My friend: “Want to go to Phú Quý to free dive?”
Me: “Heh, when?”
At that point I still thought she meant Phú Quốc, the island all over my social feed. Then she told me to book a flight to Ho Chi Minh City, because we’d need to take a ferry to Phú Quý. She added that almost everyone on that ferry throws up because the sea is so rough. That’s when I realised Phú Quý and Phú Quốc are two different places, even though the names sounded the same to me. Both islands are beautiful, though.
What Is Phú Quý Island and Where Is It?
Phú Quý is a small island about 100–120 km south-east of Phan Thiết, roughly 2.5 hours away by ferry. It covers only about 16.5 km² and has around 30,000 residents, most of whom make their living from fishing. There’s no airport, so the only way in is by ship.
Since the 2025 provincial merger, Phú Quý has been a special zone (đặc khu) of Lâm Đồng province. Older guides still list it under Bình Thuận, which is out of date.
Phú Quý vs Phú Quốc: Not the Same Island
Phú Quý and Phú Quốc are two different islands. Phú Quý is a small fishing island in the East Sea that you can only reach by ferry from Phan Thiết. It is still very local, and I hardly saw any tourists. You can get around the island by renting and riding a motorbike. The clear water for free diving, the fresh seafood and the less crowded beaches were worth the 2.5-hour ferry ride.
How to identify the difference: Phú Quốc is the one with the airport and the resorts. Phú Quý is the one where you need a ferry and a sick bag.
How to Get to Phú Quý
I flew to Ho Chi Minh City and took a Grab to Phan Thiết, which takes about 2.5 to 4 hours depending on traffic. From there, I boarded the high-speed ferry to Phú Quý, which takes about 2.5 hours. Check the ferry timetable before you book anything else. Sailings are limited, and they may get cancelled when the weather is bad.
Is the Phú Quý Ferry Really That Rough?
If you’ve seen the TikTok videos of passengers throwing up on the ship and wondered whether they’re real, they are. I was sick not once but the whole way from Phan Thiết to Phú Quý, even though I’d taken motion-sickness medicine beforehand. The trip back was much better: the sea was much calmer and I wasn’t sick at all.
The good news is that the ship itself is comfortable. The seats are nice, the air conditioning works well, and the crew hands out plenty of plastic bags.
What We Did on Phú Quý Island
My friend and I spent 3 days and 2 nights on Phú Quý. We planned the trip around two things: free diving and exploring the island.
We booked the Island Sunset Hotel on Trip.com and took a sea-view room. The hotel has its own restaurant, and we ended up eating every meal there. The staff were friendly and kind, and the food was delicious.
1. Free Diving
Free diving is the main reason many people come to Phú Quý. The island has well-preserved coral reefs and clear water, and you can reach the reef spots in a short boat ride. Local schools run beginner courses, and many of them include underwater photos and videos that they film and edit for you, so you go home with proper shots of yourself under water.
Even though I have an Advanced Open Water certification for scuba diving, free diving felt like learning a completely new set of skills. With no tank, you use your breathing and the air in your lungs to control your buoyancy. Most importantly, you have to learn to relax and trust yourself and your breath.
One thing scuba diving and free diving have in common is how hungry you get after a dive. Luckily, our free diving instructors took us by boat straight to a floating seafood restaurant out on the sea, so lunch was as fresh as it gets.
2. Exploring the Island
Part of the fun is not having a fixed plan: ride, stop wherever looks beautiful, and keep going.
That’s how we did it. We didn’t follow a list of landmarks. We rode around and stopped wherever something caught our eye, so these are the moments I remember rather than a map of names.
