Long weekend in Phu Quoc Day 2 - Part 1

La Veranda Resort

I knew when I booked our long weekend on Phu Quoc that it was the wet season. That's why we got such a good deal at La Veranda resort (stay for 3 nights and pay for 2).

But, after yesterday's perfect weather (with only a short burst of rain around lunch time) I'd kidded myself into thinking we'd have little rain on our trip. Wrong! As always, Team Somerville attracts the rain wherever we go! Not to worry as, at least this time, we were prepared with rain jackets.

This morning we woke to grey skies which turned to heavy rain before we even had the chance to leave our villa. Over breakfast we decided to abandon our plan to visit Sao Beach on the south-east coast (apparently the nicest beach on the island) and instead take in a couple of Phu Quoc's famous sights - the Cau Castle and a local pearl farm. Our new tour buddies David, Alex and Hugo decided to stay put at the resort and wait out the rain.

Our first stop this morning was Dinh Cau (also known as Cau Castle). The Castle is a temple and a lighthouse, built in 1937 in honour of the goddess Thien Hau, protector of fishermen and sailors. A visit to the castle gives a good view of the entrance to the harbour and the Duong Dong fishing port.

Travel tip: the wet season on Phu Quoc Island lasts from May to October, which can mean moderate to heavy rain throughout. Generally, the rainy season will mean only a few hours of rain each day, rather than an all day drizzle, but our experience today was on again, off again medium to heavy rain. In summary, the weather during the wet season is hard to predict! The wet season means many of the top end hotels will offer up cheap deals to lure the tourists but, be warned, some restaurants and shops shut down at this time.