What to Do in Vietnam and Why Phu Quoc Island Should Be Your Next Destination

As a coastal country in Southeast Asia, Vietnam consists of thousands of islands and islets, which are geographically significant to Vietnam in particular and the world in general. Followings are some major islands in Vietnam which are worth visiting. Cat Ba Island Cat Ba, an island on Ha Long Bay, possesses one of the most beautiful Vietnam beaches. It is an ideal destination for those who want to explore the sheer beauty of Halong Bay but cannot stand the huge flocks of visitors of main Halong tours. Cat Ba Beaches attract travelers with soft white sand and turquoise sea water. It has many spectacular seashores, namely Cat Co 1, Cat Co 2, and Cat Co 3. There is a Cliffside between Cat Co 1 and Cat Co 2, which is definitely a joy to walk, while Cat Co 2 offers visitors with plenty of bungalows and chalets that are suitable for romantic trips or honeymoon. Almost half of the Island and about 90 square kilometers of the adjacent waters belongs to Cat Ba National Park to protect the island’s eco-biological diversity. Co To Another notable island in Vietnam is Co To Island which is renowned for white smooth sand beaches and transparent blue sea. It is the furthest inhabited island from the mainland of the North. Co To beach remains intact from human’s influence, thus offering white sandy shore and blue sea water. The beach is amazing whenever you look at: day or night, at dawn or at twilight, in the morning mist or under the moonlight. Different times of the day provide you with different emotions and experiences. There is a romantic path leading to the Lighthouse, where you can take a bird’s eye view of the beautiful and peaceful Co To Island and feel the fresh atmosphere on the ocean. There is also a wild forest with colorful flowers and birds around that area. In addition, Co To Island has many majestic rock formations – perfect places for shooting photos. Cu Lao Cham Cu Lao Cham (Cham Island) consists of 8 small islands which have been designated as UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. The picturesque scenery and leisure activities in Cu Lao Cham are a huge appeal to tourists. Cu Lao Cham is the paradise for adventurers, where they can participate in fascinating activities ranging from traditional activities such as swimming on aqua-green water, sunbathing on white sandy beaches, and exploring the forest to marine life discovery. The coast is a collection of plentiful sea creatures and coral reefs. Travelers will see the majestic marine world with an abundance of colorful fishes, lobsters, mollusks under the turquoise sea water. There are also cultural attractions in the island such as the exhibition of Cham Island’s nature and culture, the old well, Lang Ong, and Huong fishing village. There exist the vestiges of Cham people’s civilization. Phu Quy Island Phu Quy Island in Binh Thuan province, with its jaw-dropping landscape and unique culture, is well-known as a paradise for summer escape. Its name literally means “wealth” and “honor”. Beaches in Phu Quy Island are amazing. They are stunning with softy white sand and blue water and more importantly, far from the residential areas. Vinh Trieu Duong is an incredibly beautiful beach that is suitable for swimming while Bai Nho has rock formations and colorful reefs under the water. The lighthouse and wind turbines are also great places to watch the sunset. The island is also famous for its cultural spots. Linh Son pagoda on Mount Cao Cat and Linh Quang Pagoda are important religious centers of Phu Quy residents, where they can not only immerse their soul into the peaceful atmosphere but also take a bird’s eye view over the breath-taking surroundings. Van An Thanh temple has the giant whale skeleton, where you can learn about the whale worshipping tradition of the fishermen. Con Dao In the southern coast of Vietnam stands Con Dao Islands – an archipelago of 16 uninhabited islands and islets, which is a perfect destination to run away from the hustle and bustle of cities. Con Son – the biggest island of Con Dao used to be the site of French-run prisons for Vietnamese soldiers who get involved in the Vietnam War. You can find most of the prisons in Con Son town, where there are plenty of prison cells and infamous tiger cages. In addition to the significant historic relics, Con Dao consists of unspoiled beaches such as Bai An Hai, Mui Ca Map (Shark Cape), and Nhat Beach. These are perfect for swimming and sunbathing. Seafood is also extraordinarily fresh. The uninhabited islets are also great to explore, where travelers can see the spectacular wildlife settings with plentiful flora and fauna. Phu Quoc Island Nestled in the Gulf of Thailand, just 45km southwest of the Vietnamese mainland, Phu Quoc is Vietnam’s largest island. It is also known as “Koh Tral” in Cambodian, as it lies just 15km off the Cambodian coast. Phu Quoc has become an attractive destination with beautiful beaches, lush forests, and fascinating hills. Several stunning beaches in Phu Quoc are suitable for different types of entertainment. If you want to swim, Long Beach, Sao Beach, Ganh Dau Beach, Ong Lang Beach, and Vung Bau Beach are ideal places. But if you want to get away from the crowd to walk hand-in-hand with your life partner on the romantic and tranquil sandbar, Thom Beach and Rach Vem Beach are more suitable. Some beach resorts and amusement centers are open to provide travelers with best services and experiences. The island remains intact as about 70% of the area belongs to Phu Quoc National Reservation Park. Recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, this massive natural park spans over 314,000 square meters of unique tropical flora and fauna, dense forests, and evergreen mountain ranges. Camping, hiking, bird-watching, and photography are available there. Phu Quoc is also home to the famous Vietnamese specialties: fish sauce, pepper, and pearl. Many fish sauce factories, pepper plantations, and pearl farms are available to visit. It is a great opportunity to take a closer look at the traditional careers of Vietnamese people.

A Guide To The History Phu Quoc Island Phu Quoc was first part of the Funan empire, then Chenia and eventually Khmer, which is probably why it was first the homeland of the Khmer people, who also occupied the Mekong Delta, before anybody else. At that time, the now referred to as Peal Island or Phu Quoc was known as Koh Tral, which changed into Phu Quoc with the arrival of the Vietnamese in 1600; however, it took them 20 more years before they were allowed to settle. Nevertheless, even after a century, Phu Quoc was still a desolated region where Khmer, Chinese, and Vietnamese lived together. The Tay Son Rebellion (1600s-early 1800s) The House of Nguyen was the last imperial family in Vietnam and a family clan with substantial military power and political influence, as well as the lordship of the southern part of central Vietnam, in the 17th century. It was believed to have been one of the most affluent clans of Vietnam for a really long time while there are mentions about King Gia Long, the founder of the Dynasty, spending his days after big battles in Phu Quo, indulging in spa-like treatments; a luxury only a handful had back then. But, the Nguyens seem to have always been at war with the Trinh family, leading the country to several civil wars. Unable to unite the country under one ruler, the 17th century war ended in an uneasy peace that lasted 100 years until a rebellion sparked by the Tay Son heated things up again in 1774. After losing considerable manpower during a series of campaigns in Cambodia, the Nguyen clan could not maintain control, especially after the Trinh lords shook hands with the Tay Son rebels in 1775, and were eventually overthrown. The Nguyen lord, 13-year-old Nguyen Anh, fled south and managed to escape Tay Son’s capture with the help of a Vietnamese Catholic priest and a French missionary, ending in the Tho Chu Islands in the Thailand Gulf. Between 1782 and 1786, Phu Quoc was the retreat Anh would turn to as the fights between the Nguyen and the Tay Son about Vietnam continued, until the early 1800s, when Anh finally defeated the Tay Son clan. The France-Cambodia Treaty In 1853, Cambodia’s king made a move to build relationships with France as a means to protect his kingdom against the Vietnamese and Siamese. So, he sent a letter to Napoleon III, which was never answered. The King made a second attempt to lure the French emperor by offering him Phu Quoc but was once more ignored. A third communication was initiated some years later when the King informed the French emperor of Cambodia’s claims on Phu Quoc and the lower Cochinchina region, asking the French not to annex any areas of these territories as, he claimed, had remained Cambodian despite the long Vietnamese occupation. A treaty between the two countries came a decade later, in 1863, when France annexed the region consisting of Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta, and Phu Quoc, and turned it into a French protectorate that was also referred to as Cochinchina. Phu Quoc as a French Protectorate The Vietnamese authorities in Phu Quoc pledged loyalty and commitment to the French troops that had annihilated Ha Tien already, in 1867. Two years later, they (the French) occupied the island and set up coconut and rubber plantations throughout Phu Quoc. At the same time, they requested for Chinese pepper farmers from the Hainan province to be brought here. The French Protectorate placed Phu Quoc under the administration of France (through the administration of the Cochinchina Governor) in 1874, and under the inspection of the France-colonised Ha Tien district in 1875. Some years later, Cambodia, with help from the French, regained the northern provinces of Siam and was awarded the Vietnamese claim on Phu Quoc and the Mekong Delta. Phu Quoc remained under Cochinchina administration, though, when General and Governor of French Indochina placed the islands north of the Gulf of Thailand under the Cambodian protectorate, leaving the southern ones to be managed by the Cochinchina. However, this distinction was not addressing sovereignty rather than administrative and police tasks. Finally, Phu Quoc and the remaining areas of the Cochinchina territory were attached to Vietnam in 1949 with a French ruling, which also included some rights of the Khmer people that were living on the island and any Vietnamese territory. The Coconut Prison The island of Phu Quoc houses one of the largest prisoner camps during the Vietnam War built by the French colonialists to incarcerate Vietnamese people. Known as Coconut Tree Prison, it was rebuilt in 1967 into a prison for communist soldiers. In several periods, it held nearly 40,000 prisoners, both communist soldier and political prisoners alike. With a guard-prisoner ratio of 1-2, Coconut prison was one of the strictest ones with profound guard force that remained in history as the place were extremely brutal crimes took place. Phu Quoc war prisoners suffered tortures and punishments that are hard to imagine could ever be generated from a human mind while thousands died in jail due to exhaustion, food deprivation, and after undergoing barbaric torments day after day, month after month. In the end, though, some of them managed to endure the suffering and not only divide the enemy ranks but also find ways to escape by digging tunnels and more. In the meantime, Phu Quoc also suffered incursions and counter-incursions when the Khmer Krom (Phu Quoc included) was the object of desire for both the Khmer Rouge (Red Cambodians) and Vietnam. In the 1970s, the first seized power in Cambodia and went on a mission to reclaim Phu Quoc and the Mekong Delta; one of these raids ended in the massacre of 500 Vietnamese civilians. All this fighting escalated the Cambodia-Vietnamese War. In 1993, Phu Quoc prison was declared a historical monument and now serves as a war museum, occupying the main area of the former jail, and displaying original artifacts and other exhibits, including life-sized wax mannequins reproducing some of the agonizing moments and suffering prisoners lived back then. Every year, Coconut Prison welcomes former prisoners, locals from all over the country, and tourists alike to its premises, showing them a piece of Vietnam’s history that will never be forgotten. Even today, Cambodia still claims Phu Quoc, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Mekong Delta. Phu Quoc Today After leaving behind the wars and killings of the past, Phu Quoc has started to unveil its real beauty, unrolling its true potential as a tourist destination. With much natural beauty distinguished by lush jungles, pristine beaches, and imposing mountains, Phu Quoc is beginning to enter the game of hospitality, with some areas hosting luxury resorts. Tourism is becoming a source of income for an increasing number of residents, and Phu Quoc has its topographically varied, green land to thank for. Heart-stopping forested mountains, lowland, tropic evergreen forests, and flourishing river plains give way to sugary beaches and secluded coves, enticing all those that come or live here with the changing landscape. Even the underwater world allures with the great quality coral reefs in the northern and southern part of the island. Without losing its originality and authenticity, Phu Quoc is gradually moving towards modernisation and development. Considering that for a significant part of its history Phu Quoc was primarily dominated by the military due to the political imbalance and sensitivity concerning the rights of the island, it feels that Phu Quoc is now reclaiming what it lost and what it was deprived of all these years. Until all the development planned takes place and transforms the area, we will have lots of overwhelming charm and appeal in forests turned into national parks, rainforest areas being well-protected under national conservation laws, tens of fish sauce-producing factories, a large number of top quality pepper farms, and so many more. Interesting Facts About today’s Phu Quoc: The island grows coconut, durian, jack-fruit, banana, rambutan, and mango. It has a high-quality black pepper that it exports to the corners of the world (more than 400 tons every year). The total area of pepper cultivation reaches 500 hectares, with each hectare having between 2,500-3,000 strings, which produce about 3,000kg of peppers per hectare. It has about 100 fish sauce factories producing the best fish sauce repeatedly thanks to its rich anchovy catches from which the sauce is made (10 million litres of sauce annually). Fish sauce was an idea of fishermen some hundreds of years ago, when there were no fridges or ice to preserve the fish they could not consume. Mixing fish with salt (to prolong fish life) turned into a sauce with a strong flavour after a period of time (around a year) from the fermented fish. Phu Quoc’s popularity as a tourist destination for luxury travellers and adventure seekers is growing by the day, which is why one can find a broad spectrum of accommodation, from high-end hotels to hostels. In a Nutshell What appears to describe Phu Quoc’s history is a struggle to stand on its feet and stay alive from more aspects than one. Lacking the fertile soils of the Mekong Delta and experiencing relatively dry weather, you won’t find rice raddles on the island. Plus, given that Phu Quoc has served as a place of exile and refuge for a wide range of people, from revolutionaries and rebels to warlords for many centuries, it is no wonder that it has remained relatively underdeveloped. That aside, Pearl Island sits right on top of the border that separates Chinese and Indian-influenced Asia; one of the country’s cultural fault lines. This means that Phu Quoc has clashing work ethics, cuisines, religions, and cultures that are battling to prevail over its people, who, for hundreds of years, were Vietnamese. For those looking for luxurious accommodation on Phu Quoc Island look no further than La Veranda Resort Phu Quoc. This 5 star boutique resort on Phu Quoc offers a variety of room types, including garden-view rooms, sea-view rooms, and suites. The resort also boasts several restaurants serving local and internatioal cuisine,and one of the most luxurious spas in all of Phu Quoc Vietnam.

Phu Quoc Island, a pearl nestled in the Gulf of Thailand, beckons travellers with its pristine beaches, turquoise waters, and lush landscapes. To elevate your Vietnamese vacation experience, consider indulging in the unparalleled luxury offered by Phu Quoc's luxury resorts. These havens of tranquillity boast a curated selection of activities designed to pamper your senses and create wonderful, long-lasting memories… Indulge in Luxurious Spa Treatments Escape the everyday mundanity and embark on a journey of rejuvenation at the world-class spas housed within Phu Quoc's luxury resorts. These sanctuaries of serenity offer a comprehensive menu of treatments, incorporating traditional Vietnamese techniques with modern innovations. Unwind with a soothing massage using locally sourced ingredients like lemongrass and coconut oil, or rejuvenate your skin with a revitalising facial. Many spas also feature hydrotherapy facilities like saunas and steam rooms, further enhancing your relaxation experience! Pro Tip: Consider booking a couples' massage or a spa package for an extra touch of luxury and romance. Thrilling Water Sports and Beach Activities Phu Quoc's pristine coastline provides the perfect playground for water-babies and outdoor enthusiasts. Luxury beachfront resorts in Phu Quoc often partner with local activity providers, offering guests a variety of options to explore the Insta-worthy turquoise waters. Kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding are fantastic ways to discover hidden coves and secluded beaches at your own pace. For an adrenaline rush, try jet skiing or parasailing, soaking up breath-taking views of the island from a unique perspective. Many resorts in Phu Quoc also boast private beachfront areas with sun loungers and water sports equipment available for rent, allowing you to unwind and soak up the sun in luxurious comfort. Savour Gourmet Dining at La Veranda Phu Quoc's culinary scene is a delightful fusion of Vietnamese flavours and fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Luxury resorts in Phu Quoc like La Veranda take this culinary adventure to a whole new level. Expect to find a diverse range of dining options, from poolside bars serving refreshing cocktails and light bites, to fine-dining restaurants showcasing exquisite Vietnamese and international cuisine. Expert chefs utilise the freshest seasonal ingredients to create gourmet masterpieces, sure to tantalise even the most discerning palate. Many restaurants also offer stunning oceanfront views, providing a truly unforgettable dining experience. Explore Cultural and Recreational Activities Phu Quoc offers a surprising wealth of cultural and recreational activities beyond the resort. Many luxury resorts can arrange excursions to explore the island's rich history and natural beauty. Delve into Vietnam's fascinating past at the Dinh Cau Night Market, or visit the impressive Phu Quoc Prison, a haunting reminder of the island's turbulent past. Nature lovers can embark on a thrilling hike through the Phu Quoc National Park, home to diverse ecosystems and awe-inspiring waterfalls. For a unique cultural experience, explore the vibrant local fishing villages and learn about traditional fishing techniques. Enjoy Exclusive Amenities and Services Phu Quoc accommodation goes beyond exceptional rooms and suites; these havens of hospitality provide a range of exclusive amenities and services designed to cater to your every whim. Imagine refreshing yourself in a sparkling infinity pool overlooking the ocean, or participating in complimentary yoga classes led by experienced instructors. Many resorts also offer children's clubs, ensuring fun and engaging activities for younger guests while parents enjoy some well-deserved relaxation! Personalised butler services can further elevate your experience, attending to your every need and ensuring a truly unforgettable stay. Experience Unmatched Luxury at La Veranda La Veranda luxury resort & spa, a premier resort in Phu Quoc, exemplifies the pinnacle of luxury hospitality. Imagine stepping into a haven of tranquillity, where every detail is meticulously designed to create a sense of pampered indulgence… From the exquisite beachfront bungalows, to the world-class luxury resort & spa: Tinh Wellness, La Veranda offers an unparalleled selection of activities and amenities. Indulge in rejuvenating spa treatments, embark on thrilling water adventures, or savour gourmet dining experiences showcasing the finest Vietnamese cuisine. Explore the island's rich cultural heritage or simply relax on the pristine beachfront, soaking up the warm sunshine. Ready to create unforgettable memories in paradise? Visit La Veranda's website today to explore our 5-star Phu Quoc resort and book your dream getaway! Experience the unparalleled service, world-class amenities, and exceptional activities that await you at La Veranda.