Two days, the south and the sea
The short version. One night on the island, the southern beaches on the first afternoon and the An Thoi archipelago on the second day. It is what a two-day stopover should be.
At a glance
- Duration
- 2 days, 1 night
- 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
- From
- USD 195 per person
What two days on Phu Quoc can and cannot do
Two days is one night, which means one afternoon and one full day. That is enough for the south of the island and the islands off it, and nothing else. The north, the national park and the east coast are all out of reach, and any itinerary that claims otherwise is driving you for six hours.
We have built this deliberately around the two things the south does best. The beaches at Bai Sao and Bai Khem are genuinely good — fine pale sand, shallow water, and in the northeast monsoon season a lee that makes them calm when the west coast is not. And the An Thoi archipelago is fifteen minutes off An Thoi harbour, which means a boat day without a long transfer at either end.
If you are on the island for two nights rather than one, take the three-day tour instead. The third day adds the entire northern half of the island and costs USD 100, which is the best-value single day we sell.
Day by day
Arrival, the southern beaches, and Sunset Town
We meet you at Phu Quoc airport, or at your hotel if you are already on the island, and go straight south — the airport sits between Duong Dong and the southern beaches, so arriving passengers waste nothing.
Bai Khem first, which is the more sheltered of the two and the better swim. Then Bai Sao in the middle of the afternoon, which is busier but has the longer stretch of sand and a line of places to eat with your feet in it. Late afternoon runs down to An Thoi and Sunset Town at the southern tip for the sunset, which faces west across open water with nothing between you and the horizon.
You are dropped at your hotel by about 19:30. If you want the Duong Dong night market we will drop you there instead and arrange a car back — it is a twenty-minute walk end to end, it is genuinely a food market rather than a souvenir one, and it is at its best between 19:00 and 21:00.
The An Thoi archipelago — four islands, three swims
Pick-up at 07:30 and aboard at An Thoi by 08:45, which puts you on the first reef at Hon Gam Ghi at about 09:20 — roughly forty-five minutes ahead of the commercial fleet. That gap is the whole reason this day is worth what it costs.
Three stops in the water across the day, split by a two-hour beach break at Hon May Rut with lunch cooked on the sand. Masks, fins and vests are on board in adult and child sizes. Between the second and third stops the Hon Thom cable car passes overhead, which is the photograph everybody takes.
Ashore at about 16:30. If you are flying out that evening we will hold your bags on the vehicle and run you straight to the airport, which works for any departure after 19:00. Earlier than that and you should not book the boat day.
Prices
| Group size | 3-star hotel, per person | 4-star beachfront, per person |
|---|---|---|
| 2 travellers | USD 265 | USD 340 |
| 3 – 4 | USD 225 | USD 295 |
| 5 – 8 | USD 195 | USD 262 |
Booking without a hotel — you have already got a room, you just want the two days guided — takes USD 78 off the 3-star price. Say so when you enquire and we will quote it that way.
What the price includes
- One night with breakfast in a hotel we have actually stayed in
- All island transfers including both airport runs
- An English-speaking island guide on both days
- The full An Thoi boat day with gear, lunch, port fees and a 12-person cap
- Entrance fees at Bai Sao and Bai Khem
- Drinking water throughout
What it does not include
- Flights to and from Phu Quoc
- Dinner on either evening
- Travel insurance
- The Hon Thom cable car, which is not on this route
- Tips
Gallery
Who this tour is not for
- Anyone visiting between June and September, when the An Thoi boat day is cancelled more often than it runs and half the tour is the boat day.
- Travellers who want to see the whole island. Two days does the south. Book four days if you want the north and the park as well.
- People flying out before 19:00 on day two. The boat is not back in time and we will not rush it.
- Non-swimmers, for whom day two is a long sit on a boat.
- Anyone who wants a resort holiday with a day trip attached. This is two scheduled days and there is no free time in it.
Questions travellers ask most
Can we do this the other way round — boat first, beaches second?
Yes, and sometimes we insist on it. If the forecast puts day two out of range and day one is workable, we swap them and tell you the evening before. The weather decides the order, not the brochure.
Which hotel do we get?
We name it in the quote, with a link, rather than saying "3-star or similar". You can say no and we will offer another. Every hotel on our list is one we have stayed in ourselves, and we take no commission that would survive you asking us about it.
Is two days enough for Phu Quoc?
For the south, yes. For the island, no. Phu Quoc is 574 square kilometres and the drive from An Thoi to Ganh Dau is over 60 kilometres — two days does not touch it. How many days you need sets out what each extra night buys, honestly, including the point at which extra nights stop buying anything.
Can we add the squid fishing evening?
Yes, on the first evening, for USD 29 per person on the shared boat. It makes day one a long day — beaches until 18:00, boat until 21:30 — and it works. It does not fit on day two, when you are already on a boat.
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.