Life Abundant

Where To Stay

Our last stop in Vietnam was the island of Phu Quoc. This island is just off the southern tip of Vietnam, you can actually see both Vietnam and Cambodia from its shores. We flew with Viet Jet Air (a discount airline) from Hoi An to Phu Quoc, for a few days of beautiful beach time before heading back to work. 

Phu Quoc is a pretty low key island, without a ton of tourism or the hustle and bustle of a big city. But it won’t stay that way for long. With lots of hotels and resorts building along its pristine shores, this island will soon be one of the top tourist destinations in the country.

We found a great deal on a brand new, absolutely beautiful hotel called The White Lotus! The hotel wasn’t on the beach itself but was about a 5-minute bike inland from one of the most beautiful and quiet beaches on the island called, Coco Palm Beach, which is a belongs to the Coco Palm Beach Resort, but is open to other resort and hotel guests nearby. We spent most of our time relaxing on this beautiful beach that is shaded by trees with has crystal clear waters to swim in.

Our Favorite Beaches & Snorkeling

Another of our favorite beaches was Sao Beach. This beach is a bit more crowded, with a few restaurants and shops along its shores, and vendors who walk around selling goods.  You can rent a chair and umbrella for about $5 – $8 a day, or walk a bit further down the beach where there are no shops and no people. If you wander away from the touristy area’s though, you’ll find more litter on the beach, so, unfortunately, you sort of have to choose more people and no litter, or no people and more litter.

Snorkeling is also popular in Phu Quoc. We decided to join a snorkeling tour that took us to a few different reefs and islands off the north shore of the island. The snorkeling was amazing! We saw all sorts of beautiful fish, some of which I’d never seen before (and I’ve been snorkeling in Belize, Costa Rica, Malawi, the Dominican Republic, and Thailand)! 

We also took the opportunity to have a little fun by jumping off the top deck of the boat into the turquoise waters below. There aren’t too many rules (if any), so you can do flips, dive, or cannonball from about 15 feet off the deck, whatever your heart desires. You can find a number of snorkeling tour companies on the island, we went with one that we booked close to our hotel called John’s Tours.

Getting Around The Island

We rented a moto from our hotel for $5 a day and did our best to navigate our way around the island. When we travel, we usually download the area that we’ll be staying on google maps on our phone. You can use the maps offline and find yourself (the blue dot) and follow along to help you with directions. You can also buy a SIM card in Vietnam and use data, but that is assuming that you’ll pick up data in the all the places you go (which is unlikely if you like to get off-the-beaten-path like us).

We loved exploring the island, stumbling upon colorful fishing villages, tiny port towns, and some of the most beautifully painted fishing boats you’ve ever seen. Having the freedom to explore the island at an affordable price, and at our own pace is how we like to travel.  just be sure to wear a helmet if you decide to explore by moto!

Our Favorite BBQ Place

The secluded Coco Palm beach near our hotel was also the perfect place to watch the sunset.  With its west-facing view,  you have a front row seat to God’s artistic display.  Grab a local beer or smoothie from the restaurant at the hotel on the beach, and watch the fisherman cast their nets into the glowing waters as the sun sinks into the ocean.

After sunset, we headed back to our hotel and walked to the “No Name BBQ” restaurant right up the street from our hotel. This place is nothing fancy, with tiny plastic tables and chairs, a few dogs meandering around looking for a treat to fall on the floor, and a very friendly family who runs the place. But although the atmosphere doesn’t impress, the food will leave you wanting to come back again! 

They sell freshly caught seafood, fried rice, and a few other local dishes cooked in their tiny kitchen. You’ll find all sorts of seafood out front displayed on ice, with a fiery charcoal grill ready to BBQ your choice of red snapper, scallops, veggies, or almost any other seafood that you could want. It was so good that we ate there 2 nights in a row!

We loved Phu Quoc, and would totally recommend it…Just be sure to go sooner rather than later before tourism takes over and the island gets too crowded.