What to do in Phu Quoc: Part 5

One of the things I strongly considered doing is to book a limo to tour around Phu Quoc via Klook (客路). On the big list of possible places to go, there are some that have not been mentioned throughout the blog.

1. Sim釀酒廠 (Sim Son)

Interesting wine

I decided to stop by Sim Son while driving back to my hotel. There really isn't much to see in the garden out back, and the rose myrtle (sim) trees weren't much to look at either. All the signs are in Vietnamese.

The highlight is the samples of sim wine in front. I wanted to buy a flask sized to bottle to drink, as it was my last day in Phu Quoc and I only had carry-on luggage on my flight back to Saigon, but unfortunately all they carried were larger sized bottles.

A nice little 45 minute stop,

They gave us a sample of two types of wine. The first at 5% alcohol content was quite pleasant. The second at 39% (I believe) was rather harsh and not enjoyable on my palate.

We walked around the grounds and saw the sim plants, sim flowers, and even sampled the sim bud (not sure what you call it) that they extract the fruit to make the wine. Afterwards we walked through their shop where all manner of sim products, coconut oils, and wooden sculptures were for sale. They had a nice wooden clock, ornately carved, but it was too large to fit in a suitcase. I wound up purchasing some sim massage oil.

Nice little place for a quick stop.

2. Ham Ninh 魚市集

Nice view!

When i arrived to the Ham Ninh fishing village, first i saw lots of dry products both sides as dry fish, dry shrimp, dry squid,... the others thing are sea horse, sea dragon,...to put inside the rice wine for healthy drinking as local people said. Then, walking up to the floating restaurant area, on the way going the view so nice, so peaceful. Here you can enjoy the fresh seafood, the price quiet high but its fine. End of the way going will be the place fishing man bring back the fish for selling after fishing at night. Turn around you will see how is the local life in this area, such amazing place for visiting. Just the thing is still have rubbishes around in this place.

Something different, that’s for sure!

Worth a stop. Park your scooter at the lot at the end of the road off to the left - you’ll be directed to it! 10K VD for parking. An interesting look at the local practice of buying and eating seafood displayed in small pools. Cheap and entertaining to order - lots of pointing! All the places look the same so we ate where the teenage girl cajoling us spoke the best English! Caveat emptor: all beers are warm and served with a chunk of ice. Around 300K VD for crabs, prawns, veg and beers.

3. Tranh溪流瀑布

Great for a little hideaway

My partner and I walked from our hotel to the park (about an hour and a half), and it was worth the wait.

A steep but easy hike to the top of the waterfall was great to get some pics and play in the water. I would suggest taking snacks and a few drinks as you can climb into the water at any time and join the locals for a few drinks on the rocks etc.

I loved how it felt locals go there to chill and get away from the town, and it’s only 10k each to enter

$1.50 well spent

Nice walk up to the falls. It’s the dry season now so it wasn’t as impressive as it could be in the wet season but enjoyable nonetheless.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed the animals statues. An interesting selection and it seemed that climbing and sitting on them was acceptable which was fun.

There were trash bins along the way and we didn’t encounter any garbage or litter on the trail.

It’s a cobble stone path and our kids (5 and 8) did well with it in sandals but it would have been better with close-toed shoes. The kids had fun trying to catch fish in the pond at the falls.

So how about these places? Full of nostalgia and a lot of fun. The judges have already spoken. Treasure it and preserve it the way it should. We all knew.