6 things only found on Vietnamese islands

Traveling to the islands in Vietnam, tourists can learn many interesting things. Photo: @lee.halinh

Thanks to the pristine natural scenery and friendly, hospitable people, the islands in Vietnam are gradually becoming top destinations. Especially on hot days, many tourists tend to go to the islands to avoid the heat, escape the dust of the city, immerse themselves in nature and enjoy the slow pace of life.

Although tourism has begun to flourish and there are some modern conveniences, the islands still have many unique features that cannot be found in other tourist destinations. When coming here, discovering and experiencing for yourself, visitors will feel all the excitement that island tourism brings.

Frequent power outages during the day

Located far from the mainland, the electricity used on the islands mainly comes from generators. Therefore, power cuts during the day to save fuel often occur on islands such as Diep Son, Phu Quy, Ly Son...

Nam Du Island only has electricity from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. every day. When traveling to the island, visitors should bring a spare charger to fully charge their phones, cameras, and other electronic devices.

The islands often lose power for several hours a day to save fuel. Photo: @nhminh1997, @iammonkei

Qui Lac, who has been to Nam Du Island, shared: "I chose to stay at a resort in Nam Du. This area also has a schedule for turning the air conditioner on and off according to the power outage schedule. Even though there is electricity on the island, it is quite unstable and not as strong as on the mainland."

Daily power outages are a common occurrence for islanders. However, this will cause some inconvenience to the daily lives of tourists when traveling to the islands. Power outages are most likely to occur at night, and entertainment activities are also suspended. Tourists need to prepare plans in advance such as campfires, BBQs on the beach... to avoid boredom.

No fear of losing motorbike

When first arriving on the islands, visitors will be surprised to see many unattended motorbikes parked along the roads, ports or anywhere. Even the keys are still on the motorbikes but they are not stolen.

On the islands, people often park their motorbikes in front of their houses regardless of day or night. Tourists who rent motorbikes also park right on the side of the road to wander around, take pictures, and sightsee.

Tourists often park their cars right on the side of the road and wander around taking pictures and sightseeing. Photo: @imagur

According to Mr. Nguyen Hoang Phuong, a local tourism worker in Con Dao (Ba Ria - Vung Tau province), the island is very secure, so old cars or cars worth tens of millions of dong have never been lost, except for cases of taking the wrong car. Furthermore, there is no place to buy and sell cars on the island, so if you want to bring a motorbike to the mainland, you have to go through a strict inspection when getting on and off the boat.

If you get the wrong car, you can simply post the license plate number on local groups and exchange the car. This is an interesting experience, not available at tourist destinations on the mainland.

No internet, no phone signal

The islands are located several tens to several hundreds of kilometers from the mainland, with poor conditions, strong waves and winds, making the signal unstable. Therefore, the phone signal is quite weak, often without signal.

Traveling to the islands is an opportunity for tourists to temporarily leave the "virtual world" and immerse themselves in pristine nature. Photo: @anhyngg, @nhnquinn

If you decide to travel to the islands, you must temporarily leave your phone behind to spend time fully enjoying the pristine nature, relieve stress with many attractive activities such as swimming, exploring the lives of the locals, visiting many nearby destinations, experiencing games on the sea...

ID required

Currently, the means of transportation to the island are speedboats, ships or canoes. Similar to traveling by plane, visitors need to prepare personal documents according to the regulations of the Ministry of Transport, including citizen identification, car or motorbike driving license, personal identification certificate with photo and stamp.

When checking in, the relevant authorities and the ship will check and compare with the previously purchased ticket.

High-speed trains strictly check passenger information when getting on and off the train. Photo: @taucaotocvn

In addition, when renting a hotel, homestay or resort on the islands, visitors also need to present identification documents to be allowed to stay.

Tourists can refer to some major high-speed ferry companies such as Con Dao Express, Phu Quy Express, Phu Quoc Express... In particular, the high-speed ferry company SuperDong is present on all islands.

Get to know everyone on the island in one day

Apart from big islands like Phu Quoc and Con Dao, there are still no taxis on islands that are developing tourism such as Nam Du, Binh Lap, Phu Quy… However, renting a motorbike from your accommodation or from locals to go around the island and visit the fishing village is truly a “worth every penny” experience.

Coming to the islands, visitors can explore the lives of fishermen in fishing villages. Photo: @_im.rot_, @ngocstagram

The rental price is 100,000-150,000 VND, depending on the amount of gas left. Tourists can come to the place to pick up the car or the locals can bring it to them.

The islands are not very large and do not have many households. In one day, visitors can easily explore all the roads on the island and get to know the locals, cast nets and pull nets with them. Through conversations with the locals, visitors can learn more about the daily work and simple lifestyle on the islands.

Carry cash everywhere

In travel groups, some experienced visitors to the islands advise newcomers to bring cash to comfortably pay for food and other services on the island. Most islands do not have ATMs, and people also limit the use of bank accounts.

Roadside eateries usually do not accept bank transfers, so visitors need to bring cash to pay. Photo: Linh Ng

Tourist Nguyen Thuong, who recently visited Phu Quy Island, said that the islanders now accept money transfers, but there are only 2-3 large restaurants. The food at small local restaurants or roadside eateries will be more delicious, so when coming to the island, tourists still have to bring some cash to eat and drink at any time.