Rach Gia is a port town located at the southern end of Vietnam, Kien Gang Province, in the Mekong delta region of Vietnam. Its main industries are fishing and agriculture. There are several places of interest not too far from Rach Gia including Ha Tien about 100km north-west which has some unusual limestone formations. Many of the rock formations have caves that have been turned into temples. Rach Gia is the place to catch a ferry if you intend to visit Phu Quoc Island by boat. The ferry leaves from Rach Gia Park at the west end of Nguyen Cong Tru Street.
What to do?
If you're in Rach Gia, you're most likely headed to the offshore Phu Quoc Island or westward to Hon Chong and Ha Tien. If you're off to Phu Quoc, you may find yourself needing an overnight stay here if you miss the last boat to the island.
Missing a boat and having to overnight in Rach Gia isn't a bad thing - the town has a couple of minor points of interest, including a small museum, and we found the locals here to be particularly friendly. There's no shortage of good hotels, a handful of good places to chow down at and the scenic fishing boats round out a good overall package.
In wet season, the boat timetables can be haphazard due to bad weather and the boats often do not run. Because of this people often fly either from Saigon or Rach Gia, but even though there are multiple daily flights, the flights fill up quickly, so if you arrive in Rach Gia and the weather is foul, book yourself on a flight quicksmart, the flight is only 100,000D more than the boat. Likewise, leaving Phu Quoc by boat can be a little erratic in the wet season but according to locals the flights almost always run, so if you're tight on time, wedging Phu Quoc into the last few days of a Vietnam trip, consider flying back to Saigon to be sure of not missing onwards connections out of the country.
One more word on the boats in bad weather fishing boats may still make the run to Phu Quoc from Ha Tien, we strongly suggest you skip this option - the run is dangerous and the boats do sink. Be patient and wait for a ferry from Rach Gia, or fly - do not take a boat from Ha Tien