Phu Quoc, Vietnam – Vinpearl Resort and Night Market

Phu Quoc Island

Although Vietnam is my motherland, I have never been to Phu Quoc island till this year

Guido and I are now on the last leg of our Vietnam tour and have decided to just relax in Phu Quoc. Several airlines operate the one-hour flights between Hochiminh City and Phu Quoc, so it’s very convenient.

Phu Quoc is a 222 square mile island in the Gulf of Thailand, famous for its beautiful white sand beaches (Sao Beach, Long Beach and Ong Lang Beach) rivaling Phuket or Bali, with 2.5 millions visitors annually. By the date of our visit, Vietnam has already suspended all visitors from China at the beginning of Covid-19, so the Phu Quoc that we discover is almost deserted, and the few tourists there are predominantly from Russia.

There are many luxury resorts as well as homestay places and activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, fishing as well as trekking and nature trails.

The Vinpearl Golf Resort

We have booked at the Vinpearl golf resort as we plan to just relax by the beach and play golf. There are two Vinpearl resorts on the island, and this one is by the Golf course and by the Vinpearl amusement park, so it’s a popular family destination. The Vinpearl is a luxury resort, lacking in character, but making up with good service. The pool is huge and the private beach is clean, scenic and well maintained with plenty of comfortable lounge chairs and towels. There’s a shuttle bus to the adjacent golf course. This is all we could ask for.

The Vinpearl lobby is luxurious but impersonal. The guests rooms are quite nice with a balcony and sweeping view. I’m disappointed though that there is no complimentary coffee or tea in the rooms, only a small fruits basket. This is quite inconvenient as we could not find any convenience store or cafe in the hotel to grab a coffee or snack on the go.

On the other hand, we are very pleasantly surprised to find a small birthday cake awaiting us in the room on Guido’s birthday, which is a really nice touch.

The pool and beach area is beautiful with plenty of seating area. The beach is clean with fine white sand and the water is great.

The Vinpearl resort offers a fantastic breakfast buffet. Before entering the restaurant, a staff checks your temperature and offers sanitizer for your hands. The variety of both Vietnamese delicacies and International specialties is quite impressive. The food is fresh and beautifully displayed and there’s something delicious for every taste and all ages, including make-to-order eggs, waffles and pancakes stations.

My major complaint about Vinpearl is the lack of dining options. All the restaurants, either in the main building or by the beach only offer buffets, no a la carte menu, and no Vietnamese specialty dining, and no cafe to have a quick snack with coffee. For us, a breakfast buffet is plenty already, so we decide to venture outside the hotel for other dining options.

The Night Market

The hotel operates 2 shuttle buses in the afternoon/evening to the Dinh Chu night market in the west coast town of Duong Dong. I would recommend to book a seat ahead of time, especially during peak season. It’s a fun experience, not to be missed. The outdoor market is brightly lit with dozens of food stalls, barbecues, seafood restaurants, outdoor tables, fruits and ice cream vendors, massage parlors and souvenirs stores. Phu Quoc is famous for its black pepper, rainbow pepper, spices as well as tea leaves, different types of nuts and sweets, so there’s plenty to chose from to bring home.  I’m in heaven as I love street food! Everywhere I travel, I seek local street food to eat like the locals

We decide to taste food from different stalls, barbecue meat skewers, grilled rice paper with toppings like Vietnamese pizza (please check my banh trang nuong recipe), and seafood (Guido picked fresh grilled squids with a spicy dip)

Phu Quoc boasts several fishing villages so the seafood is very fresh. You can select from a wide variety on display and have it cooked the way that you want. We also enjoy a relaxing hot stone massage and end the evening with delicious fresh coconut ice cream.

Phu Quoc is also well known for it’s flavorful peppers, nuts and fish sauce. So don’t forget to shop for these specialties at the Night Market to bring home…

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