Things to Do in Phu Quoc: Itineraries, Costs and Food

A 20km west-facing strip and the main hotel coast. Sand quality varies enormously by kilometre: good in front of the big resorts who rake it, patchy with washed-up plastic elsewhere, worst right after the rainy season. Sunsets are the real draw.

The white-sand postcard beach on the southeast coast, and still the best sand on the island. It is also completely commercialised now: jet skis, banana boats, rows of loungers, tour buses from 10am. Arrive before 9am or after 4pm and it is a different place.

It runs 7,899.9m from An Thoi out to Hon Thom in roughly 15 minutes, on a three-rope system with 69 cabins, open since February 2018. Widely reported as the world's longest over-sea cable car and generally credited as a Guinness record, though that claim traces to the operator rather than a record listing we could confirm. The ride itself is the point: you pass low over fishing villages and clear water. The waterpark and rides at the far end are a standard theme park with a good beach attached.

A pedestrianised street in Duong Dong with seafood tanks out front and souvenir stalls behind. Prices are quoted per 100g on some boards and per kilogram on others, which is the standard trick. Confirm the total in writing before anything goes on the grill.

Somewhere between 314 and 337 square kilometres over the northern and central island, depending on which official figure you read, established by decision in June 2001 and part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The realistic options are the short Ganh Dau and Rach Tram forest walks or the trail up Mount Chua. It is dense secondary forest, not dramatic scenery, and it gets very humid. Take twice the water you think you need.

Warehouses of three-metre wooden vats where anchovies ferment for a year. Phu Quoc fish sauce holds a protected geographical indication and was among the first Vietnamese products granted EU-level protection. The smell is intense and the tour is short. Buy the first-press bottle, and check your airline's liquid rules before you commit to a litre.

A three-cable sea-crossing gondola to Hon Thom island, still holding the Guinness record for longest cable car of its kind, roughly 15 minutes each way. Worth doing once for the view over the bay. Lines get long midday, go early or late afternoon.

A Mediterranean-styled waterfront district on the island's south tip built around Kiss Bridge, two structures reaching toward each other over the sea, plus a nightly light and water show. Worth the trip specifically at sunset. During the day there's little to do and it can feel like an empty film set.

A roughly 400-metre strip of stalls on Vo Thi Sau Street in Duong Dong town, the largest night market in southern Vietnam, mixing street food stalls with souvenir shops. Good for wandering and people-watching. Goods cost more than local shops elsewhere, bargain or skip the souvenir stalls.

A large drive-through and walk-through wildlife park with roughly 3,000 animals across 150 species, including a night safari after dark, run as a semi-open conservation park rather than a caged zoo. Worth a full day if you have kids or like wildlife. Go early, most animals retreat out of sight by late morning.

The largest water park on Hon Thom island, with six themed zones of slides, reached via the Hon Thom cable car and included in the standard cable car ticket. Worth doing since it's bundled into the cable car ticket anyway. On its own it's a fairly standard water park, not worth a special trip.

The island's oldest fishing village on the east coast, known for a long wooden pier where boats dock, seafood shacks built over the water, and short net-fishing outings with local fishermen. Worth it early morning or at sunset for the light and the pier. Midday it's a quiet stop with little happening.

Squid, prawns, scallops with spring onion oil, grouper, and the local blue crab. Point, weigh, agree the total price before it hits the coals. The single best thing to eat on the island.

The village exists mostly for this: crab steamed plain and served with salt, pepper and lime. Simple and expensive relative to everything else. The pier restaurants are touristy but the crab is real.

A Phu Quoc-specific noodle soup with fresh-pressed noodles and fish or squid, where you mix your own dipping sauce from salt, chilli, lime and MSG at the table. Not found on the mainland.

Raw herring cured in lime and vinegar with coconut, onion and roasted rice powder, wrapped in rice paper. Built around the same anchovy-and-herring fishery that feeds the fish sauce industry.

The salt-pepper-lime saucer that comes with seafood here uses the local crop, sharper and more floral than standard black pepper. Also sold dried as red and white peppercorns to take home.

First-press sauce is the thing to buy. Protected geographical indication, made from Gulf of Thailand anchovies fermented in wooden vats for about a year. Pack it in checked luggage, double-bagged.

A tray of rice with two or three chosen sides, the daily lunch of anyone who isn't a tourist. Point at what looks good, pay by the dish. A third of what a beachfront lunch costs for the same food group.

A local noodle soup where you stir shrimp and fish cake paste into a light broth yourself. Kien Xay is the long-running brand most tourists end up at. An established brand that appeared at a regional food festival in August 2026, not a new discovery. Solid, not flashy.

Scallop in the shell, grilled with scallion oil, roasted peanut, and chili, sold across Phu Quoc's night market stalls. This is the snack everyone photographs. No single stall to point to, any busy one in the night market will do.

Wine made from wild rose myrtle berries that grow across Phu Quoc's hills. Local producers picked up OCOP 3-star certification as demand for the raw fruit rises. A legit local product with a real certification behind it, not just a listicle claim. Good gift item, but it's a longstanding island specialty getting fresh attention rather than a brand-new fad.

Phú Quốc's fermented fish sauce, made from anchovies aged in wooden barrels, is protected as a geographical-indication product and sold at working factories. The factory visits are real and free in most cases. Buy from the producer rather than a souvenir shop for the actual traditional grade.

Fresh herring fillets tossed with shredded coconut, herbs, and chili, wrapped in rice paper, a signature Phú Quốc starter. One of the few dishes that's genuinely specific to this island rather than Vietnam-wide. Worth ordering over the more generic spring rolls.

Rows of tanks and grills along the Dinh Cậu market strip where you pick live seafood and have it cooked to order. Touristy and priced for it, but the seafood is genuinely fresh. Agree the price before it hits the grill.