Phu Quoc, the pristine beauty filled with sunshine, emerald sea, and white sand, always entice visitors to immerse themselves in the island’s nature with unforgettable experiences.
At least once in a lifetime, everyone has the thought of getting out of their tedious and monotonous life to take a refreshing change, or simply just a short break. Then, let’s just drop everything and take a trip to recharge yourself with the most promising island of Vietnam and their hospitable people.
Phu Quoc has become my top destination. It is the largest island in Vietnam, ideally situated in Kien Giang Province. The island is a pristine beauty gifted with many alluring charms from the mother nature. Once setting foot on the island, we were overwhelmed by the pleasant feeling of getting soaked in the white-capped waves, lying on the golden carpet of sand and experiencing many unforgettable memories.
We chose to start our trip on the weekend and to make the most out of our holiday time, we picked a flight right after work.
After 1 hour away from the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City, our group finally arrived what to be famously known as the Pearl Island of Vietnam (Đảo Ngọc). True to its name, the island was full of tranquility and peacefulness and all visitors were warmly welcomed by the hospitability of the Pearl islanders.
Having visited as many Vietnam’s beaches as I could, I still found Phu Quoc as a whole new experience. The island covered approximately 56,700 hectares with 49 kilometers long. As it was surrounded by the ocean, the soft rolling susurrus of the surf presented in every corners of the island. It might seem quite unfamiliar at first, but gradually the calming sounds would become more and more appealing.
It was already 8pm when we arrived the hotel and we decided to explore Phu Quoc nightlife, give some seafood dishes at Dinh Cau night market a try and then come back early to get ready for our next 48 hours.
Day 1: Sao Beach – Ham Ninh Fishing Village
At 7 am, we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. After preparing some sunscreen, handbags, phones, rechargeable batteries and cameras, we began our journey on the island.
First, at 8am, we rented a motorbike from the hotel and headed about 25km to the South Island. The route was quite easy to go, however, the part leading to Sao Beach was quite rough and bumpy which required some attention.
Getting close to Sao Beach area, you will see 3 signposts for each route. In my opinion, you should follow the left one to reach the best destination where there were swings and white benches. The middle route would lead to the dining area. However, the food here were usually quite expensive (about 120,000-200,000 VND/ small seafood dish). So, if possible, try to take your meal outside as the food will have more reasonable prices with the same quality. The right route was a quite beautiful, yet, uninvested beach.
With white sand, turquoise water, fresh air, … Sao Beach was really an impressive destination. You can rent a chair for 50,000 – 150,000 VND to go sunbathing. A helpful tip while going to Sao Beach is it would be better if you come early. As we arrived late at about 9am, the sunlight became quite more intense.
As mentioned above, the food in this area was quite high-priced. Since we enjoyed pretty much seafood last night, we gave the North cuisine a try. My dish of meat stewed was 175,000 VND with little portion.
After sunbathing, taking pictures and eating at Sao Beach, we chose Ham Ninh fishing village as our final destination of the day to watch the sunset. What an interesting experience!
The islanders were quite hospitable and pleasant. The fresh seafood was amazingly low-costed. Whichever dishes you wish, they will be instantly prepared and served by the owners right before your eyes.
With a simple processing, a few basic spices and the freshness of newly caught seafood, surly you will fall in love with this lovely fishing village. Roasted mantis shrimp with sea salt was the local dish that mostly caught my attention.
By any means, do not miss your visit to Ham Ninh fishing village, where you can experience a pleasant walk through the “thin line” in middle of the vast ocean.
At 6pm, after enjoying the delicious dishes of Ham Ninh fishing village, we went back to hotel to get some rest. In the evening, we picked Phu Quoc night market and a small coastal coffee shop to enjoy the sea island atmosphere at night.
Day 2: Mong Tay Island (Fingernail Island) Tour – Fishing – Snorkeling – Enjoy the sunset at Truong Beach
The next day, we picked a tour package to the Mong Tay Island instead of going by ourselves because of the high cost. You should choose a tour package which is suitable for your health since following a tour can easily wear you out. The tour packages are normally low-costed with pick-up services. Because of our preference toward the sea, we chose the tour package mainly to reach the Island even though we have to go through Sao Beach.
At 8.30am, a car picked us up from the hotel and moved to An Thoi Port. The majority of the tour’s time is on the ocean so seasick might easily happen. Therefore, remember to prepare your medicines, necessary utensils to avoid unnecessary situations.
With the pristine beauty of crystal-clear waters, white sand and coconut trees, Mong Tay Island is considered the ideal destination in Phu Quoc for those who love nature and peacefulness. Here, you can immerse yourself in the crystal-clear water, go snorkeling, go fishing, freely capture every moment of this idyllic and graceful island.
Fishing is an exciting experience but requires persistence because it is really difficult to be able to “trick” these fishes. Our whole crew only successfully caught a fish.
By diving underneath the water, we were able to see the ecosystem under the blue sea, the beautiful coral reefs dangling in the water, the colorful fish glittering through the sunlight, … Do keep in mind that some corals are very sharp so be careful with your feet.
At about 4pm, we moved back to Thoi An Port to reach Sao beach. After that, our crew went to Truong Beach to enjoy the sunset. Truong Beach is located in the West of the island, the only beach in Vietnam where you can watch the sunset.
At the end of our second day, we were quite worn out. We kept exploring Phu Quoc’s cuisine on 30/4 Street at night and got some rest before coming back in the next morning.
Credit: Zing.vn