The easiest way to see the best beaches on Phu Quoc is to sleep in Duong Dong town and ride out to one coast a day: the west first, the south second, the quiet north third. Every beach on the island sits between 5 and 50 minutes from town by scooter, and a guesthouse in town costs a fraction of a beachfront resort.
I have run tours from Da Nang since 2023, and this is how I would lay out three beach days for a friend. Prices are rounded from winter 2025–2026 price lists, so treat them as a guide and check on the spot.
Why sleep in Duong Dong and not on the beach
A beachfront resort costs three to five times more than a guesthouse in Duong Dong, and from town you can reach any beach in under an hour. Beach hotels cluster on Long Beach and Bai Dai, and the grandest sit at Khem Beach, so pay for them only if the hotel is the point of the trip. If Phu Quoc is the last stop of a longer trip, ready routes across the country are among our Samurai tours .
The base only works with a scooter. Rental is 150,000 to 200,000 VND a day, with a deposit of $50 to $100 or, better, a copy of your passport. Rental shops ask for an international permit with category A1 next to your home licence, so check the rules before you ride. Grab starts at 80,000 VND for 10 km and works around Duong Dong and Long Beach, but drivers often refuse trips to the north.
Day 1: Long Beach and the sunset
Start on the west coast, where Long Beach stretches for 20 km of fine light sand with a gentle entry into the water. The northern section is busiest, ten minutes on foot from the Dinh Cau night market. The centre is the prettiest, with wider sand and fewer buildings, and the south belongs to the big resorts around InterContinental and Novotel. A sunbed costs 50,000 to 80,000 VND for the day, and oysters at beach cafés start at 10,000 VND each.
For sunset, head to Sunset Sanato Beach Club on the southern part of Long Beach, 8 km from town. Wooden elephant sculptures and floating piers frame the sun, and the first ten minutes after it drops give the best light for photos. Entry is free with a minimum bar order of about 100,000 VND, and Dinh Cau opens from 18:00 to 23:30 if you want seafood afterwards.
Day 2: Sao Beach and Khem Beach in the south
Sao Beach is 25 km from town, about 40 minutes by scooter on a paved road. White powdery sand, turquoise water and wooden swings in the shallows make it the island’s postcard beach. Arrive by 8 a.m.: until 10 there are maybe twenty people, and after lunch tour buses arrive from Long Beach. This is the day I would give up a lie-in for. Scooter parking is 5,000 VND.
Khem Beach is about 3 km further and splits in two. The left side is public and free with no sunbeds, so bring a towel, water and shade. The right side belongs to JW Marriott and takes a deposit of about 500,000 VND that you spend at the hotel bar. Come for the calmest water on the south coast, jade-green and sheltered from the summer waves. The Hon Thom cable car, 7.9 km over the sea, starts nearby, and a return ticket was about 850,000 VND in the winter price lists, so check the current price on the Sun World site .
The catch on this day is the ride home. Grab and taxi drivers at Sao Beach know you have no other way back and ask 300,000 to 400,000 VND for a trip the app prices at roughly half. A scooter removes the problem. If you would rather not ride at all, tell me which day you plan to visit Sao Beach and I will suggest how to book the way there and back at the app price.
Day 3: The quiet north
The north is for people who want an empty beach and accept a dirt road to get there. Vung Bau is 18 km from town and 3 km long with no café, no sunbeds and no shade, so bring food and a mat. Starfish Beach is 25 km away: red starfish lie in knee-deep water, best seen between 8 and 10 a.m., and you must not touch them. The last 5 km to the starfish and the last 3 km to Vung Bau are unpaved and slippery after rain, so ride slowly in closed shoes.
Finish at Ganh Dau, a 500-metre crescent on the northern tip, 28 km from town, where Cambodia shows across 15 km of water on a clear day. The fishing village has a temple and simple cafés, and grouper soup costs about 80,000 VND. Sandflies bite at dawn and dusk on quiet beaches, so take a repellent with DEET and 1.5 to 2 litres of water per person, because the wild beaches sell nothing.
When the west coast is closed for swimming
From May to October, rip currents and waves hit the west coast, and red flags go up along Long Beach, Ong Lang and Bai Dai. Swap the days: swim on Day 2 at Sao and Khem, which stay calm even in August, and keep Day 1 for walks and the sunset. October is a transition month, and on calm days Long Beach is fine again.
From November to March the sea is calm everywhere. April is calm too but hot, 34 to 36 degrees in the afternoon, so ride out early. More on the months is in our guide to Phu Quoc weather by month , and if rain cancels a beach day, what to do in Phu Quoc lists parks and the cable car as backups.
Scooter or driver: how to choose
If you are confident on a scooter and carry the right permit, rent one and do all three days yourself, because it is the cheapest way and the only one that reaches the north. If you do not ride, the weak spots are the inflated ride home from Sao Beach and drivers who refuse the north.
You can piece all of this together yourself: a scooter from Long Beach, Grab around Duong Dong and a room in town. If the distances and the unpaved roads put you off, message me on Telegram with your month and group size and I will put the three days in the right order and tell you where a driver is worth it.
Frequently asked questions
How much cash do I need on the beach?
A few notes of 50,000 and 100,000 VND cover sunbeds and café orders. There are no ATMs at Ong Lang or on the wild northern beaches, so withdraw cash in Duong Dong before you ride out.
Are there sharks or jellyfish around Phu Quoc?
Sharks are not a problem near the shore. Jellyfish are rare and show up mostly from June to August, and their stings are mild. On the rocky coves at Ong Lang you can step on sea urchins, so wear shoes with closed toes.
How clear is the water for snorkeling?
Underwater visibility runs from 5 to 15 metres depending on the season and the beach. It is best from December to February on the east coast, and Sao Beach and Khem Beach have the easiest snorkeling because the water is shallow and the bottom is sandy. The northern beaches are murkier but have more sea life.
Where do planes fly right over the beach?
At Ba Keo, the part of Long Beach next to the airport, a few minutes’ ride south of Duong Dong. Planes come in to land low over the sunbeds, roughly 50 to 100 metres up according to the price survey I used, which makes for dramatic sunset photos on clean light sand.
