Weekend Trip: Phu Quoc is Vietnam’s overlooked island paradise on the rise

PHU QUOC, Vietnam – Nearly everyone I tell of my four-day trip in August responds with a quizzical look. “Where?” they ask, as if I had invented the name.

It is a fair question, all things considered. Perched on the south-western tip of Vietnam, Phu Quoc is the country’s largest island, yet it still flies under the radar for most Singaporeans.

Part of the reason is flight access. Low-cost carriers Scoot and Vietjet run direct routes from Singapore, but not daily.

Vietjet currently flies four times a week and will increase to daily services from December. Scoot, which launched flights in December 2024, flies six times a week. Return fares hover under $300, with a flight time of about one hour and 45 minutes.

Compare that with more regular flights from Chinese and South Korean cities, and it is little surprise that hotel staff in Phu Quoc say most guests are from those countries.

Phu Quoc is about 574 sq km – four-fifths the size of Singapore – with roughly 180,000 residents.

The island can be loosely divided into three areas: the northern stretch of resorts and theme parks; the central hub of Duong Dong, where local life hums; and the south, where I spend four days exploring.

Come for the beach, stay for the seafood

The rainy season runs from May to September, but my August visit sees only two wet spells on different days. Otherwise, it is golden sunshine – ideal for beaches that rival postcard scenes.

Khem Beach – connected to

JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa

, where I stay for two nights – is something out of a movie.

Ms Phuc Do, assistant marketing and communications manager at the resort, says the beach gets its name from its fine white sand that appears so “creamy”, it resembles ice cream, which is khem in Vietnamese. 

Even in the midday heat, families play in the clear blue water, kids build sandcastles on the beach and others happily lug their stand-up paddle boards from the coast to the sea. It does not feel crowded. 

The island’s coastline stretches around 150km and Khem Beach is but one of many. There are also Sao, Vung Bau and Ong Lang beaches – all prime choices for an evening dip or a lazy sprawl on soft sand.

With fishing still a main livelihood, seafood is fresh and plentiful. It is worth stopping at a seaside shack or restaurant for the catch of the day – crab, squid, scallops and more – before heading back to your accommodation.

European-inspired everything

European architecture seems to have a chokehold on tourism developments in Phu Quoc. Sun Group’s Sunset Town in the south, for instance, was opened in 2024 and is inspired by the Mediterranean. 

Colourful stucco buildings with red-tiled roofs line sloping streets, and doors and windows feature rococo archways. One of its highlights is a 75m-tall red-brick clock tower which faces the sea, inspired by St Mark’s Campanile, the bell tower of St Mark’s Basilica in Venice.  

But wander farther and the illusion falters – many shopfronts stand empty, with “for rent” signs taped to ornate doors. The project, developed during the Covid-19 pandemic and global downturn, is still waiting for tenants.

Mr Bui Thanh Trung, chairman of Sun Group Southern Region, says the tide is turning. “The international tourist market, which is the long-term growth pillar for Phu Quoc, is gradually stabilising throughout the seasons.

“It is expected that in the second half of the year, the number of businesses operating in Sunset Town and Khem Beach will increase by more than 30 per cent compared with the first half of the year, which means hundreds of new shops will open.”

Some operators are already embracing the theme.

La Festa Phu Quoc

, a 197-room lifestyle hotel, channels Italy’s Amalfi Coast. The lobby’s white arches and palm fronds spill into terrazzo-tiled rooms decorated with bright artwork.

To fully immerse in the atmosphere, head to the hotel’s Mediterranean restaurant Mare for dinner. 

The kitchen whips up solid Spanish-influenced appetisers like seared scallops with crispy serrano ham (345,000 dong or S$16) and delicious housemade pasta (from 345,000 dong) – complete with a sea view. 

For an elevated dining experience, book Pink Pearl restaurant at JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa.

Helmed by Michelin-starred French chef Olivier Elzer, the restaurant is as flamboyant as it is refined. True to the resort’s whimsical university theme – where stationery doubles as door handles and invented trophies line the halls – Pink Pearl is decked out in shades of blush and gold, a theatrical backdrop for fine dining.

The establishment seats 36 diners in its main dining hall and serves French cuisine with a Mediterranean twist. It offers five- and seven-course menus, starting at 4,288,000 dong a person. 

Personal favourites include its blue lobster dish with tandoori sauce and a creamy panna cotta-like base inspired by the traditional blancmange dessert, and seared Hokkaido scallops in a tangy uni emulsion. I still dream about the meal.

High-energy entertainment

Beyond beaches and restaurants, Phu Quoc excels at spectacle. Sun World Hon Thom entertainment complex offers two theme parks – Aquatopia Water Park and Exotica Village.

The water park has more than 20 rides, including water slides, a wave pool and a surf simulator, while Exotica Village is home to Vietnam’s only wooden roller coaster, which runs for two minutes on a roughly 900m-long track. 

The complex is located on Hon Thom Island, around 15 minutes from Sunset Town via the world’s longest non-stop three-rope cable car system.

It operates daily and covers a distance of almost 8km. The cable system is strung together over six concrete towers, with the highest at 178m from the ground.

Ms Pham Thi Thao Anh, 24, who takes me on a tour of the theme parks, has worked in customer service at Sun World Hon Thom for two years. 

She says the majority of travellers she serves come from China, Taiwan, South Korea and Russia, but in recent months, she has also seen more guests from India. 

Singaporeans are few and far between, but she is certain numbers will increase in the future, as the island rapidly expands its infrastructure for 2027, when it hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. 

In preparation for the big event, Chicago-based architectural and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has designed a 78ha space on Hon Thom Island, which will include a conference and exhibition centre, a multi-purpose arena for cultural events, and a mixed-use tower with new waterfront and retail offerings.

If Apec summits of the past – like those in Da Nang and Hanoi – are any indications, tourism and economic development in Phu Quoc will see a boost post-event.  

Attractions also extend into the night. Take a leisurely evening stroll on the Kiss Bridge – an 800m-long bridge in Sunset Town with two walkways that stretch towards each other, stopping just 30cm from each other.

Visitors on either side can only reach over and touch – or kiss, as the name suggests – each other; there is no means of crossing the gap in the bridge which is built over the sea.

Unveiled in December 2023, the architectural wonder was built precisely to capture the evening sun, which on Jan 1 each year can be seen setting right in that gap. 

Some evenings, Ms Anh works at the ticketing counter for the Kiss Of The Sea show, which takes place outdoors at the world’s largest permanent water projection theatre next to the Kiss Bridge. It comprises a 5,000-seat auditorium, a 1,000 sq m seawater projection screen and a 26m-high projection stage set-up. 

The show runs daily from 9.30 to 10pm except on Tuesdays, and is created by French production company ECA2. The group is also behind the Wings Of Times show in Singapore’s Sentosa Island. Ms Anh tells me the best time to arrive is 8.25pm.

A range of special effects is incorporated into the show’s storytelling – water, pyrotechnics, lasers, music and, perhaps most exhilaratingly, fireworks. It is a feast for the eyes. 

Note, though, that sitting in the first 30 rows or so is bound to get you soaked, especially on a windy night. The guy next to me goes as far as to remove his shirt to shield his young daughter from the onslaught of salty seawater. Needless to say, I am drenched.

A taste of the local

There are various ways to explore the more rustic, local side of Phu Quoc, but I choose to do so on a bicycle one morning.

For a slice of the island’s history, visit Phu Quoc Prison – also known as Coconut Tree Prison, after the coconut trees that surround the site. It is but a small preserved plot of a larger prison built in 1946, when the French invaded the island. 

Then, it was considered the largest prison in South-east Asia and was used as the grounds for torturing prisoners of the Vietnam War (1954 to 1975).

Phu Quoc’s dark history is captured in exhibits where plastic figures of soldiers and prisoners depict the torments that many Vietnamese had to endure. Outside the prison is an altar, where locals pay respects to those who sacrificed and suffered during wartime.

Phu Quoc is well known for its production of multiple food items like fish sauce and pepper. 

Across the road from the prison is Phung Hung, a local fish sauce business. Pop by to buy some bottles as gifts or have a look at one of its production warehouses, where 2m-tall vats overflow with the pungent smell of fermenting anchovies.

Ms Phuc from JW Marriott tells me that in Vietnam, the mark of a superior fish sauce lies not only in taste but in colour – a deep, translucent brown locals poetically call “mau canh gian” in Vietnamese, or “the colour of cockroach wings”.

I am both repulsed and intrigued. She goes on to explain that cockroaches were once a familiar fixture in Vietnamese homes, their wings offering the perfect everyday reference point. For generations, it became shorthand for recognising the ideal hue of fish sauce – unflattering perhaps, but instantly understood.

Phu Quoc is fast transforming. La Festa Phu Quoc’s general manager Justin Kim says: “This year, our low season didn’t feel like a low season. We were nearly fully booked consistently and I think it will keep getting better because we have so many new things coming.”

In other words, visit now, before it turns into another overrun beach escape.