Phú Quốc - A Sunny Paradise in Vietnam

When you’re travelling, you don’t always have to rush around trying to constantly tick ten things off a bucket list with your phone camera. Sometimes it’s enough to enjoy the sun and the beach at the hotel, or just stroll around the local area.

Those of us who live a little further up north in Sweden, where we don’t see much sunlight for several months of the year, need to travel far away to sun destinations to be able to soak up a few hours of sunshine. So, one late autumn, we went on holiday to Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island.

This time, we chose a package holiday, simply because “everything is taken care of” and all you have to do is pack your bags and hop on a plane. Before booking, we had carefully chosen Cassia Cottage Resort and Spa, as the hotel is located on Long Beach, where the famous leaning palm tree can be found. We also chose the hotel because of its lush gardens and because it wasn’t a high-rise hotel. They also offered yoga on the beach activities and spa treatments.

A fun fact is that the hotel was founded by a spice merchant, hence the name (cassia is a type of cinnamon). It was a cosy hotel with friendly staff, and there were magical sunsets every evening. You practically ate right on the beach, as the hotel was situated close to the water.

We did make a few excursions, though. Among other things, we took the Hon Thom Cable Car, the world’s longest cable car over water. It is exactly 7,899.9 metres long, and the ride to the smaller island of Hon Thom took about 15 minutes. It was a wonderful experience to see the lush green vegetation, turquoise water, fishing boats and our final destination below us along the way.

We also explored the surrounding area and tried cafés and restaurants that weren’t part of our hotel, including Chuồn Chuồn Bistro & Bar and The Embassy. Such great choices! The bistro bar was located on the Sao Mai Hill and offered beautiful panoramic views over Duong Dong. The Embassy was close to the hotel and it was, if I remember correctly, owned by a Swedish woman. Given Phu Quoc’s long fishing tradition and abundance of fish and seafood, it was a given that we would visit a nearby local fish and seafood restaurant for a meal.

The only major downside of the trip was that smoking was allowed everywhere for hotel and restaurant guests. As a non-smoker, this really took away from the experience, so I’m not sure I would return for that reason alone. But things may have changed – after all, it was around ten years ago that we went there.

Nevertheless, I would still recommend going there if you get the chance!