town, 5 km from An Thoi port.
Bai Truong Beach: Bai Truong continues to be a place not to be missed in your Phu Quoc trip. Bai Truong shows its best from October to April with a calm sea surface and rippling waves. This beach is considered to be the most beautiful sunset viewing spot on the island.
When the sun is setting down, the sky changes color and is reflected on the sea surface, creating a very beautiful effect.
Address: Hamlet of Bao Street, Duong To, Phu Quoc
Sunset Sanato Beach Club Phu Quoc is a multi-service entertainment complex on a private beach 400m long. Designed by the talented architect Nikita Marshunok, Sunset Sanato is a perfect combination of traditional Vietnamese style and modern Western beauty. The complex is a perfect choice for your vacation with many exciting and monumental activities in different play areas.
Sunset Beach Phu Quoc
Sunset Sanato Beach Club is one of the places offering the best sunset view on the island. More than that, this club offers a series of super virtual scenes for you to have unique pictures.
Note: You are required to pay a ticket fee to Sunset Sanato Beach Club.
Location: Bai Truong Beach, Phu Quoc.
Being one of the oldest villages in Phu Quoc, Ham Ninh is an ideal place to experience fishermen's daily life and authentic dishes. The life of Ham Ninh fishing village is almost intact with its temporary bamboo-walled cottage.
Their main sources of income are diving for pearls, catching sea cucumber, and fishing. In recent years when tourism has started to grow, they earn from selling handmade souvenirs and seafood.
In the early morning, you will see cargo boats carrying a wide range of daily living items from the mainland stop by at the pier. When the sun goes down, colorful fishing boats standing on the coastline seem to sparkle under the yellow sunshine. It is an amazing time to enjoy the beauty of this place.
One of the specialties here is a crab that has just been caught and boiled; the color is bright red; the meat is firm. It is best eaten with salt mixed with lime juice and pepper.
Location: On the east coast of the island, 20 km northeast of Duong Dong town.
Vietnamese uses fish sauce for almost all dishes in their daily meals. Fish sauce is important to Vietnamese like olive oil to Italian. Fish sauce can be found in many parts of the country but its version made in Phu Quoc seems to be the best one. Phu Quoc fish sauce is well-known not only in Vietnam but also in many countries around the world.
Much of what makes Phu Quoc fish sauce special is that it is made from the region's anchovy. These small fish feed on the smaller plankton that Phu Quoc shores are teeming with. This special variety of fish makes for a perfect location for producing fish sauce.
Phu Quoc fish sauce is made with a traditional making process passed down through generations for over 200 years. If you find yourself on this island, visit a factory to learn about the traditional process of creating that rich flavor of fish sauce. It is a treat to try the original Phu Quoc fish sauce right from the maker and buy some as souvenirs.
Suggested address: Phung Hung Fish Sauce Factory - An Thoi Street, opposite Phu Quoc Prison.
The An Thoi archipelago consists of 15 islands, large and small, located along the southwest direction. The sea here is very clear and deep, some places are nearly 30 meters deep. Tourists will find this place suitable for tourist activities such as sightseeing, fishing, swimming, and scuba diving. Below are the 3 most famous islands in the An Thoi archipelago that you should spend time on:
Mong Tay (Fingernail) Island
Mong Tay is an isolated island without residents and affection from the mainland. Mong Tay Island is the ideal place to do outdoor activities such as camping, swimming, or exploring the wild nature.
Mong Tay (Fingernail) Island
Another interesting activity that you can not ignore when coming here is diving to see the rich coral ecosystem. The underwater world here is home to 17 types of soft stiff and many types of colorful anemones. The coral reefs of all shapes, sizes, and colors will leave a great impression on your heart.
Gam Ghi Island
At the farthest point to the south of the An Thoi archipelago, you find Gam Ghi Island. This island attracts visitors with a natural beach, rocky lands with unique shapes, and white fine sand.
Below the surface is an ocean world, reefs thick, and wide corals stretching far from the shore. The density of corals here is quite thick, to the point where you just need to face down in the water to see them.
May Rut Island
May Rut is located in the South of Phu Quoc Island, about 3 nautical miles from the center of An Thoi town. The beach in May Rut comes with long stretches of pure white sand, and clear blue water reflecting the poetic curving coconut trees.
May Rut has a diverse ecosystem with more than 100 species of hard and soft corals, 125 species of fish, 150 species of mollusks, and many precious marine species.
Snorkeling tour is offered to tourists by hotels and resorts in Phu Quoc from 350,000 to 500,000 VND/person.
This tour will take you to an island or coast with plenty of fish. The fishing booty will be prepared on board. After some time try fishing, your group can organize camping on the beach and explore the surrounding lands.
Go fishing to explore deserted islands
When night falls, it's time to enjoy funny moments with night squid fishing. No matter how many squid or fish you catch, it will be a great time with your beloved friends and family.
Phu Quoc is not only a relaxing destination with beaches, resorts, and clubs but also an island of meaningful historic sites. One of them is the Cay Dua (coconut tree) prison, a symbol of the indomitable mind of Vietnamese soldiers. It will be a miss to visit Phu Quoc without this special national relic.
Cay Dua prison, also known as Phu Quoc Prison, is located in An Thoi Town. The prison closed in 1975 when Vietnam gained independence from America. It was recognized as a National Historic site in 1993 and opened to the public in 1996.
Coming to Phu Quoc prison, you have a chance to witness the war crime. The prison reminds the barbaric torture that Vietnamese prisoners had to suffer 50 years ago. You will see tiger cages, electric shocks, hammers, and many other items used to torture prisoners.
Location: Cay Dua hamlet, An Thoi.
Vinpearl Land is a family-friendly entertainment center on Phu Quoc Island. Here you will have the opportunity to experience many interesting and unique entertainment activities.
Vinpearl Safari
Vinpearl Safari is the largest open zoo model in Vietnam with an area of ~500 hectares. It gathers about 130 species with more than 2,200 rare animals. Here visitors can explore the park on a specialized vehicle, enjoy fascinating animal performances, play, and take photos with animals.
Vinpearl Safari
Vinwonders
Cover an area of 170,000 sqm, Vinwonders offers remarkable shows of lights, music, and water. Its indoor games center has 120 arcades such as motor racing, horse racing, and shooting. The water park is the best seller area with an artificial beach, fun rides, a family section, and a kids' zone. A variety of dining options including Western, Vietnamese dishes, and fast food stalls set throughout the park.
From 16:30 to 20:30 is time for daily street performances, mermaid shows, water musical shows, and dances.
Above all, with picturesque natural sceneries, exciting water activities, great food, and historical monuments, Phu Quoc will surely leave a strong impression on you once you set foot on it.
Then, do not hesitate to put this majestic island on your bucket list when visiting Vietnam.