We spent several days on the rather lovely Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc, which is actually closer to Cambodia than it is to the Vietnamese coast. This is a great island to chill out on, with superb beaches, and great snorkeling and diving around. There’s a National Park here that covers much of the island and you’ll also find great food here at the fabulous night markets. We headed here from Ho Chi Minh City, after exploring the city we were ready for some island downtime. Here’s our guide to the best way to go from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc.
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The Best Way to Get to Phu Quoc
By far the easiest way to go to Phu Quoc Ho Cki Monh City is to fly. Book early for the best prices.
Phu Quoc island is 45 kilometers (29 miles) from the Vietnamese coast at Ha Tien, and it’s only 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from the Cambodian coast. We found this useful when we left Phu Quoc, heading as we were toward Cambodia via Chau Doc and then up the Mekong River to Phnom Penh. When you’re going to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Minh City you have two primary options, first a flight, secondly a bus and boat combination. Our guide to Phu Quoc is here.
It’s about 400 kilometers (248 miles) by road from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc and then there’s a ferry journey that takes about 2 hours. In total, the road and ferry route takes about 12 hours. Flights from Ho Chi Minh City take about 60-90 minutes. Don’t forget to factor in getting to the airport in Ho Chi Minh City and also the check-in time. It’s still a lot quicker than going overland.
Getting to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Minh
There’s an airport on Phu Quoc Island, so flying here is an option, and it’s the quickest way to get to Phu Quoc Island from Ho Chi Minh City. In terms of overland transport, then you have a choice of bus and ferry combinations, as there are two ferry ports on mainland Vietnam that have boat services to Phu Quoc. I’ll cover those shortly, but I’ll start with the best and easiest way to get to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Minh City. Flying.
Flying to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Minh City
The airport on Phu Quoc mainly deals with domestic flights and so it’s small, compact, and easy to get in and out of. Direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc take between an hour and 90 minutes and there are up to 30 flights a day to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Minh City.
There are four different airlines flying to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Minh City every day.
- VietJetAir – check Vietjetair flights to Phu Quoc here
- Bamboo Airways – check Bamboo Airways flights to Phu Quoc here
- Jetstar Pacific – check Jetstar Pacific flights to Phu Quoc here
- Vietnam Airlines – check Vietnam Airlines flights to Phu Quoc here
Ho Chi Minh Airport (SGN) to Phu Quoc – aka Duong Dang Airport (PQC) is a really easy flight to take and this is definitely the easiest way to travel this route.
Flights to Phu Quoc from HCMC start at 05:00 and the last one is usually at 21:25. The number of flights depends on the season, but there can be up to 30 flights a day. Flying to Phu Quoc from Saigon is usually cheap, and you’ll save a whole lot of time.
- Check fares for morning flights from SGN to PQC
- Check fares for afternoon flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc Island
- Check fares for evening flights to Phu Quoc Island from Ho Chi Minh City
Getting to Ho Chi Minh Airport from Ho Chi Minh City
There are a variety of options to go from Ho Chi Minh City to the airport. The easiest way is to take a taxi. And it’s not expensive. This is a short journey, The airport (SGN) or Tan Son Nhat International Airport is located 7.4 kilometers (4.6 miles) to the north of District 1 of Ho Chi Minh city center.
1. Ho Chi Minh City to Airport Taxi
This is a short distance, but with traffic, it can take around 45 minutes, depending on where you are in the city. Taking a taxi is the quickest way to get to the airport from the city though. You can book a taxi to the City from Ho Chi Minh Airport and pay for it here. If you pick up a taxi on the street agree on the price before you get in the taxi, or ask the driver to use the meter. For street taxis, you’ll need to pay cash.
2. HCMC Airport Buses to Ho Chi Minh Airport
Two airport buses go from the city center in Ho Chi Minh City to the airport. You’ll pay (cash) between 20,000 VND to 40,000 VND. The two bus numbers for this route are 49 and 109. The 49 bus to the airport is faster (but more expensive) as it has fewer stops. Staff on these buses to the airport speak English.
There are stops for these buses near the backpacker street (Pham Ngu Lao) and also at the Ben Thanh bus station. Buy tickets on the bus. Cash only.
3. Ho Chi Minh to the Airport on bus number 152
This is the cheapest way to get to the airport from Ho Chi Minh City, but the bus only runs until 18:00. Tickets on this bus cost 10,000 VND. Cash only. Pay the driver.

If you have luggage you may have to pay for your luggage too, it tends to depend on the driver (and the size of your luggage), and if you have to pay it’s usually 10,000 VND for your luggage too. Still cheaper than the other airport buses, which don’t charge for luggage. You can pick this bus up at the Ben Thanh roundabout.
Phu Quoc Airport to Your Accommodation on the Island
The airport on Phu Quoc Island is about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the main town, Duong Dong. Check with your hotel to see if they provide a pick-up service as many do, or book and prepay a private transfer here.
You’ll find taxis waiting for flights at the airport. The cost will depend on where you’re going and how good you are at haggling.
Buses and Ferries to Phu Quoc Island from Ho Chi Minh City
Two ferry ports on mainland Vietnam have ferries that go to Phu Quoc. Ha Tien and Rach Gia. The shortest combination road and ferry trip is via Ha Tien and you can opt for a big bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Ha Tien or a minivan.
Unfortunately, there are no “through tickets” available for this route, so you’ll have to book the bus and the ferry separately.
Bus and boat to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Min City – via Ha Tien
The bus and boat from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc via Ha Tien takes about 12 hours and buses run during the day and at night. Taking a bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Ha Tien takes 8 hours and you can book your ticket here.
The ferry to Phu Quoc from Ha Tien is quick and takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes. There are two ferries a day – one at 7:30 am and one at 12:30 pm.
Book buses and minivans to Ha Tien from Ho Chi Minh City here
Book ferries to Phu Quoc from Ha Tien here

Bus and boat to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Min City – via Rach Gia
The bus and ferry route to Phu Quoc from HCMC via Rach Gia takes about 8 hours. (this doesn’t include check-in times for the ferry, or for waiting for connecting ferries to the bus). You can take a daytime bus or save on accommodation and take a nighttime bus. However, you still cannot book through tickets, so book a bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Rach Gia and then, also book the ferry from Rach Gia to Phu Quoc.
It’s about 2 and a quarter hours on the ferry to Phu Quoc from Rach Gia, with four ferries each day running this route.
Book tickets for buses and minivans from Ho Chi Minh City to Rach Gia here
Book tickets for ferries from Rach Gia to Phu Quoc here
Key Routes to Travel in Vietnam
Want to know more about different forms of transport in Vietnam? Our guide to Vietnam transport is here. And here’s how to travel some of the popular routes around Vietnam, your options, and how we did it.
- How to go from Ho Chi Minh Airport to HCMC
- How to get to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Minh City.
- Go from Chau Doc to Can Tho
- How to go from Hanoi Airport to the City
- How to go from Phong Nha to Hanoi
- Best way to go from Mui Ne to Dalat
- How to go from Hanoi to Hue
- Go from Hue to Ninh Binh
- Ho Chi Minh to Dalat
- How to go from Hoi An to Hue
- How to go from Ho Chi Minh City to the Cu Chi Tunnels
- How to get to Phu Quoc Island
- How to go from Hoi An to Danang
- How to go from Vietnam to Cambodia
- How to go from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh
- How to go from Phnom Penh to Chau Doc (Cambodia to Vietnam)
- How to go to Mui Ne from Ho Chi Minh City
- How to go from Hanoi to Sapa
- How to go from Nha Trang to Hoi An
- How to go from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh (Vietnam to Cambodia)
- Hoi An to Nin Binh
- Going from Ninh Binh To Hanoi
The quickest way to get from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc
The quickest way to get to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Minh City is to fly. It takes from an hour to 90 minutes to fly to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Minh City Airport. You can check flight schedules and prices here.
The cheapest way to go from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc
The cheapest way to get to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Minh City is to take an overnight sleeper bus from HCMC to Ha Tien, and then to take the ferry. You’ll have to book the bus tickets here, and then the ferry tickets here. There’s no through ticketing available, but this will save you one night of accommodation. I can’t promise how much sleep you’ll get though!
The most popular way to go from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc
The most popular way to get to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Minh City is to take a flight.
Travel Tips for Exploring Vietnam
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- Book accommodation in Vietnam with Booking
Final Words on How to Go from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc is a lovely island to visit, and we had great fun there. We’d considered taking the bus and the ferry from Ho Chi Minh City and worked it all out, but in the end, a flight won out, as it was so much quicker, and not that much more expensive. We got to use the ferry on the way back when we headed from Vietnam to Cambodia, and up the Mekong to Phnom Penh.
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