Tom Have you heard about the island of Phu Quoc? Phu Quoc, though belonging to Vietnam is actually just south of Cambodia. We came to know about the island of Phu Quoc as a popular destination because of friends who shared with us during our last trip to Hanoi. In this travel itinerary to Phu Quoc, we’ll share about some of the attractions that we visited as well as the amazing hotels that we stayed at during the trip!
From Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to Phu Quoc
For this trip, we flew by Air Asia because there is currently no direct flight from Singapore to Phu Quoc (we should have one soon!). For Singaporeans to travel to Phu Quoc, you will have to either transit by KL (Malaysia) or Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam). As it was the holiday season, we found Air Asia to be slightly cheaper at $380 per person. This time, we were also able to print both legs of the flight (SG to KL, KL to Phu Quoc) at the self check-in machine at Changi Airport. As always, with our Citi Prestige Card and unlimited Priority Pass access for primary card holder + 1 guest, we started our trip at Blossom Lounge for laksa…
Although it was only about 7am, we also had our own “Mimosa”, concocted using the sparkling wine and orange juice available within Blossom Lounge. There was the Grape Taiwan Beer as well as Udders Vanilla ice cream which we enjoyed as well. As Priority Pass had recently upgraded their offerings, we headed over to Crystal Jade Go to try out their set menu as well…
We actually enjoyed the offerings at Crystal Jade Go (as part of Priority Pass). Firstly, there were options between har gow/siew mai, milk tea/lemon grass jelly. Also, the congee was perfect – the delicious cantonese melt-in-your-mouth version that we like. Though the noodles was a tad too salty, the texture of the noodles and the chunky wanton were excellent as well. Hopefully, we’ll be able to try the duck rice during our next visit as it was only available after 9am.
Soon, it was time for our flight on Air Asia…
As we heard about the possible changes to flight at KLIA, we decided to book the flight out that gave us a little more transit time to arrive at the gates on time. This also gave us some time to check out the Priority Pass offerings at KLIA T2. After arriving at KLIA T2, we were able to remain in the transit area. There was no need to exit customs – just another security prior to boarding at the gate. During this transit, we visited Travel Club Lounge at the Satellite Building next to Sama Sama Hotel…
There are 2 Travel Club Lounges at Terminal 2 and we particularly enjoyed the one next to Sama Sama Hotel because of the views of the runway. There was a good mixture of buffet items as well. However, for alcoholic drinks, there were only beers available at the bar.
We eventually arrived at Phu Quoc at 1:40pm local time. Phu Quoc is 1 hour behind Singapore time. The leg from Singapore to KL took 45 minutes while the flight from KL to Phu Quoc took another 1.5 hours. It is actually quite nice to break the flight into smaller legs via Air Asia.
Phu Quoc International Airport is comparatively small but modern. When you arrive at immigration, there are also automated lanes. The lanes for foreign passport was quite prompt as well. Passing the customs, you’ll pick up your luggage and enter into the arrival hall of Phu Quoc International Airport. As we were booked with Vinpearl Phu Quoc Resort & Spa, there was complimentary airport transfer. We sent the hotel an email to confirm our date and time of flight and when we arrived at the bus shuttle counter, our names were on the list. To reach the Vinpearl Bus Shuttle counter at Phu Quoc International Airport, turn right past the touting drivers, all the way down and you’ll see this booth…
The stay at Vinpearl Phu Quoc Resort & Spa costs about $150 SGD per night. Airport transfer from Phu Quoc International Airport to Vinpearl Phu Quoc Resort & Spa costs $25 via Grab – so there’s some savings when you stay here. The bus transfer took about 30 minutes. However, we made a boo boo and alighted at the first stop, Vinpearl Wonderworld Phu Quoc 😅
We actually went to the reception and the receptionist tried to find our reservation but could not. Then, upon closer inspection, he found that we were at the wrong hotel! Thankfully, the transfer was only about a 5 minutes ride away and we were able to board the usual bus route from Vinpearl Wonderworld to Vinpearl Resort & Spa Phu Quoc – which gave us some time to explore Vinpearl Wonderworld as well…
Soon, we arrived at Vinpearl Resort & Spa Phu Quoc…
Arriving at Vinpearl Resort & Spa Phu Quoc
First impressions of Vinpearl Phu Quoc Resort & Spa was that the hotel was grand. The high ceilings, chandelier and mini fountain added to the luxe of the entrance to the hotel. After a prompt check-in, we were given keys to check out our Deluxe Garden View King Bed Room…
The view from the room was not fantastic as it faces Melia Phu Quoc from our balcony. Nonetheless, we love that the room was spacious. At 46sqm, we had loads of space to put our luggage, which means that when we walk around the room, there would not be obstruction in the way. Also, we found the room to be super clean and well-maintained. Though the hotel had been here for some years now, there was no musky smell nor cob webs around the room. Lastly, the shower amenities were luxurious…
The Appelles shower amenities does elevate your experience as you luxuriate in the rainshower at Vinpearl Resort & Spa Phu Quoc. Next, it was time to check out the facilities around the hotel…
The hotel premise is rather big. There are 2 wings of the hotel – Coral and Ocean Wings. These pick-up points were indicated on the bus schedule as well – which was confusing at first as we thought that Coral and Ocean (without the word wings) were another attraction in the vicinity…
According to Kate, she thinks that Coral Wing is the high-class wing because the lobby was so nice and quiet. Anyone able to verify this guess by Kate? Next, it was time to visit the swimming pool and private beach of Vinpearl Resort & Spa Phu Quoc!
First off, the swimming pool at Vinpearl Resort & Spa Phu Quoc is HUGE! There are also a couple of corners within the swimming pool where you can play basketball (with actual hoops set up in the water) as well as a floats corner where you can rest on giant floats such as flamingo, llama and unicorn! Of course, our favourite part of the hotel was probably the beach…
The sand was superbly fine and reminded us of the same quality at Surfer’s Paradise in Australia. The waters were shallow and calm, perfect for families to play by the waters – reminding us of St. George’s beach at Naxos as well. Right by the beach is also Pepper Restaurant where we had an amazing meal on our second night at Vinpearl Phu Quoc as well.
We also found the hotel staff to be really attentive, greeting us as we walked by them. The mai tai cocktail that we splurged on as our “welcome drink” was tasty and was brought to us across the pool (160k VND – $9)…
There was even a staff who was talking on the phone but when he walked past us, placed his phone to the side and greeted us! Talk about great service! 😮 Lastly, sunset at Vinpearl Phu Quoc Resort & Spa was simply beautiful as well…
We also took the time to analyze of the buffet meals in the hotel which costs 380k VND, 510k VND and 730k VND for breakfast, lunch and dinner respectively. A tad expensive but, was nonetheless a buffet. This made us consider dinner at Pepper Restaurant instead – we’ll talk a little more about it in our next post…
Visiting Grand World – The Little Venice of Phu Quoc
As night descended, we hopped on the hotel’s complimentary bus transfer to Grand World Phu Quoc at 7:30pm, about 5 minutes away…
There are several attractions at Grand World Phu Quoc. Firstly, it is touted as the “Venice of Phu Quoc” because of the reconstruction of the canal, bridges and even St. Mark’s Square that mimics that of the real Venice in Italy. Having been to Venice, we must say that it does have that look and feel at some angles – definitely a good job done to bring the Venice experience to the locals in Vietnam.
Secondly, there’s the Bamboo Building (also known as Bamboo Legend) that is built entirely out of bamboo. What we love about it is not only because of the use of bamboo as a more sustainable material for building construction, the entire structure is so symmetrical and beautiful both on the outside and the inside. Nearby, there’s also the Tinh Hoa Viet Nam show (aka Quintessence of Vietnam) which we originally thought of watching. However, we eventually chose not to because of the 300k VND entry price for a show depicted in Vietnamese – didn’t think of paying for a show that we didn’t understand. Within Grand World, there’s also a teddy bear museum…
Though it reminded us of the TeddyVille Museum in Penang, the premise is so huge that it would probably entail more than what we saw in Penang. Lastly, there’s the light show (the Colours of Venice Show) that is free for visitors. It entails a light and fountain show, combined with gondolas and dancers lit with neon LED lights. A well-choreographed performance indeed…
As we were still a little early, we went to Highlands Coffee and had the large Coffee set with Banh Mi at 75k (as Lotteria was unfortunately closed when we arrived). We also visited a supermarket that looked and designed like 7-11 (complete with its signature green, red, orange, white colours) to buy some beers. Surprisingly, the local beers were more expensive at 35k VND while the international beers were slightly cheaper. This time, we bought 3 Heineken for 81k VND and were able to pay via credit card.
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Book with Agoda Here: Popular Hotels in Phu Quoc
After the light show ended at 10:15pm, we headed back to the bus terminal where we alighted from to wait for the same bus to take us back to Vinpearl Phu Quoc Resort & Spa. Do remember to get the latest bus schedule from the reception when you arrive because we realised that some versions that we saw online had different timings from the ones we had.
Lastly, we were glad to have made the trip out to Grand World Phu Quoc – especially for the Venice light and fountain show. The spots near to the last restaurant close to St. Mark’s Square is where you can get the best views of the dancers as they enter into the lake for their performance. The bridge though, is where you’ll get the best views for the gondolas as well as a more aligned perspective of the stage (i.e. facing the stage on the lake). Definitely worth a visit – free as well!
Stay tuned for our next post as we discover the other attractions on Phu Quoc island on day 2 of our travel itinerary!
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