Sao and Kem, both on the south-east coast about 25 km from Duong Dong, are the island's best-known white-sand beaches, and they're the calm choice in the May to October wet season. From November to April the west and north coasts take over: Long Beach for sunsets near town, Ong Lang for families, and Vung Bau and Ganh Dau for quiet.
Most rankings treat Phu Quoc island beaches as interchangeable. They aren't. The island has two coasts and two seasons, and a beach that's glassy in January can be choppy and strewn with washed-up trash in August. The famous beaches are also a long drive apart, so where you sleep decides which one is a stroll and which is a day trip. If you're still weighing Phu Quoc against the mainland, start with the best beaches in Vietnam.
Two Coasts, Two Seasons: How to Pick Your Beach
Vietnam's tourism board gives Phu Quoc's best time as November to April, when the dry season brings calm seas and clear skies, and warns that May to October brings rougher seas and short, heavy showers. That's true, and it's only half the answer. The other months are the island's west wind season, and the wind hits the west coast first. VietnamPlus points wet-season visitors to the eastern side of the south, where Sao and Kem have calm seas and gentle waves.
The rain figures show how lopsided the year is. The Japan Meteorological Agency's climate normals for Phu Quoc give February 20.6 mm of rain and September 542.3 mm, the wettest month of the year. Add up those monthly normals and November to April gets about 535 mm while May to October gets about 2,320 mm. Heat barely changes: the monthly mean temperature runs from 26.8°C in January to 29.0°C in April and May. Wet months aren't a write-off, either. In a piece on the rainy season, VnExpress reported in August 2026 that showers usually come and go with sunshine after them, and that Kem and Sao stay popular for their white sand and clear water. For how the island's seasons line up with the rest of the country, see when to visit Vietnam region by region.
| Beach | Coast | Best Months | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sao Beach | South-east | Nov to Apr, and the pick May to Oct | White sand, calm water, seafood lunches |
| Kem Beach | South-east | Nov to Apr, and the pick May to Oct | Kayaking, parasailing, the Fairy Well |
| Long Beach | West | Nov to Apr | Sunsets, staying close to Duong Dong |
| Ong Lang | West | Nov to Apr | Families |
| Vung Bau | North-west | Nov to Apr | Peace and quiet |
| Dai Beach | North-west | Nov to Apr | A long stretch, kayaking, nearby islets |
| Ganh Dau | North | Nov to Apr | A small cove looking toward Cambodia |
The South-East Coast: Sao and Kem
These two are the island's postcard beaches, and they're the ones that hold up in the wet season.
Sao Beach (Bai Sao): The Postcard Beach
Sao sits near An Thoi town in the south, about 25 km from the island's center, with 7 km of white sand and calm water that gets bluer the farther out you go. The tourism board calls it a favorite stretch of sand with public and private areas, served by local restaurants selling cold coconuts and grilled seafood.
That public and private split is the practical point. Resorts front parts of the beach, so head for a public stretch with a restaurant on it rather than counting on walking through a resort to reach the sand. If you only have one day for the south, spend it here.
Kem Beach (Bai Khem): The Active One
Kem, also spelled Khem, is on the south of the island about 25 km from Duong Dong. From above, Tuoi Tre News writes, it curves in a crescent between the sea and green hills. It's the active one: volleyball, kayaking, swimming, parasailing and canoeing, with restaurants open from morning until night.
Walk to the southern end for the Fairy Well, an old well that sits right by the sea yet holds fresh water. Kem is shorter and less spacious than Long Beach, and it's close enough to Sao that you can do both on one trip south.
The West and North Coasts: Sunsets and Space
From November to April, this side of the island is at its best: the west for sunsets, the north for space.
Long Beach (Bai Truong): Sunsets on the Doorstep
Long Beach is Phu Quoc's longest, with about 20 km of coastline starting at Dinh Cau Port in Duong Dong and running beside Tran Hung Dao Street, the island's main road. It's one of the busiest beaches on the island, lined with restaurants, resorts and shops. Its shallow, calm water and palm-lined shore make it the place for sunbathing and sunsets.
If you want one named spot, the tourism board points to Sailing Club Phu Quoc, an upscale venue on Long Beach. For a quieter sunset, the same guide's pick is Bien Ba Keo. Long Beach is also where monsoon trash washes up, which is why it belongs in the dry months.
Ong Lang and Vung Bau: Families and Quiet
The tourism board describes Ong Lang as a long, pristine beach perfect for families, and sends anyone who wants peace and quiet to Vung Bau on the western coast, "where you can have a spot all to yourself."
Vung Bau is in the north-west, and in 2020 VnExpress described it as still relatively undeveloped, with only a few small resorts. Development moves fast here, so treat that as a snapshot.
Dai Beach and Ganh Dau: The Far North
Dai Beach runs about 15 km in the north-west, about 45 minutes from Phu Quoc International Airport, with kayaking, fishing, diving and boat trips to nearby islets. Ganh Dau, in the far north, is the opposite: only 500 m long and 32 km from Duong Dong, sheltered by two mountains, one of them Ta Lon in Cambodia. You're looking across at the Vietnam-Cambodia border from the sand.
The tourism board calls Ganh Dau "a secret spot in the north of the island". It's a long ride from Long Beach, so pair it with Dai Beach and make a day of the north.
⚠️ At Starfish Beach, look and don't lift. Rach Vem, the beach most lists call Starfish Beach, is known as starfish heaven, a Phu Quoc tour guide told VietNamNet. In the same 2021 report, VietNamNet found many starfish had died after visitors took them ashore for selfies. Photograph them where they are.
Beyond the Main Island: An Thoi Islets and Hon Thom
Phu Quoc is the largest island in Vietnam plus 21 smaller islets, and the snorkeling is off the An Thoi archipelago in the south. Island-hopping trips leave from An Thoi Port and reach the islets by canoe: Hon May Rut Trong, May Rut Ngoai, Gam Ghi and Mong Tay, nicknamed Fingernail. Snorkeling and diving are on offer. VnExpress's advice is blunt: if you're prone to seasickness, give this one a miss. Since the wet season brings rougher seas, book it for the dry months.
The beach a lot of visitors end up on in the south isn't on Phu Quoc at all. The 7,899.9 m Hon Thom cable car leaves from An Thoi Station, the ride takes about 15 minutes one way, and on Hon Thom a free shuttle runs to the beach. Sao is on the same southern end of the island, so the two make one day.
Trash and the Monsoon: The Honest Caveat
People search "Phu Quoc beach dirty" for a reason. The island generates about 190 tons of solid waste a day, 89% of it collected and treated, VnExpress reported in November 2023, and plastic waste is seriously hurting its tourism reputation. Then there's what the sea brings in. During the southwest monsoon, a local restaurant owner told Tuoi Tre News, waves sweep refuse from neighboring countries, including Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia, onto Long Beach.
That account dates from 2015, but it describes the same wind that makes the west coast rough from May to October. So the season advice and the trash advice are the same advice: the west coast in the dry months, Sao and Kem in the wet ones.
⚠️ A west-coast beach in the wet season may not match the photos. If you've booked Long Beach for July or September, plan your swimming days on the south-east coast and treat the sunset as the reason to stay on the west.
Choosing a Base: Which Coast to Sleep On
Long Beach starts in Duong Dong, the main town, so a hotel there keeps restaurants and the island's main road close. Everything else is a drive. Sao and Kem are about 25 km away and Ganh Dau about 32 km, so from a Long Beach hotel each is a day trip, not a stroll.
Match the base to the month. From November to April, stay on the west coast (Long Beach for convenience, Ong Lang or Vung Bau for quiet) and make the south a day trip. From May to October, think about staying in the south near An Thoi, so Sao, Kem and the cable car are close and the choppy west coast is the day trip. For choosing a base elsewhere on your route, see where to stay in Vietnam.
Phu Quoc's Visa Exemption: Read the Conditions
A beach trip that starts and ends on the island usually needs no visa at all. You can visit Phu Quoc island visa-free for up to 30 days. You can fly to Phu Quoc direct, or connect through another Vietnamese international airport as long as you stay in the transit area. Phu Quoc's visa exemption covers the island only. Going on to the mainland without a visa breaks the rules and can bring a fine of VND 3 to 5 million. A month is more than most beach holidays need, so the practical job is to book the flight home inside that window and leave from the island, not from the mainland.
The catch is the connection, and the order of your trip. Connecting to a domestic flight means clearing immigration, so you need a visa or a visa exemption. That's the trap on this route: a ticket from abroad into Ho Chi Minh City with a domestic hop on to the island looks like one journey, but you're stamped in at Saigon, and the island rule never applies. A plan that ends with a few days in Saigon after the beach needs a visa for that part too. Apply for your eVisa before you travel. It's issued to people outside Vietnam, not to visitors already in the country, so you can't pick one up once you're lying on Sao.
Citizens of every country and territory can apply for a Vietnam eVisa. A Vietnam eVisa can be valid for up to 90 days, and you can choose a single-entry or a multiple-entry eVisa. A domestic flight down from Hanoi or Saigon doesn't take you out of Vietnam, so a mainland-plus-island trip works on single entry; multiple entry only matters if you leave the country and come back. Vietnam Visa by BDA is a private company, not affiliated with the Vietnamese government: we check and file eVisa applications, and Vietnam Immigration decides them. For the full rules, read Vietnam's visa policy, including the Phu Quoc exemption.
A Few Parting Notes
Phu Quoc is busy, and getting busier: An Giang's tourism department counted 8.57 million visitors in the first nine months of 2026. The famous beaches won't be empty. The island is still worth the trip if you pick the coast that suits your month, and head north to Vung Bau or Ganh Dau when you want sand to yourself.
One thing that trips up beach bookings: older guides still put Phu Quoc in Kien Giang province. Since Vietnam's 2025 provincial mergers, Kien Giang has been part of An Giang, and the island is now the Phu Quoc Special Zone of An Giang Province, so a resort's current address may not match the guidebook.