Wow, Vietnam’s got some islands? Let’s go and check them out! I’m not sure what to expect, but Phu Quoc’s got to have beaches that are surely not much discovered or heard of. I first read about Phu Quoc back in 2022 when I was churning up my Vietnamese itinerary. It sounded like a great place to visit – warm weather, amazing beaches, an unassuming Vietnamese island sitting pretty just off the coast of Cambodia.
It may no longer be Vietnam’s best-kept secret, but I definitely loved this desert-island gem in the sparkling turquoise waters.
Theoretically, Phu Quoc seemed to tick these boxes, especially according to everything we read. The reality was however a little different.
The airport is located on the west coast to the south of the main town, Duong Dong, which is roughly in the middle of the west coast. Between Duong Dong and the airport is Long Beach which has the highest concentration of resorts and hotels..
To have more connectivity option we stayed in the center which was surrounded by small resorts, hotels and homestays scattered amongst coconut plantations and local homes. I believe it’s what most of Phu Quoc would have looked like before developers started clearing land for new resorts and condos
On second day we headed to the Vin Pearl Safari which this island is famous for. Famed as the first semi-wildlife park in Vietnam, Vinpearl Safari in Phu Quoc is unarguably a must-visit attraction.
This place gives you a feel of both Open Zoo and Safari at the same time. Starting off with the Zoo tour we observed first-hand some of the rarest and most endangered wild animals in the world, such as the Bengal tiger, the southern white rhinoceros, and the white-handed gibbon.
In addition, the “caging people, releasing animals” experience is something no visitor should miss when coming here. Having spent hours among the wild it was time to take a lunch break and Finally! I found myself a table at the giraffe restaurant.
This is the best part of the zoo in my opinion but not just because of the view of the safari from the restaurant but the unique experience! While you grabbing a quick snack, you can feed the giraffes, carrots right out of your hand. Who doesn’t want to feed a giraffe? Such an interesting restaurant idea for a zoo. Cost about 30K to get some grub for these beautiful long necked creatures. They’re very gentle and friendly so it’s safe for children to feed the animals. This was the first time I was able to get so close to one of these beautiful animals. Was definitely my favorite part of the zoo and I highly recommend it.
Right after the restaurant is the Safari. You can see its big gate down the road. The Safari tour was pretty cool. We felt a part of those Jurassic World movies where the animals living in an open habitat instead of small cages and we are on the tour track enclosed.
They separate certain animals with a double layered gate so they don’t eat each other. One gate fully closes and is checked before the next one will open.
Some zebras, and some rhinos which were really incredible to see. Did you know that only around 27,000 rhinos remain in the wild today. Very few rhinos survive outside national parks and reserves due to persistent poaching and habitat loss over many decades. We were so glad we could witness so many of them while a wild bear came up to say hello by the window!
Next was straight back up Highway 45 to Grand World which, together with the VinWonders theme park, is the largest tourist development on Phu Quoc.
The area includes a golf course, several five-star hotels including the Sheraton, and hundreds of condominiums and villas. In front of the entry arches to Grand World is an impressive building constructed entirely from bamboo, and an Urban Park featuring 55 sculptures and other modern works of art.
Entry to Grand World is free except for the cultural shows. However, during the day visitors can stroll around the village free of charge and enjoy a range of mini-performances from some of the 300 actors, dancers, and musicians who are employed for the evening show.
The main attraction at Grand World is the large canal running through the middle of the development, with colourful European styled buildings housing restaurants, cafes, and shops along both sides.
The canal feeds into an artificial lake which features a light show and dancing fountains at night, and beyond the lake there is a night market and more restaurants.
It took me less than half a day to see everything in Grand World as it was disserted just like one of the apocalypse movies. The development has not yet recovered from the Covid shutdowns because many of the shops between the lake and the beach are empty, and most of the condominiums in the streets back from the canal are also empty, may be the island will pick up in future but it’s definitely worth visiting for its many photo opportunities.
Around mid-afternoon I reached the southernmost beach development on the west coast – a recently completed small town called Sunset Town. It was here that I found the terminal for the cable car to the offshore islands after Google Maps had led me to a wrong location in the port of An Thoi on the other side of the hill. A strange and deserted place that is partially still under construction. It’s a copy of a Mediterranean coastal-style city. As of November 2022, most of the shops were closed and it looked like a ghost town. There was classical music playing on speakers throughout the town, which actually helped to somewhat alleviate the feeling of emptiness and despair.
I discovered that the cable car operates only in the morning between 9.30am and 11.00am to take people out to the islands and in the late afternoon from 3.30pm to 5.00pm to bring them back, with a half-hour period in the middle of the day where it operates in both directions between 1.30pm and 2.00pm for visitors only wanting to make a half-day trip out to the islands.
As it was after 2.00pm I spent the afternoon exploring Sunset Town, which was built as a replica of Sorrento in Italy and watched the sunset gazing the kissing bridge.
Yes across the water from where we lounged, I could see a large two-tiered bridge with a small gap in the middle of the top layer. That gap will remain because it’s not a road bridge, but a ‘kissing bridge’.
The concept is that couples will walk across the bridge from either side, and then lean over the gap in the middle, high above the ocean, to kiss.. I’m not sure how that would have worked, but it is probably the most expensive structure that I’ve seen anywhere in the world that has been built solely for the purpose of providing photo opportunities.(more reasons to visit?)
Aside from the kissing bridge, Sunset Town felt more authentic than Grand World, and there were far fewer tourists there. You can experience an entire European culture from France to Italy all in the same town!
Bougainvillea vines in full flower added an additional splash of colour to the clean streetscapes but, like Grand World, more than half the shops were empty and there was no sign of anyone living in the hundreds of condos and townhouses up on the hill.
The 8km-long Hon Thom cable car system was supposed to be the longest tricable cableway in the world and the longest of any type over the ocean. Services were suspended during the Covid pandemic, and the hours of operation are not yet back to pre-Covid levels, but that will change as more tourists make their way to Phu Quoc.
I have no idea what the island looked like a few years ago but as of 2023, the coast is lined up with resorts or construction sites to create even more of them in the near future.
If this is what you are looking for, then it’s fine. Because the beaches undoubtedly give you the best views and activities to do!
Phu Quoc definitely made my photo gallery look bomb, as every corner on this islanf is so virgin and merely inhabited, but if that’s something you looking for in your next island trip do put this long lost island on the itinerary.
It’s an island that tells a distinct story only to live a completely different one. At the look of it every photo of this Phu Quoc island trip may seem out worldly but those photos only tell half the story.
Cannot Miss:
- Spending everyday by the beach soaking in the sun
- Checkin in at one of the luxury resorts because they are not so expensive
- Touring the VinPearl Safari & feeding the giraffe at the restaurant
- Strolling along the Grand World canals & lake
- Catch zillion of photoshoot opportunities at Sunset Town
GlobeTrotting365Days: Phu Quoc, Nov 2 2024.
