Family trip

Phu Quoc Island is still in very early stages of developing family style entertainment, however there's still plenty to do on the island. We've suggested some of the top things to do with your family while visiting the island.

Take a tour

There are many tours to choose from now days, all of which are family friendly, and allow you to explore the island in ease, whether its a spot of night fishing, cruising and snorkelling around the An Thoi Archipelago or booking your own private tour or taxi and discovering a remote beach, there's a good range of tours to keep you busy.

Visit National Park
Did you know that national park covers more than half the island? There are some family friendly walking tracks in the national park that provide lovely cool walking conditions, or just drive through the National Park for a look at the beauty of this natural environment.

Karaoke for the whole family
Some of the Resorts on the island offer walk in Karaoke rooms that seat around a dozen people that you can hire by the hour. Prices are very reasonable, with drinks and food also available on order at most places.

This is a fantastic experience for the whole family and will leave you laughing for hours. We have sung at the Karaoke rooms at Saigon Phu Quoc Resort, which is located in the building to the left after you enter the gate, and found these to be terrific. Sasco blue also have 2 private rooms available as well.

Visit local markets
For an interesting walk, visit Duong Dong Market and take in the amazing sights of all the fruit and vegetation seller to the row upon row of seafood and fish for sale.

Night market in Duong Dong
There's a night market along Vo Thi Sau (just off Tran Hung Dao Street) as you approach Dinh Cau Temple, on most nights. The evenings are very popular here as many people come to watch the sunset near the temple, having a drink by the water and enjoying the evening markets.

Billiards
There's a couple of places in Duong Dong that now have billiards, including some cafes, all welcome tourists, otherwise try the Eden Restaurant located on Long Beach which has a couple of tables for use in their reasonably large restaurant and bar area, which is also family friendly.

Visit waterfalls
Phu Quoc island has a number of interesting waterfalls that can be visited on foot. These can be visited via a tour or just hire a taxi to take you to one of the waterfalls near Duong Dong, these are no more than 8kms away.

Cooking class

Saigon Phu Quoc resort offers Vietnamese cooking classes for the whole family, which is definitely a worthwhile experience you can take home with you, given the variety of tasty and healthily vietnamese dishes on offer. It's only a matter of time before more places offer cooking classes, and you'll want to know how to use fish sauce when you get home to flavor all those dishes.

Sung Hung pagoda

Located in Duong Dong Town, visitors will experience the peaceful ambience under the old banyan tree at Sung Hung pagoda. In the beginning there were two pagodas: Sung Nghia (Sùng Nghĩa) and Hung Nhan (Hưng Nhân), but now they are reunited into the one pagoda named Sung Hung Pagoda. Phú Quốc island, Vietnam. Built in early of the 20th century on the bottom of a mountain near the town, its gate heads North with a generally suitable structure. This pagoda is surrounded by huge old trees. The main entrance conforms to a three-gate style (called Tam Quan).
The statue of the Goddess Quan Am Bo Tat overlooks the centre of the courtyard over a small lotus pond. In the main hall, Tam The Buddha is placed on the highest altar. On the wall is a painting depicting Monk Duong Tang's journey to the West. Behind this is the shrine that worships Gautama Buddha's ascendancy to Heaven.

Duong Dong market

When you tour Phu Quoc, do not limit yourself to just the beach. In this post, I’m recommending that you check out the Duong Dong Market.

Duong Dong Market is just right across the old bridge in central Phu Quoc or, to be exact, located in Duong Dong Town. With no tarmac road and hundreds of people and motorbikes packing the narrow path, it’s gonna be quite a dusty affair. But this is Vietnam. If you want to get into the real life of the Vietnamese people, see ladies with conical hats sitting on the floor selling vegetables and hawkers shouting to get attention to their stalls, go to this Duong Dong Market. You won’t be disappointed.

Everything in Duong Dong market looks so different from anything else in town: huge fish, odd fishing tools … A lively and cheerful atmosphere permeates the marketplace from vendors in conical-palm hats sitting on the ground with their small baskets of little fruits and vegetables to salespeople at their big well-stocked stands. A walk to the market jetty where you can take wonderful snapshots of boats constantly loaded and unloaded in a hurry is also worth trying.

Phu Quoc restaurant - where to eat

The Vietnamese love their food - in fact, they obsessed about it all day! As soon as they had their breakfast, they will soon think about what they would have for lunch...so it's not surprising that you will find an abundance of small eatery places springing across this tiny island.

The food on Phu Quoc island is heavily influenced by the bountiful harvest of fresh seafood, herbs and vegetable...it is fresh, simple yet utterly deliciously refreshing...no fancy garnishes or over the top big plate with tiny portion a-la French style.

Some places you come across might appear to be shabby by western standards...but do not be fooled by their appearances! With a little sense of adventure and you will soon discover some of the tastiest and most inexpensive food you've ever eaten.

 An Thai Cafe, Phu Quoc
A nice relaxing An Thoi restaurant with a good view of town and the sea. They offer fresh seafood as well as Vietnamese and western dishes as well as variety of cocktails at reasonable prices. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Cuisine: Seafood, Vietnamese, Western, Pizza
Price: < US $7
Address: Khu Pho 3, An Thoi, (77) 844 307
Direction: Located in An Thoi Town, Southern Phu Quoc

Carole Restaurant, Phu Quoc 

Terrific place set in a lovely garden setting underneath a giant thatched roof with an excellent menu and reasonable cocktail selection.  The staffs provide a good efficient level of service. Do try their cocktails…and particularly the Mojitos!
Cuisine: Seafood, Vietnamese, Western, Pizza
Price: < US $10
Address: 88 Tran Hung Dao St, Duong Dong
Direction: A short walk from the Saigon Phu Quoc Resort

Tropicana Resort Restaurant, Phu Quoc
Lovely outdoor terraced eating area serving great variety of Vietnamese and western food, over -looking the beach at sunset. Friendly service. Try the Crab fried rice or Lemongrass Fish.
Cuisine: Seafood, Vietnamese, Western
Price: < US $10
Address: Resort, on the beach. (77) 847 127
Directions:  3km south of Duong Dong town
Web: www.tropicanavietnam.com

 Trung Duong Restaurant, Phu Quoc
 Terrific variety of seafood and Vietnamese dishes on the menu. We give this restaurant a high recommendation, having eaten here many times as recently as January 2008 and always found the food to be tasty and great quality. Try the Crab fried rice with your meal or deep fried battered prawns if available.
Cuisine: Seafood, Vietnamese
Price:  < US $10
Address: Duong Dong St., Phu Quoc, (77) 980 504
Direction: Located in Duong Dong Town Center

Palm Tree Restaurant
One of the few that will serve vegan food upon request
Cuisine:  Seafood, Vietnamese, Vegan
Price: < US $10
Address:    Located between Mai House and La Veranda
Direction:    3km south of Duong Dong town

Laguna & Neptune Restaurant, Phu QuocLocated at the Sasco Blue Lagoon Resort with sea views. These restaurants offer a wide variety of dining options with an interesting selection of dishes combining Asian and western flavours.

Cuisine: Seafood, Vietnamese, International
Price: < US $15
Address: Sasco Blue Lagoon Resort, 64 Tran Hung Dao
Web: www.sasco-bluelagoon-resort.com

 Buddy Ice Cream & Info Cafe, Phu Quoc
Friendly staff that offer a great selection of Ice creams and shakes in a clean and modern setting. Try the banana splits or strawberry shakes.
Cuisine:Ice cream
Price:< US $10
Address: 26 Nguyen Trai Street, Duong Dong Town
Direction:Centre of Town on the way to the market

 Minh Tri Restaurant, Phu Quoc
 A nice local place to relax on the beach and enjoy a range of dishes and cocktails.
Cuisine: Seafood, European & South East Asian dishes
Price: < US $10
Address: Tran Hung Dao, Khu Pho 1, (77) 848 829
Direction:Long Beach, southern end of Duong Dong

Gop Gio Restaurant, Phu QuocA local restaurant highly regarded by travelers, offering fresh seafood at very reasonable prices. Nice casual place for a bit to eat.
Cuisine: Seafood, Vietnamese
Price: < US $10
Address: 145 Bach Dang St, 2nd Quarter, (77) 847 057
Direction: Located in center of Duong Dong town

Cooking class in Phu Quoc island

Cooking classes are also innovative in nature, as they will not only teach you how to prepare a menu of dishes, they will also cover presentation and garnishing, which enhance prepared dishes and lend confidence in the overall culinary experience. Cooking classes teach students the right way to balance food textures and flavors, and how to use specific ingredients for certain dishes. You could also be exposed to various cuisines from around the world, and this will make you more knowledgeable about the art of cooking.

By attending cooking classes, you will be interacting with other individuals as well as professionals in the culinary industry. This will allow you to pick up additional tips that you might otherwise not have access to. You will also be able to contribute with tips, and thus a lot of additional information in cooking can be explored.

Cooking classes are fun to attend. You will learn new dishes, make new friends, and take home new techniques and ideas to make cooking at home more enjoyable. Find a cooking school location today in our growing cooking class directory, and take your cooking skills to the next level.

In Phu Quoc island, there are some resorts they have cooking class for you to join. 

Saigon Phu Quoc resort offers Vietnamese cooking classes for the whole family, which is definitely a worthwhile experience you can take home with you, given the variety of tasty and healthily vietnamese dishes on offer. It's only a matter of time before more places offer cooking classes, and you'll want to know how to use fish sauce when you get home to flavor all those dishes.

Vietnamese cooking class is available every Tuesday and Thursday in La Veranda resorts. Their cooks are very good. You can book the cooking class with the receptionist.

Mango bay resort :  The food was excellent (fresh spring rolls with prawns and pork, hot and sour mango soup, BBQ squid and banana and mango nems (mango and banana fried in butter, wrapped in rice paper, fried, and then covered in caramelised sugar and chocolate). The only problem was it wasn’t really a cooking class, but more of a cooking demonstration. In this cooking class, all we got to do was roll the spring rolls up, and then watch the chef do the rest. But it didn’t really matter – as we still got to eat it, which was the important part.

Phu Quoc – Haven of pearls

The Phu Quoc Pearl farm was established in 1998 under the Foreign Investment Law of Vietnam to cultivate South Sea Pearls for the local and international jewellery markets.

The company has a sea lease of 4km² and a land lease of 6,000m² granted by the Kien Giang Provincial Peoples' Committee. Situated on the West coast of Phu Quoc Island, the Pearl Farm is located 8km South of the main town, Duong Dong.Treasures from the Deep Ltd is a New Zealand registered company specializing in the Design and Hand Crafting of Pearl jewellery (set in 18k gold) Pearl Necklaces and Mother of Pearl Seashell (set in 925 Sterling Silver).

The company Owner / Director Grant Johnston has 25 years' Pearl Diving and Aquaculture experience and has been the General Director of Phu Quoc Pearls in Vietnam since 1998.

He provides the technical expertise and management to the venture and is also a major shareholder in the company. Treasures from the Deep was formed to create a marketing company for Phu Quoc Pearls who supply only the finest quality South Sea, Akoya and Mabe pearls to be handcrafted into exquisite designs for sale through out Pearl Galleries and website.

Fish Sauce in Phu Quoc

Phu Quoc fish sauce is one kind of fish sauce which is made in Phu Quoc, Vietnam. For years, Phu Quoc fish sauce has been considered as Phu Quoc speciality, it is famous both in Vietnam and all over the world.

Phu Quoc fish sauce is made from the main material is fish which is catch at Phu Quoc. Making Phu Quoc fish sauce has been over 200 years old. In Europe, Phu Quoc fish sauce has registered to keep the original name “Phu Quoc fish sauce”.

There are many kinds of fish can be used to make fish sauce but people there just only use rice fish to make Phu Quoc fish sauce. They mix 2 part of rice fish with 1 part of salt and keep them in jars for about 1 year. If the material is spoiled fish, time can be shorter but the fish sauce will not be as good as it uses.

The jars are very big. They are similar to fermentation tanks in beer, wine making industry but time for fermenting is longer. More time fish sauce is fermented, more protein it has. Phu Quoc fish sauce is the speciality which most of tourists when coming to Phu Quoc often bring back as gifts.