Enjoy your own time in Thom Beach

With the pristine charming beauty, it’s no surprise that tour Phu Quoc is always on the bucket list of many travelers when coming to Vietnam. Being regarded widely as one of the most pristine and beautiful beaches in Phu Quoc, Thom beach is truly an ideal place for holidaymakers or sea lovers. It’s really a shortcoming if you go to Phu Quoc with exploring this pretty beach.

Hon Thom island viewed from above (kenh14.vn​)

Background

Located in the North of Phu Quoc island, Thom beach is a beautiful but sadly deserted beach. It is still, silent, hot, and filled with the aroma of cashew fruit and the cheerful sound of cicadas at midday with a few locals. In this remote Northern tip, most of the beaches here are hidden from sight. In Thom Beach, the development hasn't been seen yet but a few cuisine zones and the mid-range resort. Once or twice a day the red dust on the soil road is disturbed by vehicles taking off the ferry from the mainland at Da Chong Port that is just a few kilometers to the south. 

Being 35 kilometers from Duong Dong town on the far northeast of Phu Quoc island, you will find a long stretching uninhabited beach. This is quite remote and reaching here may be challenging. The best option is by motorcycle.

Enjoy many amusement activities in Hon Thom (news.zing.vn)

In the past, the access to Thom Beach was restricted by the Vietnamese military, but those days passed. Even so, tourists to this far north-westerly beach remain to be sparse. The public facilities are mostly non-existent. That's the reason why this is also called "a neglected beach". Thom beach offers the closest views of the Cambodian mainland. Clearly, it is quite near Cambodia, which caused Thom beach to be such a sensitive spot for the Vietnamese military. Cambodia gave claim to the ownership of Phu Quoc island and carried out their invasion of this island during the 1970s.

At Thom beach, the sea is really shallow and naturally tidal. At low tide, the seawater subsides leaving behind it an endless sandy beach full of tidal animals such as crustaceans, crabs, etc. At low tide, you can walk to nearby Mot Island that is just meters away from the coast.  When the tides rise, most of the beach drift.  The low slopes make it easy to enter and exit the sea. However, the ocean floor includes a plenty of coral debris and rocks so you must be careful to make sure your feet aren't sore. The sea water clarity varies relying on the season and the sea can be fairly rough, especially in the wet season. 

What to do?

Hon Thom cable station of Phu Quoc

Thom beach is a wonderful place to contemplate the sunset and sunrise. Watching the sunrise in Thom Beach is surreal when the sun rises from the back of Cambodia. Thom Beach is also a perfect spot to watch the sunset, as the whole sky light up giving you a spectacular light show.

Another interesting activity is to visit the Crocodile Farm. The Phu Hai crocodile farm is situated in Da Chong next to the path that leads you to the slow ferry terminal. The crocodile farm offers you an overview of how crocodiles are bred. Here you will find about 2,500 crocodiles that are farmed and sold for their skin and meat. Travelers can visit the hatchery, the processing factory, or watch the mature crocodiles in their pens. Vietnam owns two species of crocodiles including the fresh-water Siamese crocodile and the salt-water crocodile, unfortunately, both of which have been hunted to export illegally to China, Thailand and other countries. Breeding is a sustainable way to meet the demands as well as to limit poaching of wild animals.

Besides, it's a good idea to explore the cashew nut plantation. In the Northern remote part of Thom Beach, it's easy to find a lot of cashew nut farms that you can visit. Despite being grown in a fair abundance, the cashew nut is still a lesser-known food on Phu Quoc. The cashew nut trees have big pear-shaped husks when in the ripe season and the smaller cashew nuts occur at the end. Although visitors may not pluck the nuts, it’s still exciting to see all these trees.

Diving in Hon Thom

If preferable, you can rent a boat and sail along the shoreline, go fishing, or visit Mot Island. In case of luckily catching a fish or squid, you can have one of the nearby restaurants cook them for you and in return, you can pay them a small fee. It's also amazing to snorkel in Thom Beach since there are some hard corals in this zone. If you don't carry a snorkel and mask, you can easily rent one at the nearby resort.

If you are a crazy fan of seafood, you can walk on the beach in bare feet and collect the lovely tiny marine creatures such as sea snails, sea urchins, small crabs, clams or conch. As a result, you will have a nice shore lunch for yourself.

Coming to Thom beach, you will take a chance to not only soak in the cool turquoise water but also visit the amazing spots and join the exciting activities in the cool and refreshing atmosphere of the immense ocean. Do not hesitate to explore Thom beach and have an unforgettable trip.