Fishing on Phu Quoc is sold in three completely different shapes, and they share almost nothing except the word.
- One is a rod handed to you halfway through an island day.
- One is an evening under lamps, catching squid that gets cooked on deck an hour later.
- One is a five-thirty start on a private boat with live bait, aimed at fish that fight back.
The prices run from 17 USD to 646 USD, and knowing which is which saves the disappointment of booking the wrong one.
Tackle is included everywhere; the bait is not the same. Every trip in this comparison includes the tackle; RED RIVER TOURS supplies artificial lures on the night squid trip, while John's Tours gives ten live squid per guest on the big-game day.
Which three kinds are there?
| Kind | Trip | Price | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Night squid | John's Tours, sunset and night squid fishing | 17 USD adult | 17:00–21:00 |
| Night squid | RED RIVER TOURS, sunset and squid | 380,000 VND (about $15) adult | 16:30–21:00, 4–4.5 h |
| Day, with islands | John's Tours, 2 islands with fishing and snorkelling | 25 USD adult | 09:30–16:30 |
| Day, with islands | RED RIVER TOURS, wooden boat, 3 islands | 720,000 VND (about $28) adult | from 08:00 |
| Day, catamaran | Les Rives, fishing and snorkelling | 3,799,000 VND (about $146) adult | 09:00–15:30 |
| Big fish, private | John's Tours, private big-fishing trip | 170–646 USD per pax by group size | 05:30–13:30 or 13:30–18:30 |
Day fishing comes attached to an island trip
Nobody on Phu Quoc sells a plain daytime fishing trip cheaply; they sell an island day with tackle on board. John's two-island trip at 25 USD per pax runs 09:30 to 16:30 and lists local fishing equipment, snorkelling gear, life jackets, lunch and an English-speaking guide in the price.
The RED RIVER TOURS wooden boat at 720,000 VND (about $28) an adult does the same on a slower hull, with rods and bait included and seafood lunch cooked on board — and the operator notes that there are no child-sized snorkels aboard.
At the top of this band, the Les Rives catamaran speedboat costs 3,799,000 VND (about $146) an adult, 09:00 to 15:30 out of An Thoi, calling at Hon Kim Quy, Hon Dam Ngang, Hon Buom and Hon May Rut.
Government tax and service charge are inside the price; children of 4 to 12 pay 2,799,000 VND (about $108) and infants nothing. The same page charters the boat whole at 24,999,000 VND (about $962) for one to three guests and 26,999,000 VND (about $1,038) for four to six.
Night squid: the cheapest of the three kinds
Squid fishing is the local evening out, and it is priced accordingly. RED RIVER TOURS charges 380,000 VND (about $15) an adult for four to four and a half hours, 16:30 to 21:00, on a wooden boat rigged with the full set of squid lamps.
Tackle and artificial bait are included, dinner is served on board, and what you catch is cooked on the spot. Children between 1.0 and 1.4 metres pay 266,000 VND (about $10) and get their own meal and their own rod; under a metre is free. At the end the boat will drop guests at the night market instead of the hotel if they prefer.
John's Tours prices the same evening at 17 USD per pax, 17:00 to 21:00, with a light dinner, local tackle and life jackets included; children of 4 to 9 pay 12 USD.
One caution about sunset cruises that mention squid: the Les Rives sunset cruise, 2,799,000 VND (about $108) an adult, describes squid fishing as a chance rather than a fixture — the operator writes that luck may present the opportunity. Book it for the three and a half hours of evening and the beer, not for the catch.
Big fishing: a private boat with a price table
The private big-fish trip is the serious one. It leaves at 05:30 and returns at 13:30, or runs 13:30 to 18:30, and must be booked a day ahead. The price is printed per person and falls hard with the group: 646 USD alone, 337 each for two, 234 for three, 182 for four and 170 for five, with six and above by arrangement.
Included are the private car and boat, an English-speaking guide, breakfast and lunch on board, fresh fruit and water, fishing tackle, life jackets, snorkelling gear and ten live squid per guest as bait; extra live bait is 25,000 VND (about $1) each. Children from ten pay the adult rate, five to nine pay half and under fives go free. In poor conditions the operator moves the trip to another day.
What do you get handed?
Every fishing trip in this guide includes the tackle — that is the standard here, and there is no rental line to plan for. What differs is the bait. RED RIVER TOURS provides artificial squid lures on the night trip; John's provides live squid on the big-fish trip and local equipment on the day trips. Life jackets are listed by both John's Tours and RED RIVER TOURS.
Taking children
The night trips are the friendliest: RED RIVER TOURS gives children between 1.0 and 1.4 metres their own rod and meal at 266,000 VND (about $10), and John's Tours charges 12 USD for 4 to 9 and nothing under four. On the day boats the constraint is gear rather than price — RED RIVER TOURS states plainly that child-sized snorkels are not carried on the wooden boat.
When is the season, and what about the weather?
The dry season, November to April, is when the sea is calm enough for the early starts; the peak runs December to February. Weather clauses are written into the products: John's Tours moves the big-fishing trip to another day in bad conditions, and Les Rives states that a trip may be rescheduled or cancelled when conditions are unsafe.
Common questions
Can you eat what you catch?
On the night squid trip with RED RIVER TOURS, yes — dinner is served on board and the catch is cooked there. On the other trips the meal is part of the ticket and the catch is not the point of it.
What is the cheapest way to fish here?
The night squid evening: 17 USD per pax with John's Tours or 380,000 VND (about $15) an adult with RED RIVER TOURS, both including dinner and tackle.
Do I need to book in advance?
For the private big-fishing trip, yes — John's Tours asks for booking one day ahead. The evening squid departures and the island days run daily.
Updated 4 September 2026. All prices, inclusions and timings are quoted from the operators' own published pages.
