Two monsoons, two different islands
Phu Quoc does not have a good season and a bad season. It has two seasons that suit different halves of the island, and knowing which is which is the difference between a good trip and a week of cancellations.
The short answer
If you want one sentence: come between November and March, and if you have to choose inside that, come in November, December or January because those are the only months when the boats and the forest both work.
If you can only come in the southwest monsoon — June to September — do not cancel the trip. Come, plan around the north and the interior, and treat any boat day as a bonus. The island is green, the rooms are half price and there is nobody there.
| If you want | Come in | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Snorkelling and the An Thoi islands | November – April | June – September |
| The national park, streams full | June – December | February – May |
| Both of the above | November – January | — |
| The southeast beaches calm | November – May | June – September |
| Empty island and cheap rooms | May, September, October | Late December, Tet |
| Diving with the best visibility | February – April | September |
Why the island flips
Phu Quoc sits in the Gulf of Thailand off the southwest coast of Vietnam, and it gets two monsoons a year from opposite directions. That single fact explains nearly every seasonal decision on this website.
From roughly November to April the northeast monsoon blows. The southern and eastern shores sit in the lee, which is why Bai Sao and Bai Khem are glassy in January and why the An Thoi channel is crossable. From roughly June to September the southwest monsoon blows the other way. The west coast, including Long Beach, becomes the sheltered side, and the An Thoi channel picks up swell that makes the snorkelling boats unworkable.
May and October are the transitional months and behave unpredictably from year to year. The practical consequence is that we decide boat days about two days out in those months rather than committing weeks in advance.
There is always a swimmable coast on Phu Quoc. It is just not always the same one. A "bad weather" week in August still has flat water on the west coast, and a windy week in January still has flat water in the southeast. Any operator telling you the whole island is out is telling you their boat is out.
Month by month
| Month | Rain | Sea | Crowds and price | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Very low | Calm in the south and east | Busy to mid-month, then easing | Excellent — the best all-round month |
| February | Very low | Calm, clearest water of the year | Tet spike, then quiet | Excellent, avoid the Tet week |
| March | Low | Calm, hot and still | Moderate | Excellent for the coast, poor for the forest |
| April | Low, rising late | Calm, hot | Moderate, spike at end of April | Very good, very hot |
| May | Rising, afternoon storms | Turning | Low, good value | Good value, some cancellations |
| June | Regular afternoon rain | Southwest swell begins | Low | Good for the north and the park |
| July | Wet | An Thoi often closed | Low, school holidays lift it slightly | Land trips only, realistically |
| August | Wettest stretch begins | An Thoi usually closed | Low | Land trips only |
| September | Wettest month | Frequently closed | Lowest of the year | The one month we would move |
| October | Easing | Improving weekly | Low | Quietly excellent value |
| November | Low | Calm returning | Rising | Excellent — boats and forest both work |
| December | Very low | Calm | Prices double after the 20th | Excellent, book early |
What each season does to the price
Boat, vehicle and guide costs do not move with the season. Hotel rates move a great deal, and they are the only reason our multi-day tours are quoted for your dates rather than published as a single number.
| Period | Hotel rate against the annual average | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 20 December – 5 January | 180 – 220% | The peak. Book three months out |
| Tet, dates move each year | 150 – 200% | Domestic peak. Everything is full |
| Mid-January – April | 110 – 130% | High season, comfortable |
| May – June | 80 – 95% | Good value |
| July – August | 85 – 100% | Domestic summer lifts it despite the rain |
| September – October | 65 – 80% | The cheapest weeks of the year |
| November – mid-December | 95 – 115% | The best combination of weather and price |
Planning around the weather rather than hoping
- Put boat days in the middle of your stay, never on the last day. If a boat day is cancelled it needs somewhere to move to.
- Book the land trips for the days you cannot move. The north island road day runs every month of the year and is the right choice for a fixed date.
- Do not book a trip that depends on one activity if you are travelling June to September. Our two-day tour is half boat day, which makes it the wrong tour for August.
- Rain here is not all-day rain. In the southwest monsoon it usually arrives as one or two heavy hours in the afternoon. Mornings are frequently clear.
- Watch the forecast for wind, not rain. Rain does not cancel a boat. Wind does.
Tell us your dates and we will tell you the truth
Including if the answer is that your week is a bad week for what you want to do.
Questions travellers ask most
Is Phu Quoc worth visiting in the rainy season?
Yes, with a different itinerary. The interior is green, the streams run, the north is at its best and rooms are 30 to 40% cheaper. What you give up is the An Thoi boat day, which is a real loss if snorkelling is the whole point of the trip.
September is the one month we would actively suggest moving if you can.
When is the water clearest for snorkelling?
February through April, in the south. Visibility is at its best when there has been no rain for weeks and the rivers are not pushing sediment out. Ten to fifteen metres is a good day; the very best days in March run better than that.
How hot does it get?
Daytime highs sit around 30 to 33°C for most of the year and rarely drop below 25 at night. The difference between months is humidity, not temperature. March and April feel hottest because there is no cloud; August feels heaviest because the humidity sits above 85%.
Should I avoid Tet?
If you want quiet, yes. Tet is the Vietnamese lunar new year, the dates move each year, and for about ten days the island is full of domestic visitors, the prices are at their annual peak and the boats are booked out.
If you want to see the island at its most alive and you do not mind crowds, it is a genuinely interesting week. Book two to three months ahead either way.
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