You haven’t lived until you’ve ridden a motorbike through a Vietnamese jungle, dodged a water buffalo, and somehow survived a roundabout with no lanes, no rules and way too much confidence. That pretty much sums up one of my most memorable days when I was recently on Phu Quoc Island.
I signed up for a local motorbike tour with no idea what I was in for, just a vague promise of forest trails, floating villages and a few starfish. What I got was the kind of day you talk about for years.
Phu Quoc sits just off the southwest coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand. It’s known for its fish sauce, pepper and picture-perfect beaches, but there’s a wild side to the island if you know where to look and this tour delivered.
First stop: a family-run pepper farm where we got a crash course in how black and white peppercorns are grown, picked and dried. It turns out Phu Quoc is Vietnam’s biggest pepper producer and the climate and soil here give the pepper a proper kick, spicy, fragrant and nothing like what’s in your average supermarket grinder.
Next we rode north to Ganh Dau Cape where the coastline curves just enough to give you a clear view of Cambodia across the water. After a quick history lesson from our guide Si, we headed into Phu Quoc National Park.
The jungle was quiet, the road was rough, and the sun was beating down, perfect riding conditions. For some of us it was the first time driving a motorbike let alone one on a forest track in Vietnam. But Si was the kind of guide who gave you the space to give it a go, while keeping an eye on everyone without hovering.
Next was Starfish Beach and it’s every bit as dreamy as it sounds. In the shallows, thousands of bright red starfish dot the clear water like something out of a kids’ book. The reason there are so many here comes down to perfect conditions, shallow, calm waters, a clean sandy seabed, and warm temperatures during the dry season. It’s a natural phenomenon that makes the whole place feel a bit magical.
We wrapped up the day in Rach Vem Fishing Village, and honestly, this was the standout moment.
Lunch was served in a floating stilt house built a few hundred metres out from shore. These aren’t polished tourist traps, they’re owned and run by local families who live and work here every day. As we sat watching fishing boats with a cold drink in hand and the breeze on our face they were literally pulling seafood up from the cages beneath our feet and cooking it fresh to order. It doesn’t get more local, more authentic, or more delicious than that. It’s hard to put into words just how special it felt, like being invited into someone’s home for a meal rather than eating out. We were serenaded the entire time by an inebriated Korean group at the table next door, completely off-key, wildly enthusiastic, and somehow the perfect soundtrack to a long, lazy lunch on the water.
Phu Quoc might be famous for its resorts and sunset cocktails, but it’s the backroads, forest trails, pepper farms and floating fishing villages that tell the real story. There were no crowds, no ticking clocks, just a bunch of Aussies on bikes getting a bit sunburnt, a bit dusty and a lot inspired. If you’re the kind of traveller who likes to veer off the glossy brochure path, this one’s for you.
