Phu Quoc sights
Phu Quoc Prison (Coconut Tree Prison)
A sobering war museum on the site of a prison used to hold tens of thousands of communist captives during the Vietnam War, with reconstructed cells, barbed-wire 'tiger cages', and graphic depictions of the conditions detainees endured.
About
Phu Quoc Prison, widely known as the 'Coconut Tree Prison' (Nhà Lao Cây Dừa), is the island's most significant historical site and a sobering counterpoint to its beaches. Originally built by French colonial authorities, it was greatly expanded during the Vietnam War, when the South Vietnamese government used it to hold tens of thousands of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese prisoners of war — by some accounts the largest such prison in the South. Today part of the site is preserved as a museum and memorial, with original and reconstructed barracks, watchtowers, and barbed-wire 'tiger cage' enclosures, alongside mannequin tableaux and photographs that depict, often graphically, the torture and harsh conditions detainees are recorded to have suffered. It is a confronting rather than comfortable visit, but for travellers interested in the history behind modern Vietnam it offers important context. Entry is inexpensive, it takes around an hour, and it sits in the south near An Thoi, easily combined with the cable car and Sao Beach.
Good to know
Opening hours and entry fees vary by season — check before you visit.