Bãi Khem Phú Quốc: the secluded south-island beach worth the drive

Most guests who make it to the south of Phú Quốc go to Bãi Sao — it’s the one on the postcards, reliably beautiful, and easy enough to find. Bãi Khem sits a few kilometres further around the southern tip of the island and gets considerably fewer visitors. The extra distance is exactly the reason to go.

What makes Bãi Khem worth the extra distance

Bãi Khem is a crescent-shaped bay at the southernmost edge of Phú Quốc, sheltered by a headland that keeps the water calm even when the rest of the coast gets some chop. The sand is white and fine — noticeably so, even by the island’s standards — and the water runs from pale green near the shore to a deep turquoise further out. The bay faces south-southwest, which means it catches the afternoon light well and stays swimmable most of the year.

The beach made global lists a few years ago (it appeared on a CNN ranking of the world’s best beaches), which brought a wave of interest but hasn’t meaningfully changed it yet. Outside of peak Vietnamese holiday weeks, you can find a stretch of sand with almost no one else on it.

Calm water, white sand, and the kind of quiet that’s harder to find on the island’s busier northern beaches.

Getting to Bãi Khem from Bãi Trường

Luna Oriental is at SS27 Sonasea, Bãi Trường — about 25 km from Bãi Khem, which works out to roughly 30–40 minutes by scooter. The road loops down through the island’s southern tip, past An Thới harbour and around the rocky headlands before opening onto the bay.

Grab is unreliable in this part of the island — cars do run here, but wait times are long and pickup cancellations are common. The practical options are a rented scooter (ask at the front desk; we arrange it) or a private transfer if you’d rather not ride. The road itself is in good condition and the southern route is one of the more scenic drives on the island — pepper farms, fishing villages, and stretches of empty coastline before the beach appears.

What to do and what to expect on arrival

Bãi Khem is a quiet beach. A large section of the bay falls within the JW Marriott hotel’s property, but there’s public access at the northern end of the bay. Independent visitors can reach the sand from that direction, swim, and settle in without issue.

If you’re going for the day, bring what you need — food options near the public section of the beach are limited to a small number of casual vendors. The hotel end has more facilities, but walking in from the public end and ordering drinks or food from the hotel isn’t a straightforward option for non-guests.

Swimming is calm and safe most of the year, particularly during the dry season (November–April) when the southern side of the island is at its flattest. The bay’s sheltered position also makes it swimmable during some of the wet season, though conditions vary.

Combining Bãi Khem with the southern island circuit

The south of Phú Quốc makes sense as a full day rather than a single destination. Starting with a morning snorkeling trip out of An Thới, then driving the coastal road to Bãi Khem for the afternoon, gives you the water on both sides of the southern tip. The road along the eastern coast back through Hàm Ninh adds another half hour to the return but passes through a working fishing village that doesn’t see many tourists.

If you’re combining activities, go to An Thới first (boats leave in the morning) and Bãi Khem in the afternoon when the light comes in at an angle over the headland.

Bãi Khem doesn’t need to be discovered — it just needs to be chosen. It’s there, it’s quiet, and the drive south is easy enough that most guests simply don’t make it. That’s their loss.

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Photos: Morgan Freewoman and Asad Photo Maldives on Pexels.