Things to do in Phu Quoc

There are so many amazing things to do in Phu Quoc! The entire Vietnamese island is 574 square kilometres so some areas can take a while to get to, particularly given the quality of the roads. We visited over Christmas time so were keen to relax a little. We would have liked to do more but that gives me the excuse to return!

Cable Car and An Thoi Islands

John’s Tour (also known as Phu Quoc Trips) appear to be the leading tour operator in Phu Quoc and offer numerous boat trips throughout the island. There are a couple of John’s Tours offices in the island or you can book your trip online.

We booked the Cable Car & Four Islands Day Trip by speed boat (US$59 pp) and were picked up at our hotel at 8.45am. We didn’t arrive to the cable car station until 10am as it took quite a while to pick everyone up. Upon arrival we were split into smaller groups and waited to check into the cable station.

The cable car is owned by Sun World, a large company specialising in entertainment (they also run Ba Na Hills in Hoi An). The entrance is strangely more Italian themed, almost like the Colosseum in Rome, which I found slightly odd! We asked our guide why that was but he didn’t know.

Cable Car

At 10.30am we departed on the cable car (with around 15 people) to start our journey on the longest cable car in the world! The views were gorgeous – turquoise seas, colourful boats and lot of mountains. The cable car felt quite steep in places but was perfectly safe. We arrived at Thom Island (also known as pineapple island) at around 10.45. On immediate arrival there is only has a restaurant and a shop, so you transport directly to the beach in a golf buggy. However, a water park is due to open in early 2020!

We had around 45 minutes at the beach where you can relax (in a hammock if you are lucky!) or go and play on the large inflatable obstacle course! The water is shallow enough to stand up and there are a couple of slides on the giant inflatable.

Snorkelling and Lunch

The next stop was Mong Tay where we snorkeled for a hour. All equipment is provided within the tour price. You aren’t given a huge space in the water to snorkel but there were several fish around. When our tour guide dropped some fish food in the water, lots came near us!

On to May Rut Island for lunch and relaxation (sunbeds are only £2 to hire). The water is so turquoise and beautiful and it was great to chill for a hour. The lunch consisted of sharing dishes for the group and I was really impressed with the quality, in particular the juicy prawns.

Buom Island

Our last stop was at Buom Island for more snorkeling before we headed back to the mainland by speedboat (you don’t get the cable car back). We arrived back at our hotel at 5pm.

Overall, we were impressed with the day tour and were pleased to see 4 islands. My only constructive criticism was the boat was almost at capacity with 15 people on the tour which was quite tight for space.

If you want to visit the cable car on its own, it is only £5 return but a taxi there and back from Long Beach would be around £30. We also couldn’t figure out how to visit the other islands separately so the tour is a convenient way and is one of the best things to do in Phu Quoc.

Visit Dinh Cau Rock

Both Cao Dai Temple and Dinh Cau Rock were only five minutes from our hotel. Dinh Cau Rock was constructed in 1937 to commemorate Thien Hau (the goddess of the sea), whom locals believe provides protection for fishermen heading out to sea.

It is located next to the Duong Dong Fishing Harbour and offers gorgeous views of the ocean from the beautiful blue lighthouse at the top. The Cau Buddhist Temple is also present at the top.

There are other smaller temples around the area too.

Visit the Night Market

I love a night market it and luckily for us, our hotel was right by the night market, Ho Dem Phu Quoc. The market was buzzing with several souvenir stalls, fresh fruit and lots of local specialities, both hot and cold. Many of the stalls sold street food for around £1 – we had bbq meat skewers, Vietnamese pizza and coconut ice cream served in a coconut. Just wander around and take it all in. The reasonable prices mean you can try dishes you wouldn’t normally and see what you like best!

Visit Starfish Beach

We were gutted we only found out about Starfish Beach on our final day so didn’t get a chance to visit. It is situated on the north of the island and is fairly difficult to access. There is an option to hire a motorbike / moped but we were advised that the roads were too risky. Another option is to hire a taxi for the morning / afternoon to drive you there and wait. You are likely to be able to agree a fixed fare of around £30 for a few hours. Lastly, John’s Tours (as above) offer a ‘Discover the North’ Tour which includes a visit to Starfish Beach (picture below from John’s Tours).

We have heard from a few people that visitors can disrespect the Starfish on the beach and try and pick them up (or even put them in their bags!). We obviously didn’t witness this but hope there is enough being done to prevent this behaviour. This certainly looked liked one of the best things to do in Phu Quoc.

Practice Yoga!

Yoga on the beach is the best, right?! We visited Cassia Cottage for a yoga session between 5-6pm when the sunset. The teacher and the class were great!

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *