Imagine a scene from a Hollywood movie set. Stores are closed, except for a bit of tinting on the windows which has a strange resemblance to a book store or a supermarket. This gives anyone further back than a few meters away the impression that something is going on inside. Everything is empty all around. As you walk, you notice store after store is empty and the tinting starts to repeat. You wonder to yourself, “Am I lost? Haven’t I already seen that same exact store?” You keep walking and it repeats again and again and again. This is the scene I remember from the last time I went to the northern most premade tourist community in Phú Quốc.
My family (2 VN, 1 expat) went to PQ about 18 months ago and were hugely underwhelmed. We didn’t go to most of the places you mentioned, but your descriptions of the Safari and the night market were spot-on. The entire trip was a huge waste of money and time. After less than 24 hours there, we promised ourselves we would never, ever return.
What a sad state of affairs, and as you and I have mentioned before the sand piracy is at an epidemic stage. Preferably I would much rather go somewhere where it is not another Las Vegas or Disneyland, I like to enjoy the local environment and food plus meet the people of the area. I know tourism to Vietnam is greater than when we first went there, so perhaps one of our favourite spots being Hoi An is not as ‘user friendly’, wandering the streets, watching them mending the nets and boats, checking out the market and dining in fabulous restaurants without needing to book.
The first time I went to PQ was around 2010, back then the airport bisected the town so on approach the boomgates went down to stop the traffic passing at the end of the runway. Once the plane had touched down, the gates were reopened and the traffic went on its way. Not sure if this is too much info or not 😅 but I skinnydipped in the middle of the day at the beach towards the northern end of the island where I think there's now a golf course (and I'm not an exhibitionist!), that's how good it was back then. I think I've been back about twice since and refuse to visit Vinsney Land and its attractions 😬
My family (2 VN, 1 expat) went to PQ about 18 months ago and were hugely underwhelmed. We didn’t go to most of the places you mentioned, but your descriptions of the Safari and the night market were spot-on. The entire trip was a huge waste of money and time. After less than 24 hours there, we promised ourselves we would never, ever return.
What a sad state of affairs, and as you and I have mentioned before the sand piracy is at an epidemic stage. Preferably I would much rather go somewhere where it is not another Las Vegas or Disneyland, I like to enjoy the local environment and food plus meet the people of the area. I know tourism to Vietnam is greater than when we first went there, so perhaps one of our favourite spots being Hoi An is not as ‘user friendly’, wandering the streets, watching them mending the nets and boats, checking out the market and dining in fabulous restaurants without needing to book.
Hoi An is an excellent example of tourism done right here in Vietnam. That might have been a better model to copy.
The first time I went to PQ was around 2010, back then the airport bisected the town so on approach the boomgates went down to stop the traffic passing at the end of the runway. Once the plane had touched down, the gates were reopened and the traffic went on its way. Not sure if this is too much info or not 😅 but I skinnydipped in the middle of the day at the beach towards the northern end of the island where I think there's now a golf course (and I'm not an exhibitionist!), that's how good it was back then. I think I've been back about twice since and refuse to visit Vinsney Land and its attractions 😬
That sounds amazing to find a private beach where you skinny-dip. I wish I got there a few years earlier when the island was still a bit rural.
Was very rural back then, basically a small dirt track around the island that villagers dried fish on, good times!