Prices in Phu Quoc

It is always interesting while traveling – the cost of living in the foreign countries that we travel. As we homeschool, we teach our children financial intelligence which includes investing, what is money? what is currency? currency conversions, cost of living, and many more things. We let them go shopping to understand the true VALUE of the goods bought in different countries.

And everywhere we go, I try to make a list of the things we buy (and do not buy) with the prices that we pay. For the record, we strive to shop locally as much as possible, but there are instances that we use shopping centers for some of the groceries or things. It is not often, but we do get to experience Western World shopping at times even when traveling the so called third world countries (so far I can say with confidence, shopping malls in the bigger cities are all the same. Truly. Even the same shops as in the US or Canada. If we did not know we were in a different country – we would think we are in the US when at the shopping mall).

Anyways, here we go. I made a list of a price in Phu Quoc- a beautiful island in the south of Vietnam, a tourist destination nevertheless. While prices do vary by the location, season and other factors, but I try to do my best to reflect that in the post.

FRUITS and VEGETABLES

Passionfruit, 1 kg – starts at 20K VND ( $1 US =~24500 VND)- so around $0.80 US- (local market)

Bananas, 1 kg – starts at 15K VND (local market)

Mini Bananas, 1 kg – starts at 20K VND (local market)

Rambutan, 1 kg – starts at 40K VND (local market)

Mangosteen , 1 kg – starts at 70 K VND, somewhere it even went up to 150K VND per kg, but it was a touristy place.

Pineapple, 1 kg- starts at 10K VND (local market)

Longan, 1 kg- 40K VND (local market)

Watermelon, 1 kg- 13K VND (local market)

Lettuce, 1 kg- 50K VND (local market)

Tomatos, 1 kg- 20K VND (local market)

Cucumber, 1 kg – 10K VND (local market)

Beets, 1 kg – 25K VND (local market)

Mangos, 1 kg – 20 K VND (local market)

Onion, 1 kg- 20 K VND (local market)

Guava, 1 kg – 25 K VND (local market)

Avocado, 1 kg – 60K VND (local market)

Pomelo grapefruit, 1 kg – 60K VND (local market)

Mandarins, 1 kg- 30K VND (local market)

Other Groceries

Loaf of bread, french ~32K VND (market)

Swim diapers, 3 pcs- 95K VND

Baby diapers, starts at 99K VND

Water , 0.5l – 3000 VND

Loaf of multigrain bread- 35K VND

Coconut Cream , 400 ml – 37000 VND

Sparkling water, 500 ml – 7000 VND

Grilled chicken, quarter, 1 pc- 50000 VND

Coconut Milk, 1 l- 70000 VND

CAR rental, SCOOTER rental

Car rental starts at 700KVND per day. We got a bigger car for 900K VND per day.

Scooter rental starts at 80000 VND and gos up to 200000 VND depending where you are renting (closer to tourist hotels the prices are much higher).

I am also sharing some pictures form the grocery store with the prices of certain goods. I hope that gives you an idea how much everything costs in Phu Quoc.

ACCOMMODATION

We had been looking to stay in at least 2 bedroom house with a full kitchen since my mom is traveling with us and we have 3 kids. So we typically need 3 beds at least and not smaller than queen size.

We managed to find a luxury 2 bedroom villa with a kitchen and a huge balcony, breakfast included and shared pool for 1.1 mln VND per night- that is around 45$ US per night. We have seen more expensive accommodations, for 90-150$ US per night for the same type of villa, but it is always a possibility that there is something more budget friendly in the area. Even if it is a tourist area.

Other accommodations included bungalows, 1 bedroom with kitchen but no dining room table, but has a shared pool , cost was 500k VND per night. 2 bedrooms bungalow in the same area with a shared pool you can rent for 400 euros per month – easy. You can always find a deal in this area, if you just look. We met a few families that have been paying this much or less for a 2 bedroom villas with a full kitchen.

Hotel rooms start at around 15-20$US per night and go significantly up closer to the beach (but that is not an indicator that they are better- we have met a few people renting close to the beach but were not happy with accommodations).

THEME PARKS

Sunset Town (Sunworld Phu Quoc)- water park and theme park with the longest cable car of 8 km through the islands- around 35$ US /adult with a buffet lunch and 25$ US per child with a buffet lunch. I would not pick the ticket with the lunch again, but otherwise it was so worth it and we all had such an amazing time in the water park.

VinWonders – 2 day ticket including Safari- 5.4 mln VND- 3 adults and 2 kids. No lunch. So it is 1.1 mln per child and 1.4 mln per adult. Seniors pay the same as kids (kids are 1-1.4 m in height).- worth it if your kids are above 1.3 m as there is a number of rides that they will not be able to go on. Otherwise I would skip it. Safari – I would not go again. It was just not worth the trip, in my opinion, as it was long distances to walk through the zoo (and it is hot) to get to the safari besides other things that were not our cup of tea.