Phu Quoc Island is wonderful and definitely a must if you are there while the weather is good. We were technically there in the rainy season, but we had fantastic weather and there weren’t many tourists so it was fantastic. We took the boat ($12) over early in the morning from Ha Tien and took a minibus to the town ($3). We went straight to Buddy’s Ice Cream and Info Centre, where we picked up a free map before heading to a hotel directly opposite Buddy’s. After checking in we rented a motorbike ($7.50 for the day) and headed off on our first biking adventure. Note: if you are there in the rainy season do not go south. We made the mistake of going south down the coastal road, which was less like a road and more like a huge mud bath. Needless to say we tipped the motorbike and ended up covered in red clay:
We headed back to the main road (which was heavily under construction) and started south again. We made it all the way to An Thoi, which was a disappointingly dull village. We visited Sao Beach, which was beautiful but by no means worth the terrible journey there. This first motorbike experience turned out to be the most trying of the entire trip! That evening we visited the night market, which is really fun and a good place to eat. The next day we visited Cao Dai temple early in the morning (7:30 am) which was very peaceful as no one else was there. We moved hotels to one on the beach (Beach Club) and spent the day relaxing and wondering around the beach.
Sunset from Beach Club
After a day of rest we were ready to get back on the bike and tackle the road up north. This turned out to be a much more pleasant experience than the road south. It’s a little rough at the beginning but then it turns into a deserted paved double lane highway! The coastal road is beautiful, with huge stretches of completely untouched sand, and there is a beautiful fishing village at the northern tip of the island called Ganh Dau. We ate at a restaurant called Sakura which we highly recommend (Adrian’s favourite food of the whole trip; pork cooked in fish sauce). Note: do not trust the fuel gauge. We were flying down the highway and came to a stuttering halt as we ran out of gas. I suggest always keeping a water bottle full of gas for emergencies!We also drove to Tranh Stream (admission 25 cents) which has a beautiful waterfall.
On Phu Quoc Island we bought a ticket to get from Phu Quoc all the way to Kampot, Cambodia for $22 each.