Phú Quốc Island has been selected as one of the 25 best islands in the world by readers of the US magazine Travel+Leisure. — Photo thanhnien.vn

Thanh Nga

Summer is coming, and this is the perfect time to enjoy the holidays on beautiful islands. With clear blue beaches, white sand and fresh air, the islands will help you find peace and relax. Here are five islands to choose from for your summer vacation.

Phú Quốc Island

Thanks to its stunning beauty, you will fall in love with Phú Quốc from the first time you arrive. 

Phú Quốc is the largest island of Việt Nam, located in the southwest. Phú Quốc, together with 22 other islands, Phú Quốc Island District in Kiên Giang Province.

Phú Quốc, a "small paradise", is one of the islands owning the most beautiful beaches in Việt Nam. Sao and Khem are gently curved beaches with fine white sand and clear blue water and are extremely wild. Taking a tour here, you will be free to swim in the water and feel free to release energy with games on the sea. The endless fun makes you feel lost in a peaceful summer paradise.

In addition to the white sand and delicious food. Phú Quốc is also famous for fish sauce, pepper, beautiful coral reefs and tropical forests with beautiful streams such as Tranh Stream, Đá Bàn Stream and Đá Ngọn Stream.

A tourist enjoys her moment in Côn Đảo. — Photo goldenlife.vn

Côn Đảo

If you are looking for a relaxing, free and extremely quiet place for your summer trip, Côn Đảo is an ideal choice. The island makes tourists unable to ignore the charm of one of these mysterious islands in the country.

Located in Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province, it is quite far from the mainland, Côn Đảo still retains its wild beauty. This tropical island paradise boasts long and extremely unspoiled blue beaches. With fine sand beaches and clear blue water with rich marine life, you can not sit still on the shore when choosing Côn Đảo as a summer destination during your trip.

Not only that, when travelling to Côn Đảo in the summer, you also have the opportunity to explore tropical rainforests with cool and fresh streams, wildflowers and many kinds of birds.

Snorkelling and coral viewing are great activities for those who love adventure and want to learn about the beauty of this beautiful island. Visitors will enjoy the beauty of undersea landscapes, such as colourful and diverse coral reefs and fish and sea animals swimming around.

Côn Đảo has a rich and diverse source of seafood, so you should enjoy fresh seafood such as crabs, oysters, shrimp and squid, which are processed into many delicious dishes, giving visitors a colourful and flavorful culinary experience.

Panoramic view of Lý Sơn Island District from above. — Photo dulich.laodong.vn

Lý Sơn Island

Lý Sơn, a beautiful island in Quảng Ngãi Province, is located about 30km from the mainland. It is also one of the islands chosen by many people as a destination this summer. It is known as the “Maldives in Việt Nam”.

Lý Sơn attracts tourists by the pure beauty of nature and the idyllic sincerity of the locals. The colour of the sky and the sea captivates so many visitors when coming here.

The golden sunlight flows through each tree top, the sky is clear, and the wind blows cool. The sea in Lý Sơn is very clear and blue, so on hot summer days, lying on the beach and watching the clear blue water to the bottom will dispel all the heat and fatigue of a long day.

The wavy cliffs, the seas with velvety moss, and the onion and garlic fields stretching on the white sand are images that anyone who is seen must be captivated by.

Fresh and delicious specialities in Lý Sơn must include seaweed salad, attractive spicy garlic salad or fresh seas seafood dishes such as Cừ, Tượng snail and Huỳnh Đế crab.

Huỳnh Đế crab is one of the most famous specialities in Lý Sơn. — Photo tintuc.hahalolo.com

Coming to Lý Sơn, tourists should visit places like Mù Cu Island, Tò Vò Gate, a freshwater lake on Thới Lới Peak, and endless garlic fields.

Accommodation in Lý Sơn Island is not too expensive, ranging from VNĐ200,000 to VNĐ400,000 with hotels, motels and homestays.

A view of Nam Du Island. — Photo migo.travel

Nam Du Island

Compared to Phú Quốc, Nam Du Island, also in Kiên Giang Province, is not as famous and has only been known by tourists in recent years. However, it is an extremely attractive destination for tourists because of its beautiful scenery, delicious food and low cost.

Nam Du is a beautiful archipelago consisting of 21 large and small islands in the Gulf of Thailand, of which Củ Tron is the largest. In the distance are Dầu, Ông, Ngang, and Mấu Islands, forming a charming area. The wild beauty and unexplored tourism services attract tourists to this archipelago.

With beautiful pristine beaches such as Chướng Beach and Đá Đen Beach, with shallow water levels and coconut trees, Nam Du will bring you an extremely comfortable summer trip and freedom with nature.

Currently, there are also a variety of motels, hostels and even homestays. You can also set up camping tents right at the beaches on the island.

Rocky bank on Vàn Chảy Beach, Cô Tô Island in Quảng Ninh Province. — Photo courtesy of Cô Tô District’s Culture, Information and Tourism Office

Cô Tô Island

Cô Tô Island in Quảng Ninh Province is considered one of the most beautiful islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. It includes over 50 large and small islands with green and fresh beaches and surrounding wild and poetic natural scenery.

In addition, Cô Tô Island also has natural primaeval forests and historical relics with extremely important positions in the security and defence of the country.

Some of the places to visit when travelling to Cô Tô Island such as Dragon Claw Beach, Cô Tô Lighthouse, Love Road, President Hồ Chí Minh's memorial site, Vàn Chảy Beach and small Cô Tô Island.

Like travelling to Nam Du Island in the south, there are no luxury hotels or resorts on Cô Tô Island. Visitors will mainly stay at homestays and guesthouses or ask to stay at people's houses on the island.

Travelling to Cô Tô Island, you must eat seafood. The seafood here is very fresh and delicious, and the price is also quite cheap. Some famous seafood is cù kỳ (a kind of crab), bề bề (sea mantis shrimp), cầu gai (sea urchin) and sá sùng (sea worm).

Cô Tô’s sea urchins. — Photo ticotravel.com.vn

It is said that "from Cô Tô Island to paradise is only a step away", because of the special charm of the romantic island in the middle of the vast ocean. Try to feel it once. VNS