An Thoi

Orientation

An Thoi sits at the very southern tip of Phu Quoc, roughly 28 kilometers from Duong Dong, the island's main town in the northwest. The neighborhood clusters around An Thoi Port, which is the operational heart of the area: ferries, fishing boats, and tourist speedboats all depart from the same general harbor zone. The main road running into An Thoi from the north is the island's central spine, and the landscape changes noticeably as you move south, with the dense resort development thinning out and giving way to lower buildings, repair yards, and working docks.

To the west of the port, the coastline opens up toward the quieter beaches that edge the island's southwestern corner. To the east, the land becomes more rural before ending at the sea. The An Thoi archipelago, a cluster of 15 small islands, lies directly offshore to the south and southwest, and the cable car terminal for the crossing to Hon Thom sits within walking distance of the port. Understanding this geography is essential: An Thoi is less a neighborhood to wander and more a hub from which to radiate outward, either to the surrounding islands or back up the coast toward Phu Quoc's central and northern zones.

If you're planning your broader Phu Quoc itinerary, the Phu Quoc accommodation guide breaks down how An Thoi compares to other parts of the island. For travelers focused on beaches, the Phu Quoc beaches guide covers the options reachable from this southern base.

Character & Atmosphere

An Thoi operates on a different rhythm from the tourist-facing towns further north. Early mornings are the area's most alive hours. Fishing boats that went out overnight return to the port before dawn, and by 6am the docks are active with unloading, sorting, and the particular noise of nets being dragged across concrete. The smell of salt, diesel, and fresh catch is strong near the water. Small food vendors set up alongside the port road, selling pho and banh mi to dock workers and early risers before the tourist traffic begins.

By mid-morning, the character shifts. Day-trippers from resorts up the coast arrive by minibus or taxi, headed for the cable car terminal or the speedboat piers. The port area gets noticeably louder, and the vendors selling boat tour packages and snorkeling equipment become more prominent. The midday heat in An Thoi can be punishing: the town lacks the tree cover of Duong Dong, and the open harbor reflects glare off the water. Most sensible people disappear indoors or onto their boats between noon and 3pm.

Late afternoon brings a different light: the sun drops toward the western horizon and hits the water at a low angle, turning the harbor copper-gold. This is when An Thoi is at its most photogenic, and it's worth timing a return from the islands to catch the port in this late light. After dark, the area is quiet by Phu Quoc's standards. The resort strip near the cable car terminal has some activity, but An Thoi proper is not a nightlife destination. Most restaurants close early, and the streets near the docks are genuinely dim.

What to See & Do

The single biggest draw in An Thoi is the Hon Thom Cable Car, which departs from a terminal on the island's southern coast and crosses 7.9 kilometers of open water to reach Hon Thom island. It holds the record as the world's longest non-stop cable car, and the crossing itself is genuinely spectacular: the gondolas rise high above fishing boats and turquoise shallows before reaching the forested island on the other side. Allow at least half a day for the round trip, more if you plan to use the water park and beach facilities on Hon Thom.

The An Thoi archipelago is the other major reason travelers base themselves in the south. Island-hopping tours depart from An Thoi Port and typically cover three to five of the smaller islands in a single day, with stops for snorkeling, squid fishing, and floating seafood lunches. The water around these islands has some of the clearest visibility in the region, and the coral gardens between Hon Roi and Hon Mong Tay are particularly good for snorkeling.

On the larger entertainment side, the VinWonders theme park and the adjacent Sunset Town complex are located on the coast just west of An Thoi, within the broader Vinpearl resort zone. Sunset Town is styled as a European harbor town and functions as an entertainment and dining district in its own right, with gondola rides, nightly fountain shows, and a long pedestrian promenade. It's a deliberately theatrical experience, and whether you enjoy it depends heavily on your tolerance for that kind of constructed environment, but the evening light over the artificial harbor is undeniably striking.

• Hon Thom Cable Car crossing: 7.9km over open water, with views across the archipelago
• An Thoi Port island-hopping tours: snorkeling, squid fishing, floating lunch
• VinWonders Phu Quoc: full-day theme park adjacent to the cable car zone
• Sunset Town: evening entertainment district with waterfront promenade
• Snorkeling and diving around Hon Roi and Hon Mong Tay islands

Eating & Drinking

An Thoi's food scene is built around the port, and that's both its strength and its limitation. The seafood here is genuinely fresh: boats unload directly into the local supply chain, and the small restaurants clustered around the harbor road work with whatever came in that morning. Grilled fish, steamed clams with lemongrass, and pepper crab are the staples. Prices are lower than in Duong Dong's tourist-facing restaurants, and portions are larger.

Street food near the market area is the most economical option for breakfast and lunch. Banh mi carts operate from early morning, and a few small stalls serve bun quay, the local pulled noodle soup that Phu Quoc is known for regionally. This is not a neighborhood with a sophisticated cafe culture: if you're looking for specialty coffee or a quiet place to work on a laptop, you'll need to head north. What An Thoi does have is the kind of no-nonsense seafood lunch that feels entirely authentic to the island's fishing heritage.

The Sunset Town and VinWonders complex has a broad range of restaurants, including international cuisine, Vietnamese chains, and fresh seafood. These venues are considerably more expensive than local An Thoi spots, but they're convenient if you're spending the day at the theme park or cable car terminal. The evening promenade in Sunset Town has bars and ice cream vendors that stay open late, making it the de facto nightlife option for the southern end of the island.

Getting There & Around

An Thoi is approximately 28 kilometers south of Duong Dong, the island's main transport and commercial hub. There is no public bus service running the full length of the island on a fixed schedule. The practical options are taxi, motorbike rental, or a pre-arranged transfer through your accommodation. The drive from Duong Dong takes 40 to 50 minutes by car depending on traffic, which can back up around the Vinpearl resort entrance during peak hours.

Grab (Southeast Asia's dominant ride-hailing app) operates on Phu Quoc and is generally reliable for the Duong Dong to An Thoi run, though surge pricing applies during busy mornings when tour groups are heading to the port. Motorbike rental from Duong Dong gives you full flexibility and is the recommended approach for travelers who want to stop at Sao Beach on the way south, one of the island's most photographed stretches of sand, located on the southeastern coast about 10 kilometers before An Thoi.

Within An Thoi itself, most points of interest are within a short distance of the port. The cable car terminal is roughly 2 kilometers from the main dock area. Xe om (motorbike taxis) are available near the port entrance and are the easiest way to cover those last few kilometers if you arrive by taxi and don't want to walk. For broader context on getting around the whole island, the Phu Quoc transport guide covers all options in detail.

Where to Stay

Accommodation in An Thoi falls into two very different categories. The Vinpearl resort complex, which encompasses VinWonders and Sunset Town, contains several large hotels ranging from mid-range to luxury. These properties offer all-inclusive packages, private beaches, and direct access to the entertainment district. They are well-run and genuinely comfortable, but staying inside the complex gives you a somewhat sealed-off experience of Phu Quoc: you see the island mainly through the resort's lens.

Outside the Vinpearl zone, An Thoi has guesthouses and smaller hotels serving travelers who are primarily using the port for island-hopping tours. These are affordable and functional rather than luxurious, and they put you closer to the working port atmosphere and the local food stalls. The trade-off is that you're further from beaches: the nearest good swimming beach to the port area itself is a short motorbike ride away.

Travelers who want a quieter, more nature-focused base might consider staying further up the western coast at Ong Lang, which offers easier access to Phu Quoc National Park while still being driveable to An Thoi for day trips. An Thoi as a base makes most sense for travelers whose primary goal is the cable car and archipelago tours, and who are comfortable with the limited neighborhood infrastructure.

Honest Assessment

An Thoi is not a neighborhood that rewards aimless wandering. It lacks the historic streetscape of Duong Dong, the beach-access convenience of Long Beach, and the laid-back atmosphere of Ong Lang. What it has is specificity of purpose: if you're here for the cable car or the island-hopping boats, no other part of Phu Quoc positions you as well. The working port gives it a texture that the resort zones lack, but that texture comes with noise, diesel fumes, and limited services.

For most visitors, An Thoi works best as a day trip destination from a base elsewhere on the island, combined with a stop at Sao Beach on the drive down. The southern circuit, covering Sao Beach, An Thoi Port, the cable car, and Sunset Town in the evening, is one of the more satisfying full days you can construct on Phu Quoc without needing to stay overnight in the south at all.