Three days, both ends of the island
The version most people should book. Two nights, three distinct days, and the only one of our short tours that reaches both the southern islands and the northern capes.
At a glance
- Duration
- 3 days, 2 nights
- 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 295 per person
Why three days is the sensible length
Phu Quoc has two halves that do not resemble each other. The south is beaches, harbour, islands and the largest concentration of new building on the island. The north is pepper, cashew, forest and fishing villages that have not been rebuilt. Two days sees one half. Three sees both, and that is the single biggest step up in the sequence.
The order matters and it is not arbitrary. Day two is the boat day because we want a day either side of it in case the weather forces a swap. Day three is the road day because it is the one day that always runs, so putting it last means a cancelled boat can move to day three and the road day moves to day two without anything being lost.
Two nights also means you unpack once. We do not move hotels on a three-day tour — the drive from a southern hotel to Ganh Dau is 75 minutes and doing it once is fine; checking out to save 30 minutes is not.
Day by day
The southern beaches and the sunset at An Thoi
Met at the airport or your hotel and straight down to Bai Khem, the more sheltered of the two southern beaches and the better swim of the day. Lunch on the sand.
Bai Sao in the middle of the afternoon — longer, busier, and the one people photograph — then down through An Thoi to Sunset Town for the sunset. The southern tip faces west across open water and there is nothing between you and the horizon, which is why it is the sunset worth planning around rather than the one from your hotel balcony.
Dropped at your hotel by 19:30, or at the Duong Dong night market if you would rather eat there. We will arrange the car back either way.
The An Thoi archipelago
On the water by 08:45 and on the first reef at Hon Gam Ghi by 09:20, ahead of the commercial fleet. Three snorkelling stops across the day at Hon Gam Ghi, Hon Mong Tay and Hon Dam Ngang, with a two-hour beach break and lunch cooked on the sand at Hon May Rut in between.
Twelve people maximum on a fourteen-metre wooden boat with a shaded deck, a swim ladder and a freshwater shower. A guide is in the water with you rather than sitting on the boat, which is the difference that matters if anyone in the party is nervous.
Ashore by 16:30 and back at the hotel by 17:00. The evening is yours; if you want the squid fishing boat this is the wrong night for it, and we will say so.
North through the pepper country to Ganh Dau and Rach Vem
A later start — 08:00 — and north up the island. First stop is a working pepper smallholding at Khu Tuong where you walk the rows and taste green, black, red and white pepper off the same vine. Nothing is for sale at tourist prices; we stop at the market later if you want to buy.
Then a fish sauce house where you can walk between the vats and see the twelve-month cycle from anchovy to bottle, and on to Ganh Dau, the westernmost point of the island, for lunch on the sand with the Cambodian coast on the horizon on a clear day.
Rach Vem in the afternoon — a fishing hamlet built out over the water on stilts, with starfish in the shallows when the tide is low and calm. Back at your hotel or the airport by 17:30, which works for any flight after 19:30.
Prices
| Group size | 3-star hotel, per person | 4-star beachfront, per person |
|---|---|---|
| 2 travellers | USD 395 | USD 510 |
| 3 – 4 | USD 335 | USD 430 |
| 5 – 8 | USD 295 | USD 385 |
Without hotels, if you have already booked your own room, take USD 150 off the 3-star price. The three guided days, all transfers and both airport runs stay exactly as described.
What the price includes
- Two nights with breakfast in one hotel — no moving mid-tour
- All island transfers including both airport runs
- An English-speaking island guide on all three days
- The An Thoi boat day, capped at 12, with gear, lunch and port fees
- The northern road day in a 16-seat van with 8 seats sold
- All entrance fees, farm visits and drinking water
What it does not include
- Flights to and from Phu Quoc
- Dinner on any evening
- Travel insurance
- Anything you buy at the market stop
- Tips
Gallery
Who this tour is not for
- Travellers here between June and September who are counting on day two. The road day runs regardless; the boat day may not, and this tour is worse without it.
- Anyone who wants the national park. Three days has no room for it — that is the four-day tour.
- People who want unscheduled beach time. All three days are booked from about 08:00 to 18:00. If you want an afternoon doing nothing, book four days.
- Groups of nine or more, who need a second vehicle and a second boat and stop getting what they are paying for.
- Anyone with a flight out before 19:30 on day three.
Questions travellers ask most
What if the boat day is cancelled?
We move it to day three and run the road day on day two, and you lose nothing. If both days are out — which happens in the monsoon — we refund the boat day in full at the price it is sold at separately and offer alternatives on the island.
Can we swap a day for something else?
On a private booking, yes. The squid fishing evening slots onto day one, the jungle trek can replace the road day between June and December, and the diving day can replace the snorkelling day if everyone is certified. On a shared departure the itinerary is fixed.
Is three days better than three separate day trips?
On money, yes — about USD 55 per person cheaper for the same three days, because the vehicle and the transfers are already paid for. On sequencing, definitely: the three day trips booked separately would have you crossing the island in the wrong order with three different guides.
Do we stay in the north on the last night?
No. You stay in one hotel for both nights, in the south or in Duong Dong, and we drive north and back on day three. Moving hotels for one night on an island this size costs you two hours of packing to save 45 minutes of driving.
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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.