History
In the early 17th century, Phu Quoc was a desolate area, where Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants earned their living from sea cucumbers. From 1782 to 1786, Phu Quoc became a stronghold of Lord Nguyen Anh, later Emperor Gia Long, in his confrontation with Tay Son forces.

In 1869, the French occupied it and set up rubber and coconut plantations in the island. From 1967 to 1972, a P.O.W detention camp of 40,000 inmates during the war covering on 400 hectares was built at An Thoi by the Saigon regime.

After being liberated on 30 April 1975, Phu Quoc has been converted into an ideal tourist destination for nature and sea lovers.

Getting there
By Air : Vietnam Airlines ATR72 aircraft fly daily from Ho Chi Minh and 5 times from Rach Gia (Mon., Tue., Thu., Fri., Sat.) to Phu Quoc and back (2002 flight schedule).

By Ferry : Public boats ply between An Thoi (in the south) and Rach Gia (6 hours, daily) and between An Thoi (in the north) and Ha Tien (4 hours, once every other day). The best season for these short voyages is from late October to late September when the sea is calm.

Geography Phu Quoc
Topography, Flowers & Fruits

Located in the Gulf of Thailand, the hear-shaped island lies just 62 nautical miles from Rach Gia and nearly 290 nautical miles from Laem Chabang (Thailand). It covers an area of 567 sq. km (about 62 km long and 3-28 km wide) and is situated at 10o01'-10o27' north latitude and 103o51'-104o50' east longitude. Its population is approx. 85,000 (2001).

Phu Quoc is called the island of "99 mountains" because of its many sandstone chains gradually descending from the north to the south. The longest one is Ham Ninh which stretches for 30 km along the eastern edge with its highest peak called Mt. Chua (603m).

Phu Quoc has a monsoon sub-equatorial climate. There are two seasons in the year: the rainy season (October only) and the dry season (November to September). The average annual rainfall is 2,879 m and the average temperature is 27oC. Trips to Phu Quoc can be made all year round, but the best time is dry season when the sky is always sunny, clear and blue.

Traditional & Custom
Like special events everywhere, the local festival days based on the lunar calender falling on Oct.,16 (Dinh Cau Temple); Nov., 20 (Thuy Long Thanh Mau Temple); July 15 (Temple consecration ); July 30 (Sung Hung Ancient Pagoda consecration); Ham Ninh Lady's spirits memory; Oct.7 & 8 (Su Muon Pagoda); Sep. 25 & 26 (Suoi Da Pagoda; Sep. 26 & 27 (Ganh Gio Pagoda); August 27 (Nguyen Trung Truc monument's day) ; July 27 (Phu Quoc jail martyr Vietnamese monument's day); Jan. 15 (Gia King's Temple day); From Oct.3, 1997 (Many local people died in the Storm no. 5 ); May 16 (Bon Canh Temple day).

Products
Phu Quoc has worldwide been famous for its two traditional products: the pepper and fish sauce. The numbers are quite surprising: hundreds of fish sauce workshops (annual output: 10 million liters) and countless pepper gardens (total area: 500 ha). Visitors to pepper gardens will be captivated by word of "itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny coins" of patient growers while at fish sauce workshops, they will be amazed at the sight of dozens of bulky barrels being lined up and waiting to be jammed with fresh fish. You will be tempted to try a few pungent green pepper coins and half a spoonful of the tasty salty sauce.