{"id":3644,"date":"2026-07-05T18:55:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T09:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/news\/coto-typhoon-feast\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T08:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T23:13:08","slug":"coto-typhoon-feast","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/news\/coto-typhoon-feast\/","title":{"rendered":"Stranded on a remote island by a typhoon: a Co To Island hotel's feast of a whole wild boar"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cGetting hit by a typhoon on your trip\u201d is a classic travel-mishap story. Yet on the night of July 4, 2026, when Typhoon No. 1 \u201cMaysak\u201d made landfall in Quang Ninh Province in northern Vietnam, the opposite scene unfolded on the offshore island of C\u00f4 T\u00f4. With all ferries canceled and about 50 guests stranded on the island, a hotel owner slaughtered a wild boar he had raised for more than a year and threw a free feast. This event, reported one after another by VietnamNet and other local papers, is not someone else\u2019s story for Japanese travelers venturing to islands within reach of Hanoi. Along with the substance of the news, we dig into how to get to C\u00f4 T\u00f4 Island and how to deal with typhoon risk during the rainy season.<\/p>\n

The night every boat was canceled, the hotel owner butchered a wild boar<\/h2>\n

Co To Island is a remote island in Quang Ninh Province, out beyond Bai Tu Long Bay, which spreads east of the World Heritage site Ha Long Bay. On July 3, with Typhoon No. 1 approaching, authorities ordered a full halt to passenger ferries. According to VietnamNet, the island's \u0110\u00f4ng \u00c1 Hotel was housing about 50 guests who could not return to the mainland, spread across 20 rooms.<\/p>\n

The owner, Pham Dinh Tam (Ph\u1ea1m \u0110\u00ecnh T\u00e2m, born 1959), acted on the very night the typhoon made landfall, the evening of July 4. He butchered a wild boar he had sourced from the highlands of Moc Chau in Son La Province and raised for more than a year, and treated all of his guests toA free dinner party<\/strong>invited them. Twenty employees, joined by some of the guests, did the cooking, and in about three hours around ten dishes were laid out on the table. At one point a guest from Phu Tho Province served up a dish recreating the taste of home.<\/p>\n

Speaking to a local paper, Tam said, 'I bought this boar in Moc Chau and raised it for over a year,' and 'Whatever the situation, I want travelers to feel warmth.' Beyond the feast, the lodging rates and service charges during the time guests were strandedNo price increases at all<\/strong>he also stated plainly.<\/p>\n

About 2,800 people were left on the island - Typhoon No. 1 and Co To Island by the numbers<\/h2>\n

Typhoon No. 1 Maysak made landfall near Mong Cai in Quang Ninh Province on the night of July 4. According to local reports, Mong Cai saw more than 850 fallen trees and damage to house roofs, while C\u00f4 T\u00f4 Island suffered a power outage that crews rushed to restore.<\/p>\n

The island's evacuation response, on the other hand, was swift. According to Dan Tri, passenger ferry service stopped at 5 p.m. on July 3 (the last departure was at 4 p.m. the same day). By then, 18 extra sailings had been added, returning 3,147 tourists to the mainland. About 6,000 tourists were reportedly staying on the island before the shutdown was decided, which leaves roughly 2,800 who stayed on the island to ride out the typhoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Item<\/th>\nDetails<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Typhoon<\/td>\n2026 Typhoon No. 1 \"Maysak\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Landfall<\/td>\nNight of July 4, near Mong Cai in Quang Ninh Province<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Suspension of boat services<\/td>\n17:00 on July 3 (last ferry departs at 16:00)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tourists who returned to the mainland<\/td>\n18 extra sailings in all, carrying 3,147 people<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tourists who stayed on the island<\/td>\nAbout 2,800 people<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Guests stranded at the Dong A Hotel<\/td>\nabout 50 people (20 rooms)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
What the banquet included<\/td>\nOne wild boar, about 10 dishes, free<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

* Figures are based on reporting by VietnamNet, D\u00e2n Tr\u00ed and Thanh Ni\u00ean.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t the typhoon but people\u2019s kindness that stayed with me\u201d \u2014 local reactions<\/h2>\n

\u5bb4\u4f1a\u306b\u62db\u304b\u308c\u305f\u5bbf\u6cca\u5ba2\u306e\u58f0\u3092\u3001Thanh Ni\u00ean\u7d19\u304c\u4f1d\u3048\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002\u30db\u30a2\u30d3\u30f3\u7701\uff082025\u5e747\u6708\u306e\u7701\u518d\u7de8\u3067\u73fe\u30d5\u30fc\u30c8\u7701\u306e\u4e00\u90e8\uff09\u304b\u3089\u8a2a\u308c\u305f\u30ec\u30fb\u30b4\u30c3\u30af\u30fb\u30e0\u30aa\u30f3\u3055\u3093\u306f\u300c\u4e0d\u5b89\u304c\u307b\u3068\u3093\u3069\u6d88\u3048\u305f\u3002\u672c\u5f53\u306b\u611f\u52d5\u3057\u305f\u300d\u3068\u8a71\u3057\u3001\u30cf\u30ce\u30a4\u304b\u3089\u6765\u305f\u30f4\u30fc\u30fb\u30de\u30a4\u30f3\u30fb\u30db\u30f3\u3055\u3093\u306f\u300c\u53f0\u98a8\u305d\u306e\u3082\u306e\u3088\u308a\u3001\u5730\u5143\u306e\u4eba\u306e\u60c5\u306e\u307b\u3046\u304c\u5370\u8c61\u306b\u6b8b\u3063\u305f\u3002\u4ed6\u4eba\u540c\u58eb\u306e\u8ddd\u96e2\u304c\u3001\u89aa\u621a\u306e\u3088\u3046\u306b\u7e2e\u307e\u3063\u305f\u300d\u3068\u632f\u308a\u8fd4\u308a\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/p>\n

The authorities' actions matter too. Quang Ninh Province ordered the island's lodgings to secure meals and living conditions for stranded guests and to share weather updates frequently, so the \u0110\u00f4ng \u00c1 Hotel's response was also where personal goodwill met an official request.<\/p>\n

And this one night's feast became \"news,\" picked up in turn by national papers\u2014VietnamNet, D\u00e2n Tr\u00ed, Thanh Ni\u00ean, and Ti\u1ec1n Phong. A single wild boar and ten dishes made the names of the island and the hotel known across Vietnam overnight.<\/p>\n

Why it was \"lavish generosity\" rather than \"price gouging\"<\/h2>\n

Think about it coldly, and stranded tourists are \u201ccaptive customers\u201d with nowhere else to go. Opportunistic price gouging, where lodging rates spike during disasters, happens all over the world, and the rooms fill even after a hike. That Mr. Tam did the opposite reveals a logic particular to an island tourist destination.<\/p>\n

First, Co To Island is an up-and-coming beach resort that has built out its power grid and tourism infrastructure since the 2010s, and repeat visitors and word of mouth are its lifeline. Rather than squeezing one-time guests, the reputation that 'that island looked after its guests even on the night of a typhoon' is far more valuable in the long run. Second, as social media and news coverage ultimately proved,Goodwill is the strongest advertising<\/strong>It can become that. Convert the exposure across several national papers into advertising cost, and it's no comparison to the cost of one wild boar. Third, there's the norm Vietnamese call \"t\u00ecnh ng\u01b0\u1eddi\" (human compassion), of not leaving someone in trouble to fend for themselves. It was telling that Hong's comment made human warmth, not the typhoon, the subject.<\/p>\n

In the service industry there's an idea that a brilliant recovery from trouble stays in a customer's memory more strongly than if there had been no trouble at all. This episode is a textbook case: the worst-case travel scenario of \"stranded by a typhoon\" was rewritten into the once-in-a-lifetime memory of \"the night the owner butchered a wild boar for us.\" Flexible cancellation policies and extended-stay discounts during typhoons are spreading at inns in Japan too, but examples that go as far as a free banquet hosted by the inn are rare. From a traveler's standpoint, you can't choose the weather but you can choose the inn. On remote islands, an inn \"where you can see the owner's face\" is better insurance in a pinch than a lavish building - that, I think, is the practical lesson of this news.<\/p>\n

How to get to C\u00f4 T\u00f4 Island, and tips for not getting stuck in the rainy season<\/h2>\n

The gateway to Co To Island is Ao Tien port in Van Don, about a three-to-four-hour drive east of Hanoi. From there it's 60\u201390 minutes by speedboat, with fares running about 230,000\u2013300,000 dong one way (about 1,400\u20131,800 yen, at roughly 60 yen per 10,000 dong). Summer high season fills up easily, so booking boat tickets one to two days ahead is safer. If you pair it with a stay in Hanoi before or after, the area that began going car-free on weekend nightsA new way to walk the Old Quarter<\/a>as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Practical information<\/th>\nDetails<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
How to get there<\/td>\nHanoi \u2192 Van Don \/ Ao Tien Port (about 3\u20134 hours by car) \u2192 high-speed ferry 60\u201390 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rough fare guide<\/td>\n230,000-300,000 dong one way (about 1,400-1,800 yen)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Typhoon risk<\/td>\nIn summer (roughly June\u2013September), all sailings are canceled immediately when a storm approaches<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Where to get information when ferries are cancelled<\/td>\nDirect confirmation with your accommodation and ferry company (hotels have official instructions to share weather information)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

On top of that, here are some tips for not getting stuck on a rainy-season island trip.<\/p>\n