Two wheeler rental experience in Phu Quoc

This post shares my two wheeler rental experience in Phu Quoc. Sharing it so that you’re well informed for your trip, if you need one.

Photo by Karthik Kannan

Quick FAQs:

Is Indian license valid in Vietnam to drive?

The legal answer is NO. Vietnam people drive on right hand side like in USA. Thus Indian license is NOT valid. You will need international driver permit. But Phu Quoc is a small island and law enforcement is lax here. Neither rental agency bothered to ask for our license, nor there were any police to check. But as tourism inflow increases in the island I am sure more restrictions will kick in, so better be prepared.

Did you pre-book motor cycle from India?

No. After arriving, we asked our resort staff to help, they contact some bike rental guys who brought the vehicle near the resort.

 

Cost of renting two wheeler in Phu Quoc:

We paid 1800000 VND for 4 bikes for 3 days- that 150000 VND or almost 500 INR per day per bike. Fuel extra. We would have probably saved 100 INR if we had checked for more options or bargained, but convenience of collecting it and returning at the resort made it easy for us and language barrier made it difficult to bargain.

 

Type of two wheelers available in Phu Quoc

I would have preferred a proper motorbike instead of scooter. But didn’t see such option. Almost everyone rides a scooter/scooterette kind of vehicle which are popular in South East Asia because they can carry lots of luggage in front, have under seat storage and fairly fuel efficient.

 

Rental experience:

The scooters seemed fine - I asked everyone to take detailed photo of existing damages to avoid any dispute during return. I got a Yamaha, which stopped working within first 2 kms. After trying various options I realized that only way to start is to kick start.

 

The smart bike has engine cut off if side stand is on, so I can’t keep it running with side stand

Kick lever can’t be deployed unless main stand is engaged, so every time to kick start I have to put it on stand. Next 3 days I kicked it some 100 times and got good exercise for my legs. One option was to return it and take a different bike next day- but I had filled fuel into it and there was no guarantee next bike will be any better, so decided to manage.

 

On day 3, with 2 hours left to leave for airport, 30 kms away from hotel, bike refused to start even after multiple kicking. I almost had a heart attack- at any cost have to return this bike and go to airport- by sheer luck it started and then I didn’t switch it off again till I reached the resort.

 

Yamaha shows fuel economy as liters per 100 km. I was getting 2.1 L/100 km at its best, 2.4 at its worst.  Over 3 days we drove it for around 300 kms for which I had to add fuel worth 168000 VND or around 6.7 liters, returning in fuel efficiency of around 44 kmpl.  Couple of times I had to buy petrol in small bottles from local shops as there were no fuel stations nearby.

 

Performance of the bike was poor- it was hesitating to go beyond 50-60 kmph. At some point it reached 80kmph I think but that was because of long straight empty road. I had tough time keeping up with my buddies.

 

Other 3 bikes we had taken were fine overall, though few gave some starting trouble once a while. It would have been risky to get stranded somewhere with broken bike but we were lucky. Bike and car rentals do have this risk- rental agencies usually do not fix minor issues as long as vehicle is running.

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