Guest User
January 2, 2023
Vung Bau Resort, Phú Quốc. OK. The first point here to understand is that it's up in the northwestern part of the island, isolated from any stores, restaurants, or tourist activities if you don’t have a motorbike. This might be either a pro or a con depending on what kind of holiday you’re after. The dusty, bumpy, pot-holed road to the resort reminded me of travelling through the Australian Outback, and I could see our Grab drivers’ jaw muscles get tighter and tighter as the journey proceeded. Vung Bau may as well be on a deserted island. So stop right now and think - if you’re not into “that” kind of holiday then this place isn’t for you. If you want a quiet, simple, relaxing few days on a pristinely beautiful and clean stretch of beach though, you may want to give Vung Bau a go. However, be prepared to leave your expectations and particular culinary preferences at the door. Don’t like the food on the menu? Tough luck, that’s the menu and there are no other restaurants around. Don’t like a particular brand of beer? Tough luck, that might be all they have. Enjoy a decent breakfast to get you going in the morning? Tough luck, breakfast is a small serving of soup noodles, crepe, eggs, or fruit (pick one of the above). I’m laughing right now picturing you trying to customise your eggs or coffee order - it’s just not that kind of place. You get what you get. If you have special dietary/allergy requirements… just don’t even. Restaurant prices are about 50-75% more jacked up than what you’d expect in town and expect items on the menu to be not available (for example, no coconuts, pizza, or yogurt when we were there). The smoothies are standard-priced, thick, and tasty though! The staff are helpful but English levels are quite low which can result in a number of surprises; you just have to shrug, smile, and get on with making your day awesome. So, if you can move past those few challenges (which we could for a few days) then Vung Bau Resort is pretty great. We had a sea view bungalow about 20m from the beach. Rooms are no-fuss and clean, albeit beds were a bit hard. It was very special for us to wake up in the morning to the putputput of local fishing boats, pull the curtains and stare out at the endless calm blue water of the bay. We went to sleep at night to the sound of waves lapping on the beach. We’d spend our days lazing around, swimming in warm water, playing cards, finding new species of crabs and shellfish, and going for walks. Family beach bliss! So it may seem like I painted Vung Bau Resort a bit harshly at the start but we really did have a good time. Just understand what you’re getting yourself into.