Hòn Thơm Cable Car: the world's longest sea ride

If you only do one “big attraction” on Phú Quốc, make it this one. The Hòn Thơm cable car is the world’s longest non-stop sea-crossing cable car — nearly 8 km of glass cabin gliding over open water and scattered islets, a Guinness record that genuinely earns the trip. It runs south of us, about a 45-minute drive from Luna, and on a clear morning the view down to the An Thới archipelago is the kind of thing guests still talk about at check-out. Here’s how we’d do it.

What the Hòn Thơm cable car actually is

The line connects An Thới, at the southern tip of the main island, to Hòn Thơm island. It’s a three-rope system holding big eight-person cabins, and the crossing takes about 15 minutes each way. You’re not climbing a mountain — you’re floating over the sea, with fishing boats below and a chain of small islands stretching out beneath the cabin.

That over-water stretch is the whole point. On the way out, sit facing south for the open-sea view; on the way back, the light is usually better behind you. It’s a short ride, but it’s the most memorable fifteen minutes on the island.

How to get there from Luna

From Luna at SS27 Sonasea on Bãi Trường, the cable car station at An Thới is about 30 km south — roughly 45 minutes by car. A private car one-way is the easy option; we can hold one for you if you tell the front desk the day before. By scooter it’s a little over an hour, and the last stretch into An Thới gets busy.

The smart move is to stack it with a sunset. Ride the cable car and spend the morning and early afternoon on the island, then drive ten minutes to Sunset Town for the boardwalk and the evening sky on the way home. One car, one direction, a full day.

What’s on Hòn Thơm island

The cable car is the journey, but the island gives you a reason to stay a few hours.

You glide over open sea and scattered islets the whole way — claim a cabin window and keep your camera out.

Aquatopia Water Park

The big draw is Aquatopia, a large water park with twenty-plus slides and pools, usually open daily from about 10:00 to 16:30 — check the day’s hours before you go, they shift seasonally. A round-trip cable car ticket typically bundles park entry; expect somewhere around 850,000 VND for an adult, but confirm the current rate, as it changes.

Beaches and snorkelling

Beyond the park, Hòn Thơm has quiet white-sand stretches and some of the clearest water in the south. Snorkelling over the coral is the low-key highlight if you’d rather skip the slides. Bring water shoes and your own gear if you have it.

When to go

The dry season, November to April, is the calmest and clearest — the sea is flat, the cabin view is sharp, and the island beaches are at their best. We’re in the rainy months now, so the honest advice for June to October is to pick a clear morning: ride early, watch the afternoon forecast, and keep the plan flexible. Mornings around 9–11am beat both the midday heat and the cruise-ship day-trippers whenever you visit.

If the wind is up and the crossing feels rough on the day, it’s an easy trip to postpone — another reason booking your stay direct (so dates flex easily) beats locking it through an OTA.

A base on Bãi Trường for the day trip

Hòn Thơm is a day out, not a place to stay — which is why a calm room back on the west coast matters. Luna Oriental is 18 rooms inside SS27 Sonasea on Bãi Trường, two minutes from the sand and about 45 minutes north of the cable car station. Booking direct with us beats the OTA rate by roughly 15–20% and lets us line up the car and a late breakfast for an early start. See our rooms or book direct, and ask the front desk for the current cable-car hours the day before you go.

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Photos: hero — Pranesh Ravi on Unsplash; in-body — Rodrigo Castro on Unsplash.