The Best Places to Shopping in Phuquoc
Shopping on Phu Quoc Island mostly comes in the form of street markets and quaint boutiques, where you can find not only fresh produce and pre-packaged condiments but also locally-farmed pearls and unique handicrafts. Great for experiencing the local culture, Dinh Cau Night Market and Duong Dong Market are often packed with vendors and shoppers bargaining hard for all kinds of goods, especially freshly caught seafood and household items from mainland Vietnam.
Visitors can also sample authentic Vietnamese dishes and fresh seafood at affordable prices as well as stock up on locally resourced products such as prepacked mushrooms, fish sauce, pepper and cashew nuts. Read on for our guide on where to shop and what to buy on Phu Quoc Island.
Dinh Cau Night Market
Dinh Cau Night Market is a must-visit for travellers on Phu Quoc Island, offering a plethora of dining and shopping opportunities until late. Located along Vo Thi Sau Street in Duong Dong, this pedestrian-friendly market is about a five-minute walk from Dinh Cau Rock. This Phu Quoc market caters mainly to tourists but is rather bustling with many people.
Visitors can find about 100 stalls, more than half of which sell fresh seafood, street snacks, and beverages at affordable prices. Live fish, sea snails, crabs and scallops are kept in large tanks with prices listed on the board in front of every booth. To order, just choose whichever strikes your fancy before taking your seat at the makeshift dining section.
Highly recommended dishes include grilled scallops, steamed squid with fermented fish sauce, boiled sea snails, flower crab with rice noodles, and deep-fried shrimps. Drinks-wise, there’s a good mix of fresh juices, smoothies, soft drinks, local wines and beers. Prices are slightly higher than in an average local restaurant on Phu Quoc but the seafood is generally very fresh.
If you’re looking to purchase souvenirs for loved ones back home, walk further along the street to find a number of booths selling T-shirts, slippers, jewellery and handicrafts. You may find some claiming to sell authentic pearl rings and necklaces but most of the time these are actually counterfeit items. Prepacked snacks such as Phu Quoc’s fermented fish sauce, dried seaweed, black pepper and cashew nuts make ideal gifts as well.
For the safety of its many visitors, Dinh Cau Night Market is closed off to motorised vehicles from 17:00 onwards with parking available just outside the main entrance for VND 10,000.
- Opening Hours: Daily 17:00 – 24:00
- Address: Vo Thi Sau Street, Duong Dong, Phu Quoc island
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Duong Dong Market is Phu Quoc Island’s busiest and largest outdoor market, where travellers can experience the local lifestyle and purchase a wide range of fresh produce during their holiday. Set along Tran Phu Street, Duong Dong Market features a wet zone that’s set close to Duong Dong Port, where you can see throngs of fishing boats drop off freshly-caught seafood such as eel, squid, mackerel, barracuda, and shellfish, to be sold by local vendors.
Phu Quoc Island is also renowned for its fish sauce, mushrooms, peppers and cashew nuts. We highly recommend making your way to the dry section to pick up a few as souvenirs for loved ones back home. Thanks to its growing popularity among tourists, there’s also a few stalls selling handicrafts and t-shirts, though most carry the same stock.
Like most Asian markets, Duong Dong Market also houses plenty of food stalls serving fruit juices and Vietnamese cuisine at relatively low prices. Must-tries include banh tet (Vietnamese Cylindrical Sticky Rice Cake), echinus porridge, and raw herring salad. The best time to visit is in the early morning, where you can see the locals bargaining hard for household items, fresh and dried seafood, meats, sweets and fruit from mainland Vietnam.
- Opening Hours: Daily 07:00 – 21:00
- Address: Tran Phu Street, Duong Dong, Phu Quoc Island
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Phu Quoc Pearl Farm
Phu Quoc Pearl Farm was founded in 1998 by a New Zealand-based company called Treasures from the Deep, where visitors can learn about pearl farming and purchase quality jewellery. Locally known as Ngoc Hien Pearl Farm, it spans 6,000 square meters of cultivation pools, a spacious showroom, and retail outlet selling high-end pearl rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets from VND 3,000,000 upwards. Situated along the west coast of Phu Quoc Island, Phu Quoc Pearl Farm is a 10-minute drive from Duong Dong.
- Opening Hours: Daily 09:00 – 21:00
- Address: Tran Hung Dao Street, Duong Dong, Phu Quoc Island
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The Green Boutique Phu Quoc
The Green Boutique Phu Quoc is a home-grown beauty brand that’s renowned for offering a wide range of skincare and haircare products, all of which are handmade with all-natural ingredients. Occupying a rustic-looking hut at Tran Hung Dao Street, this boutique is accessible within a 15-minute walk from Sung Hung Pagoda.
Carefully displayed in wooden shelves, you can find beautifully-packaged aromatherapy oils, body lotions and scrubs, soap, massage oils, sunblock, hair masks, and shampoo. Great for those with sensitive skin, products sold at The Green Boutique Phu Quoc do not contain any preservatives or additives. Essential oils such as coconut oil, lavender, and rosemary are imported while sea salt, and sugar as well as powdered potato, pumpkin, and soy bean are locally sourced. If you have a specific skin type or allergic to certain ingredients, its friendly English-speaking owner can easily create individualised products accordingly. Prices here may seem steep to some (expect to pay US$10 for a 100ml customised facial or body cream), but the quality you’ll get is well worth the hefty price tag.
- Opening Hours: Daily 09:00 – 21:00
- Address: 92 Tran Hung Dao, Duong Dong, Phu Quoc island