Phu
Quoc is considered the top beach destination in Vietnam and it is no wonder why. Wrapped in white sandy beaches, you can
easily find a spot to take in the sun and views. The popular spots, like Long Beach lined with
beach bars and Sao Beach with its resorts, see most of the islands tourists,
but one can easily get away from it all by exploring outside of these two
areas.
What to Do
Beach Days
Phu Quoc
is known for its beaches and it has some of the best ones in the country. You really can’t go wrong with whatever beach
you choose from. One of the most popular
beaches to visit is Sao Beach, located about 45 minutes southeast of Duong Dong
town. Whether you want to take in some
rays, splash away in the water, or just waste the day away lounging on the
beach, you will find yourself at home on any of Phu Quoc’s watery edges.
Phu Quoc at Sun Set
Sticking
with the beach theme, you absolutely shouldn’t miss the sunset from the
beach. Anywhere along the western coast
of Phu Quoc will give you a great view of the sunset. Rory’s Beach Bar, on Long Beach (just south
of Duong Dong town) is a popular spot for this.
It also happens to be one of the most popular beach bars in Phu
Quoc. So, grab a cold one and a seat and
take in the view!
Night Market
The
night market in Phu Quoc is the place to be when the sun has set. I suggest having dinner here by trying a few
of the Vietnamese dishes at the food carts.
You can pick any of the dishes or seafood and they will cook it there on
the spot. I also suggest trying some of
the chop-chop ice cream as a dessert.
Explore Phu Quoc by Motorcycle
Phu
Qouc is a beautiful place and there is no better way to see it all than by
motorcycle. You can rent one from either
your hotel or one of the many rental places around town. Some great places to visit are the Pepper Plantations, Phu Quoc National Park, Fish Sauce Factory,
and Phu Quoc Prison.
How to Get There
Getting
to Phu Quoc is easy and you have two low cost options available to you. To get there you can either take the sleeper
bus/ferry combo or fly, depending on where in the country you are located.
The cheapest
option is of course the bus/ferry option.
Whether you are in Ho Chi Minh City or anywhere else in southern Vietnam,
you will need to take a bus to Ha Tien.
I recommend Futa Bus for this part of the trip. They are not only the cheapest ($10), but
they also have nice buses and offer two departure times (from HCMC). I suggest using 12Go
if you would like to buy your bus tickets online beforehand. If you take the
day bus (8:15am – 4:15pm) you will need to get a hotel in town for the night. The
night bus (10:30pm – 6:30am), on the other hand, will put you in Ha Tien in
time to catch the ferry. The ferries
leave at 6am, 7:15am, 10am, and 2pm, costs 250,000 VND/11.36 USD one way and
takes 2 hours. They return at 8am, 12pm,
and 4pm. Once in Phu Quoc you will need
to take a taxi to your hotel.
If you are traveling there from
Ho Chi Minh City and crunched for time, then flying may be the option for
you. The flight only takes an hour and if
you buy tickets ahead of time you can get them for as low as $80
roundtrip. You will also need to pay for
a taxi to the airport in HCMC and to your hotel in Phu Quoc. I recommend using the Skyscanner search box
below to find the cheapest possible tickets.
Where to Stay
Phu
Quoc has an array of accommodations from low cost hostels to expensive resorts
spread across the western side of the island, though most of them are located
along the stretch of beach south of Duong Dong town. We stayed at Hoa
Nhat Lan Bungalows, a great place made up of nice bungalows around a
pool. It was located about 3 km south of
town, but there were restaurants and bars located along the whole walk between
the two locations so you would not have to go into town to eat if you didn’t
want to. It is also only a 6-minute walk
from the beach!
woww.. what a beautiful beach. Hope someday I'll be there
ReplyDeleteYes, you should try to visit it sometime. It is a beautiful place. Let me know what you think of it when you do.
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