Everyone asks me in the first 20 minutes. Not about the beach, not about scooters — about where to buy water, sunscreen, and something to eat at midnight. So here it is: the full rundown on the Co.opmart on Nguyen Trung Truc, the late-night minimarts clustered around the night market, and the morning-market vendor on Bach Dang who sells local crackers and dried mango cheaper than anywhere else in town. Practical, specific, with prices as of September 2026.
Best prices, widest range. 8 AM–9:30 PM. ~900 m from us.
Open until midnight+. Cold beer, water, snacks. 10–20% pricier.
Local crackers, dried fruit, fresh stuff. 5 AM–noon. Best prices.
Co.opmart or morning market. Avoid tourist-strip markup.
Co.opmart on Nguyen Trung Truc — What's There and When to Go
The Co.opmart is about 900 metres from the homestay — 11 to 13 minutes on foot heading north past the morning market area, or a 3-minute scooter ride. It is by far the most useful shopping stop in Duong Dong for anyone staying more than two nights.
Hours: roughly 8:00 AM to 9:30 PM daily. No lunch break, which matters. I've had guests go at 1 PM expecting it to be closed Vietnamese-restaurant style and find it open — good surprise. Around Tết (late January/early February) hours may shift, so check the board outside if you're visiting then.
The layout is a single floor. Chilled drinks and beer are at the back — you'll need to walk past everything to get there, which is intentional. The fresh produce section along the left wall is decent: tomatoes, morning glory, tofu, eggs, limes. Nothing fancy, but good enough for a room breakfast if you have access to a kitchen. Our shared kitchen at the homestay works well for exactly this.
What Co.opmart Stocks (That Guests Actually Need)
Beer first, because that's what people ask about: Saigon lager cans in the chilled section at 10,000–14,000 VND each. Buy them here, not from the night-market minimarts where the same can costs 18,000–25,000 VND. A six-pack run to Co.opmart on your first afternoon saves you real money across a week.
Bottled water: 1.5 L for 5,000–8,000 VND. Stock up here. The same bottle at a night-market minimart runs 8,000–12,000 VND.
Sunscreen surprises a lot of guests — they assume they'll have to find a pharmacy. Co.opmart carries Rohto Sunplay, X-Men, and a couple of Vietnamese SPF 30–50 options at 40,000–120,000 VND. Not the full pharmacy range, but enough if you forgot yours.
Local products worth picking up at Co.opmart: Phu Quoc nuoc mam (fish sauce) starting at 35,000 VND for a standard bottle, and Phu Quoc black pepper from local producers at 80,000–200,000 VND per pack. Same products, similar prices to the morning market, but in a climate-controlled environment if that matters to you. For a full breakdown of local food products, that post covers it in more depth.
Late-Night Minimarts Near the Night Market — What's Open and Until When
After Co.opmart closes at 9:30 PM, you're not stuck. There are several small minimarts and family-run tap hoa (household goods shops) on and around Tran Hung Dao and the streets feeding into the Dinh Cau Night Market. Most are open until midnight, some until 1 AM.
What they stock: cold beer, bottled water, soft drinks, instant noodles, chips, biscuits, basic toiletries (soap, shampoo sachets, razors), phone chargers of questionable quality, and the occasional local snack product. Stock varies by shop. You won't find fresh produce or a full grocery range — these are genuinely convenience stops, not mini-supermarkets.
Prices are higher than Co.opmart. Count on paying 10–20% more for the same branded item. That's the honest trade-off: 9:30 PM with a 500 VND price difference per bottle of water is not worth stressing about, but if you're buying ten beers, buy them earlier.
A few of these shops are essentially manned by one person watching TV in the back — bang on the counter if no one appears. They're genuinely used to it.
If You're Coming Back from the Night Market
The Dinh Cau Night Market runs until about 10:30 PM. The minimarts on the route back toward Nguyen Du and Tran Hung Dao are open as you walk through. If you want a cold beer or a bottle of water to take back to the room, grab it then rather than hunting for somewhere later. See the Duong Dong town map post if you need to get your bearings on which streets connect where.
The Morning Market on Bach Dang — Cheapest Local Snacks for the Room
The Duong Dong morning market (cho Duong Dong) runs from about 5:00 AM to noon on Bach Dang street along the river. Most people know it for fresh fish, vegetables, and breakfast foods — and that's covered in the food guide — but there's a row of dry-goods vendors on the western edge that most tourists walk straight past.
One vendor in particular — she's been there since I've been hosting, sitting behind a table with woven baskets and plastic bins — sells small packets of local rice crackers (banh trang nuong), dried mango slices, roasted peanuts in paper cones, and a few types of dried squid for 5,000–20,000 VND each. These are not individually labelled tourist products. They're the same things locals buy to snack on at home. Much cheaper than any supermarket equivalent and far better quality than the packaged stuff at Co.opmart.
She's usually packed up by 10:30 AM. If you miss her on the dry-goods side, the vendors on the covered vegetable rows also sell fresh fruit that travels well back to the room: small bananas at 20,000–30,000 VND per bunch, rambutan at 25,000–40,000 VND/kg, and whatever stone fruit is in season. Prices here beat the Co.opmart produce section consistently.
Getting there from the homestay: head toward the river and follow Bach Dang north along the bank. About 600–700 metres on foot, 7–8 minutes. Worth combining with an early walk before breakfast.
What to Buy Where — Quick Comparison
| What you need | Best place | Price range (VND) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottled water (1.5 L) | Co.opmart | 5,000–8,000 | Buy a 6-pack, save vs minimart |
| Cold beer (can, Saigon/333) | Co.opmart | 10,000–14,000 | 18,000–25,000 at night minimarts |
| Beer after 9:30 PM | Night-market minimarts | 18,000–25,000 | Only option late; worth it |
| Sunscreen / toiletries | Co.opmart | 40,000–120,000 | Vietnamese brands; imported → pharmacy |
| Instant noodles & snacks | Co.opmart or minimart | 6,000–30,000 | Same range; minimart open later |
| Local crackers & dried fruit | Morning market | 5,000–20,000/packet | Cheapest and freshest; until ~10:30 AM |
| Fresh fruit for the room | Morning market | 20,000–40,000/kg | Better than Co.opmart produce; go before 9 AM |
| Phu Quoc fish sauce (gift) | Co.opmart or morning market | 35,000–150,000 | Gift boxes → souvenir shops on Tran Hung Dao |
| Phu Quoc black pepper | Co.opmart or morning market | 80,000–200,000 | Check packaging is sealed before buying |
| Sim wine (bottle) | Co.opmart or night-market stalls | 80,000–200,000 | Taste a glass at the market first |
| Eggs, tofu, vegetables | Morning market | 4,000–15,000/unit or bunch | For cooking in the shared kitchen |
| Household items (laundry tabs, etc.) | Co.opmart | 15,000–80,000 | Best selection; minimarts carry basics only |
Practical Notes — Cash, Cards, Bags, and a Few Prices to Know
Payment: Co.opmart accepts Vietnamese debit cards and usually processes international Visa and Mastercard. Connection is unreliable enough that I always tell guests to have some cash as well. The night-market minimarts and morning-market vendors are cash only. ATMs on Tran Hung Dao are 2–3 minutes from most of the shops mentioned here — see the town map guide for the exact ATM cluster location.
Bags: Vietnam moved away from free plastic bags at larger retailers. Co.opmart will charge a small amount for a bag — 500–1,000 VND — or sell a reusable bag. Bring your own if you're doing a proper shop. The morning market vendors use plastic bags freely, though.
Bargaining: Not at Co.opmart (fixed prices, receipts at checkout). At the morning market, light negotiation is normal for larger quantities — buying 2 kg of fruit instead of 1 usually gets you a small discount without asking. Don't haggle aggressively; it's not a night-market souvenir stall.
A note on prices: everything above reflects September 2026 rates. Import goods (anything non-Vietnamese) cost noticeably more than on the mainland — this is a remote island and logistics costs show. If you run out of a specific imported toiletry or medicine, check the pharmacies on Tran Hung Dao before assuming Co.opmart carries it.
If you need anything specific and aren't sure where to find it in Duong Dong, just message me on WhatsApp — I know most of the shops in this area and I'm usually faster than Google Maps at this kind of thing. Check our FAQ page for other practical questions guests ask regularly.
