Vietnam’s east side is adjacent to the sea, and there are really many beaches developed as tourist attractions.
Personally, I do not prefer the beach in Vietnam that much. It’s because there are too many beaches and seas that are not managed.
To explain more directly, there are many seas and beaches full of garbage. While it’s impossible to have zero garbage, it feels like it’s beyond a tolerable level.
However, Phu Quoc is a tourist destination where the sea and beaches are its lifeline, and with the thought that it would be less polluted compared to other cities, I’m leaving my impressions after visiting all the famous beaches.
I inform you in advance that this post is written with quite a personal and subjective view.
Recommended beaches that are good to visit
The beaches introduced in this post do not have a specific designated address. As Phu Quoc doesn’t really have public transportation, if you use Grab, you can just enter and select the name of the beach directly.
If you plan to visit by driving a motorbike yourself, you can select the beach on Google Maps and move using the navigation function.
Khem Beach
If I had to choose only one place to visit among the many beaches in Phu Quoc, I would like to choose this Khem Beach.
Although it is not as famous as other beaches, it boasts clear and clean water, beautiful scenery, and a quiet and tranquil atmosphere.
Moreover, the width of the white sand beach is exceptionally wider compared to other beaches. While there are few visitors, the infrastructure for relaxing on the beach, such as cafes, is fully equipped.
You can get the feeling that it is very quiet, and a small number of foreign tourists visit to read books while drinking coffee in the shade, or enjoy swimming and sunbathing.
Personally, it was one of the beaches with high satisfaction among the beaches I visited in Vietnam.
I think visiting just this Khem Beach alone is enough for beaches in Phu Quoc.
| Place Name | Bãi tắm Khem |
| Place Name (English) | Khem Beach |
Sao Beach
It’s probably the second most famous beach in Phu Quoc. It is located not far from the Khem Beach introduced above.
The sea is clean and quiet. The long beach is good for spending time leisurely. It has many similarities to Khem Beach in many ways, but this Sao Beach falls behind Khem Beach in terms of accessibility.
While Khem Beach can be easily visited from anywhere through well-paved roads, for Sao Beach, depending on which route you take to visit, there are quite a lot of unpaved roads.
As you have to go through winding and narrow roads, personally, I think it is similar but inferior to Khem Beach, which is more accessible and wider.
I don’t think there is a need to go to Sao Beach while leaving Khem Beach aside.
| Place Name | Bãi tắm Sao |
| Place Name (English) | Sao Beach |
Long Beach
Long Beach, located on the west side of Phu Quoc, is the longest beach on the island.
You can think of the entire west side of Phu Quoc as Long Beach. Along this approximately 15km long stretch of beach, there are many hotels, restaurants, and bars, making it highly accessible.
However, due to its good accessibility and excessive length, the level of management varies greatly from place to place.
Areas near luxury resorts are well-maintained, but even places that appear clean on the surface often have buried garbage.
If your hotel or the bars you plan to visit are near this beach, it’s worth checking out while you’re there, but there’s no need to go out of your way to visit it.
Hon Thom Beach
This beach is located within the Sun World Water Park, which can be accessed by taking the Phu Quoc Cable Car.
As it is part of the paid Sun World, the beach is well-maintained.
Safety personnel are always on standby, and life jackets can be rented for free. The sand is well-groomed without any buried trash.
However, the actual size of the beach is embarrassingly limited compared to other beaches.
On the other hand, it is very safe for swimming with children, so if you plan to visit Sun World, I highly recommend visiting this beach.
| Place Name | Biển Hòn Thơm |
| Place Name (English) | Hon Thom Beach |
Phu Quoc Beaches Not Worth Visiting
Starfish Beach
I don’t understand why this beach, named after starfish, is so famous.
Personally, I think it’s the most overrated beach in Phu Quoc.
I believe the only reason to visit this beach is to somehow find a spot where starfish gather and take photos to post on social media like Instagram.
And that’s considering the effort it takes to find the not-so-visible starfish. Starfish may or may not be present depending on the season and weather.
The location is also inconvenient, situated at the northernmost tip of Phu Quoc.
If you visit Vinpearl Safari or Vinwonders, which are similarly located in the north, you likely won’t have time to visit Starfish Beach as well.
I don’t think it’s worth spending money and time to go all the way to the northern end of Phu Quoc, where there’s nothing else, just for this one beach.
If you have a long stay in Phu Quoc or don’t necessarily need to take photos with starfish, I think it’s perfectly fine to skip visiting this beach.
| Place Name (English) | Starfish Beach |
Dam Beach
This is a typical dirty, unmanaged Vietnamese beach near the famous Ho Quoc Pagoda in Phu Quoc.
Such dirty beaches are common throughout Vietnam. Of course, there may be clean spots on the beach, but I didn’t even step onto the sand.
It was so filthy that expats living in Phu Quoc designated a “Dam Beach Cleaning Day” to clean it up.
While some online articles introduce Dam Beach as a beautiful beach, I doubt that Dam Beach just happened to be full of trash only during my visit.
That’s how bad it is, so you don’t even need to consider visiting it.
