Phu Quoc itinerary: how to spend 1, 2 or 3 days

How many days

• 1 day: Day 1

  One day covers the south: Sao Beach, the cable car to Hon Thom, Phu Quoc Prison and sunset at Sunset Town, and leaves out Duong Dong and the north.

• 2 days: Days 1 to 2

  Two days add a pepper garden and a fish sauce barrel house, Dinh Cau shrine at sunset and dinner at the Duong Dong night market.

• 3 days: Days 1 to 3

  Three days add a morning walk in the national park, the fishing village and cape at Ganh Dau and an evening at Grand World.

Day 1

Sao Beach, the Hon Thom cable car and Phu Quoc Prison

07:30 to about 18:45 · 6 stops · entry fees VND 850,000 a person

1. 07:301

   

   View · 1 h 45 min

   Sao Beach

   Cost: Free beach; loungers and showers are rented by the beach bars.

   Sao Beach, on the south-east coast, is the island's best-loved beach, with powder-white sand and calm turquoise water, and Vietnam's tourism site advises coming early on a weekday for a quiet swim. Start with a swim while the light is soft and the sand is still cool. There is no bus to the south of the island, so come by taxi or scooter from Duong Dong or An Thoi. In the wet season, check the sea before you go in.

   Image: Trantuonglam / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 10 min by taxi or Grab, 8.6 km. About 9 km to the cable car station at An Thoi; taxi or scooter.

2. 09:302

   

   Do · 20 min

   Hon Thom cable car from An Thoi

   Cost: Adult return ticket on Sun World's booking site (VND 825,000 online), including the water park and theme park on Hon Thom; children 1 to 1.4 m about VND 700,000.

   The cable car runs nearly 8 km from An Thoi to Hon Thom, over fishing boats, forested islands and bright blue water, in about 15 minutes. Since 1 January 2026 it has run in set windows: 09:30 to 11:30, 13:30 to 14:00 and 15:30 to 17:30, so catch the first. Buy online the day before for a small discount. Sun World closes it for maintenance on announced dates, and it stops in storms, so check its news page.

   Image: Vivu Vietnam / Unsplash

   ↓By cable car, 4 km. About 15 minutes across to Hon Thom, by Sun World's figure.

3. 10:003

   

   Do · 3 h

   Hon Thom island

   Cost: Water park and theme park included in the cable car ticket; food extra.

   Hon Thom has the Aquatopia water park, the Exotica theme park and a beach, all included in the cable car ticket. Spend the morning in the water, eat on the island, and be back at the station for the 13:30 to 14:00 window; miss it and the next one is not until 15:30, which costs you the prison. Bring a swimsuit, a towel and sunscreen, and keep your phone in a waterproof pouch.

   Image: Nguyên Trần / Unsplash

   ↓By cable car, 9.6 km. Back to An Thoi in the 13:30 to 14:00 window, then about 6 km by taxi to the prison.

4. 14:304

   

   Sight · 1 h 15 min

   Phu Quoc Prison

   Cost: Free entry.

   From 1967 to 1973 the US-backed Saigon government held communist prisoners of war here, up to 40,000 in a single year, according to Vietnam's National Museum of History. Inside the wire are rebuilt prison barracks and the barbed-wire tiger cages, which some visitors find hard to look at. Prisoners dug an 80 m escape tunnel with rice spoons and lunch-tin lids. It is open 07:30 to 11:00 and 13:30 to 17:00, and entry is free. Speak quietly.

   Image: Mrfly911 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 10 min by taxi or Grab, 3.9 km. About 4 km to Sunset Town; taxi or scooter. Rest first if you can.

5. 17:305

   

   View · 1 h

   Sunset at the Kiss Bridge, Sunset Town

   Cost: Free to walk the town; some viewpoints and shows are ticketed.

   Sunset Town is a new Italian-style quarter of cobbled streets, pastel houses, terracotta roofs and bougainvillea, which Lonely Planet's James Pham wanted to hate and found himself won over by. Walk out to the Kiss Bridge for the sun going down over the sea. Then wander back through the lanes: Pham notes that going out at night used to mean an expensive taxi to Duong Dong, and the town now has its own shows.

   Image: Vivu Vietnam / Unsplash

   ↓About 10 min walk, 0.9 km. Back into the town's streets for dinner.

6. 18:456

   

   Do · 2 h

   Dinner and the Kiss of the Sea show

   Cost: Show tickets vary by seat and night; check Sun World's booking site.

   Eat in Sunset Town, which one Reddit traveller thought looks like a pleasant place to eat dinner, then stay for Kiss of the Sea, the evening show of fireworks, acrobats and light projected on curtains of falling water over the sea that James Pham saw. Show nights and seat prices change with the season, so book on Sun World's site. For the ride back, ask your driver for his number when you come out, as taxis are harder to find late.

   Image: Vivu Vietnam / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Day 2

Pepper, fish sauce, Dinh Cau and the Duong Dong night market

08:30 to about 18:00 · 5 stops

1. 08:301

   

   Do · 45 min

   A pepper garden east of Duong Dong

   Cost: Free to visit at most gardens; they hope you will buy pepper.

   Phu Quoc is known for its black pepper, and Vietnam's tourism site suggests touring a pepper garden. Several sit along 30 Thang 4 road east of Duong Dong, among them Ngoc Ha. Walk between the rows of vines and see the berries on the plants before they are dried, then taste and buy a bag if you like it. Prices are set by each garden, so compare before you buy a large amount.

   Image: Tonbi ko / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 5 min by taxi or Grab, 2.3 km. About 3 km back towards town to Hung Vuong; taxi or scooter.

2. 09:302

   

   Do · 45 min

   A fish sauce barrel house

   Cost: Free to look round at most producers; bottles for sale.

   The island is just as known for its fish sauce, and the tourism site suggests touring a traditional barrel house, the nha thung where the sauce ferments in big wooden barrels. Khai Hoan, on Hung Vuong Street in Duong Dong, is one of the island's makers. Ask before photographing the workers. Fish sauce is strong-smelling and liquid, so check your airline's rules before packing a bottle to fly home with.

   Image: Ondrej Bocek / Unsplash

   ↓About 5 min by taxi or Grab, 1.8 km. About 2 km into central Duong Dong; taxi or scooter.

3. 11:003

   

   Eat · 1 h

   Lunch in Duong Dong

   Cost: Local eateries; prices on the board or ask first.

   Eat in the streets around the market in Duong Dong, the main town, where James Pham found most of the island's hotels. Look for bun quay, Phu Quoc's own noodle soup, or a plate of grilled fish with rice, and ask the price first where there is no menu. Then go back to your hotel or the beach for the hottest hours: the next two stops are best in the late afternoon.

   Image: Phương Huy / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 5 min walk, 0.5 km. About 500 m to the river mouth, after your rest.

4. 16:304

   

   Sight · 1 h

   Dinh Cau shrine at sunset

   Cost: Free

   Dinh Cau stands on a rock outcrop facing the sea at the mouth of the Duong Dong river, about 200 m west of the town centre. The present shrine was built in 1937, and 29 stone steps lead up past a small shrine to the earth god. Climb up before sunset and look along the coast as the light goes. Dress respectfully and keep your voice down: it is a place of worship, not just a viewpoint.

   Image: Sketyl none / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

   ↓About 5 min walk, 0.5 km. About 500 m to the night market.

5. 18:005

   

   Market · 1 h 30 min

   Duong Dong night market

   Cost: Seafood is priced by weight; ask before it is cooked.

   The night market near Dinh Cau sells grilled seafood, fruit and snacks, and you pick your catch from the ice and have it cooked on the spot, the tourism site says. Ask the price per kilo, watch it being weighed and agree how it will be cooked before it goes on the grill. One Reddit reply sums up the case for staying in town: at least there is a night market and good seafood.

   Image: Ondrej Bocek / Unsplash

Day 3

The national park, Ganh Dau and Grand World

08:00 to about 17:00 · 4 stops

1. 08:001

   Do · 3 h

   Phu Quoc National Park

   Cost: Ask at the park's visitor point for trail fees and a guide.

   The national park, set up in 2001, covers about 70% of the island, most of the forested north. Vietnam's tourism site suggests a half-day trek or motorbike ride on its forest trails to streams, viewpoints and quiet beaches. Start at the park's visitor point on the road north, ask which trails are open and whether you need a guide, and carry water. After rain the trails are slippery, so wear closed shoes.

   ↓About 30 min by taxi or Grab, 26.6 km. About 25 km west to Ganh Dau; taxi or scooter.

2. 11:452

   Eat · 2 h 30 min

   Lunch and a swim at Ganh Dau

   Cost: Seafood priced by weight; ask first.

   Ganh Dau, in the far north-west of the island, faces the Gulf of Thailand, with Cambodia to the north across the water. Eat seafood in the village, then swim or rest on the beach. Ask the price per kilo before you choose and agree how the fish will be cooked. In the wet season, from May to October, the tourism site warns of rougher seas, so check the water before you swim.

   ↓About 10 min by taxi or Grab, 6.8 km. About 7 km to Grand World; taxi or scooter.

3. 15:003

   

   Sight · 1 h 30 min

   Grand World canals

   Cost: Free to walk the streets; boat rides and shows are ticketed.

   Grand World is a new resort quarter of brightly painted buildings, shops and canals in the north of the island, built for walking in the evening. Stroll the streets, watch the boats on the canal, and stay on for dinner and the night market as the lights come on. It is the end of VinBus route 17, so you do not need a taxi back to Duong Dong.

   Image: Desiree M / Unsplash

   ↓About 5 min walk, 0.1 km. To the night market street.

4. 17:004

   Market · 1 h 30 min

   Grand World night market and the bus back

   Cost: Street food; VinBus 17 back to Duong Dong VND 50,000.

   The night market street at Grand World fills with food stalls in the evening. Eat here, then take VinBus route 17 back down the coast: it runs round the clock, about every 15 minutes, for a flat VND 50,000, and stops on Hung Vuong street and at the Duong Dong night market on its way to the airport. The whole run to the airport takes 80 to 100 minutes, less to Duong Dong.

Tips for Phu Quoc

Getting there, where to stay and the weather by month are on the Phu Quoc page. Plan checked 24 October 2026.