Duong Dong Town: What to See, Eat, and More

Duong Dong town belongs to Phu Quoc island district, Kien Giang Province, Vietnam. Considered the heart of Phu Quoc, Duong Dong is the busiest place on the island, attracting thousands of tourists every year.

The climate in Duong Dong and all over Phu Quoc Island is always mild all year round. It has two dry and rainy seasons, this area is suitable for swimming and relaxing.

The ideal time to travel to Phu Quoc is in the dry season, which is around November to April when the average temperature here is about 28-32 degrees.

Location of Duong Dong Town

Phu Quoc island city has two big towns, Duong Dong and An Thoi towns. Here, Duong Dong town is planned and developed to become the administrative center of the whole island.

Duong Dong town is located in the Northwest, and owns a central location, adjacent to many key areas of Phu Quoc:

• Duong Dong town is 10km from Phu Quoc International Airport. The road from the Phu Quoc airport to Duong Dong named Tran Hung Dao goes along a sea, so there are many hotels, resorts, restaurants, cafes, and bars.
• Duong Dong town is about 30km by road from An Thoi town – the second busiest town in Phu Quoc.
• Duong Dong town is 120km from Rach Gia City and 45km from Ha Tien.
• Duong Dong town is 16km from the Vinpearl resort complex of Vingroup in Ganh Dau.
• Duong Dong town is about 30km from Bai Kem (Kem Beach – one of the beautiful beaches in Phu Quoc) where the Sun Premier Village Kem Beach Resort is.

From Duong Dong town, it is also very convenient to go to many famous attractions of Phu Quoc such as Ham Ninh Fishing Village, Phu Quoc National Park, Da Ban Stream, and a lot of nice beaches.

As the capital of Phu Quoc, Duong Dong town has become a must-visit destination when traveling on this Pearl Island.

How to move to Duong Dong Town?

Currently, there are many direct flights to Phu Quoc International Airport from the mainland of Vietnam and overseas countries.

Phu Quoc Airport is in the central area, only about 10km from Duong Dong town. After arriving at Phu Quoc airport, you can choose to hire a private car, or take a taxi or bus to Duong Dong town easily.

Another way is that you can choose to take a ferry or take a speedboat to Phu Quoc Island and move to Duong Dong.

• If you take a speedboat from Ha Tien, you will dock at Phu Quoc port near Ham Ninh fishing village. From here, about 14km from Duong Dong town.
• If you take a high-speed boat from Rach Gia, you will dock at a port near An Thoi town, nearly 30km from Duong Dong.

After that, to move from these points, you can choose to take a car, taxi, or bus or use a motorbike rental service.

Moving around Duong Dong Town

Duong Dong is a relatively small town, so it is easy to explore every corner.

The most popular means of transportation in Phu Quoc is a motorbike. You will easily rent motorbikes in Duong Dong because a few shops are supplying this service.

Motorbike rental prices range from 150,000 to 300,000 VND per day, depending on the type of vehicle, the price will be different.

Reputable motorbike rental addresses in Duong Dong that you can check are Shop number 62 Tran Hung Dao, Duong Dong, and Anh Cuong shop, or Duong Hung store.

Another popular means of transportation is a taxi or private car, although not as convenient as motorbikes, it is still chosen by many foreign tourists, especially families with young children or large groups of friends.

Note that, although motorbikes in Vietnam as well as in Phu Quoc are very convenient, it is one of the most dangerous vehicles for foreigners to drive on their own. Therefore, please consider them carefully before choosing them.

Tourist attractions in Duong Dong

Duong Dong town is the densely populated place of Phu Quoc. Coming to Duong Dong, you will have a good chance to learn about the culture, cuisine, and life of the indigenous people.

Here are some famous places to visit:

Duong Dong Market that is bustling every morning

Duong Dong Market is next to the sea mouth, right in the center of town, and the largest market in Phu Quoc Island.

Plenty of sea products of Phu Quoc can be found here. The most impressive thing is the fresh seafood with extremely reasonable prices and the honest sales style of the locals.

Many people have said that they do not know what to buy here because there are so many delicious and cheap choices.

Seafood stalls are always crowded with Vietnamese buyers and sellers, packed in styrofoam boxes to bring back as gifts to relatives on the mainland. The market also sells pre-processed and dried seafood, so it is very convenient to buy as gifts.

Typically, in the morning, the Duong Dong market focuses on selling local specialty dishes. These dishes cannot be found at other restaurants on the island. You can enjoy great dishes such as sam eggs, Nham vermicelli, fish porridge… Duong Dong Market will be the ideal place for visitors to discover and experience local cuisine.

Dinh Cau Temple that is the spiritual symbol of local people

The people of Phu Quoc are mostly fishermen who work on the sea day and night, always hoping for a peaceful sea for the full batch of fish and shrimp.

Therefore, the Dinh Cau temple has become a spiritual symbol here, and the locals often come to burn incense and pray for peaceful working sea trips.

Dinh Cau stays under a canopy of ancient trees on a cliff with a strange shape reaching out to the sea.

This is a simple ancient shrine and quite small compared to the majestic surroundings, the current architecture has been renovated in the past few years with a little new style.

Visiting Dinh Cau, you will partly understand the spiritual life of sea fishermen. Especially, at sunset, the view from Dinh Cau will open up a beautiful scene, the whole sea and sky turn dark yellow, and the waves whisper with cool sea breezes.

Dinh Cau beach

Located right next to Cau Temple, Dinh Cau Beach is a checked-in place by plenty of tourists, famous for its golden sand strip and clear blue water.

You can find a lot of dining services, renting floats, and umbrellas for swimming activities of tourists at affordable prices.

In the afternoon, watching the sunset on the beach is an interesting thing that you definitely cannot ignore when coming to Dinh Cau Beach as well as Dinh Cau Temple.

>>> You may like the interesting things to do in Phu Quoc Island.

Fish-sauce barrel house

In Duong Dong town, there are many establishments producing fish sauces that are a typical local specialty.

In order to serve the needs of tourism and promote local specialties, these fish-sauce houses are also open to visitors.

You will be able to witness the production process of fish sauce, buy fish sauce as a gift at these sites at extremely favorable prices, and be assured of quality.

Here are the addresses of some large making-fish-sauce facilities in Duong Dong town that you can visit:

Hung Thinh fish-sauce factory, Address: 30/4 Street, Duong Dong Town, Phu Quoc.

Khai Hoan fish sauce factory, Address: Hung Vuong Street, Duong Dong Town, Phu Quoc.

Phu Quoc Night Market in Dong Duong town

Phu Quoc Night Market serves mainly tourists with souvenirs and local cuisine. The night market starts operating from 16:00 to 23:00. You, sometimes, have to join the crowd to visit this night market.

Coming to Phu Quoc night market, you can choose a variety of fresh seafood. Many souvenirs are made from the creative marine products of islanders for you to get as gifts.

The bustle at Phu Quoc night market is a symbol of the dynamic and joyful life of an island district located 120km away from Rach Gia city.

Coi Nguon Museum

Coi Nguon Museum has an address at 149 Tran Hung Dao, Duong Dong town.

This private museum displays rare products of Phu Quoc through each period. Besides, the museum also preserves many artifacts about the culture and long history of Phu Quoc.

Built in 2009 with an area of ​​more than 6 hectares, the Coi Nguon Museum has many areas displaying items from different fields such as culture, history, pearl products, ancestral temple, animal shelter…

The museum is open from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm daily with an entrance fee of 20,000 VND/guest.

What to eat in Duong Dong Town?

Duong Dong is famous for being the largest seafood market in Phu Quoc, so visiting this town and enjoying seafood is a great thing that you need to do as soon as you arrive on this “Pearl Island”.

Take a look at some outstanding seafood dishes in Duong Dong that are worth trying right now with Bun Ken, Herring salad, and grilled shellfish.

Bun Ken (Trumpet Vermicelli)

Bun Ken is one of the very interesting breakfast dishes of Phu Quoc people. This food has the rich sweetness of coconut water and fish, the spicy aroma of garlic and chili, etc., worth a try when you visit this place.

A good place to enjoy this vermicelli is at Bun Ken Ut Luom on April 30 Road, Duong Dong Town. The restaurant is famous for its greasy vermicelli with only 25,000-30,000 VND/bowl.

Herring salad

Herring salad is a specialty of Phu Quoc not to be missed by most Vietnamese travelers.

Herring is preliminarily processed, the meat is marinated with lemon juice to remove the fishy smell, then added with onions, peppers, grated coconut, peanuts, and other spices.

Finally, the salad is beautifully presented with the fish placed outside, served with raw vegetables and rice paper.

Herring salad has all the flavors of sour, spicy, salty, and sweet, and has no fishy smell.

In Duong Dong, you will find this dish at Quan Viet Phu Quoc Restaurant, 261 Nguyen Trung Truc Street, open from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm daily with affordable prices from 30,000 – 200,000 VND per dish.

Grilled shellfish

Grilled umami with onion fat, grilled hornbeam with salt and chili pepper, snails, abalone, etc. are typical seafood dishes in the coastal areas, including Phu Quoc. Each dish has its way of processing, bringing its own tasty feelings to each region.

Suggesting some cheap seafood places in Phu Quoc for you are Snail 343 restaurant and Cat Bien Seafood restaurant both located on 30/4 Street, Duong Dong. Come and enjoy fresh seafood, especially in the evening.

In addition to the above specialties, Duong Dong is also famous for crab blood soup, melaleuca mushrooms cooked with barracuda, grilled mackerel, etc., which are very attractive to tourists, see more Phu Quoc local food here.

The top hotels in Duong Dong Town, Phu Quoc Island

Duong Dong town has many hotels and resorts with a variety of room types and various prices for tourists to choose from.

You should book a room in areas such as Tran Hung Dao Street and 30/4 Street which are the central sites, it will be convenient for traveling and shopping in town.

In addition, if you like tranquility, you can choose resorts and hotels that are a bit further from the center such as Vinpearl Phu Quoc, Novotel, and Muong Thanh, which are ideal places to stay even though you will travel longer a little to Duong Dong.

According to the travel experience to this island, here are some outstanding hotels in Duong Dong that you should refer to for your upcoming trip:

• La A’zure Resort and Spa is at 64 Tran Hung Dao, a famous 5-star resort in the center of Duong Dong town. La A’zure Resort and Spa has a rustic design but is extremely luxurious, bringing the class of a 5-star resort. The service and facilities here are highly appreciated, besides the resort also has an airport shuttle for guests. Room rates from 2,680,000 VND / basic room for 2 adults, including breakfast and taxes, services, …
• Kim Hoa Resort is a 3-star resort located on Tran Hung Dao Street, the center of Duong Dong town. Kim Hoa Resort owns a long private beach along with an outdoor swimming pool. Reception service at the hotel is always on duty 24/24 and the meals there are Asian-European style. Room rates from 1,630,000 VND/room for 2 adults, including breakfast and utility services at the hotel.
• Gaia Hotel Phu Quoc is at 71 Tran Hung Dao, Duong Dong with a 3-star hotel, owning a sea view, and full basic amenities, only a 5-minute walk from the night market. The hotel is a reliable address for travelers who want to choose mid-priced accommodations in Phu Quoc. Room rates from 850,000 VND/night including breakfast at the hotel.
• Bach Duong Phu Quoc resort is also a 3-star resort with a good price, located at 13 Ly Thuong Kiet Street. The room rate there is about 550,000 VND/night including breakfast and utility services. The hotel is about 1km from Phu Quoc night market.

What are the top notes when traveling to Duong Dong Town?

You should bring some comfortable and modest clothes if you intend to visit Dinh Cau, museums, or places that require a serious dress code in Duong Dong.

Before coming to Duong Dong Town, carefully check the weather to choose the best time to travel to Phu Quoc. So, you can make arrangements suitable for your travel.

You need to bring a Duong Dong map to facilitate exploring the town.

Prepare in advance medicine for headache, medicine for stomachache… in case you are not used to the weather or the food there.

Note to be careful of personal belongings and property in crowded places, especially in markets to prevent theft or drop, and avoid unnecessary troubles during your trip to Phu Quoc.

Why is Duong Dong town the first choice to stay in Phu Quoc island?

The most fun spots on the island: in Duong Dong town, you will have countless choices between hundreds of hotels and resorts, and lots of delicious – nutritious – cheap restaurants with various dishes. Especially, in the evening you are free to walk or enjoy seafood at the Phu Quoc night market.

Everything is available, it’s also cheap: You need to buy personal items as gifts, then everything you need is in Duong Dong Town.

Completed convenience to travel: When you stay in Duong Dong Town, it will be convenient to move to the airport, the pier, tourist destinations, and eating places.