Con Dao travel guide
Prison history, turtle beaches and Vietnam's best diving
A remote archipelago off southern Vietnam, mostly national park, with the country's best diving, turtle nesting beaches and sobering prison sites. The dry months, roughly February to May, bring flat water and almost no rain. Three or four days is about right. Costs are low, and the e-Visa is open to all.
Con Dao is a group of 16 islands off Vietnam's southern coast, reached by short flights from Ho Chi Minh City. About 80 percent of the land is national park and most of the surrounding sea is a no-take marine reserve, so the reefs and forests are in far better shape than on the mainland. Few foreigners make the trip. Those who do find quiet beaches and the best diving in the country.
The islands carry a heavy past. Under the French they were Poulo Condore, a penal colony for political prisoners, and the Saigon government later kept opponents in the notorious tiger cages. As many as 20,000 prisoners are thought to have died here. The prison camps in Con Son town are open to the public; buy tickets at Camp 3 in the town centre before visiting the others.
Hang Duong cemetery is where Vietnamese visitors go first, often at night. The grave of Vo Thi Sau, a young resistance fighter executed on the island, draws pilgrims bearing flowers around midnight. This is a national shrine: cover shoulders and knees, keep your voice down and never ride a motorbike across the graves.
The only real town, Con Son, is small and flat, easy to walk in the early morning or evening; there is little shade at midday. Rent a manual scooter for the hills; traffic is light and the gradients gentle. Fill the tank where you can: fuel is not sold by the roadside as it is on the mainland, and the island has just one petrol station with short opening hours.
Diving runs most of the year, with 16 islands to choose from and good visibility in most months; dive insurance is compulsory because of the distance from proper hospitals. On the main island, Dam Trau beach near the airport is the best swimming spot. Between roughly May and October green turtles nest on Bay Canh and other outer islands, and the national park runs controlled overnight visits.
Plan for remoteness. Medical care is basic and an emergency evacuation to Ho Chi Minh City takes hours, so good travel insurance matters. Budget hotels and guesthouses cluster in Con Son town, while the bigger resorts are spread along the coast.
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Top things to do in Con Dao
Prison camps, a national shrine, forest trails, reef dives and turtle beaches.
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Best time to visit Con Dao
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Each month averages under 40 mm of rain with highs of 29-32C, so dive boats run to the outer islands with little trouble.
Green turtles come ashore on Bay Canh and other outer islands; the national park runs limited overnight visits.
Rain climbs to around 290-350 mm a month, peaking in October, and crossings get rougher.
Book turtle-watching through the national park office, which limits numbers, and check the Tran De ferry schedule because several routes have been suspended.
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Getting there
ATR flights into VCS and the Tran De fast boats
Con Dao is reached by air or by sea. Most visitors fly from Ho Chi Minh City and land at Con Dao airport (VCS), while fast boats cross from Tran De on the Mekong coast for those who prefer the sea or cannot get a seat on the busy flights. Vietnam Airlines runs several flights a day from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) on ATR72 turboprops, so overhead lockers are small and a carry-on bag may be taken at the steps if you also have a personal item. The airstrip is at the far northern tip of Con Son island, a long way from town. Book your room before landing: hotels send minibuses to meet each flight, and anyone can climb aboard and pay the driver. Taxis wait too, at higher rates than on the mainland, and a small motorbike rental shop stands just outside the gates. Ignore any mention of a public bus 173; it was not running as of early 2026. By sea, boats from Tran De port in the Mekong Delta dock at Ben Dam on the south-west coast, about 13 km from Con Son.
- Hotel minibus
- Meets every flight at VCS; pay the driver if you have not booked with that hotel
- Ben Dam shuttle
- Door-to-door minibus to Con Son in about 22 minutes
- Superdong fast ferry
- Daily from Tran De, with a connecting bus to Soc Trang about 30 km inland
- Con Dao Express
- Also from Tran De, with fewer weekly sailings
- Several ferry routes, including the old Can Tho service, are suspended despite what older websites say; confirm sailings shortly before travel.
- Ben Dam charges a small port fee on arrival and again on departure, so keep some dong in your pocket.
Where to stay
Con Son town, the seafront or out at Dat Doc
Most Con Dao travellers sleep in Con Son, the island's only town, where guesthouse rooms are usually new and clean, though none sit on a swimming beach. The seafront hotels give you the bay view, and Dat Doc, further out along the coast road, has the island's resort beach. Spending your money in small local places matters here: islanders have noticed that most tourist income ends up in the big government-run hotels.
- Con Son centre
- Guesthouses near the market and the prison camps; cheapest, with restaurants on foot, but no beach
- Con Son seafront
- Hotels such as A.T.C. Resort facing the bay; sea views and a decent kitchen, a little pricier for what you get
- Dat Doc beach
- Six Senses and its private cove on the east coast; total quiet, but you are reliant on cars to reach town
- National Park Guesthouse
- Plain rooms run by the park, handy for early forest walks and turtle-trip bookings
- Rent your scooter from a shop in town, not your hotel; the bikes are often identical and hotels add a mark-up.
Getting around
Geared scooters and the one petrol pump
Con Son town is small and flat, best walked early in the morning or after about 4pm because the streets have little shade. Beyond town you need a motorbike, and a geared scooter copes best with the climbs to the viewpoints and beaches; fill up when you can, as the island has one petrol pump. The catch is fuel. The island has a single petrol station, open roughly 7am to 10:30am and 2pm to 4pm, and nobody sells petrol in bottles by the roadside as on the mainland, so take the bike with a full tank. Helmets and a Vietnamese licence are legally required and local police do stop riders. For the outer islands, you go by boat with a dive shop or a national park trip.
- Motorbike
- Rent in town; choose a manual for the hills and collect it with a full tank
- Petrol station
- The only one on the island, open about 7-10:30am and 2-4pm
- Boats
- Dive, snorkel and turtle trips to the outer islands through dive shops or the park office
- On foot
- Con Son town, early or late in the day
- Carry your licence and wear the helmet; police checks on foreign riders are common.
Know before you go
What makes Con Dao worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Diving the reefs around the outer islands, with good visibility most of the year.
- Hang Duong cemetery at night, when pilgrims bring flowers to Vo Thi Sau's grave.
- The prison camps, especially the tiger cages, which explain the island's past bluntly.
- Dam Trau beach, a quiet cove near the airport for swimming.
- A night with nesting turtles on Bay Canh in season, arranged through the national park.
Good to know
- Dress modestly at the prisons and the cemetery; shorts and bare shoulders cause offence.
- Fill up with fuel when you can, as roadside petrol is not sold.
- Medical care is basic; an evacuation takes hours, so carry good travel insurance.
- Buy prison tickets at Camp 3 in Con Son before visiting the other camps.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Con Dao, month by month
Con Dao is almost dry from January to April and wettest in October, the same months that shape boat trips and the turtle season. Tap a month for averages.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Côn Đảo (Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology, via Wikipedia).
Camp 3 tickets, Hang Duong at midnight and a day offshore
Give your first Con Dao morning to the prisons, before the heat builds. Tickets are sold only at Camp 3 in the middle of Con Son, near the Vietin Bank junction off Vo Thi Sau, and from there you can work through Camps 1, 4, 5 and 6 and the tiger cages; a Revolutionary Museum guide adds a great deal.
Rest through the afternoon, then return to Hang Duong cemetery late in the evening. Around midnight, Vietnamese pilgrims queue at the grave of Vo Thi Sau with flowers and incense. Cover your shoulders and knees and keep your voice low.
Day two is for the water. Dive and snorkel boats leave in the morning for reefs around the outer islands, and the operators insist on dive insurance, so arrange it before you arrive. Back in town by mid-afternoon, eat early and sleep early.
On the third day, fill the scooter at the petrol station as soon as it opens and ride north along the coast road to Dam Trau, a sheltered cove beside the runway where planes come in low over the sand. Swim, then return by the viewpoints above the bay for the late light. Between May and October, swap this day for an overnight turtle trip to Bay Canh, booked through the national park office.
Sea-almond sweets and seafood off Nguyen Hue street
Eating on Con Dao is simple and mostly local. Lunch means a bowl of noodle soup at the small shops around the Nguyen Hue and Vo Thi Sau junction, where islanders eat quickly and leave; Phuong Han, at 38C Nguyen Hue, is the one most visitors find first, plain-looking but good, and full at midday.
Seafood is the reason to linger in the evening. Tri Ky on Nguyen Duc Thuan has an English menu and cooks whatever came in that day, steamed, grilled or stir-fried with garlic. Look out for oc vu nang, a limpet-like shellfish gathered from the island's rocks and usually grilled with spring onion oil. If the fishing boats have just returned, the quayside turns into an informal party and visitors are often waved over to share a beer.
The souvenir everyone takes home is mut hat bang, a brittle candy made from the nuts of the sea almond trees that shade the town streets. Buy it at Con Son market, which is also the place for fruit and cold drinks. A shop near the market keeps a surprisingly good wine shelf. Hotel bars are the only nightlife, and cocktails on their menus are not always available, so beer is the safer order.
Turtle nights on Bay Canh and the October rains
Visit Con Dao from January to April for dry weather and calm seas: monthly rainfall is only about 11 to 39 mm, highs rise from 28C in January to 32C by April, and from February reef visibility is good and boat days are rarely cancelled. Book flights early around Lunar New Year, when the small turboprops sell out.
May turns the weather. Rain jumps to around 210 mm that month and stays near 290-350 mm from June to October, with October the wettest. Downpours tend to come in short bursts and seldom last all day, and the island is greener and emptier. The wet months are also turtle season. Green turtles haul themselves onto Bay Canh and the other outer beaches to lay eggs, and the national park takes small groups out to watch overnight, with rangers moving hatchlings to safety. Numbers are capped, so ask the park office as soon as you land.
Diving continues through much of the year because the 16 islands give shelter from different winds. November and December are the transition, with rain easing to about 175 mm and then 53 mm, and seas that can still be choppy on the crossing from Tran De.
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How we research our Con Dao travel guide
Con Dao's prison ticket rules, flight and boat links and turtle season are checked against the Côn Đảo Wikipedia record and Vietnam Travel, and visa rules against Vietnam's official e-Visa portal.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Con Dao.
Booking
Yes. Climb onto any hotel minibus meeting the flight and pay the driver at the end. Taxis also wait but charge more than on the mainland.
Through the national park office, which runs limited overnight visits during nesting season, roughly May to October.
Only at Camp 3 in the centre of Con Son town, so start there before visiting Camps 1, 4, 5 and 6.
General
February to May. Rain stays under 40 mm a month until April, and boats reach the outer islands without trouble.
Three or four days covers the prisons, Hang Duong cemetery, a dive or snorkel day and a beach. Add a night if you want a turtle trip.
Cover shoulders and knees. The cemetery is a national shrine, and shorts or bare shoulders give offence.
She was a young resistance fighter executed on the island, and Vietnamese visitors honour her at Hang Duong late at night with flowers and incense. Visitors are welcome if they dress modestly and stay quiet.
Con Son town is small and flat, best walked early in the morning or after about 4pm because the streets have little shade. Beyond town you need a motorbike, and a geared scooter copes best with the climbs to the viewpoints and beaches; fill up when you can, as the island has one petrol pump. The catch is fuel.
Getting there
Yes. Superdong runs a daily fast boat to Ben Dam, and a shuttle bus links Tran De with Soc Trang. Other routes, including from Can Tho, have been suspended.
Con Dao is reached by air or by sea. Most visitors fly from Ho Chi Minh City and land at Con Dao airport (VCS), while fast boats cross from Tran De on the Mekong coast for those who prefer the sea or cannot get a seat on the busy flights. Vietnam Airlines runs several flights a day from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) on ATR72 turboprops, so overhead lockers are small and a carry-on bag may be taken at the steps if you also have a personal item.
Timing & weather
There is only one, open about 7am to 10:30am and 2pm to 4pm. Fuel is not sold at the roadside, so keep the tank topped up.
The best time to visit Con Dao is Feb to May. Almost no rain until May and the flattest water for boat trips to the outer islands.
- Dry and calm: February - April (Each month averages under 40 mm of rain with highs of 29-32C, so dive boats run to the outer islands with little trouble)
- Turtle season: May - October (Green turtles come ashore on Bay Canh and other outer islands; the national park runs limited overnight visits)
- Rainy months: June - October (Rain climbs to around 290-350 mm a month, peaking in October, and crossings get rougher)
Health & safety
Yes, operators require it because the island is remote and medical evacuation to Ho Chi Minh City takes hours.
Vietnam is generally safe. Traffic is the main hazard, and bag snatching from motorbikes occurs in cities.
Visa & documents
Citizens of a number of countries, including the UK and many EU states, can visit Vietnam visa-free for up to 45 days. All nationalities can apply for a single or multiple-entry e-Visa valid for up to 90 days on the official portal.
