The island of Phú Quốc in southern Vietnam was the perfect spot for us to warm up after the coolness of Ha Long Bay. Phu Quoc is famous for its long white sand beaches and pepper farms. We had an amazing time there, but it was not without a few travel fails.
It’s a big resort island so prices were more expensive in general than other places we’ve visited. Many of the restaurants in the main town of Dương Đông cater to the western palate which always comes with a higher price tag. However, with a bit of searching, we were able to find delicious cheap eats and a great hotel well within our budget.
We stayed at Phong Nhã Hotel, run by the sweetest family ever! For 5 nights it was $50 USD, and our room was MASSIVE. The luxury of space was more noticeable after our time in the ever-cramped Hanoi. The hotel was on a quiet little street where the host family’s young kids and the kids across the street frequently played together in the road.
We got in around sunset, so our first night we just settled into our room and went to bed. Our sleep was delayed by a cacophony of barking dogs out in front of the hotel. We tried to ignore it, but it was impossible to sleep so Wini had the idea to go out front and see if we could scare them off. We went down and they went even crazier. But we did our dog whispering voodoo and after a while, the Head Bitch In Charge relaxed and the rest of them shut up. You’re welcome neighborhood!
The next morning we went out to explore the area. To our great joy, we discovered the house across the street had a PUPPY! We played with our little baby and met his mommy, who wasn’t the culprit of the bark-a-thon yesterday, so we became fast friends.
Our first meal on the island was along the main strip in Dương Đông. It was only okay and it was more expensive than we were used to (a whopping $7 USD for both of us. Yes, I realize I sound ridiculous). After, we did a big beach walk on gorgeous Long Beach, which is aptly named. It stretches 20km and is lined with palm trees, towering resorts, and inviting massage beds.
We walked with the purpose of finding an interesting temple built into a rock over the sea. However, we had Travel Fail #1. We arrived at a temple in the middle of a night market which appeared to be converted into a personal residence, not the picturesque sea-view rock we had been promised.
We later found out that the one we were looking for was Dinh Cau Temple and we had walked to Cao Dai Temple (my b!), which were only a 6-minute walk apart. Not realizing the mistake at the time though, we gave up on the temple. Instead, we walked back towards our hotel along the beach and went for a nice swim close to our hotel.
That evening we made the most pivotal discovery of our time on Phu Quoc: Uyen Uyen Cafe. It was a two-minute walk from our hotel and of our 8 meals on the island, we ate 6 of them here. Unhinged? Perhaps. But we prefer to say when you find a good thing you don’t let it go.
The food was sooo flavorful, with big portions, and cheap! We paid $4 USD for both of us. And the best part? It came with Phu Quoc’s own cracked pepper. Oh my god!!! When I tell you you’ve never tasted the true potential pepper can hold until you try this stuff… It had never occurred to us that pepper could taste fresh! It made every meal significantly better.
Our second morning we started the day off perfectly at Uyen Uyen Cafe, and then walked to the beach for a relaxing day playing in the ocean and reading our books. We had a siesta back at the hotel, and then went back to the beach for sunset.
We were both hungry after the sunset, so we walked up to the main road for food but everything was so expensive so we gave up and went back to our classic: Uyen Uyen Cafe. We’re nothing if not predictable.
On our third morning, we rented a scooter from our hotel ($6.35 USD for the day) and drove north towards Rạch Vẹm, aka Starfish Beach. We had seen gorgeous photos of hundreds of beautiful red starfish that dot the white sand in the shallow water, so we felt a bit catfished when we arrived and could only find a couple. This was only a minor Travel Fail because we were still able to enjoy the little floating fishing village. We posted up in the hammocks, I ordered a delicious coffee and we spent the afternoon relaxing with the sound of waves under our butts.
On our last full day, we decided to do a hike in Suoi Tranh Eco Park to see the stunning Suoi Tranh Waterfall. The park was supposedly only about an hour’s walk so we set out on foot. On the way home we planned to stop by one of the famous Pepper Farms and see where the magic happens.
After 1.5 hours of sweating profusely in the hot mid-day sun along the main road of Phu Quoc, we arrived at our biggest Travel Fail yet. The “trailhead” we had been laboriously walking to was NOWHERE CLOSE to where we were supposed to be. Somehow when Wini had copied the address from AllTrails, it had changed to a completely unrelated location!
Instead of being in a lush forest with babbling brooks and cascading waterfalls, we were on the exact same urban street that we had been walking along all day. All we could do was laugh! It would take us another 1.5/2 hours to walk to the actual trailhead and by this point we were pooped, so we took the L and headed back to our hotel.
I’ve heard amazing things about both Suoi Tranh Waterfall and the pepper farms, so if we had another day we definitely would have given it another attempt. As it was, this was our last evening on Phu Quoc before an early morning flight to Ho Chi Minh City. We went to the one place we knew would never fail us… Uyen Uyen Cafe. A treat and a treasure! We said a final goodbye to the people who had fed us so dependably on our 5-night stay. We’ll miss you!
The next morning we got a ride to the nearby airport for our 1-hour flight to HCMC. Despite the fails of Phu Quoc, we had a wonderful time and have so many incredible memories! We enjoyed the more relaxed nature of the island, the sweetness of the people we encountered, and the delicious pepper! We even bought a little bottle to carry with us on our journey, which has been the perfect addition to all our meals since then.
Fun! Love the stories