Phu Quoc Island Holiday, 4 Nights

Phu Quoc’s airport sits in the middle of the island, so no hotel is far away — twenty minutes to Long Beach, a little more to the north-west resorts. Rooms are generally ready from two in the afternoon. The rest of the day asks nothing of you: a swim, a lie-down after the flight, and then Long Beach at sunset, when the sun drops straight into the Gulf of Thailand and the beach bars put their tables on the sand.

North to the Ganh Dau end of the island, where three big attractions sit side by side. Vinpearl Safari comes first, while the animals are active: a bus takes you through open enclosures where giraffes, rhinos and big cats move around outside the glass, followed by a walking section of more conventional zoo. After lunch at your own pace, VinWonders has roller-coasters, a large aquarium and plenty of gentler rides for small children. Grand World at dusk is the finale — lit-up canals, gondolas and street stalls.

South first to the old Phu Quoc prison, where the French and later the South Vietnamese government held prisoners of war; the reconstructions are blunt and some parents skip the cells with younger children. From An Thoi harbour a speedboat runs out to Mong Tay, Gam Ghi and May Rut, three small islands with clear shallows for snorkelling and lunch on the sand. Hon Thom follows, with its water park, and the day ends on the cable car, riding high above the fishing fleet back to the main island.

Nothing is booked, deliberately. The island’s best beach, Sao on the south-east coast, is a forty-minute taxi ride and has the whitest sand; the pepper farms and the fish-sauce houses near Duong Dong are the island’s real industries and happy to show visitors round; Dinh Cau, a small shrine on a rock at the mouth of the Duong Dong river, is the place to watch the squid boats go out. The Duong Dong night market, busy with grilled seafood, takes care of dinner.

Breakfast and a last swim if the flight allows. Checkout is usually around noon, and the transfer back to the airport is short, so an afternoon departure leaves a relaxed morning. For a late flight, a late checkout or a day room can be requested, subject to the hotel.