Phu Quoc

Learning How to Live This Life

This is where everything started to feel real.

When we landed in Vietnam, the plan was simple.

Get to Phu Quoc, settle in, and figure things out from there.

We weren’t chasing big sights straight away. We wanted somewhere we could slow down, stay for a while, and ease into this new way of living.

What we didn’t expect… was just how much fun we’d have doing it.

First Impressions

Phu Quoc hits you with that tropical feeling straight away.

Warm air, palm trees, scooters everywhere, and a mix of red dirt roads, beach bars, local shops, and half-finished developments all sitting side by side.

It’s not polished. It’s not perfect.

But it’s alive.

And it doesn’t take long before you start to feel part of it.

Scooters, Freedom, and Getting Around

Very quickly, scooters became part of everyday life.

At first, it feels a bit chaotic. Traffic coming from all directions, no real rules, just flow.

But like most things in Vietnam, once you understand the rhythm, it just works.

And once you’re on a scooter, everything opens up.

Beach in the morning, coffee somewhere random, quick run to grab food, exploring back streets you’d never find otherwise.

It gives you a level of freedom that you just don’t get in most places.

The Food (and How Cheap It Is)

The food deserves its own section.

It’s everywhere, it’s fresh, and it’s cheap.

Some of our best meals were from tiny local spots, sitting on plastic chairs, eating food cooked right in front of us.

You don’t need to plan it. You don’t need to research it.

You just walk, stop when something looks good, and eat.

And you can do it every day without even thinking about cost.

Actually Living, Not Just Travelling

This is where things started to shift.

We weren’t just passing through. We were living.

We had a routine, but it wasn’t rigid.

Some days we were out exploring. Other days we stayed local. Beach, pool, food, repeat. The kind of days that don’t sound like much, but end up being the ones you remember.

The kids settled into it straight away.

New environment, new friends, new experiences… and they just rolled with it.

Worldschooling in Phu Quoc

Phu Quoc gave us our first real experience with worldschooling. We attended the Better Together Worldshooling Hub.

Having a hub there helped more than we expected. It gave the kids structure, routine, and a chance to connect with other families doing the same thing.

We found a bit of a routine with learning the core subjects of maths and english, bBut a lot of the learning just happened naturally.

New cultures, new environments, new situations every day. Things you can’t really teach from a book.

The hub also gave us space.

Space to work things out. Space to adjust. Space to figure out what this life could actually look like long term.

And it gave us confidence that we could actually do this.

The Fun Stuff

Phu Quoc isn’t just quiet beach days and local food. It also has this completely different side to it.

Theme parks, water parks, cable cars, and even a full safari.

We spent time at places like VinWonders and Vinpearl Safari, and for the kids, it was unreal. Water slides, rides, animals, and full days out that felt completely different to the slower pace of the rest of the island.

What Surprised Us

How easy it was to live.

How little we actually needed.

How quickly normal life can feel in a completely different country.

And how fun it can be when you stop trying to control everything and just go with it.

Looking Back

Phu Quoc wasn’t just a place we stayed.

It was where everything clicked.

Where the nerves settled.

Where the idea of this trip turned into something real.

And where we realised… this lifestyle actually works.

Explore Our Time in Phu Quoc

👉 Follow our day-to-day experiences in our Phu Quoc & Better Together Hub daily journals
👉 View our Phu Quoc & Better Together Hub photo galleries