Travel Adventures
2. EXPENSES & VALUE FOR MONEY:
Like all islands, prices on Con Dao and Phu Quoc are a little higher than on the mainland. In particular, you’ ll find that prices on Con Dao are significantly higher than elsewhere in Vietnam. This is partly because the island is so small and mountainous that very little can be produced there: almost everything is shipped in from the mainland. But it is also partly because Con Dao is yet to see big development, so the lack of competition keeps prices high. Hotels, resorts, food and drink, transport and excursions to outlying islands are all pricier than Phu Quoc. And what you get for your money often pales in comparison to what the same money would buy you on Phu Quoc. However, this is all relative: Vietnam is still a very cheap place to travel, so even if you’ re paying $ 5- $ 10 more for food and accommodation, you’ re still not going to burn a hole in your pocket.
Because of the spike in development on Phu Quoc over the last few years, competition – especially along Long Beach – keeps prices at an acceptable level. In particular, accommodation, food, and boat trips are good value for money. Having said that, during the peak season – from December to April – all businesses that cater to tourists raise their prices by as much as 50 %. Likewise, in the off season – when rain storms often hit the island – you’ ll find prices are very low. In general, if you’ re trying to stay within a tight budget, then it’ s easier to do this on Phu Quoc. However, it is still possible to enjoy Con Dao on a shoestring:
Higher prices: the islands rely on supplies from the mainland.
3. DEVELOPMENT & TOURISM:
On the cusp of major development: land clearance on a Phu Quoc beach
The pace of change and number of visitors to these two islands could hardly be more different. Phu Quoc has been undergoing major transformations to its tourist infrastructure in recent years: a new international airport opened in 2012; old single-track roads have been widened and repaved; new roads have been laid along the coast and through the interior; new ports have opened; massive, high-end resorts now sprawl along some of the previously isolated beaches. And there’ s more – much more – planned for the future. Phu Quoc’ s star is rising: the government would like it to become the next Phuket. Personally, this sends shivers down my spine. But, things are still in the early stages, and Phu Quoc remains incredibly undeveloped when compared to Thai or Malaysian islands. It’ s still easy to find your own stretch of deserted beach, and even the sands of Long Beach – the most developed on the island – could hardly be called crowded. However, all this changes on weekends and especially during the Tet Lunar New Year holidays( January or February), when accommodation can be fully booked, and Sao Beach in particular can get horribly crowded and suffers from trash. Phu Quoc is much bigger than Con Dao, so it can absorb more development, but if you like your tropical islands to be serene, laid-back, and beautiful, now is the time to visit Phu Quoc; before it becomes Phuket.
Then you have Con Dao, where development is so slow you hardly notice it. And this is a good thing, because Con Dao is a small, fragile little place with a very rugged coastline, which limits potential development to just a few areas. The number of foreign visitors is still extremely low: most of the time you will have the beaches, roads, museums, restaurants all to yourself. The government wants Con Dao to be a highend destination: a kind of 5 star island in the East Sea. But it is also wary of turning Con Dao into a place of luxury and leisure because of its past as a prison island, where thousands of Vietnamese revolutionaries were incarcerated or executed. In 2010, the discreet but luxurious and pricey Six Senses Hideaway opened. There are more such resorts planned, but progress is( reassuringly) slow. For now, the majority of visitors to Con Dao are Vietnamese pilgrims, come to pay their respects to former prisoners: sun, sea and sand couldn’ t be further from their minds.
Slumbering: change has been( reassuringly) slow to arrive on Con Dao
The MAG Vung Tau 39