At YPT we love getting off the beaten track discovering things and then sharing them with the masses! And our latest discovery? Phu Quoc island in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
And best of all? This island is easily visitable from the best dark tourism spots of Cambodia and Kampot in particular, such as Bokor Hill.
What the Phu Quoc?
Officially the biggest island of Vietnam it was formerly Cambodian, with many on the island being Kampuchean Krom nationality. Currently it is an integral part of Vietnam and a huge place for both nature, as well as tourism. Yearly 5 million locals, as well as 500,000 foreigners – who get visa free access visit the island.
Geographically it is 7 hours from Saigon, but just one from Kampot, although one will also need to take a ferry.
How to get to Phu Quoc?
One can bus and train from Saigon, fly into the International airport either internationally, or locally, or you can go by land from Kampot. You can read our full guide on how to do this here.
If going by land you will need to take a ferry which depending on how fast you want to go range from 1-3 hours.
What to do on Phu Quoc?
Being an island means that there are lot of great beaches, waterspouts and other ocean backed activities such as island hopping. Phu Quoc offered 21 islands other than the main island itself.
And if a general beach paradise in not enough for you then there are at least a few things that are more of the Pioneer spirit. One such example is that of Phu Quoc Prison, which was formerly operated by the former nation of South Vietnam before the victorious communist forced liberated them from their American puppet masters. And if you think my language if lowery it has nothing on the actual language being used in the museum.
Where to sleep in Phu Quoc?
Quite simply one of the best things about not just Phu Quoc, but Vietnam in general is the array of great value hotels and resorts available for next to nothing. This means that a simply room can be gotten for as little as $20, with the $40-60 bracket essentially getting you a suite on the beach.
One perfect example of this is Sun Viet Beach Resort which you can read about here.
Phu Quoc nightlife scene
While not exactly Phuket, Phu Quoc is also hardly a windswept isolated island and this is represented in the capital city of Duong Dong. Here an eclectic mix of locals, westerners and increasingly Russian tourists and draft dodgers make up the scene. Thankfully none have put on any “whites only” parties, so things remain chill, for now at least.
One such place that highlights this is Blue Monkey bar, which at least when I was there was filled to rafters of people “enjoying” age reggae night, although it would appear that fairly few of them understood the Jamaican ons stage.
Food wise there are a number of restaurants along the strip featuring many cuisines, but with the lions share being outdoor seafood restaurants of the Vietnamese style – most again with Cyrillic writing outside.
These also tend to be, like most things in Vietnam extremely well priced, with even delicacies like sea urchin being cheap compared with other places. And to drink? Vodka, or Vietnamese vodka, which is basically rice wine.
And that is the YPT take on Phu Quoc, we do not currently visit here, but can arrange trips as part of bespoke Vietnam, as well as Cambodia tours.
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