Copy My Trip: A Phu Quoc beach escape

20.07.2024 - 17:34 / lonelyplanet.com / Bill Bensley

Jul 19, 2024 • 5 min read

Lonely Planet destination editor, James Pham, recently traveled to Phu Quoc, an island off Vietnam’s southern coast. Here, he shares some tips and insights for anyone planning a similar trip.

Looking to escape the scorching Saigon heat, I booked a one-hour flight to the island of Phu Quoc. Located in the Gulf of Thailand, Vietnam’s largest island has really taken off as a premier beach destination in the last decade or so, thanks to its 150km (93 miles) of coastline, visa waiver for all nationalities and plethora of tourist attractions. 

While most of the hotels are around the main town of Duong Dong, I wanted to stay on the southern tip of the island, a jumping-off point to the smaller islands. I also wanted to check out the newly developed Sunset Town, intriguingly inspired by Italy's Amalfi Coast. Having vacationed on the actual Amalfi Coast just a few months prior, I have to admit that I wanted to hate the concept (c’mon, a slice of Italy reproduced in tropical Vietnam?) but I found myself super surprised at the authentic vibe. It was easy to suspend belief walking along the cobblestone streets amongst pastel-colored houses with their terracotta tile roofs and blooming bougainvillea.

I spent a few days at La Festa Phu Quoc, Southeast Asia’s first addition to the Curio Collection by Hilton. Taking a page straight from the Med, the property was nothing short of surreal with its soaring clock tower, arched ceilings and sparkling infinity pool overlooking the ocean below. I also loved that there were so many entertainment options nearby, including the cable car to Hon Thom Island as well as the harbor where boats departed for island-hopping tours.

Leaving pseudo-Europe behind, I traded in one surreal experience for another at the JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa. Designed by acclaimed architect Bill Bensley, the design-forward resort has its own unique origin story – a fictional 19th-century university where each building is themed after a different academic department (think a lobby with vintage bookcases modeled after a dean’s library, and a bar with a chemistry lab vibe, all wrapped in art deco aesthetics). It’s nirvana for design aficionados (and the Insta-crowd), a visual feast literally everywhere you look. But equally stunning is its location, tucked on the very end of Kem Beach, widely considered the island’s most beautiful, with powdery fine sand, swaying palms and crystalline water.

While I’d been on snorkeling trips to a few of Phu Quoc’s nearly two dozen islands, I’d yet to take the cable car over to Hon Thom (Pineapple Island). Recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s longest non-stop three-rope cable car, the nearly 8km (5-mile) trip offers