Backpacking Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc is where the Vietnam trip ends for most people, and there is a logic to that: it is a tropical island in the Gulf of Thailand, forty-five minutes by plane from Saigon, and it is the one stop on this route where the plan is to do nothing.
It is big, which surprises people. Fifty kilometres long, more than half of it national park, with a west coast of resorts and beach bars and a north end of red dirt roads, pepper farms and beaches with nobody on them. Off the southern tip is a scatter of small islands with the best snorkelling in Vietnam, and a cable car to them that is almost eight kilometres long, over open sea.
Three days: one on Long Beach, one in the south on a boat, one riding the north.
Why Phu Quoc is popular with backpackers
- Genuinely tropical beaches, the kind people fly to Thailand for
- The best snorkelling in Vietnam, off the An Thoi islands
- An empty north you ride to on a scooter for €6 a day
- Sunsets over water, which the rest of the Vietnam coast does not get
- A night market where you point at your fish
- The obvious finish to a north-to-south trip, and cheap to fly to
Best time to visit Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc sits in the Gulf of Thailand and follows the monsoon, so the gap between the dry and the wet season is wider here than on the mainland.
In the rainy season a lot of the snorkelling trips to the An Thoi islands simply stop running. If you want to be on the water, come between December and April.
Backpacker budget: around €22 a day
- €7hostel bed
- €2.50local meal
- €0.80beer
- €6scooter per day
Guide prices from our own days in Phu Quoc. Add a tour or a night out and it climbs fast.
Best hostels on Phu Quoc
Stay in or just south of Duong Dong, the main town on the west coast. That puts you near Long Beach, the night market and the scooter hire, and within reach of both ends of the island.
9Station Hostel & Bar Phu Quoc
The backpacker institution on the island: big pool, loud bar, and a crowd that has already booked tomorrow’s boat. Central, cheap, and the easiest place to find people.
Phu House
Hostel prices with hotel facilities: pool, restaurant, gym and modern rooms. The pick if you want the island version of a soft landing at the end of a long trip.
Lana Land Homestay Phu Quoc
A perfect ten, and a small green place away from the noise. Quiet, personal and a little way out, which is exactly why people who go there stay longer than they meant to.
Best things to do on Phu Quoc
Snorkelling off the An Thoi islands
The best water in Vietnam, and the reason to come here rather than any of the mainland beaches. A small speedboat, a maximum of ten people, and two or three reefs off the little islands at the southern tip: hard coral, clear blue and actual fish, rather than the muddy green you get up the coast.
The jungle in the middle of the island
More than half of Phu Quoc is protected national park and hardly anybody walks into it. Six hours through the forest to viewpoints over the whole island, with a guide who knows which plants are which. The other Phu Quoc, and there is almost nobody on it.
The cable car and the three islands
The cable car out to Hon Thom is nearly eight kilometres long, which makes it the longest over-sea cable car in the world, and the view straight down at the fishing boats is worth the ticket on its own. Combined here with a boat around three of the southern islands and lunch.
Long Beach
Twenty kilometres of sand down the west coast, which means there is always an empty stretch of it somewhere. It faces west, so this is where the sunsets happen, and there are beach bars the whole way along.
Sao Beach
The famous one: a curve of white sand and water the colour of a postcard in the southeast. It is beautiful and it is no secret, so go before ten in the morning, when the coaches have not arrived and you get it more or less to yourself.
The night market
Duong Dong night market is one of the best in Vietnam for the simple reason that you choose your dinner out of a tank and then watch it go on the grill. Fish, squid, scallops, crab. Ask the price per kilo and ask to see the scales, every time.
The island on a scooter
Fifty kilometres of island, a coast road on each side, and a north end where the tarmac turns to red dirt between pepper farms and empty bays. The single best day here, and it costs six euros.
Sunset at Sanato Beach Club
The best-known sunset spot on the island: sculptures on the sand, a bar, and the sun going down into open water, which after three weeks on the east coast of Vietnam is a novelty. Four euros in, usually with a drink included.
Best area for backpackers
Duong Dong and Long Beach
Duong Dong is the island’s main town and the only place with a proper concentration of hostels, cheap restaurants, scooter hire and the night market. Long Beach starts immediately south of it and runs for twenty kilometres.
Stay in that first stretch: town in one direction, sand in the other, and both ends of the island within an hour’s ride.
Good to know about this area
- Almost every hostel on the island is here or just south of it
- The night market is in Duong Dong, every evening
- Scooter hire everywhere, from about €6 a day
- Long Beach starts at the edge of town and faces the sunset
- Taxis on this island are expensive, so a scooter pays for itself in one trip
- The airport is fifteen minutes away
How to plan your days on Phu Quoc
Three days covers it: beach, south, north. Pick how long you have.
Long Beach and the night market. Twenty kilometres of sand down the west side, with the best sunsets on the island. In the evening, the night market in Duong Dong, where you point at your fish.
Tonight: the night market. Busy, and worth it.
The south and the islands. Ride down to Sao Beach and An Thoi, and take a snorkel boat out to the islands off the tip. The cable car to Hon Thom is almost eight kilometres, the longest over water anywhere.
Tonight: seafood in An Thoi, or back up to Long Beach.
The north on a scooter. The quiet half of the island: pepper plantations, a fish sauce factory, and empty beaches like Ong Lang and Vung Bau, with the national park road in between.
Tonight: flight or fast boat back to the mainland.
Food and drink on Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc is famous for two things you have been eating all the way down Vietnam without knowing where they came from: the fish sauce and the black pepper. Both are made here, and you can taste both at the source.
At the night market in Duong Dong you pick your fish, squid or crab out of the tank and say how you want it grilled. Ask the price per kilo before you nod.
At the night market they often quote per piece rather than per kilo. Ask to see the weight on the scales before you say yes.
Getting there and onward
It is an island, so you arrive by plane or by fast boat. Once you are here, a scooter is close to essential.
Getting there. Forty-five minutes by air from Ho Chi Minh City, often for under thirty euros. The fast boat takes an hour and a half from Ha Tien or two and a half from Rach Gia.
On the island. Fifty kilometres end to end, so walking is not a plan. A scooter is about €6 a day and taxis here are expensive.
Onward. From Phu Quoc you can carry on into Cambodia: boat to Ha Tien, then the border at Prek Chak and on to Kampot or Sihanoukville.
- PlaneHo Chi Minh City 45 minutes · Hanoi 2 hrs
- Fast boatHa Tien 1.5 hrs · Rach Gia 2.5 hrs
- ScooterFrom about €6 a day. Close to essential here
- Snorkel tripThe An Thoi islands, a full day
- Cable carTo Hon Thom, nearly 8 km over the sea
Staying safe on Phu Quoc
The island is calm and safe. What catches people out is the sea in the wet season, the sand roads in the north, and the bill at the night market.
- Ask the price per kilo and see the scales before anything goes on the grill
- Ride the red dirt roads in the north slowly. Sand and a scooter do not mix
- Check whether your boat trip still runs when the sea is up, which it often is from May
- Wear a helmet. They check on the main road between town and the airport
- Swim off the west coast in the wet season when the flags are up
- Leave your bag on the sand while you swim at Sao Beach
- Rely on taxis. They are expensive here and it adds up fast
- Expect a small quiet island. It is fifty kilometres long and building quickly
Rebels on the Road tip
Everyone does Long Beach and Sao Beach, and almost nobody rides past the national park to the north coast. Go early, take the road up the east side through the pepper farms, and come out at Vung Bau or Ong Lang: long empty beaches, a couple of fishing boats, one place selling coffee and nothing else at all. Stop at a pepper plantation on the way back and buy a bag of the black pepper that every restaurant in Vietnam uses. Best five euros you will spend on this island.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do you need on Phu Quoc?
Three. One for Long Beach and the night market, one for the south and a snorkel trip, one for the north on a scooter. Longer if the plan is simply to stop moving, which is a legitimate plan here.
Is Phu Quoc as good as the Thai islands?
The snorkelling and the beaches in the south genuinely compare, and it is cheaper. What it does not have is the ferry-hopping backpacker scene of the Gulf of Thailand: this is one island, and you fly in and out of it.
Where should I stay on Phu Quoc?
Duong Dong or the top end of Long Beach just below it. That is where the hostels, the night market and the scooter hire are, and it puts both ends of the island within an hour.
Is Phu Quoc expensive?
It is one of the pricier stops in Vietnam, at about €22 a day, and still cheap by any other measure. The costs that add up are taxis and boat trips, not beds and food.
Do I need a scooter on Phu Quoc?
Effectively yes. The island is fifty kilometres long, taxis are expensive, and the best day here is the ride up the north coast. Six euros a day solves it.
Is the snorkelling actually good?
Off the An Thoi islands in the south, yes, and it is the best in the country. Go between December and April: in the wet season the sea gets rough and the trips get cancelled.
Can you cross to Cambodia from Phu Quoc?
Yes. Fast boat to Ha Tien, then the land border at Prek Chak, and on to Kampot or Sihanoukville. It is the natural next move if Vietnam is not the end of your trip.
When is the best time to visit Phu Quoc?
December to April. May to November is the monsoon here, with a rough sea, cancelled boats and the lowest prices of the year.
