Pros and cons of Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam

The biggest advantage is the attractions of Phu Quoc

Phu Quoc Island | Phu Quoc Vietnam | What to see in Vietnam | Phu Quoc Attractions

Beaches on Phu Quoc Island

Phu Quoc has two particularly popular beaches, but absolutely not the only ones. The first is considered the prettiest on the entire island, as well as in all of Vietnam, and is called Sao. A beach with white sand, clear, warm and calm water, palm trees. In fact, what more you need? There is space for recreation, an extensive restaurant base. There is also swings suspended on palm trees so that you can take Instagram photos (which I did).

Starfish Beach, as the name suggests, is famous for these sea predators. Apparently they can be found on this beach in quite large numbers. According to photos and assurances on the Internet, they carelessly lounge by the shore or lazily move towards the water’s depths. We managed to see three starfish crawling deep and far beyond the shoreline. It’s no wonder that starfish are retreating from the beach. Tourists pick them up, throw them, and even trample them. The stupidity, ignorance and irresponsibility are absolutely off the charts.

* The road to the beach is long, gravel and potholed, so traveling by scooter is not comfortable.

Nhà tù Phu Quoc Prison

It’s hard to call this place an attraction. The Coconut Prison is a historical facility that serves to remind us of the tragedies that occurred during the Vietnam War. Vietnamese inconvenient political prisoners were detained and tortured here. Many crimes were committed here, resulting in the deaths of several thousand people.

Throughout the prison, we can meet mannequins placed in various situations illustrating life in confinement. We will notice scenes depicting daily life in prison, including scenes of torture and escape. Some of the exhibition is quite drastic, definitely not for every viewer.

Entrance to the museum is free. I believe that while on the island it’s worth visiting this place because of its important historical aspect.

Cable car

We paid 1,200,000 Vietnamese Dong, or about 45 EUR (as of 03/01/2023), for two people to ride the world’s longest cable car. The ticket price includes admission to the water park on the island, where the cable car ride ends. Unfortunately, we weren’t interested in the water park 🙂

Well, what can I write. The view from the cable car made an electrifying impression on me. I prefer to just show it to you:

The downside of the entire trip is the fact that you can take the cable car towards Thom Island at any time, but return only at specific times. This way we were stuck for over 1.5 hours in the cafe next to the Aquapark. Before purchasing tickets, check carefully (and preferably ask the staff) what time you will be able to return!

Ho Quoc Pagoda

The largest Temple on Phu Quoc Island with a very nice view of the sea. It is a quiet, intimate place, good for a short walk and a relaxing scooter tour. There are no detailed visiting conditions, the tourists wore shorts and no one made a problem of it. Nevertheless, for your comfort and respect for other religions, it’s worth buying a scarf covering your arms and/or legs.

Traveling by scooter? Of course!

If the crowds of Vietnamese streets scare you, you are not the only one. In Hanoi, apart from the wedding gift in the form of a Food Tour on scooters, we never rode them. It was only in Hoi An that we decided to take this step and it went so smoothly that we reached the third largest city in Vietnam, Da Nang.

Phu Quoc is a good place to rent a scooter and explore the island with a helmet on. Although the roads on the island are not the best, they are not as crowded and risky for visitors as on the mainland. You can get to any place without any problems.

Other attractions

• Vinpearl Safari, is a zoo combined with animal shows, including feeding lemurs and a bird show. Attraction for adults and children.
• Grand World, it’s an artificial, commercial city, half undeveloped. I expressed my opinion about this type of attractions below.
• Cho Dem Night Market, night market where you can eat tasty and cheap.

Disadvantages of the Phu Quoc island

Trash

I don’t think this problem surprises anyone. Asian island = garbage problem. Whether it’s Bali or Phu Quoc, trash can be found almost everywhere – beaches (including on paradise Sao Beach!), roadsides, rivers. A very unpleasant sight, because even in the most touristic places you can see garbage lying around. For the island’s inhabitants, they have blended into the landscape so much that they are no longer an aesthetic or even environmental problem for them.

Don’t be surprised by the sight of burning garbage in the streets or the stench you can smell on the island because of it.

Development plans on Phu Quoc island

The Vietnamese authorities are very interested in expanding tourism in Phu Quoc. It’s also an important part of the post-Covid plan to revive this sector. For this reason, they have made a number of investments (including in the world’s longest cable car) as well as in an artificial, slightly kitschy town in a Mediterranean atmosphere next to the cable car. I don’t fully understand this concept, I would prefer that „Sunset Town” had an atmosphere consistent with its country. However, I assume that the attraction is aimed more at Asian tourists (Chinese, Japanese), so the atmosphere like Venice or Monaco may seem exotic to them. A similar town can also be found in the north of the island.

If „Italy” in Vietnam seems inconsistent in terms of image, I have an even more interesting „case”. There are rumors that Vietnam is planning to build its own spaceport on the island! According to the information I found, it will be completed by 2026 and includes commercial space flights – the so-called „space tourism”. However, I have not found any confirmation of these rumors. If this attraction is actually planned, I will not hide my surprise.

I must admit that I didn’t particularly like the plans to develop tourism on the island. I would much more appreciate investing in environmental protection, heritage and history of the island, rather than in artificial, tacky cities and neglected beaches. I’m afraid that soon the island, already stripped of its identity, will lose its remnants and become a patchwork of cheap, commercial entertainment.

Russians

During our stay on the island (May 2023), we were repeatedly called out to us in Russian. Mainly здравствуйте (zdrastwujtie), хорошо (haraszo) and several such words. Many restaurants also offer menus in this language.

After Russia attacked Ukraine, Russians lost the ability to travel freely. For Asia, for which European conflicts are distant and not entirely interesting, it doesn’t matter who the tourist will be. Whether it is a Russian, a European, or an Arab – it’s important that he is there and leaves money.

For Vietnam (which is a cheap country), the influx of Russian tourists is nothing more than an opportunity. It’s no surprise that the Vietnamese welcome them with open arms – Europe doesn’t want them, Asia will accept them.

Perhaps some Vietnamese, hearing Polish in the background, associated it with Russian and that’s the reason. Or maybe we just looked Russian? Well, Russian women are said to be pretty, so I’ll take that as a compliment 😉

Prices

Phu Quoc compared to the mainland of Vietnam is expensive. You will pay more for coffee, meals or attractions and transportation. Worse, the services offered are often of lower quality than in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.

During our stay on the island, we found only one restaurant worth recommending: Bahn Xeo Cuoi 3. We ate there twice, delicious meals, and the prices of the dishes were not excessive.

In our hotel where we stayed on the island called Minh Vuong Village Resort & Restaurant we could also eat a tasty meal. It’s true that I don’t recommend the hotel (you can read more about it HERE), but the food they served us was very tasty. They have a discount for hotel guests, so we didn’t pay that much.

Other defects

• Many stray emaciated dogs. Interestingly, there is a rare breed called Phu Quoc Ridgeback coming from the island of Phu Quoc in Vietnam and there are a lot of dogs of this breed on the streets.
• Construction on site – Phu Quoc has been a continuous construction site for several years. For this reason, unfinished „skeleton” buildings are incorporated into the island’s landscape.
• Mosquitoes love me, of course without reciprocity. We had a problem with them during our stay. Get a good repellent.

If this is your first trip to Vietnam, it’s great. I have prepared a short guide that is worth reading before traveling to this part of the world. CLICK HERE.