Five days, the whole island
The complete version. Everything the shorter tours reach, plus the east coast that almost no itinerary bothers with, plus one day with nothing scheduled in it at all.
At a glance
- Duration
- 5 days, 4 nights
- Group
- Max 8 on land, 12 on the boat
- Starts
- Phu Quoc airport or any island hotel
- Ends
- Phu Quoc airport or any island hotel
- Difficulty
- Easy, with one 6 km forest walk
- From
- USD 475 per person
The case for five days, and the case against
Five days is the point at which Phu Quoc stops being a place you are visiting and starts being a place you are staying. You unpack once, you do not drive across the island on consecutive mornings, and there is a whole day in the middle with nothing in it.
It is also the point at which we start telling some people not to book it. If what you want from Phu Quoc is a beach and a book, four days of guiding is three days too many, and you would be better off with two days and three days of your own. Five days suits people who want to have actually seen the island, and it is honest to say that is not everyone.
The east coast is what makes this length different from four days. Ham Ninh is a working fishing village on the shallow eastern shore where the boats sit on mud at low tide, and Bai Thom in the northeast is the least developed stretch of coast still reachable by road. Neither appears on a standard itinerary because neither photographs like the west. Both are the parts of the island people talk about afterwards.
Day by day
Southern beaches and the sunset at the southern tip
Met at the airport or your hotel, straight to Bai Khem for the first swim and lunch on the sand, then Bai Sao through the afternoon.
Sunset from Sunset Town at the southern tip, facing open water. Dropped at your hotel by 19:30, or at the Duong Dong night market with a car arranged back.
The An Thoi archipelago
Aboard at 08:45, on the first reef by 09:20, three snorkelling stops and a two-hour beach break with lunch at Hon May Rut. Twelve people maximum, a guide in the water.
Ashore by 16:30. The squid fishing boat fits this evening if you want it, at USD 29 per person.
North through the pepper country to Ganh Dau and Rach Vem
A working pepper farm at Khu Tuong, a fish sauce house, lunch on the sand at Ganh Dau with Cambodia on the horizon on a clear day.
Rach Vem in the afternoon for the stilt village and the starfish shallows, then Cua Can river mouth in the late light. Back by 17:30.
A day with nothing in it
No pick-up, no guide, no schedule. This is deliberate and it is the reason five days works better than four days plus a beach afternoon.
If you want it filled we will fill it — a private boat for your party at USD 380, a cooking class, the Hon Thom cable car, a second day in the water, a massage, or a scooter and a map. Say so at booking or say so at breakfast; both work. What we will not do is put something in it by default and charge you for it.
The east coast — Ham Ninh, Bai Thom and the road home
East across the island to Ham Ninh, a working fishing village on the shallow eastern shore. At low tide the boats sit on mud and the crab traps come in; it is not pretty in the way the west coast is and it is the more interesting half hour.
North up the east coast road to Bai Thom, the least developed coastline still reachable by car, with a swim and lunch. Then a short forest section on the way back through the national park boundary, and either your hotel or the airport by 17:00.
Prices
| Group size | 3-star hotel, per person | 4-star beachfront, per person |
|---|---|---|
| 2 travellers | USD 640 | USD 825 |
| 3 – 4 | USD 540 | USD 695 |
| 5 – 8 | USD 475 | USD 615 |
At five days the per-day cost is the lowest of any tour we sell — USD 95 a day at the bottom of the 3-star range against USD 130 for the two-day tour — because the free day costs us a room and nothing else. That is also the honest reason we do not offer six or seven day versions: after five days you are paying us for hotel nights you can book yourself for less.
What the price includes
- Four nights with breakfast in one hotel — no moving mid-tour
- All island transfers including both airport runs
- An English-speaking island guide on days 1, 2, 3 and 5
- The An Thoi boat day, capped at 12, with gear, lunch and port fees
- Two road days in a 16-seat van with 8 seats sold
- National park entry and the ranger permit
What it does not include
- Flights to and from Phu Quoc
- Anything you choose to do on the free day
- Dinner on any evening
- Travel insurance, which must cover hiking
- Tips
Gallery
Who this tour is not for
- People whose real plan is a beach holiday. Four guided days is a lot of early starts, and you will resent day three. Book two days and keep the rest for yourself.
- Travellers in July, August or September, when the boat day and half the point of the itinerary are unreliable. We will sell it and we will warn you.
- Anyone who cannot walk six kilometres on uneven ground on day four of a trip.
- People wanting a six or seven day version. It does not exist, on purpose. After five days there is nothing left that we can add which you cannot arrange better yourself.
- Groups of nine or more, who need two vehicles and stop getting the thing they booked.
Questions travellers ask most
Is five days too long for Phu Quoc?
For a guided tour, five days is the maximum we think is defensible, and we say so on the price table. For a holiday, no — plenty of people spend ten days here and use five of them on us.
How many days you need works through the diminishing returns honestly, including the point where extra nights stop buying anything but sleep.
What is actually worth doing on the free day?
In order of how often people come back happy: a private boat for your own party, a cooking class in Duong Dong, a full day doing nothing on Ong Lang beach, and the Hon Thom cable car if there are children.
The cable car is genuinely impressive and takes about fifteen minutes. It does not need a guide and we will not charge you to book it.
Why is the east coast on the last day rather than earlier?
Because it is the day that always runs. Ham Ninh and Bai Thom are reachable in any weather, so keeping them last means a cancelled boat day on day two can move to day five without losing anything.
Can you extend it with the mainland — Ha Tien, the Mekong?
No. We work on this island only, and we would be a mediocre operator anywhere else. We will happily hand you to people who live in the delta and take nothing for it.
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.