We've arrived at Mai House!

Hi All, just thought I%26#39;d give you an update as I know these were helpful when I was searching for accomodation.

We arrived at Mai House yesterday at noon - it was raining a bit but cleared up for a lovely afternoon! We absolutely love it here and the setting is gorgeous. We chose Mai House because we wanted a very natural feeling to our accomodation and it hasn%26#39;t disappointed. The landscaping is stunning with huge palms, beautiful flowers and little walk ways to thatched bungalows that feel very private. I%26#39;m so impressed with the layout of this ';resort'; though that%26#39;s not the right term and feel what they%26#39;ve done here is very tasteful and very much in keeping with the natural setting of the island.

We opted to save money and go for the standard bungalow, which I think was definitely worth it as even the pricier bungalows are set back a ways from the beach anyway. The bungalows are very nice with a huge bed and a huge wet-room style shower. We have been fine sleeping with just a fan.

In typical tripadvisor style we walked the beach last night to see how the other resorts compared to ours and definitely feel that Mai House is one of the most attractive. It has one of the biggest patches of beach - perhaps not width ways but it also runs back from the ocean quite a bit which means you can find plenty of shade where some of the other resorts there is no escaping the sun when you are on the beach chairs.

There are plenty of chairs for everyone and despite the fact that Mai House is apparently full it feels very quiet. Maybe only 8 of 20-30 chaise longues are taken. Interestingly, most of the other guests are German and middle-aged. There seem to be a lot of Germans on the island. I%26#39;ve noticed this morning more young people arriving - I think they are German as well. This is no problem - just thought I%26#39;d meniton it! You%26#39;d probably find more English/Australians/NZs at the back packer type places.

I think the other really nice place is Sea Star. The accommodation definitely looks more modern and it%26#39;s semi-detached but they are right on the beach and there is some nice landscaping there too.

The food is pricier than we found in Northern and Central Vietnam. More like $4-9 for a meal rather than $2-3 but the food at Mai House last night was really very good. Plus there are a couple of places within a couple minute walk that do things a bit cheaper. We definitely found the beach much busier when we walkeed north from Mai House and got past Tropicana resort and more up towards Sea Star and north of that.

This morning we walked south to Beach Club which is about a good 15 minute walk. It%26#39;s fairly secluded and looks basic but attractive with a bar right on the beach. Unfortunately on the way and further south past Beach House we noticed a fair amount of rubbish on the beach. But we%26#39;ve encountered very little rubbish on our walk north from Mai House towards Duong Dong.

The water is so warm, too! One thing to mention is that the taxi isn%26#39;t cheap (compared to the rest of Vietnam) to get out here even thought it%26#39;s on 70km. In a metered taxi it cost us 70 dong when we were expected more like 40-50 dong. There aren%26#39;t any shops out here so if you want snacks or water cheaper than you can get at the restaurant you might want to stop briefly in town to get a few things though that will cost you more. In any case, it%26#39;s not great economially to go back and forth to town a lot but there%26#39;s really no need to as there%26#39;s not much else there.

Hope this helps anyone who%26#39;s trying to decide. Not sure I%26#39;ll be on here again if anyone has questions, but if I am I%26#39;ll try to respond!

We've arrived at Mai House!

Hi Travelrequired!

Thanks for taking the time to type up a post, whilst your on holidays! Glad to hear you are loving Phu Quoc Island and enjoying Mai House.

We are staying at Sea Star at the end of this month. Thanks for letting us know that it looks lovely!

We cannot wait. Enjoy your holiday and look fwd to reading you JBR when you return

Izzy x

We've arrived at Mai House!

sorry I meant to say only 7km - not 70 km!

Some of the best restuarants look to be Rainbow (not attached to any resort) and the Tropicana%26#39;s restaurant (both recommended in our Rough Guides book) and also there%26#39;s a little thatched hut eatery with geat little chair and tables right on the beach that is I think, just near Sea Star. It%26#39;s much cheaper. For anyone else travelling in Vietnam, it looks like a beach version of a bia hoi.

PS - I got burned very quickly yesterday! Be careful with the tropical sun - even at 9am in the morning. You%26#39;ll get tan anyway if you spend 5 days here and apply 30 spf.

Sounds great, thanks so much for the recommendations, i%26#39;ll put them in my notebook. we will definitely try the restaurants.

Whats it like on a motor bike there? i%26#39;ve only been on a motor bike once in my life. I%26#39;m scared of falling off LOL. I%26#39;ve heard Phu Quoc is pretty quiet though so im tempted to get on one???

p.s thanks for the warning regarding the strong sun!

Izzy

Thanks for posting the hotel info. We%26#39;ll be back to the island when they open the international airport.

LOL I don%26#39;t think you meant 70 dong either. The smallest note I can find is 200 dong.

Hi travelrequired!

Thanks for the useful infomation! How did you book Mai House, seems they don%26#39;t seem to have a web page...do you have their email?

Thank you!

hey, just to respond to your questions.

sorry i mean that mai house is 7km from the airport and the taxi cost 70,000 dong. hope that%26#39;s clear - sorry for the confusion!

motor bikes - we did that yesterday. my husband drove and i was on the back. i have absolutely no idea how to ride a motorbike. if you%26#39;re not comfortable it%26#39;s probably better you hire a guide and ride on the back. i think it%26#39;s around $20 for the whole day to doo that. the island is quiet and most of it is unpaved which means you can%26#39;t go fast but the roads are in pretty dire shape so it can be quite bumpy and exhausting. i ended up feeling a little motion sickness from it. we went north but in retrospect it sounds like the best place is to go south to a place on the east coast called star beach (translation obviously - sao bai i think) which is supposed to be absolutely stunning!

as for booking mai house, just email gerard at maihouseresort@yahoo.com or you can call 84 077 384 7003or 84 077 384 8924.

If I remember correctly they want to make sure you have a plane ticket before you book and if you missed my previous post - do a google search because you can buy the plane tickets through this one website (can%26#39;t remember the name know) for MUCH cheaper than if you buy through any travel agent. It cost us 200 pounds more unfortunately and the tickets should really be in the region of $50US return!

We%26#39;ve been to those restaurants I mentioned and they were all pretty good but the cheap one on the beach has a great atmosphere. Food is cheap and not stellar but we had several courses, beers and wines for less than $12 and you%26#39;re right in the sand and they bring you a little hurricane lamp once the sun goes down.

Good luck with everything!

thanks Travelrequired!

I%26#39;ll have to give the bike a go!

ohh i love the idea of the cheap beach restaurant on the sand with the lantern.. sounds amazing

Enjoy the rest of your time on the island

Izzy

just a bit more info before we head off tomorrow.

Today we discovered a place that sells wine much more cheapily than at most of the restaurants. it also hires out motorbikes. you can rent motorbikes from mai house but they are 120,000 for the day and pretty old. if you go to this other place it%26#39;s 80,000 for the day and it%26#39;s a newer yamaha model which will be great for saving your butt on the dirt roads. also today we went south towards sao beach (star beach) and that is WAY better than going north. you are on a paved road almost the whole way and the beach is beautiful - very clear water, white sands and a few beach restaurants. it%26#39;s definitely worth spending part of a day out there and the motor biking is safe.

basically, if you are exiting mai house on the bumpy dirt road before you get to the main road, there is another little dirt road off to your right, which leads to eden restaurant and some other little resorts. as soon as you turn down this on your left hand side there is a little shop that sells toiletries and wine - $8 for aussie wine rather than $20-$30 in the restaurants here! he will chill it for you and you can come pick it up just before you need it!

also, we went snorkelling yesterday. most trips are about $17 but these tend to be more boat trips with some snorkelling rather more dedicated to snorkelling (so we%26#39;ve heard). also we%26#39;ve heard sometimes the equipment can be a bit old. so we went with a place called coco dive, recommended by gerard, and they were $25. it was a combination of divers and snorkellers. while the first place we stopped had great coral and plenty of fish the second place was not good and i really felt that maybe the trip was more designed for divers and we ended up paying a bit of a premium. i can%26#39;t say how this compares with the other trips offered as we didn%26#39;t do them, but i%26#39;m not sure the extra $8 we each paid was worth it. the people who ran coco dive were great and very professional though. our trip lasted 730-2pm so you had the afternoon to yourself whereas the other ones are from 9-5pm so they take up pretty much the whole day.

finally, i think are final verdict on the restaurants is that mai house is one of the better ones. rainbow bar is cool if you need a break from veitnamese food and want a burger or maybe a cocktailb ut it%26#39;s been dead the whole time we%26#39;ve been here and not much atmosphere. they do have cheapish wine by the glass though. tropicana has great food and really funny stuff whose english is pretty decent. they also have a bar on the beach that opens later in the evening.

Just loving all your reports on PhuQuoc Island - thank you so much.

Izzy, make sure you pm me when you are there so we can follow in your footsteps!

X Sandy

I know Sandy, they are just amazing reports! I%26#39;ll have to give you an update on how it is when i am there.. only 11 days to go! I am so glad we are going to this island.

There isn%26#39;t usually much on this form regarding PQ.. so this is very valuable information! Thanks so much travelrequired.

Can you please tell me where this place is with the better and cheaper motorbikes?

thanks v much,

Izzy