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Some islands ask you to hurry. Phú Quốc is asking us to slow down. So we’re heading south for our first taste of Vietnam’s island life — a trip built around slow travel and fast itineraries. Ten days shaped by beaches, fishing villages, temples, seafood, snorkelling, sunrises, sunsets and long stretches of unplanned time.

We’ve travelled through Vietnam a few times before, but never in a way that feels quite like this. Vietnam has already carved out a place in our hearts. Phú Quốc promises a different chapter — tropical, gentle and intentionally slower.

We’ve seen Vietnam at full pace: Ha Long Bay’s limestone giants rising from emerald water, Hoi An’s lantern‑lit evenings, Hue’s imperial calm, Saigon’s crackling city energy, and Sapa’s misty mountains with quiet moments among Hmong communities. Those places showed us Vietnam’s drama, history and heartbeat. Phú Quốc is where we’ll let the rhythm soften.

Two very different luxury resorts — La Veranda and Regent Phú Quốc — will shape our days with slow mornings, soft beaches and gentle luxury.

Open our suitcase and step into the slow‑travel rhythm we’ve planned for the next ten glorious days on Phú Quốc.

Planning Your Slow‑Travel Escape to Phú Quốc

Before diving into the day‑by‑day itinerary, it helps to understand how this trip fits together — the timing, the logistics, and the choices that make a slower, more intentional holiday possible. For most travellers, Phú Quốc is a short island escape: 3–4 days is a typical length of stay, with many visitors stretching to 5 days for a more relaxed pace. Quick trips focus on beaches and a handful of highlights; longer ones allow time for culture, food, and a few unplanned moments.

John and I are taking a different approach. Ten days gives us room to breathe — to balance sightseeing with resort time, explore the island’s north, south and central regions without rushing, and enjoy the gentle rhythm that suits couples travelling later in life. It’s a pace shaped by private drivers rather than motorbikes, slow mornings instead of early alarms, and the freedom to linger when a place feels right.

This section covers the practicalities behind that choice: how we’re getting to Phú Quốc, why we chose mid‑November, how we’re structuring our stay across two resorts, and the transport decisions that make exploring the island easy and enjoyable.

Getting to Phu Quoc from Australia

Phú Quốc is easy to reach from Australia, and most travellers connect through a major hub like Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Bangkok, or Kuala Lumpur. We fly from Brisbane via Singapore — a smooth route that keeps the journey simple and aligns with Phú Quốc’s 30‑day visa‑exemption rules when you arrive directly on the island.

Flight Routes and Transit Options

Typical long‑haul flight times:

• Brisbane → Singapore: ~8 hours
• Sydney → Singapore: ~8.5 hours
• Melbourne → Singapore: ~7.5 hours
• Singapore → Phu Quoc: ~2 hours

Travellers connecting through Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi should remain airside in transit if relying on the Phú Quốc visa exemption. If your trip includes mainland Vietnam before or after Phú Quốc, a Vietnam e‑visa is the simplest option.

For the full breakdown — including visa rules, transit tips, and official links — see our companion guide: Phu Quoc, Vietnam: The Ultimate Things You Need to Know Before Departing Australia.

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JOHN’S TRAVEL TIP

Getting Around Phú Quốc with Grab

Download the Grab app for local transport before you arrive. It’s the local equivalent of Uber and the easiest way to get around Phu Quoc without the stress of negotiating fares or navigating unfamiliar roads. The app works in English, accepts foreign cards, and shows fixed prices upfront — no haggling, no surprises. Drivers usually arrive quickly, and the service covers most of the island’s main areas, from Long Beach to the night markets and fishing villages.

If you’re new to Grab or want to compare it with other transport options on the island, we’ve covered everything — including data tips, eSIMs, and when taxis make more sense — in our companion guides: Phu Quoc, Vietnam: The Ultimate Things You Need to Know Before Departing Australia and Smartphone‑Ready: The Best Travel Apps for Exploring Vietnam (+ Phu Quoc).

Our 10-Day Phú Quốc Slow-Travel Itinerary

We’re treating this holiday as ten full days on Phú Quốc — with international travel days sitting outside the itinerary so the island chapter stands on its own. Every day here matters. No jet‑lag fog, no half‑days lost to transit, just a focused stretch of slow, intentional island time.

The rhythm will deliberately move between exploration and exhale. Some days will take us to fishing villages, coral gardens, temples, beaches and sunset shows. Others will centre around pools, spa rituals, long brunches, quiet corners and the kind of unplanned moments that make slow travel feel indulgent.

How Our 10-Day Phú Quốc Itinerary Works

And that’s the promise of this itinerary: ten unhurried days where adventure and rest carry equal weight, and where Phú Quốc’s gentle pace shapes how we move, eat, explore and breathe.

**Disclosure: Travel days to/from Australia, including our Singapore connection, sit outside these ten full days.

Day 1: Arrival, Long Beach & Our First Phú Quốc Sunset

We expect to land in Phú Quốc just before midday. By then, our Southeast Asia eSIM via SIMify (covering 11 countries including Vietnam and Singapore) should already have us connected, which means one less arrival-day nuisance.

Settling Into Long Beach & La Veranda

After immigration and luggage, we’ll head towards La Veranda Resort on Long Beach.

We’re deliberately keeping our first afternoon almost embarrassingly simple. Check in. Orientation. Lunch. Beach. Pool. Repeat as required.

After previous trips around Vietnam, we’re rather looking forward to this. No Hanoi Old Quarter to navigate, rickety Hanoi-Sapa train to catch, or imperial citadel to squeeze into a big Hue day trip.

Just the sea.

La Veranda’s French‑colonial styling and tropical gardens should provide a gentle introduction to island life — and its ideal location in the heart of Long Beach places you within easy walking distance of cafés, beach bars and sunset strolls, and only a quick Grab ride away from night markets, fishing villages and the island’s best seafood.

And after the journey, gentle sounds will be music to our ears.

First Sunset, First Swim, First Taste of Island Life

We’ll wander down to Long Beach in the afternoon and take our first proper look at the island. If the weather behaves, we’ll have our first swim.

Then, as sunset approaches, we’ll settle into the resort’s Le Bar for cocktails and a view — including their signature ruợu sim drink, something we’re genuinely looking forward to trying for the first time. This feels like an appropriate moment for a toast. Cheers to Vietnam, round three and Phú Quốc, first time. And to ten days without an alarm clock dictating every move.

We’ll finish with an easy dinner at the resort’s Le Jardin, a relaxed beachfront spot serving contemporary Vietnamese classics with a gentle French‑fusion twist, then hopefully a short beach walk before calling it a night.

No heroic sightseeing required.

BOOK YOUR STAY: via BOOKING.com

La Verandah Resort vs The Regent Phú Quốc: Which Resort Experience Suited Us Better?

We’ll be spending six nights at La Verandah Resort, a French‑colonial beachfront retreat on Phú Quốc’s Long Beach. With tropical gardens, gentle island ambience, and thoughtful hospitality, this elegant hideaway offers a slow, restorative base for exploring Vietnam’s most laid‑back island.

DISCLOSURE: We were paying guests at this property. All views, opinions and photos unless otherwise stated are our own and remain copyrighted to Suitcase Escapes. Learn more.

Day 2: Dương Đông, Harbour Life & Street Food

Harbour Life & Morning Markets in Dương Đông

Our first full day will start with a glimpse of everyday Phú Quốc. We’ll head into Dương Đông early, partly for the cooler temperatures and because morning light makes photographers greedy. And partly because Dương Đông is the island’s bustling main town where markets, fishing boats and everyday island life collide.

The fishing harbour should be our first stop. Here John and I are hoping for colourful boats, fishing nets, returning fishermen and the kind of little moments that can’t be scheduled. This is the Phú Quốc we’re particularly interested in. Not just the polished resort version. The real island.

From the harbour, we’ll wander through Dương Đông Market, looking for fruit, seafood, pepper and whatever else catches our eye. Perhaps have a bowl of phở from a street vendor and a mug of Vietnamese egg coffee from a local café — two everyday favourites that fuel most mornings in Dương Đông.

Temples & Bún Quậy

Then we’ll head to Dinh Bà and Dinh Cậu. Vietnam has already taught us that temples and historic places often reveal something about a destination that a beach never can. We’ll slow down here. Take photographs. Watch. Listen. And try not to be those tourists who arrive, snap three photographs and immediately disappear.

Lunch will be one of our first serious food missions. We’re planning to try bún quậy, one of Phú Quốc’s signature dishes, at Bún Quậy Kiến Xây. Fresh, fast and a little messy. Perfect.

After lunch, we’ll return to La Veranda for a proper reset. Because this is slow travel, and apparently that means admitting that sometimes the best thing to do after lunch is absolutely nothing.

Sunsets & A Night of Street Food

We plan to return to Dinh Cậu for sunset.

Then comes the evening’s main event. A Phú Quốc street food tour will take us into the local food scene, where we’re expecting grilled seafood, pepper crab, scallops, sweet treats and plenty of opportunities to discover what we might otherwise have walked straight past. This is one tour we’ll book ahead rather than leave to chance.

Bookmark This for Later

Upon our return, we’ll write a full review of our Phú Quốc street food tour, along with a guide to What We Ate and What We’d Order Again in Phú Quốc. Bookmark this to your browser favourites for later.

DISCLOSURE: We were paying guests for this activity. All views, opinions and photos unless otherwise stated are our own and remain copyrighted to Suitcase Escapes. Learn more.

Day 3: Snorkelling, Sunset & A Little Luxury

Today we’ll swap temples for coral reefs. We’re planning to join OnBird’s Pro Snorkelling Tour by Speedboat in Phú Quốc’s An Thoi Archipelago. Small groups of 8 to 12 maximum are important to us.

We’ve done plenty of snorkelling adventures over the years — Maldives, the Great Barrier Reef, Fiji and Bali among them. These days, though, we gravitate toward small‑group experiences where the pace is calmer, and you’re not moving through the water in a big, crowded pack.

We want time in the water to look beneath the surface and capture the tropical creatures in their natural habitat. And make time to enjoy the reef without feeling like we’re holding up the bus. We’re hoping for clear water, coral gardens and plenty of marine life.

And if the underwater photography behaves itself, we’ll come home with something more interesting than another photograph of our feet.

Back at La Veranda, we’ll slow everything down again. Shower. Pool. Nap, perhaps. We’re not ruling it out.

Late afternoon, John and I will head to OCSEN Beach Bar & Club, where we’ll casually settle into beanbags nestled in the sand for sunset cocktails.

Dinner will be at The Peppertree, La Veranda’s signature restaurant. We’ll book ahead and hope for a terrace table. Then, if we’re still awake enough, we’ll return to OCSEN for its evening fire show.

This is where the trip’s rhythm should really begin to make sense. Adventure in the morning. Cocktails at sunset. Fine dining afterwards. Not a bad little formula.

Tomorrow is intentionally slower. So tonight, we can push bedtime a little.

Day 4: Yoga, Cooking & A Proper Wellness Day

One reason why we’re deliberately spending several nights at La Veranda is so we can have days like this.

No island-hopping, long drives or an alarm clock trying to ruin our holiday

Before heading to TĨNH Wellness Sanctuary for morning yoga, we’ll start with a light breakfast at Le Jardin, as our lunchtime cooking class states, “coming hungry!“

After that, we’ll swap downward dogs for chopping boards.

We’re heading to Troc’s Kitchen for a Vietnamese cooking class. John and I have eaten our way around Vietnam before, so we’re particularly keen to learn more about the dishes we already know and love. We’ll chop herbs, stir sauces, taste as we go and attempt to look competent in a kitchen that isn’t our own.

That last part may be ambitious.

After lunch, we’ll return to La Veranda for a 90-minute spa treatment.

Then comes the hardest activity of the day. Nothing. We’ll read. Swim. Rest. Perhaps photograph the resort. Or perhaps photograph absolutely nothing.

Dinner will be at Si’s Nhà Ghẹ (Crab House) Phú Quốc, where we’ll happily abandon table manners and get stuck into Cajun-style seafood. Because sometimes romance is champagne. And sometimes it’s two people eating crab with their hands. We’re good with both.

Day 5: South Phú Quốc: Temples, Local Flavours & Ham Ninh

Today we’ll head south with a private driver. This is the main reason why we’re choosing private transport rather than hiring motorbikes.

We want the freedom to tailor our day on the fly, pulling over for photographs and spontaneous stops, without being tied to a strict group‑tour schedule.

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JOHN’S TRAVEL TIP

Getting Around on Motorbikes

One of the reasons we’re choosing private transport over motorbikes is simple: Australian travellers cannot legally drive in Vietnam with an Australian licence or an Australian‑issued International Driver’s Permit (IDP). Smartraveller is very clear on this, and riding without the correct Vietnamese licence can also jeopardise travel insurance. That said, you can still ride pillion with an experienced Vietnamese guide — just as we did in Saigon with XO Tours — but it’s important to check that your tour operator carries the appropriate liability insurance and that your own travel insurance covers pillion riding. It’s the safest way to make sure everyone is protected if an accident occurs. For everything you need to know about travel insurance, head to Australia’s Choice official website or download Smartraveller’s travel insurance cheatsheet

Bookmark for Later

If you’re planning a trip to Phú Quốc, read our upcoming guide How to Get Around Phú Quốc Without a Motorbike and Phu Quoc, Vietnam: The Ultimate Things You Need to Know Before Departing Australia — they’ll help you stay safe, covered, and stress‑free while still seeing the best of the island.

Our first stop will be Hộ Quốc Temple. We’re expecting an early start and beautiful morning light, with the temple’s elevated position providing views across the sea.

From there, we’ll move into the island’s food story. A pepper farm should introduce us to one of Phú Quốc’s famous local products. Then we’ll visit a fish sauce factory. Vietnamese fish sauce has featured heavily in our previous travels, so seeing how one of the island’s signature products is produced should add another layer to something we’ve previously taken for granted.

And yes, we’re prepared for the smell. Probably.

Lunch will be at Ham Ninh Fishing Village, where seafood and local life will become the main attraction. Fresh, wild-caught Ham Ninh Flower Crab (Ghẹ Hàm Ninh) overlooking the water sounds like a fairly convincing argument for leaving our resort.

After lunch, we’ll stop at a sim wine factory for a tasting.

Then we’ll head back towards the west coast.

Our final stop will be Mango Bay, where we’ll settle at On the Rocks for sunset.

After a day of temples, farms, factories and seafood, a cocktail overlooking the water should feel well earned.

Day 6: Rạch Vẹm, Starfish Beach & North Island

Rạch Vẹm’s Starfish & Fishing‑Village Life

Today we’ll head north.

Our first stop is Rạch Vẹm, famous for its starfish and fishing village. We’re curious about this one. We’ve seen plenty of beautiful beaches around the world, but places like Rạch Vẹm appeal to us for another reason.

A glimpse of local life around the edges. Fishing boats. Nets. Wooden structures. People going about their day. And, hopefully, starfish in the shallows. We’ll photograph them carefully and respectfully rather than treating the beach like an underwater petting zoo.

From there, we’ll have lunch at Nhà Trên Biển, a floating restaurant offshore.

Fresh seafood. Water beneath us. Boats passing by. We’re sensing a theme.

Pearl Farms, Scenic Roads & A Quiet Northwest Coast

Next comes the Ngọc Hiền Pearl Farm.

We’re hoping to learn more about pearl cultivation and the craftsmanship behind the finished product. It’s also one of those experiences that gives us a story beyond “we went to a beach.”

From the pearl farm, we’ll ask our driver to take the scenic route towards Cửa Cạn Beach and the northwest coast. This is where we’ll leave room for serendipity. If we see a palm-lined road, a local house, a bridge, or a photogenic stretch of countryside, we’ll stop.

That’s one advantage of travelling by private car.

Sometimes the best photograph isn’t on the itinerary. It’s the thing we notice on the scenic road trip when we detour off the beaten path.

By late afternoon, we’ll return to La Veranda.

Dinner will be deliberately uncomplicated.

After two big days, let’s not pretend we need another adventure. But wait – there’s more…

Day 7: From La Veranda to Regent Phú Quốc

Today we’ll change hotels. And not just hotels. Mood.

La Veranda will give us colonial charm, gardens and a relaxed Long Beach base. Next, we’re moving to Regent Phú Quốc for the second half of our island stay.

The transfer is short, but the experience should feel dramatically different. We’ll check into our villa, settle in and explore the resort properly.

Ocean Club will be our lunch stop.

Then we’ll give ourselves time to wander.

We’re particularly keen to photograph the architecture, pools, gardens, beach and those little design details that make a luxury resort worth exploring rather than simply sleeping in.

We’ll catch sunset at Fu Bar, then head to Regent Phu Quoc for Taste Studio: When Three Harmonies Bloom — an immersive showcase where food, art and performance collide. A dazzling, theatrical dining experience and a striking contrast to our street‑food nights earlier in the week.

This is exactly why we like mixing accommodation styles.

One hotel tells us something about a destination.

Two can tell us something about ourselves as travellers.

La Verandah Resort vs The Regent Phú Quốc: Which Resort Experience Suited Us Better?

We’ll be spending four nights at Regent Phú Quốc, an ultra‑luxury beachfront sanctuary on Long Beach. With serene architecture, refined service, and beautifully curated spaces, this modern retreat offers a polished, indulgent base for unwinding on Vietnam’s most glamorous island.

BOOK YOUR STAY via BOOKING.com

Day 8: Sunrise at Ham Ninh & Sunset on the Water

We’re setting the alarm early. Very early. Probably offensively early. Our private driver will pick us up from our hotel before sunrise and take us back towards Ham Ninh Fishing Village.

This time, we’ll see it at dawn. Fishing boats. Reflections. Fishermen. Soft morning light. And hopefully a sunrise that makes getting out of bed at 5:00 AM an excellent decision.

We’ll photograph the village before continuing towards the southern beaches.

Sao Beach is on our list, with Khem Beach another possible stop if time and energy allow.

Then we’ll return to Regent. And do very little. This is important. The point of slow travel is not to turn every quiet afternoon into another sightseeing opportunity.

We’ll swim. Read. Nap. Maybe have a spa treatment. Maybe sit on the balcony and watch the ocean.

Later, we’ll join the Regent’s Serenity Sunset Cruise. Cocktails, canapés, warm light, and the sea stretching towards the horizon should provide the romantic counterpoint to our dawn adventure.

We’ll finish with cocktails at the resort’s Bar Jade.

Sunrise to sunset. That’s a pretty good travel day.

Day 9: Hòn Thơm, Sunset Town & Kiss Bridge

Today we’ll head south again. This time, we’re going up.

Ride the Hon Thom Cable Car

We’ll take the Hòn Thơm Cable Car from An Thới across the sea to Hòn Thơm Island.

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RAE’S FUN FACT

The Hòn Thơm Cable Car stretches 7,899.9 metres and holds a Guinness World Records title for the world’s longest three-cable sea-crossing system. Current Sun World information puts the journey at roughly 15–20 minutes.

For us, the appeal isn’t simply the record.

It’s the view.

From above, we look forward to seeing the An Thới archipelago, fishing boats and turquoise water spreading out beneath the cabin.

On Hòn Thơm, we’ll resist the urge to turn the morning into an Olympic event. We’ll explore. Find somewhere shady. Take photographs. Have lunch. And enjoy being on an island without feeling compelled to conquer it.

Visit Sunset Town, the Kiss Bridge and Light Show

Back on the mainland, we’ll explore Sunset Town. The architecture is deliberately theatrical, with pastel buildings, arches, colonnades and Mediterranean-inspired streets. It will be very different from the fishing villages we’ve visited. That’s part of the appeal.

Late afternoon will take us towards Kiss Bridge for golden hour.

Then we’ll settle in for the spectacular evening waterfront entertainment. We’re planning to see Symphony of the Sea followed by Kiss of the Sea; booking ahead is a must if tickets are available for our date.

It will be our most spectacle-heavy day. And probably the least “quiet island” moment of the trip. Sometimes slow travel needs a little sparkle too.

Day 10:  Regent Club, INK 360 & Our Final Phú Quốc Sunset

Our final full day will be unapologetically indulgent.

No long drive, sightseeing list, or a heroic attempt to squeeze in one last attraction.

We’ll enjoy breakfast, slip into the Regent Club’s exclusive infinity pool, and then wander down to the beach for one last toe‑dip in the water.

A spa treatment is on the cards. So is a leisurely lunch. And possibly an afternoon spent doing absolutely nothing productive. I imagine I’ll become very good at this.

We’ll make the most of our final afternoon at Regent, including time for my passion, photography, while the light is good. Then we’ll walk across to the InterContinental’s INK 360 rooftop bar for sunset cocktails. The rooftop setting should give us a completely different perspective on the island. Here, John and I will watch the light disappear over the coast with a drink in hand and, hopefully, a camera full of photographs.

Our final dinner will be at Rice Market, where we’re planning to enjoy a lobster-themed dinner. Alternatively, we might splurge on the Regent’s candlelight dining experience as a grand finale to celebrate our last night in Phú Quốc.

Either way, it’s an appropriately indulgent farewell.

Ten days ago, we’d have arrived wondering what Phú Quốc would feel like.

By now, we’ll hopefully have our answer.

Farewell Morning — One Last Beach Walk, One Final Swim

Our final morning will be slow.

Maybe we’ll take one last walk along Long Beach.

Maybe we’ll borrow bicycles and ride the beachfront.

Or maybe we’ll have breakfast, pack our bags, and squeeze in one last swim.

We won’t rush. After ten days of moving at an unhurried pace, there won’t be a frantic list of things we “should have” done or places we “didn’t get to.” We trust we will leave knowing we experienced the island the way we wanted to — fully, gently, and without hurry.

Anything we didn’t fit in becomes something to look forward to next time.

And that feels like a very good reason to return.

What We’re Looking Forward to Eating in Phú Quốc

Food has always been one reason Vietnam keeps pulling us back.

Our mainland travels introduced us to everything from Hanoi’s street food to Hoi An’s famous dishes, Hue’s imperial flavours and Saigon’s energetic food scene. Phú Quốc will give us a completely different culinary chapter.

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RAE’S FUN FACT

Why We Love Vietnamese Cuisine

Vietnamese food is built on balance. Every dish is a conversation between flavours, textures, temperatures and aromas. At its heart is the five‑flavour philosophy — sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. Most dishes carry at least three of these elements, and many carry all five. It’s why even the simplest bowl of noodles tastes layered, fresh and deeply satisfying. That harmony is exactly what keeps us coming back.

We’re particularly looking forward to:

• Bún quậy — a Phú Quốc speciality we’ll be trying early in the trip.
• Fresh seafood — preferably with our feet almost touching the sand.
• Pepper crab — messy is acceptable when crab is involved.
• Grilled scallops — because apparently we have no self‑control.
• Phú Quốc fish sauce — after seeing how it’s made.
• Sim wine — a local speciality we’ll be tasting.
• Vietnamese dishes we’ll learn to cook at Troc’s Kitchen.
• Fine dining at The Peppertree and Oku.
• Lobster at Rice Market.
• Phú Quốc street food on our foodie tour.
• Taste Studio: When Three Harmonies Bloom — a dazzling, art‑driven showcase dinner at Regent Phu Quoc where food, performance and design collide.

The contrast is part of the fun. Street food one night. Fine dining the next.

That’s our kind of balance.

Why We’re Travelling Phú Quốc Slowly

We’ve learned a few things from travelling together for more than five decades.

One is that the best memories rarely come from rushing.

Our trips through Vietnam’s mainland were wonderfully varied. Hanoi was energetic. Sapa was atmospheric. Ha Long Bay was spectacular. Hoi An was romantic. Hue was historic. Saigon was wonderfully chaotic.

Phú Quốc will be different.

Here, we’re leaving gaps. We’ll have private drivers when distance makes sense, avoid motorbikes, and build in resort days.

We’ll choose small-group experiences where possible.

And we’ll happily shift our plans if the weather, our energy or the feel of the day nudges us toward something different.

That doesn’t mean we’re slowing down because we’re over 50.

We’re slowing down because we’ve finally realised we don’t have to prove anything on our holiday.

Where We’ll Spend—and Where We’ll Save

This won’t be a budget trip. Rather, John and I are deliberately investing in comfort, good accommodation, private transport and a handful of memorable experiences.

But slow travel doesn’t have to mean throwing money at everything.

We’ll splurge on our two luxury resorts, pay for private drivers when they genuinely make the day easier and choose small-group snorkelling rather than the biggest boat we can find. And we’ll happily eat local food between the fancy dinners.

That’s the balance we’re aiming for — and with TravelSpend [Download: Apple Store | Google Play] keeping a gentle eye on the budget, we can focus on the moments, not the maths.

Luxury where it adds something. Simplicity where it doesn’t.

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RAE’S TRAVEL TIP

Track Your Real Costs with TravelSpend

If you’re planning your own Phú Quốc escape, use TravelSpend to track what things actually cost on the island. It’s the budgeting app we rely on for every major trip — including our five‑week Central Europe and Beyond road trip, where we juggled AUD across six currencies and nine countries. TravelSpend handled every conversion effortlessly and kept our spending honest the entire way.

We’ve put together a full guide to the Smartphone‑Ready: The Best Travel Apps for Exploring Vietnam (+ Phu Quoc) — including the data tips we’re using on the island — so you can download everything before you go.

Bookmark This for Later

If you prefer planning with real numbers rather than estimates, this guide will be worth returning to: Phú Quốc Cost and Value Guide — What Does 10 Days on the Island Really Cost? Once we’ve completed our time on the island, we’ll publish a full breakdown of what ten slow‑travel days in Phú Quốc actually cost — food, transport, activities, cocktails, spa time, unexpected bargains and the splurges that genuinely earned their place. A real‑world budget, tracked day‑by‑day, designed to help you plan your own island escape with clarity and confidence. Bookmark this to your browser favourites for later.

Our Phú Quốc Planning FAQs

For Mature Travellers

Food, Resorts & Practical Essentials

So, Why Phú Quốc, Vietnam?

Our Vietnam Travels So Far

We’ve already seen a lot of Vietnam, having visited numerous times before — enough to know how varied, surprising and addictive this country can be.

We’ve walked Hanoi’s streets, cruised Ha Long Bay and explored Hoi An’s lantern‑lit alleys. Stepped into Hue’s imperial history. Trekked through Sapa’s rice fields. Visited the Bac Ha markets. Lost ourselves in Saigon. Wandered Da Nang’s coastline. And soaked up Nha Trang’s beach‑to‑sea energy.

What We’re Hoping Phú Quốc Will Be

Each place showed us a different side of Vietnam — a different rhythm, flavour, and way of being in the world.

Phu Quoc will be our island chapter.

We’re not expecting it to replace those experiences, and we don’t want it to. John and I hope it will complement them — a softer, slower counterpoint to the cities, mountains and markets we’ve loved.

This 10-day Phú Quốc trip will be about fewer early starts, longer lunches, better sunsets and more time simply being together. Exploration will still happen. The camera will still come out for everything. We’ll still eat far too much food. And at some point, one of us will definitely say, “Let’s just have one more cocktail.” Some things never change.

But this time, we’ll do it slowly.

Because perhaps that’s what travel looks like when you’ve been doing it for a while. Not less adventure — just better chosen.

And if Phú Quốc gives us ten days of warm water, good food, beautiful light and a little more time to stop and breathe, we’ll consider that a very successful escape.

Vietnam, but softer, slower and made for two.

And this time, we’re taking our time.

What slow‑travel moment in Vietnam has stayed with you — or what would you love to experience on a slower, more intentional trip to Phú Quốc?

Stick Around for a While

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