Phu Quoc Island
Phu Quoc Island
Phú Quốc is the largest island of Vietnam. The island is part of Kiên Giang province. The district of Phú Quốc includes the island proper and 21 smaller islets. The district seat, Dương Đông, which is located on the west coast, is also the largest town on this island, whose total area is 574 square kilometres (222 sq mi).
Located in the Gulf of Siam, Phú Quốc island lies just off the Cambodian coast, 62 nautical miles (115 km; 71 mi) from Rạch Giá, 8.1 nautical miles (15.0 km; 9.3 mi) from Kampot province of Cambodia, and nearly 290 nautical miles (540 km; 330 mi) from Laem Chabang, Thailand. Roughly triangular in shape the island is 50 kilometres (31 mi) long north to south and 25 kilometres (16 mi) east to west in the north at its widest.
A mountainous ridge of "99 peaks" runs the length of Phú Quốc with Chúa Mountain being the tallest at 603 metres (1,978 ft).
The island's monsoonal sub-equatorial climate is characterized by distinct rainy (June to November) and dry seasons (December to May). The annual rainfall is high averaging 2,879 millimetres (9.446 ft). In the northern mountains up to 4,000 millimetres (13 ft) have been recorded. April and May are the hottest months with temperature reaching 35 °C (95 °F).
Phu Quoc is famous for its two traditional products: fish sauce and black pepper. The rich fishing grounds offshore provides the anchovy catch from which the prized sauce is made. Pepper cultivation is located inland in the center of the island. More recently a pearl farm was established.
Tourism plays an important part of the economy with the beaches being the main attraction. Phu Quoc is served by Phu Quoc Airport with air links to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)'s Tan Son Nhat Airport and Rach Gia's Rach Gia Airport. Plans are in progress for a new international airport for the island. Phu Quoc is also linked with Rach Gia and Hà Tiên by fast ferry hydrofoils.
It's rare to find an island as unspoilted and yet so bursting with possibility as Phu Quoc Island (Phú Quốc), which rises like an emerald from the waters off the south-west coast of Vietnam. Gorgeous scenery might be dime a dozen in Vietnam, but the landscapes on Phu Quoc belong to a different order of loveliness altogether. This is due to the island's isolation and low population, and its location smack bang in the middle of the sublimely beautiful Gulf of Thailand. Here you will find is solitude, and gorgeous scenery piled on in spades.
Imagine soft secluded beaches, the water a thousand different shades of turquoise. Stunning sunsets, thunderclouds heaped on the horizon. Palm trees protruding perpendicular over the gentle waves. That's Phu Quoc. Everywhere you look you'll want to take a photo.
More than a dozen stunning beaches with a total length of 150km, calm and near transparent seas, a whole armada of pristine islets massed off the southern coast. Pristine and blessedly uncrowded, the beaches are Phu Quoc's main drawcard. Fishermen roam the waters at night, their lights dancing on the horizon. By day you will have the waves largely to yourself.
Coral reefs swarming with tropical fish, of every possible color and design. Phu Quoc is a Shangri-La, one of those dwindling number of locations that are truly unspoilt. But it won’t be unspoilt for long. Phu Quoc is a place where you can swim on beaches which until a few years ago were not only off the radar of foreigners, they were totally off-limits by the military authorities. You could have been arrested just for strolling on these fine sandy shores. Those days are over, but with the ending of isolation comes a new urgency, the need to see this island before it is too late. The innocence of Phu Quoc will not last for long.
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