Located in the Gulf of Thailand, Phu Quoc is the largest island of Vietnam. Although it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vietnam, I have to admit that I've never been there before, until this year :") We had a great overall experience during our 3 days there, despite the fact that I did get some mosquito bites :| Therefore, I thought it would be nice to do a little review on all the places I had the opportunity to visit for you guys. Hopefully this blog will be helpful for you if you wanna come to Phu Quoc one day :)
Phu Quoc International Airport
Well, if you came to Phu Quoc before December 2012, then you probably haven't seen this airport yet. I didn't realize it was just opened a month ago, therefore I was very impressed when we first arrived. Overall impression: modern, clean and new (of course!). I'm not sure what international flights there are for now (as of January 2013) though, but I believe they have domestic flights to and from major cities in the mainland like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh city.
Hung Long Tu Pagoda
The Fishing Village
Apparently you can get fresh seafood for a pretty good price here; but we actually didn't get anything so I can't really give any recommendations.
Dinh Cau
A place where fishermen usually come to pray for their safety before their fishing trips. This place overlooks the sea and the view is pretty awesome, so it's something not to be missed!
Thien Hai Son Resort
We booked this hotel because we got pretty good deals on it (~$140/person for the whole stay + tour, meals included). It's a 3-star hotel and it's located on the same street as other big resorts such as Saigon-Phu Quoc Resort. The rooms are pretty standard, but I would give this place more like 2 stars because the bathrooms are a little bit old and poorly maintained and there are always mosquitoes in the rooms. Otherwise, they have really good services - the staff is very friendly and helpful, and they give you a small complimentary basket of fruits daily in your room! :) The beach of the resort is okay, I wasn't very impressed because I've seen more beautiful beaches. They also have a tennis court and a spa (but I didn't try it).
Squid Fishing
It is not recommended if you usually have seasick! I have seasickness myself but I let them talk me into going and I kinda regret it (I did take some medications beforehand but still got some nausea!). They recommended us to stay on the top floor of the boat and that did help with the seasickness. Otherwise, you can get a really nice view of the sunset from the boat, and they also serve squid porridge towards the end of the trip. However, I found the fishing part quite boring (I didn't find any squid T_T). You literally have to spend around 2 hours to fish, and the amount of squid you can fish also depends on the precipitation that day. There were around 15-20 people on our boat that night, and we only found 1 squid! On the side note, our tour didn't include this part, so we had to pay extra to go squid fishing (~$15/person).
Pepper Farm
Pepper is one of the most famous specialty foods of Phu Quoc, and visiting a pepper plantation is pretty interesting. You can also buy some pre-packaged pepper as gifts for people back home :)
Sim Son Myrtle Liquor Factory
They have different types of liquors there (even sea horse liquor?!), and they offer wine tasting too, so try it out! :)
Pearl Factory
As many of you may already know, Phu Quoc is very famous for its pearls. Therefore, visiting a pearl factory should be on your list during your stay there! I can't really remember the name of the factory we went to, and since we didn't buy any jewelry, I can't really recommend any tips, but it was a quite interesting experience, so check it out!
Fish Sauce Factory
Who haven't heard of Phu Quoc Fish Sauce? So if you are wondering how they come up with all the fish sauce you use to dip your food in, then make a stop at a local fish sauce factory. They will offer fish sauce tasting too, but since it's very concentrated, you shouldn't taste it if you can't tolerate fish sauce normally.
Sao Beach
We were told that this is one of the most beautiful beaches of Phu Quoc, and we loved it! The water was much cleaner than the beach at the resort, and you can enjoy a fresh coconut at the bar by the sea after swimming :)
Dinh Cau Night Market
Come here for fresh seafood (You can pick anything you want and they will grill it for you on the spot!). This place is quite crowded with tourists, and you can buy some souvenirs too. It's about a 15-minute walk from our hotel, which is not bad at all! ^^
Well, I guess that's all I have to say about Phu Quoc. Again, it's one of the most friendly places I've been to in Vietnam and we really enjoyed it. All the pictures in this blog were taken by me, so hopefully you guys won't find them too bad. Let me know if you have any questions! Until next time guys :)
