Skip the Crowds for Northern Phu Quoc: A Slow Stay at the Sheraton

Phu Quoc, Vietnam's largest island, has been known for the bustle of its south, lined with cable cars and large theme parks. The flip side of that popularity is that both the beaches and the town fill up easily. English-language paper VnExpress reported on September 9 on a proposal for a stay that deliberately avoids over-scheduling, at the Sheraton Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort in the island's northwest. Set where the national park's forest meets the sea, a day can be filled entirely with a private beach and on-property experiences. For travelers familiar with the busy south, or Japanese families and couples looking for a quiet stay, this offers a glimpse of the island's other side.

A Drive Northwest From the Southern Bustle, Standing at the Line Where Forest Meets Sea

The resort sits in the Ganh Dau area of northwestern Phu Quoc, where the greenery of Phu Quoc National Park runs straight down to the coastline, and a private beach not shared with other guests stretches out in front. Rather than checking in and filling out a schedule, the VnExpress article recommends an approach with no fixed hours — mornings at the water's edge, poolside barbecue at midday, evenings on the beach under the stars. In a Phu Quoc trip that often revolves around travel and sightseeing, it's an idea built around making the resort itself the destination.

4km of Unpaved Road to Starfish Beach — Why the North Stays Quiet

Northern Phu Quoc's resistance to crowds goes hand in hand with how hard it is to reach. So-called Starfish Beach (Rach Vem), where red starfish gather in the shallows, is about 22km from the central town of Duong Dong, roughly a 50-minute drive or motorbike ride. And the final 4km or so is unpaved — that extra effort has kept development at bay and preserved its clear, shallow water and quiet. In the south, scenic spots go viral on social media and draw crowds, while in the north, poor access ends up thinning out the crowds.

From a Bee Farm to a Cacao Workshop — Experiences That Stay Entirely On-Property

What makes the slow-paced stay possible are activities you can enjoy without leaving the property. At the walkable Sheraton Garden & Bee Farm, guests can watch beekeeping and sample honey, along with a coconut-picking experience. At the cacao workshop Bittersweet Chocolatier, you can follow the process from cacao to chocolate. For dining, Vietnamese and foreign chefs give a modern spin to island ingredients such as Phu Quoc's famous fish sauce (nuoc mam), black pepper, and rose myrtle (sim). Beach time, food, and experiences all connect on the property, keeping car travel to a minimum.

Whether to Head North or Stick to the South — What to Weigh

Whether to head to northern Phu Quoc depends on your travel goals and how many days you have. If a quiet beach and unhurried time are the priority, it's worth staying in the north even with the trade-off of poor access. On the other hand, for a first visit to Phu Quoc, the south, with its cluster of cable cars and theme parks, is easier to cover in a short stay, and limited days make it hard to also reach the northwest. If you want both, one option is to base yourself in the southern town center and cover the northern starfish beach with a half-day trip timed to low tide. It's worth deciding where to base yourself using your length of stay and the ages of your travel companions as a guide.

What to Know Before Heading From Phu Quoc Airport to the Northwest

Phu Quoc International Airport sits in the south of the island, so plan on roughly an hour's drive to reach the Ganh Dau area in the northwest. Since travel takes a while, it's efficient to plan your island routing in advance — spending arrival and departure days in the south and the days in between in the north, for example. At Starfish Beach, the shallows appear at low tide, making the starfish easier to spot, so checking the tide times before you visit helps avoid a wasted trip. To skip the crowds,a quiet fishing village with no power grid is a good example — the less developed a place is, the more it pays to research timing and transport in advance.

How to Add a Night in the North to Your Southern Sightseeing Map

In Phu Quoc, lodging demand is concentrated in the south, around central Duong Dong and Sunset Town, and during high season prices and crowds both climb easily. A stay-focused resort in the northwest acts as an outlet valve for that concentration. Plans like the "Stay Longer Save More" one mentioned in the article, designed to hold per-room rates steady by encouraging longer stays, line up neatly with the island's own interest in leveling out crowding. For Japanese travelers,a stay built around the island's nature reflects the same idea — it means there are now more options to put down roots in one place rather than touring from spot to spot.

Notes for Skipping the Crowds With a Night in the North

If you're planning to work northern Phu Quoc into your trip, keeping the following points in mind makes things easier.

• About a 1-hour drive from the airport (south) to Ganh Dau in the northwest — plan your island routing first
• Starfish Beach is about 50 minutes from the town center, with an unpaved final stretch — aim for low tide
• There are multi-night discount plans, and the longer you stay, the lower the per-night cost
• Specific room rates aren't published, so check by season on a booking site

Next Time in Phu Quoc, Try Letting a Day Stand Still in the North

Enjoying Phu Quoc is no longer just about efficiently touring the south's facilities. Spend a night in the northwest and deliberately let a day's plans stop, with beekeeping, cacao experiences, and a quiet private beach. Accept the hour from the airport and the extra effort of the unpaved road, and you get a quiet you can't find in the south. A plan to visit the island twice — the south the first time, the north the second — is also realistic. Choose crowds or quiet according to your schedule and who you're traveling with.

Sources:VnExpress「A slower way to experience northern Phu Quoc」