Vietnam forum

Hi sayadian,

Surprising post! I loved Phu Quoc Island -- thought the beaches -- especially Bai Sao -- were stunning. Agree there are some crummy hotels there - but there are some top ones too.

Posted from within Vietnam.

we just had the most dreaful experience on bai sao- after reading all the good reviews on this beach we heading straight there from off to plane- to stay at the only place, currently renting out rooms- My Lan. This place was absolutely disgusting!!!!!! they dump all their waste on the beach. When we arrived there we we're greeted by pretty rude staff, was shown our bungalow (basic but fine), and was greeted by 100 locals, who have camped out in the griunds of the resort. we ignored this,m and headed for the beach, which was dreadful. we had many of the locals laughing at us and being veryu rude, so we moved down the beach away from them. while trying to move rubbish out of the way to lay our towels down I moved a stick and found underneath the reamins of a dead dog (!!!!!), trying not to vomit moved a bit further down, we were greeted by a dead chicken wrapped in plastic floating in the water. deciding to get the hell out of there, the staff were then SO rude and wouldnt give us our passports back, until we paid for a days accomodation ( we had been there 40mins). After the vwery kind help of a random guy, and the lovely aussie Ian, owner of Gecko Jacks next door, we got them back. Ian told me that Mylan have been dumping rubbish on the beach for ages, and has had many porblems with them.

The beach is beautiful, but is ruined by the hoards of rubbish floating in the water and lying on the beach. At Ians advice we left for long beach to a place called liep heap thanh and have been SOOOO happy there. really lovely people, great food and great set up- and cheap!!

All in all, phu quoc has the potential, and has some great spots, but is ruined by the lack of enthusiasm and brains of the locals..

Ok, the reports on Phu Quoc are not overwhelmingly in it's favor. It has never been my kind of island as well but recently I went for the second time and I thought it has become much better. And I would like to balance the picture a little for future travellers. I don't live on Phu Quoc or have any interest there though.

- when I visited Bao Sao the beach was clean and I think it's a wonderful beach that can rival with some of the beaches in southern thailand. The rubbish that comes ashore is highly dependent on season/currents. Perhaps I visited in the right season, perhaps they have learned and cleaned up the beaches. Many beaches in this region have the same problem.
- I like the fact that the beaches are empty on Phu Quoc. Other people don't like it obviously.
- I also like the smaller type of beach. The big 5 km crescent Nha Trang beach is not my type. Also very subjective.
- attack at the market. I see this really as an incident and it could have happened anywhere in Vietnam or the region. I'm really sorry for you that it happened. On occasion these things happen. Most likely a powerful person (or son of), probably drunk and then no-one dares to go against that.
- the communists do a decent job in other parts of vietnam. Or at least not better or worse than their democratic neighbors. To blame every single thing on communism seems a bit harsh. I'm not a communist nor do I want to engage in a discussion about it.

I think most people have wrong expectations of Phu Quoc which is partly to blame on the government. They already try to sell it as a resort destination while that is the ultimate goal but it definitly lacks any of that (including the beach bars etc.) for now.
- For beach(night)life head to Nha Trang. You won't find anything of your liking on Phu Quoc. I visited the Kiki (night)club and that was a "local" experience. Enjoyed it thoroughly though.
- It is absolutely true that the island has nothing of the slightest interest. If you're not a beach person you won't have much fun.
- Most resorts cater to holliday couples. That also includes the tourist prices for food and so. Most are also quite isolated and take advantage of that with the prices and I wasn't very impressed with the quality of the food in many places (at least for the prices they charge). Not to backpackers liking but all standard practise on a holliday destination.
- For package tourists who expect a tropical island (like Samui, Phangan or so). You will be very disappointed by the lack of infrastructure and things to do and even the resorts don't come close to any thai resorts.
- For backpackers I would recommend to stay in a cheap small local hotel in or near the main town. Eat cheaply at the (night) market (be wary of agressive guys, apparently). Rent a bike for the day and visit some of the empty beaches during the day.