Phu Quoc Island Travel Package Tours, Phu Quoc Tour Information Hotels, Kien Giang Travel Vietnam Map Guide

PHU QUOC OVERVIEW

The island of Phu Quoc lying in the Gulf of Thailand, covers an area of 567sq.km (about 62km long and between 3km and 28km wide), and is situated at 10o01'-10o27' north latitude and 103o51'-104o50' east longitude. This largest island in Vietnam has a triangular shape, some 52 km long (north-south) and 25 km wide in the north, narrowing to a peninsula of only 1 km wide in the south. Phu Quoc is a tropical island whose closest landing point in Vietnam by sea is the town of Ha Tien, also in Kien Giang province and 46 km away. Rach Gia, the capital of the province (population 200,000) is 120 km away and be reached by sea and by air.
Geographically, Phu Quoc is closer to Cambodian than Vietnam, just 18 km from that country's Campot Province, clearly visible from the northern shores of the island. Phnom Penth is 400 km away while Bangkok lies 800 km away to the North West. As the largest island in the Gulf of Thailand, and probably the most diverse in term of its natural environment, the island holds a strategic, if as yet unexploited, location, which could expose it to important sub-regional markets in the future.
Verdant and topographically varied, the island offers the visitor an array fo landscapes, ranging from sandy beaches and coves to forested mountains, river plains and smaller islets which together make up an archipelago of 26 islands. The island's variety extends to its maritime heritage, Phu Quoc having both an active fishing industry and good quality coral reefs, most notably to the south and northwest of the island.
The population, numbering around 75,000, has traditionally beeb associated with the sea, and the island's most the striking cultural traits remain the fishing communities of the two main towns, Duong Dong (population of 25,000) and An Thoi (population of 20,000) as well as host of smaller and very distinctive fishing villages dotted around the island. The island has also however attracted considerable migration from to respond to growing opportunities in the service industries spurred on by tourism.
In the centre and south much of the original lowland tropical evergreen forest cover has been cleared leaving behind a mix of agricultural and secondary forest landscapes and a variety of rural, settlements. These areas contrast with denser and more extensive rainforest areas in the north which national conservation laws protect and whose scenery is particularly striking when combined with the natural coasting and rivers.
Phu Quoc is also called the Emerald Island because of its natural treasures and infinite tourism potential. The island is well known for its high-quality fish sauce; Phu Quoc fish sauce smells particularly good since it is made from a small fish, ca com, with a high level of protein. The island produces 6 million liters of fish sauce every year.
Phu Quoc Island has many harbors such as An Thoi and Hon Thom where international and domestic ships anchor. Also, there are several historical sites on the island: National Hero Nguyen Trung Truc's military base, King Gia Long relics from the time he spent on the island, and Phu Quoc Prison. Off the coast of the island emerges a group of 105 islands of all sizes. Some of them are densely inhabited such as Hon Tre and Kien Hai, 25km from Rach Gia. Visitors can spend time on the beach or hike while observing the wild animals.
Tourism on the island, currently low with 91,000 visitors in 2002, but expanding fast, has the potential to change Phu Quoc from a sleepy backwater to an internationally renowned destination. This presents considerable challenges to ensure that tourism is of benefit to the local people, that the island's considerable environment resources are protected and enhanced, and that visitors are offered a variety of sustainable tourism products that fully reflect the potential of Phu Quoc's natural diversity.

Phu Quoc Climate
The island of Phu Quoc enjoys a tropical climate with little variation in the warm temperatures enjoyed throughout the year. In the average temperature was around 27 degrees centigrade. Such warm conditions in the winter months are important in potentially enticing tourists from colder areas, both in Northern Vietnam and in the more northerly regions of East Asia (such as Japan, Korea Russia and contral and northern China).
Of note however is a relatively lengthy rainy seasons between May and October (some 82 per cent of the 1,810 mm of rain recorded in 2002). The analysis of existing rainfall figures over recent years shows variations in annual in rainfall (in 1999 for example much heigher rainfall of 3,867 mm was recorded), but a similar pronounced rainy season between May and October is observed for all years. Sea conditions during these months can also be rough which hampers marine tourism activities such as diving and snorkeling.
The effect of the rainy season in term of sunshine hours is also pronounced as shown in table 1.1 below. The month with the least sunshine, according to recent records, is August (with only 88 hours of sunshine recorded in 2002). Notwithstanding the generally wet conditions in the summer, considerable hours of sunshine still occur in many of the summer months, suggesting that rainfall is heavily concentrated in between intervals of clear weather.

Phu Quoc Island History
From the scant history records available on the island, it appears that Phu Quoc was registered as a canton or district as early as the 17th Century under the Nguyen Dynasty. Between 1841 and 1847, 12 villages were recorded on the island, including Duong Dong, Gach Dau and Cua Can where the national hero Nguyen Truc lived. The number of villages seems to have fluctuated through time: Dong and Han Ninh (both still existing) and Phu Du.
Population records suggest a very small population on the island: in the late 19th and early 20th Century less than 1,000 people resided on Phu Quoc, mostly distributed among small fishing communities. By the end of Second World War the population was still less than 5,000. Architectural evidence suggest the some concentration of population occurred in Duong Dong , where some trading activities were started under the French occupation. During the American war the resident population had risen only to between 12,000 and 17,000, although during this more sinister phase of the island's history a large prisoner population, made up of captured resistance fighters, had emerged. The Cay Dua former prison remains one of the most visible histoical records of the island from where some 40,000 prisoners were repatriated to the mainland at the end of the American War in 1975. There is indeed other evidence of wartime activities on the island, including former camps of resistance fighters in the mountains, which although currently undeveloped could be of interest to tourists.

Phu Quoc Economy
The production of pepper and fish sauce are significant local historical features. Although they are understood to have been initiated by a few wealthy Vietnamese families, there is little overt record of there activities. The presence of small temples and pagodas in attractive locations also provide some past cultural records. It must be said however that in general there seems to be very little enthusiam locally to interpret or understand the history of the island. This is a pity as even small historical events can generate interest among tourists and help create a sense of place and uniqueness, as ample demonstrated throughout Europe.