On Phu Quoc almost every excursion sold on the island is a boat leaving a harbour in the morning and coming back in the afternoon. What changes between one trip and the next is the hull, the number of people on it, how far south or north it goes, and whether lunch is a plate on a wooden deck or a barbecue on a beach.
The price follows those four things, and it spreads wider than most visitors expect: from 200,000 VND (about $8) for three quarters of an hour on a river to 26,999,000 VND (about $1,038) for a catamaran taken over completely for the day.
This guide lays out the whole ladder with the operators' own published prices, so that a day at sea can be budgeted before anyone starts bargaining at a hotel desk.
Read the unit, not the number. A shared island day on Phu Quoc runs from 720,000 VND (about $28) to 1,950,000 VND (about $75) per adult, while a private boat is sold whole, from 10,000,000 VND (about $385). Until you know whether a price is per person or per boat, there is nothing to compare.
Which harbours do the boats leave from?
Three ports carry the traffic. An Thoi, at the southern tip, is the gateway to the An Thoi archipelago and handles most island-hopping. Dương Đông, the main town on the west coast, is where wooden boats and squid-fishing trips push off, and it is also the pick-up zone almost every operator treats as free. Ganh Dau in the north-west serves the northern waters.
The practical consequence is that the drive is part of the day. John's Tours collects guests at 8:15–8:30 in Dương Đông and only then drives to An Thoi; Les Rives asks guests to be in the lobby at 8:30 for a 9:00 departure from An Thoi harbour. If a hotel sits far from Dương Đông, that transfer is usually where the surcharge appears.
What does a day at sea cost?
| Format | Operator | Price | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basket boat on the Cua Can river | Eco Tour Thai Duong | 200,000 VND (about $8), basic package | 45 min |
| Night squid fishing | RED RIVER TOURS | 380,000 VND (about $15) adult | 16:30–21:00 |
| Wooden boat, 3 islands, rods and snorkelling | RED RIVER TOURS | 720,000 VND (about $28) adult | from 08:00 |
| Canoe speedboat, 4 southern islands | RED RIVER TOURS | 800,000 VND (about $31) adult | 08:00–15:00 |
| Boat, 3 islands | John's Tours Phu Quoc | 32 USD adult | 08:30–17:00 |
| Speedboat, 3 islands, drone footage | John's Tours Phu Quoc | 33 USD adult | 08:30–16:00 |
| Sea kayaking, north-west, group | OnBird Phu Quoc | 950,000 VND (about $37) per person | 6 h |
| Small-group speedboat, south | OnBird Phu Quoc | 1,380,000 VND (about $53) per person | 5–6 h |
| Premium 4-island morning escape | Layla Mermaid Tours | 1,950,000 VND (about $75) per pax | 07:45–14:15 |
| Sunset barbecue trip, 2 islands | John's Tours Phu Quoc | 59 USD adult | 13:00–19:00 |
| Catamaran sunset cruise | Les Rives Phu Quoc | 2,799,000 VND (about $108) adult | 15:00–18:30 |
| Sailing catamaran, shared departure | VEGAYACHTS | 3,600,000 VND (about $138) per guest | — |
| Catamaran speedboat, fishing and snorkelling | Les Rives Phu Quoc | 3,799,000 VND (about $146) adult | 09:00–15:30 |
| Private boat for the day, north | Flipper Diving Club | 10,000,000 VND (about $385) for 4 guests | full day |
| Private catamaran charter, 4–6 pax | Les Rives Phu Quoc | 26,999,000 VND (about $1,038) per boat | 09:00–15:30 |
The cheap end: wooden boats and canoes
The floor of the market is Vietnamese day-tripping, and it is genuinely cheap. RED RIVER TOURS runs a wooden boat to three islands for 720,000 VND (about $28) an adult, with seafood lunch cooked on board, rods and bait, mask and snorkel, a bottle of water and travel insurance in the price; the same operator's canoe speedboat round four southern islands costs 800,000 VND (about $31) and runs 08:00 to 15:00 with drone filming thrown in.
Both price by height rather than age: under 1.0 m free, 1.0–1.4 m the child rate (504,000 and 560,000 VND (about $22) respectively), 1.4 m and above the adult rate. On the wooden boat there are no child-sized snorkels on board — the operator says so on the page.
John's Tours sits just above, in dollars: two islands with fishing and snorkelling at 25 USD per pax, three islands at 32 USD, or the same three islands by speedboat at 33 USD with one drone video and three drone photos. Children 4–9 pay 18, 22 and 23 USD; under fours go free.
The middle: small groups and named guides
Pay roughly double and the boat empties out. OnBird caps its southern small-group speedboat at 8–10 guests for 1,380,000 VND (about $53) per person on a hull built for twenty, five to six hours, with an English-speaking guide, prescription masks available, floatation devices and travel insurance. Kimie's Tours runs a southern group trip for 950,000 VND (about $37) per person with a minimum of five and a maximum of twelve, five hours, photos and video included.
Layla Mermaid Tours is the top of this band: 1,950,000 VND (about $75) per pax for the four-island morning escape, minimum four guests and maximum twelve, pick-up at 07:45 and back around 14:15, with a beach barbecue, free-flow drinks on the sand and GoPro footage. The operator states plainly that the islands can change with the weather and that a rainy forecast moves the barbecue into a restaurant.
The top: catamarans and a boat of your own
Les Rives Phu Quoc works catamaran speedboats out of An Thoi: 3,799,000 VND (about $146) an adult for the fishing and snorkelling day, 09:00 to 15:30, government tax and service charge already inside the number, children 4–12 at 2,799,000 and infants free.
VEGAYACHTS sells seats on La Fiesta Libera, a 24-metre sailing catamaran, at 3,600,000 VND (about $138) per guest on a shared departure. The 50% discount banner on the operator's page expired on 31 December 2024, so 3,600,000 VND (about $138) is the base fare.
Above that the unit changes from a person to a hull. Flipper Diving Club's private boat costs 10,000,000 VND (about $385) to the north and 13,000,000 VND (about $500) to the south, four guests included, 900,000 VND (about $35) for each additional adult and 500,000 for a child of ten.
Les Rives charters the whole catamaran at 24,999,000 VND (about $962) for one to three guests and 26,999,000 VND (about $1,038) for four to six.
Evening departures are a separate market
Afternoon and night trips are cheaper than full days and sell as their own product. Squid fishing with RED RIVER TOURS is 380,000 VND (about $15) an adult from 16:30 to 21:00 on a wooden boat rigged with squid lamps, dinner served on board and the catch cooked on the spot; John's Tours prices the same idea at 17 USD per pax, 17:00 to 21:00.
The barbecue trip at 59 USD is a half-day: two islands, snorkelling and dinner on a private lagoon, 13:00 to 19:00. The Les Rives sunset cruise is 2,799,000 VND (about $108) an adult for three and a half hours with beer and soft drinks included.
What actually moves the number
Four things, in order of size.
- The unit — a price can be per person, per boat, or per person on a sliding scale that falls as the group grows.
- The hull — a wooden boat and a catamaran speedboat cover the same islands at very different speeds and prices.
- The headcount cap — twelve guests instead of forty is most of what separates 800,000 VND (about $31) from 1,950,000 VND (about $75).
- Where you sleep — pick-up is free from Dương Đông and the central strip, and surcharged from Ong Lang, Cua Can, Ham Ninh, Vung Bau, Bai Dai and Ganh Dau.
When is the season?
The dry season on Phu Quoc runs November to April, with the peak from December to February; that is when the sea is calm and the sun steady. The operators write the limits themselves: Flipper Diving Club states that trips to the north are not available from 10 May to 20 October, and OnBird sells its picnic and sunset-barbecue day for 1,380,000 VND (about $53) per person with availability marked October to May.
Southern trips, by contrast, are advertised as running all year.
Common questions
How much should a first day at sea cost?
Between 720,000 and 1,950,000 VND (about $75) per adult covers the whole realistic range for a shared island day: the low figure buys a wooden boat and a big group, the high one a twelve-guest speedboat with a beach barbecue.
Are children charged?
Almost always, but the thresholds differ. John's Tours charges the adult rate from ten years and lets under-fours travel free; RED RIVER TOURS measures height, not age; Layla carries children under five free; Les Rives charges 4–12 a reduced rate and infants nothing.
Is lunch included?
On the island-hopping days, usually yes. RED RIVER TOURS, John's Tours, Les Rives, OnBird and Layla all list a meal in the price. What is normally outside the price is extra drinks ordered at the table, tickets for activities bought at the stops, and pick-up from the far corners of the island.
Updated 4 September 2026. All prices, inclusions and timings are quoted from the operators' own published pages.
