Vietnam forum

Posted from within Vietnam.

Like any destination, one persons paradise is another's Hell.

Phu Quoc Island is really part of Cambodia, geographically, which the Cambodians still believe, but a stroke of a French colonial pen hived it off and gave it to what was to become VietNam.

The Vietnamese government maintain a very large number of military installations on the island to dissuade anyone from making off with this valuable piece of real estate.

Being an island, the French, followed by the Americans, found it a handy place to keep prisoners during their respective military activities, although the real hard cases were kept on Con Dao Island, the equivalent to the present Guantanamo Bay, where life was Hell for prisoners.

The military occupy the former prison camps on PQ - many of which are near the best beaches.

The main occupation of the residents of PQ is fishing and the manufacture of fish sauce. There were a few basic forms of guest accommodation until the last 5 or so years.

Now SaiGonTourist, VietNams biggest moneymaker, has invested heavily in the island, along with other joint ventures involving foreign investors. Investments of over USD$10-BILLION have been announced in the past year, including preliminary permission for (a) massive casino(s), as the Vietnamese government continues along its plan to make VietNam like any other country and destroy the country's unique characteristics.

It is a good time to visit before the character of the place is gone forever.

At this point in time accommodation ranges from the lowly, basic, guest house through 5-star accommodation.

The infrastructure has grown slower than the development of new hotels and the Vietnamese have, like most other parts of the country, have resorted to dumping raw sewage in to the sea which, fortunately, is fast moving conjunction of the Bay of Thailand and the SouthEast China Sea.

Beautiful PQ is, unspoiled only applies to parts of the island.

I have been there several times (I live in VietNam) and still consider it a worthwhile experience. I recommend you visit BUT BOOK EARLY!

This web site has a review of some of the hotels as well as a guide to the island which is worth checking out.

One thing. Travel to and from the island, whether by sea or air, is dependent upon weather conditions and therefore it is wise to go to the island BEFORE 'doing' HCMC in case bad weather interrupts travel and you are left on the island when your flight to distant places is taking off! It is always better to plan on being in your departure city a day or two before leaving, especially in an 'emerging' country.

Sorry hit enter too quick. Absolutely agree 100% with CatBa about the need to book early for the Xmas break.

Hi,

We spent the last week of our honeymoon on PQ and loved every minute of it. Stayed at Mai House on Long Beach, went snorkelling (dunno what we saw but it was great fun!), hired an US army jeep for a day tour of the south of the island ... including Bai Sao which is stunning. Drank and ate great food as well...

There is a place on Bai Sao now as well ( http://www.geckojacks.com/ ) which looks cool ... top spot on the beach...

Go to PQ sooner rather than later i would say, as there is development on the island, so best to see it before it changes...

The other posts tell it all but just wanted to add that I was there in early Nov of 07 and loved it. The government's 10 year plan for it will have Long Beach covered with resorts.