Phu Quoc is an island with something for everyone – fantastic beaches, unspoiled forests and a flourishing marine life in transparent blue green waters. Although still under-developed there are plans for major hotel and resort expansion on the island. Phu Quoc Island lies in the Gulf of Thailand, 45km west of Ha Tien and 15km south of the Cambodian coast. Phu Quoc’s other claim to fame is the production of fish sauce or “nuoc mam”.

CLIMATE

The best time of year to visit is from November through April (dry season). Rainy season is from June to October and can bring harsh storms.

TRANSPORTATION

Flying to Phu Quoc is the most convenient way to get to the island, with at least 10 daily flights direct from Tan Son Nhat Airport – Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and the capital city of Hanoi. Flight time is approx 40minutes. Indirect flights from Ho Chi Minh City via Rach Gia are also available on most days. Travelling to Phu Quoc by boat, ferry, hydrofoil and cruise liner is becoming a popular option as the number of tourists visiting the island increases each year. With continued development of the port facilities on Phu Quoc, more services will become available in the years to come. There are currently a variety of services available between the Vietnamese mainland and Phu Quoc Island, running frequent daily services. Less regular international services are also available from time to time, though it is worth checking beforehand with the specific companies. We provide a summary below of the services and schedules currently available to Phu Quoc Island ports.

RESTAURANT/DINING

Phu Quoc island is not only a paradise for beach lovers but also for seafood fans. Seafood in Phu Quoc is cheap and fresh and succulent.

Raw herring salad

Raw herring salad is a rustic dish but also the favorite one of the locals on Phu Quoc. People call it salad but the way they eat this dish is pretty different from the other normal Vietnamese salads. Shredded coconut and raw fish will be mixed with mint and onion, then wrapped with fresh vegetables in rice paper and dipped in fish sauce. You can also pick up pieces of raw fish, vegetables, coconut and then wrap them all with rice paper. The sauce served with raw herring salad is also very special. It is made from finely chopped chili, garlic and toasted peanuts which are all mixed with Phu Quoc fish sauce in order to create a spicy, fragrant and unforgettable flavor.

Ham Ninh Flower Crab

Flower crab is the specialty of this island and readily available in many local restaurants. The fresh red flower crabs get an amazing taste and rich texture when being boiled and dipped in the sauce made from black pepper, salt and lime juice.
You are allowed to pick up the freshest crab in tank and ask the waiter to cook what you chose.

Grilled Bien Mai Scallop Sinew

Bien Mai scallop consists of two flesh layers connected with its two pieces of shell. Compared with the blood cockle which is so familiar and live on mainland with the two small toothpick-shaped sinew, Bien Mai scallop is much bigger. In spite of its size, the flesh of Bien Mai scallop is not as tasty as its sinew. All of its quintessence is at the sinew. There are a lot of cooking recipes for Bien Mai scallop sinew such as stir – fried with shiitake mushrooms, straw mushrooms, onions and mustard greens. Nevertheless, the best way for gourmets to enjoy Bien mai sinew is to grill it then to combine scallop with a mixture of chili and salt which gives you the pristine flavor of the sea. Tourists can also enjoy delicious Bien Mai sinew porridge with sinew’s slightly sweet taste and warm aroma of shallots and peppers. This porridge not only can relieve your drunkenness but also make you feel better after a long day trip.

Tram Mushroom

Tram Mushroom (also known as Five Hundred Mushroom or the Melaleuca Mushroom) is a seasonal mushroom found in the mangrove forests of Phu Quoc Island during the beginning of the rainy season. In Phu Quoc, this mushroom is cooked in a broth that contains either with shrimp, chicken, or squid. The mushrooms have a slight better taste to them and also have some medicinal attributes. The local specialty is chicken soup with tram mushrooms.

Phu Quoc Fish Sauce

Like wine in France and olive oil in Italy, fish sauce is the prized staple of Vietnam, where it is used in soups and marinades or diluted into a sauce that accompanies foods from spring rolls to noodles. The Vietnamese have seals on their bottles to indicate quality, the highest being nuoc mam nhi, the first extraction of liquid from fish fermented in salt: extra-virgin fish sauce, if you will. And the best of the best, as widely agreed among Vietnamese enclaves around the world, comes from Phu Quoc, a tropical island off the nation’s southwest coast. In fact, the Phu Quoc name is so coveted and abused in the fish sauce industry that local producers have been working with the World Trade Organization to protect its appellation of origin.

Sim Wine

Sim Wine (also known as Ruou Sim or Rose Myrtle wine) is a type of wine found on Phu Quoc Island and is made with local fruit from the Rose Myrtle tree (Rhodomyrtus tomentosa myrtaceae). The recipe originated from various ethnic minority groups living in the central highlands. Most locals drink Sim Wine when they are eating seafood.

Nhum (sea-urchin)

Nhum or also called cau gai or nhim bien usually live in groups at coral reefs and caves in the coastal areas of Ca Na in Ninh Thuan Province and Phu Quoc Island off Kien Giang Province. The most delicious part is its flesh and eggs in light yellow color attached on the skin inside the shell. After you cut it into two parts, sea-urchin will be served in two ways. The first is by squeezing lemon juice or wasabi into the food to enjoy the fresh taste but this can be dangerous and give you stomachache. The other, safer option is grilling nhum with fried onion and oil which delivers an irresistible smell and taste. Some people say it tastes the same as foie gras but others compare it to crab-roe. No matter, this is a nutritious and healthy treat that perks you up.
So, do not forget to note nhum on your notebook as a must try.

Nhong fish

Phu Quoc is also famous for Nhong fish. It can be made into different kinds of dishes: fried, boiled, or hot pot dishes. Nhong fish is also made into Cha ca, fish cake. A piece of rice paper,vegetables and some fish cake is a good combination for a roll. If you really love spring rolls or summer rolls, you should try Nhong fish cake rolls for a new taste. Nhong fish is also a good topping for a salad. People mix Nhong fish to make Goi ca, Nhong fish salad. The key to a good plate of salad is hidden in the way of choosing a fish and making the sauce used with the salad. The fish must be fresh and cut into thin fillet. Before eating the fish, you need to squeeze the lime to get the juice covering the fish. Then, put the fish and some vegetables on a piece of rice paper and dip it into a tiny bowl of sauce. The sauce is a mixture of garlic, chilli, peanuts, lime juice, fish sauce and a little bit sugar.

COCONUT TREE PRISON (NHA LAO CAY DUA PRISON)

It is hard to imagine brutality when you are on the beach, but the beautiful south coast of Phu Quoc hides a brutal past indeed. Some 5km north of An Thoi town is the Coconut Tree Prison, a tropical gulag for generations of revolutionaries in the French colonial era and, more recently, Communist guerillas in the war against America. At the height of the Vietnam War some 40,000 VCs (Viet Cong) were exiled here. This Phu Quoc prison still holds some prisoners but tourists are welcome to visit and see the rusty remains of the older complex. Across the road rises a monument to the 4000 prisoners (now martyrs) who perished. There are plans to expand the museum, which at the moment comprises a tiny blue shed (open 7.30am-11am, 1.30pm-5pm; closed Mondays). Inside you can see headshots of the heroes who were incarcerated, statuettes of prisoners being beaten by guards, and some of the original tiger cages where troublesome inmates were tortured.

COI NGUON MUSEUM

Along with a museum chronicling the island’s past, this is a strange sanctuary for hundreds of pure-bred Phu Quoc dogs and local sea eagles. Along with the dugong, Phu Quoc sea eagles are in danger of extinction, but owner Huynh Phuoc Hue is making a valiant effort to save them. Dog fanatics will love the native Phu Quoc dog, a rare breed with a blue tongue and a hairy ridge running up and down its spine. The hairs of the ridge stand erect when the dog is excited. Some tourists would love to leave Phu Quoc with a native puppy in their possession, since the dogs are considered to be exceptionally intelligent. Unfortunately, the export red tape can be a killer! That said, you don’t have to go all the way to the Coi Nguon Museum to see the dogs, as they are a regular fixture on many Phu Quoc beaches. They will approach you before you approach them.

DINH CAU ROCK

Considered by some the symbol of Phu Quoc, Dinh Cau is an oddly shaped rock at the mouth of Duong Dong River. Part lighthouse and part Buddhist temple, the rock is revered as a sacred site. Fishermen pray here before embarking on voyages, and townsfolk flock here to celebrate Tet New Year. Other temples you can visit elsewhere on the island include the Sung Hung Co Tu pagoda, a riot of incense and color in a classical Chinese style, Su Muon Pagoda, and Nguyen Trung Truc Temple in the north, which is dedicated to a famous anti-French patriot who once sheltered here.

DUONG DONG DAY AND NIGHT MARKETS

If you are so inclined and know how to cook them you could buy your own live chickens, ducks or turtles at the Duong Dong markets, which are open both day and night in slightly different parts of town. The day market is located right in the middle of Duong Dong and it bustles with trade in fish, fruit, vegetables and ready-to-go snacks such as baked taro potato cakes. The night market operates on Vo Thi Sau St further towards the sea, near the Dinh Cau temple, and teems with stalls selling cheap and exotic foods as well as conch shells and handicrafts. This is probably the closest Phu Quoc gets to a shopping mall, and is perfect for souvenir hunting.

SUOI TRANH WATERFALL

The Suoi Tranh waterfall is not the biggest or the most dramatic of its kind, but it does have its own charms. There is a moderately daunting 200m walk to get to the waterfall, or rather the collection of small waterfalls and rock-pools and one larger fall. Once you get there, however, you have the option of diving into the clear cool stream, or hunting for wild orchids. Nearby is the nicely named Bat Cave. The falls are 7km south-east of Duong Dong, just off the road to Ham Ninh village. Admission costs 1000 Dong (US$0.05) plus an extra 1000 Dong for your motorcycle if you are riding one. Another popular Phu Quoc waterfall you could check out is Suoi Da Ben (Da Ben Stream).

BÃI SAO (STAR BEACH)

Unlike other beaches where the waves hit the shore with great vigor, Bãi Sao appeals to those who seek for the sacred serenity. The water level is pretty low, which is why you can go a longer distance from land and enjoy your swim without worries for a sudden tidal wave or drowning hazards.

GÀNH DẦU BEACH

One of the most scenic beaches in Phu Quoc, Gành Dầu is where you can simultaneously enjoy the beauty of the ocean and the enormous mountains. Moreover, the place is renowned for copious seafood dishes that are sold for affordable prices. Most importantly, Gành Dầu has the most striking sunset that glorifies 500 miles of arc beach and exotic islands that can be seen at the horizon.

TƯỢNG PEPPER GARDEN

Phu Quoc is home to the best pepper products in Vietnam. An excursion to the most important pepper plantation of Khu Tượng, thus, is enriching in a sense that you can see for yourself the successful cultivation techniques and have a taste of the flavorful peppers that are picked fresh from the trees.

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