Phu Quoc

Phu Quoc, 45km from the coast of Vietnam, 250km from Ho Chi Minh City by road. It’s a large, teardrop shaped island, about 50km from top to bottom and around 30km across at its widest point, and a population of approximately 75,000. There is a sizeable military presence in the north of the island as it is claimed by Cambodia, only 15km away.  Phu Quoc is part of an archipelago of 105 islands in the Gulf of Thailand, of which 13 are in close proximity to its makes it Vietnam’s largest island. It has some shores. A land area of 1,320km of the best beaches in Vietnam, a large forest area, and coral around the small islands to the south. Although comparatively underdeveloped, the island is becoming a tourist attraction. The northeast corner of the island is hilly and covered in dense forest. It was originally designated as a nature reserve in 1993. Although it was upgraded to National Park status in 2001 and extended to cover most of the island, little is known about its biodiversity. The islands and their surrounding marine areas are currently being considered for ‘biosphere’ listing by UNESCO. Phu Quoc’s beaches are by far the main reason for the growing interest in Phu Quoc as a major tourist destination. They are considered the best in Vietnam – experienced travelers have described some of them as the best they have ever seen. Fringed by coconut palms, the sands often stretch as far as the eye can see with hardly a person in sight. The aptly named Bai Kem (Ice Cream Beach) is one of the best. A stretch of dazzling-white soft coral sand tucked away in a wide cove, it has been compared with the Seychelles. Duong Dong’s fresh seafood is delicious. The local market is lively, and well worth a visit. An Thoi, a fishing town at the point of the teardrop, is bigger, noisier and more crowded than Duong Dong but decidedly un-photogenic. It’s not worth adding to your itinerary unless you’re keen on the smell of rotting fish. Serious trekking is curtailed by the extensive military restricted areas, but long hikes along the dirt tracks and paths through the pepper and cashew plantations are straightforward. More glamorous, but less well known, are Phu Quoc’s pearls. Once collected from the sea, local pearl farms now produce the iridescent gems. A visit is fascinating, and you can purchase the products for far less than they would cost overseas.

Despite a heavy reliance upon ‘dynamite fishing’ by local fishermen, some of the coral reef has survived, mostly around the islets at the south of the island. Boats for snorkeling can be hired in An Thoi. A five star PADI diving center has recently opened on Phu Quoc. Turtle Island off the northwest is reputed to be one of the best dive sites in Vietnam.