How booking actually works
Six steps, no account to create, no card details taken on a form. Here is exactly what happens between your first message and standing on the boat.
The six steps
- You send an enquiry. Dates, how many of you, roughly what you want. The form on any page reaches us; so does WhatsApp, which is faster.
- We reply within one working day with a plan, a price for your exact dates and party size, and the name of the hotel if there is one. If what you want does not exist here, we say that instead of selling you something adjacent.
- You ask questions. Most bookings take two or three exchanges. There is no pressure step and no expiring offer — that tactic works, and we do not use it.
- You confirm and pay 25%. Bank transfer or a card payment link. That deposit is what actually holds the boat and the rooms; until it lands we are holding nothing.
- Balance 14 days before your first service, or in cash on the island if you prefer. Day trips booked inside 14 days are paid in full at confirmation.
- You arrive. You get a WhatsApp number answered by a person on the island, and a pick-up time confirmed the evening before, not the morning of.
What we need from you
Four things at enquiry, and four more before we can run the trip.
| When | What | Why |
|---|---|---|
| At enquiry | Dates on the island | Hotel rates and boat availability both move with the date |
| At enquiry | How many people and their ages | It sets the price and the boat |
| At enquiry | Where you are staying, if booked | It sets the pick-up time |
| At enquiry | What you actually want out of the island | It is the only way we can tell you not to book something |
| At confirmation | Full names as on passports | Port manifests and park permits |
| At confirmation | Nationality | Required on the boat manifest |
| At confirmation | Swimming ability and any medical issue | It changes which boat and which guide |
| At confirmation | Dietary needs | The island kitchens need 48 hours for anything unusual |
How fast we are, honestly
| Channel | Typical reply | Worst case |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp, 08:00 – 20:00 island time | Under 2 hours | Same day |
| WhatsApp, overnight | By 09:00 | By noon |
| Enquiry form or email | Under 1 working day | 2 working days in December |
| Phone | Immediately, if someone is not on a boat | Call back within 3 hours |
If you have not heard from us in 48 hours, something has gone wrong with the email rather than with your enquiry, and we would rather you chased us than assumed we were not interested.
Weather, and what happens to your money
This is the part of booking a Phu Quoc trip that people get wrong, so it is worth being precise. Boat days are weather-dependent. Road days are not. The sea makes the decision and neither we nor any operator overrides it.
- 48 hours out we look at the marine forecast. If it is clearly against us we contact you then, with three options: another date, a swap to a land trip at the land trip price with the difference refunded, or a full refund of that day.
- 06:30 on the morning we look again if it was borderline. Same three options, and you have not lost the day because you are still in bed.
- If the port authority suspends sailing, nothing runs, for anyone. The refund is processed that day and does not become a credit note.
- If we sail and the day is poor — it happens, forecasts are not perfect — we do not refund, and we will tell you before you book that this is where the line sits.
Do not put a boat day on your last day on the island. If it moves, you have nowhere for it to move to. Put boat days in the middle of your stay and keep the last day for something that always runs.
Paying
Three methods, no card details ever taken by us directly. Full details including the bank account and the anti-fraud checks are on how to pay.
- Bank transfer to our corporate account in Vietnam. Your bank's charge only, clears in one to three working days.
- Card through a payment link we send you. Around 3%, shown separately at cost rather than folded into the price.
- Cash on the island, dong or dollars, for the balance only, against a numbered receipt.
Our account details never change and we never send them from a free email address. If you receive a message changing them, it is not from us — call the number on the contact page before you transfer anything. This kind of interception is common in travel and it is the single most expensive mistake a traveller can make.
Changing or cancelling
Full terms are on the booking terms page. In plain language:
| When you cancel | What it costs |
|---|---|
| More than 21 days before | Only what we have already committed and cannot recover, itemised |
| 21 – 8 days | The 25% deposit |
| 7 – 3 days | 50% of the trip |
| 48 – 24 hours | 25% of the trip |
| Under 24 hours or no-show | Nothing refunded, except entrance fees not yet issued |
Changing a date is free more than seven days out and subject to availability inside that. Reducing party size changes the per-person price, because the price was built on the number of people — we will show you the new arithmetic rather than just charge the old total.
Start with a date and a number
Two lines is enough to get a real quote back. We do the rest.
Questions travellers ask most
Do I have to pay a deposit for a single day trip?
Inside 14 days, you pay in full at confirmation because there is no time for a deposit and a balance. More than 14 days out, 25% holds it.
For a boat day the deposit is what buys the seats; the boat sells its capacity to whoever pays first and we cannot hold seats on a promise.
Can I book when I am already on the island?
Yes, and plenty of people do. Boat trips close at 18:00 the day before because the manifest has to be filed with the port. Road trips we can take until about 21:00 the night before. Anything same-day is luck rather than a service we offer.
Is my deposit protected if something happens to you?
We are a licensed Vietnamese tour operator and hold the insurance the licence requires. That is not the same as a bonded arrangement in Europe or Australia, and we are not going to imply that it is. If that gap matters to you, pay by card — the chargeback route is the real protection and it is worth the 3%.
What if my flight to Phu Quoc is cancelled?
Tell us as soon as you know. If it is more than 24 hours out we move everything at no charge. Inside 24 hours we will still move whatever the suppliers let us move and will not charge you for our own time, but a boat that has already been provisioned is a real cost we cannot recover.
Read next
Tell us what you want out of the island
Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.