Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc's fish sauce was the first Southeast Asian food product to win an EU protected designation, and eighty-five factories here make twelve million litres of it a year.
Phu Quoc in a nutshell
Phu Quoc: what to expect
Phu Quoc is Vietnam's largest island and it does not feel like the rest of Vietnam. A teardrop of 574 km² in the Gulf of Thailand, closer to Cambodia than to the Vietnamese mainland, with jungle in the middle and beaches on every side
The beaches are the country's best, and Sao Beach is the one everyone names: white sand and turquoise water on the east coast, and our sources it is among the finest in South-East Asia
The west coast is the resort strip and the sunset coast. Long Beach (Bãi Trường) runs south from the main town and holds most of the accommodation, most of the restaurants and the reason people say Phu Quoc has the best sunsets in Vietnam
À qui Phu Quoc s'adresse
Beach travellers
the best sand in Vietnam, on an island big enough that you can choose between developed and empty
Finishing a long Vietnam trip
Our sources call it the ideal end of a route, and our own data agrees: it is the last stop more often than any other destination in this pass
Families
flat sand, calm water on the east side, a cable car, a theme park and short drives
Snorkellers
the An Thới archipelago off the southern tip is the reason boats run every day in season
Riders
quiet roads, a mostly undeveloped north, and rental everywhere
A short visa-free hop
the 30-day exemption for direct arrivals is unique in the country
Maybe not for you: anyone looking for cultural Vietnam, and anyone travelling June to September. The island is a beach destination with a fishing history rather than a heritage one, and its wet season is one of the wettest places in the country
Quand partir pour Phu Quoc
Dry and busy
November–March
the reason to come, and the reason to book. Peak prices around Christmas and Tết.
Hot turn
April
still mostly dry, and the hottest month of the year.
Southwest monsoon
May–September
300–545 mm a month, rough water on the west coast, cheapest rooms of the year.
Clearing
October
the rain drops away through the month and the season restarts.
- Christmas and New Year are a distinct high season here, unusually for Vietnam, because the island trades on a Western beach-holiday calendar
Add your Phu Quoc dates and we'll flag the weather
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Ce qu'il ne faut pas manquer à Phu Quoc
Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh via Pexels
Photo by Fré Sonneveld via Unsplash
Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh via PexelsSao Beach in the early morning
powder-white sand and turquoise water on the east coast, and worth the 45-minute ride before the day-trippers arrive
Sunset on the west coast
the whole strip faces west and our sources are unanimous that these are the best sunsets in Vietnam
The Hòn Thơm cable car
fifteen minutes and 7,899.9 m of continuous sea crossing, over fishing boats and small islands, to a nature park at the other end
Snorkelling the An Thới archipelago
a boat day around the southern islands, lunch and snorkelling included, with a chance of turtles
A fish-sauce barrel house
enormous wooden vats of fermenting anchovy, and the reason the island has an EU designation
Riding the north
Ganh Dau, the national park and the empty roads, on an island where 90% of the land is still forest or farm
Les quartiers de Phu Quoc
Long Beach (Bãi Trường) / Dương Đông
First visits
The west-coast resort strip and the island's main town behind it: the night market, the Cao Đài temple, the fish-sauce barrel houses, and most of the hotels and restaurants
Vietnam's best sunsets, the night market and the fish-sauce barrel houses.
Ong Lang and the mid-west coast
Couples
Quieter west coast north of the strip: smaller resorts, more trees, the same sunsets and far fewer people
The same west-coast sunsets with far fewer people and more trees.
Sao Beach and the south-east
Day trips
The island's best sand, on the far side from the resorts, with fewer facilities and a 45-minute ride from town
Powder-white sand and turquoise water, the best beach in Vietnam.
An Thới and the southern islands
Snorkellers
The southern port, the cable car station, and the archipelago of small islands off the tip
The cable car to Hòn Thơm and the snorkelling boats to the southern islands.
Ganh Dau and the north
Riders
Fishing villages, the national park, waterfalls and empty road; barely developed
Empty roads, waterfalls and the national park on the undeveloped end.
Hàm Ninh (east coast)
Foodies
An old fishing village on the calm side of the island, known for crab and for the pier
Flower crab off the day boats, eaten by the pier where it lands.
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Où loger à Phu Quoc
Long Beach is the default and the busiest, with the widest range and everything within reach of the town
Long Beach (Bãi Trường) / Dương Đông
The west-coast resort strip and the island's main town behind it: the night market, the Cao Đài temple, the fish-sauce barrel houses, and most of the hotels and restaurants
Ong Lang and the mid-west coast
Quieter west coast north of the strip: smaller resorts, more trees, the same sunsets and far fewer people
Sao Beach and the south-east
The island's best sand, on the far side from the resorts, with fewer facilities and a 45-minute ride from town
An Thới and the southern islands
The southern port, the cable car station, and the archipelago of small islands off the tip
Ganh Dau and the north
Fishing villages, the national park, waterfalls and empty road; barely developed
Hàm Ninh (east coast)
An old fishing village on the calm side of the island, known for crab and for the pier
Que manger à Phu Quoc
The island's PDO-protected fish sauce, fermented in wooden barrels from local anchovy
Small flower crab from the calm east coast, steamed and eaten with salt, pepper and lime
Squid, snapper, barracuda and prawns off the day boats, grilled on the sand
A Phu Quoc-only noodle soup with fish and squid paste, and a sauce you mix yourself at the table
Rice noodles under fish simmered in coconut milk, with raw herbs and green papaya
The island's second crop, sold green, red and black from the farms that grow it
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Culture et savoir-vivre
A fishing island underneath
and the two run on different rules a few kilometres apart. Beachwear is normal on Long Beach and out of place at Hàm Ninh pier
The Cao Đài temple is in use
of a religion specific to southern Vietnam; the usual temple courtesies apply
The fish-sauce houses work
not exhibits, and visits happen on the producers' terms
Bargain at the market only
not in resorts or restaurants
Development is a live subject
locally, and visibly. Construction ahead of APEC 2027 is visible and the picture of an undeveloped island is already out of date
À faire
- Rent a scooter, the roads here are quiet enough that this is the one Vietnamese island where a nervous rider can enjoy it
- Go to Sao Beach early and to the west coast for sunset; the geography makes both easy in one day
- Buy fish sauce at a barrel house rather than at the airport
À éviter
- Don't plan a June-to-September beach week without accepting the rain
- Don't leave the ferry to chance in high season, it sells out
- Don't expect this to feel like the rest of your Vietnam trip; it does not, which is largely the point
Budget quotidien à Phu Quoc
Budget
{budget-low|checked:2026-09-02|next:2027-03-02} roughly €22–34
A guesthouse or homestay, a scooter, market food, a shared boat
Mid-range
{budget-mid|checked:2026-09-02|next:2027-03-02} roughly €60–105
A beachfront resort room with a pool, restaurant meals, the cable car and a boat day
High-end
{budget-high|checked:2026-09-02|next:2027-03-02} €170+
An international-brand beach resort, private transfers, a villa
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Anecdotes sur Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc fish sauce was the first South-East Asian food product to get an EU Protected Designation of Origin, in 2012
The island produces more than 12 million litres of fish sauce a year across roughly 85 factories
At 574 km² it is about the same size as Singapore
The Hòn Thơm cable car is the longest continuous sea-crossing cable car in the world at 7,899.9 m, opened in 2018
Phu Quoc will host the APEC summit in 2027, which is driving the current construction
Conseils locaux pour Phu Quoc
Almost everyone flies in
and the island's airport takes direct international routes as well as the domestic ones
Ha Tien is the overland way
and is what makes a Cambodia-to-Vietnam beach crossing practical
A scooter is the standard tool
and the roads are quiet enough for inexperienced riders, which is not true of much of Vietnam
The monsoon is a sea hazard
southwest, May to October. May to October brings rough water on the west coast and cancelled boat days
Jellyfish sting in the shallows
by at least one source travelling with children
Questions fréquentes sur Phu Quoc
November to April. The wet season here is one of the wettest in Vietnam, about 3,030 mm a year with most of it between May and October.
Three to five. Our own travellers typically plan three, the longest of any Vietnamese destination.
A 30-day exemption applies for direct arrivals to the island, for any nationality. Anything involving the mainland falls back to the country rules.
Fly, usually from Ho Chi Minh City in about an hour, or take the ferry from Ha Tien in the Mekong Delta.
Sao for the sand, Long Beach for the sunsets and the infrastructure, Ong Lang for quiet. They are on different coasts and a scooter handles all three.
It is the way most people use it, in our sources and in our own data.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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