Phu Quoc Island

You'll love it here
By beachgirl (dabbler - 3 reviews)
Written on 29th October, 2009 after a visit to Phu Quoc Island in October, 2009
I spent two weeks on Phu Quoc in early October and loved it. If you're already familiar with Thailand's islands, you'll find Phu Quoc to be a refreshing change. The sand is coarser (at least on the Long Beach side), similar to what you might see on far northern Phuket, but what makes Phu Quoc stand out is the sheer volume of totally undeveloped beach.

Every day I'd go for a ride along Long Beach and I tell you, the empty beach just goes and goes and goes. I'd keep looking to my right and it was always, yup, more empty beach! The downside of no development is that the empty beach can get a bit messy with refuse from the sea -- but it's typical flotsam -- wood and weed and a good number of plastic bottles -- use glass people -- but you'll find the water to be warm and calm. I pulled up the bike one morning when the waters were especially calm, jumped in and floated there, by myself, for almost an hour. I could hear the water slowly lapping at the beach and could just see the palms out of the corner of my eye -- it was D I V I N E!

Also unlike Thailand, the accommodation is of a different standard. There's little in the way of thatch bungalows, instead it is mostly cement chalets and the like. I'd heard a lot of reports of people having difficulty getting a room, but in October at least, I had no problems. I stayed at Beach Club a few nights (Travelfish's write up is spot on) but then moved a bit closer to the restaurants and stuff in some forgettable Vietnamese place - it was cheap tho!

It's really easy to hire a motorbike (with or without driver) and I highly recommend it. Most days I'd just pack some water, a towel and a book and buzz off -- loads of beaches to try out and also some islands off the southern tip. I didn't venture down to them, but a guy at one of the dive shops on Phu Quoc said they are brill -- next time.

Also unlike islands in Thailand, there isn't an oversupply of bars and clubs. I found a few places for a beer at night, but really, I wasn't there to party.

Lastly, you can get boats there from both Rach Gia and Hon Chong.
Also reviewed by beachgirl: Ayutthaya, Kanchanaburi, Sukhothai,