Things to do in Con Dao
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Con Dao
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best window, calm seas, clear water, best diving and swimmable beaches all round the island.
Milky Way season over very dark skies, and turtle nesting builds from April with releases following.
Windy rough season, cancelled boats and murkier water, better for history, forest and rest than the sea.
Pilgrimage season around Tet fills flights and town hotels, and Hang Duong is at its most crowded.
What's on
- Phi Yen Festival 18th day of the 10th lunar month, usually November
The island's main traditional festival at An Son Mieu, honouring Lady Phi Yen.
- Tet Lunar New Year, January to February
Pilgrims fill the island, some kitchens close, and the shrines are at their busiest.
- Vo Thi Sau Anniversary 23 January
Anniversary of her execution in 1952, marked by pilgrimage to her grave in Hang Duong Cemetery.
- Vu Lan 15th day of the 7th lunar month, roughly August to September
Pilgrims visit Hang Duong and Vo Thi Sau's grave during the seventh lunar month.
Best things to do in Con Dao
Phu Hai Prison
The oldest and largest prison complex on Con Son, whose scale shows this was an island sized penal colony.
Tiger Cages
The infamous barred cells of Phu Tuong camp, the hardest and most essential history visit on the island.
Con Dao Museum
The orientation stop that puts names and dates to the prison cells, best done before or just after them.
Hang Duong Cemetery
A garden cemetery of prisoner graves where pilgrims visit the grave of Vo Thi Sau with incense at night.
Dam Trau Beach
The island's best swimming beach, a golden curve by the airport where planes come in low over the water.
Bai Nhat Beach
A white sand beach that only appears at low tide, and the island's signature quiet sunset on a falling tide.
Mui Ca Map
The shark fin headland by Bai Nhat, a roadside rock stop that completes the island's best free sunset hour.
An Hai Beach
The town beach, calm and shallow in the morning, and the default sunset walk for anyone staying in town.
Where to stay in Con Dao
Con Son Town
first trip, all round base
Walk to the prisons, museum, market and almost every restaurant, with An Hai Beach at the edge of town.
Dat Doc Beach
luxury stay put splurge
A single sweeping bay with one famous resort, superb for isolation and poor as a touring base.
Suoi Ot
colonial boutique escape
One Indochine style resort among lotus ponds facing a wild beach, with town still reachable by scooter.
West Con Son
beaches and turtles, nature first
The quieter sunset coast near Dam Trau, further from town dining and best if you eat where you sleep.
Think twice about
- East Con Dao beyond the resorts
Almost no development or dining and a long dark ride to town. Fine for a resort stay, poor as a touring base.
- Ben Dam Port area
A working ferry port about 15 km from town, not a place to sleep. You land there, you do not base there.
Best restaurants in Con Dao
By the Beach
Six Senses' contemporary restaurant on the sand, where the private bay setting is half the splurge.
Vietnamese by the Market
Refined southern Vietnamese cooking inside Six Senses, the luxury tier answer to the town seafood kitchens.
The Secret Restaurant
Town's splurge table, Mediterranean leaning fine dining in the Secret hotel, for a last night dinner.
Thu Ba Restaurant
The consensus best seafood kitchen in town, serving the day's catch in generous portions to share.
Bar200 Con Dao
The town's social beachfront table, big pizzas, burgers and Vietnamese dishes with a sunset terrace.
Gia Minh Bistro
A small chef run bistro whose noodles and warmth punch above the island's average restaurant.
Infiniti Cafe & Restaurant
The town's cafe all rounder, good coffee, homemade cakes and comfort food for a rainy day refuge.
Beach House Con Dao - Casual Dining & Cocktails
A newer fusion dining and cocktail spot on the coast, rated at the top of the island's recent lists.
Outdoor things to do in Con Dao
Ong Dung Beach
A shaded forest path descends to a secluded stony beach where you can snorkel straight off the shore.
So Ray Plantation
A forest trail to a French era plantation reclaimed by jungle, with a viewpoint over Con Son Bay.
Thanh Gia Peak
The island's highest and hardest climb, earning a panorama over town, bay and the outlying islands.
Dam Tre Bay
A longer forest trail ends at a secluded mangrove bay with calm clear water and good shore snorkelling.
Bay Canh Island
Vietnam's main turtle nesting island, where ranger led nights watch turtles lay and release hatchlings.
Hon Cau
A protected islet with white sand and a large shallow reef you can snorkel over, with turtles possible.
Con Dao Dive Center
The resident dive operator for Vietnam's best reefs, with turtles, rays and old growth coral in season.
Con Dao Fishing
A whole boat deep sea fishing charter beyond the reefs, priced per boat for up to five people.
Best hotels in Con Dao
Six Senses Con Dao
An all villa resort on a private feeling bay, with a spa and a turtle incubation centre on the beach.
Poulo Condor Boutique Resort & Spa
A French Indochine boutique resort of lotus ponds and four poster beds, at a fraction of Six Senses money.
The Secret Con Dao
The smart town hotel on the waterfront, with a pool deck and spa, walking distance to the historic sites.
Orson Hotel & Resort
A large west coast resort with a huge pool and quiet beaches, for travellers who will eat where they sleep.
Hotel De Condor
A small, well kept town hotel near the beach and prisons, and the model budget stay on the island.
De La Rosa Con Dao
Simple, clean central rooms walkable to An Hai, the market and the historic sites at budget prices.
Is Con Dao expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₫900,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₫2,200,000 a person |
| Splurge | ₫15,000,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Bay Canh Island: weeks ahead
- Hon Cau: a few days ahead
- Con Dao Dive Center: a few days ahead
- Con Dao Fishing: a few days ahead
- Six Senses Con Dao: weeks ahead
- Poulo Condor Boutique Resort & Spa: weeks ahead
- By the Beach: a few days ahead
- Vietnamese by the Market: a few days ahead
- Book flights first, then rooms, then the Bay Canh turtle night, earlier than feels necessary.
- Book diving ahead in the March to September window and message the operator the day before.
- Book Six Senses dining ahead if you are not a resort guest, and never pair a ferry with a same day flight.
Is Con Dao safe?
- No lifeguards on any beach here, with rocky entries at Ong Dung and heavy swell possible in winter.
- Rough seas from October to February change swimming, diving and every boat plan.
- Medical care is thin and anything serious means a flight, so insurance should cover diving and evacuation.
- Many kitchens are cash first, carry cash because a card machine cannot be assumed.
Con Dao travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Expecting Phu Quoc choice and nightlife is the main disappointment, Con Dao is quiet by design.
- Agree the per kilo price for seafood before anything is cooked, at the market as anywhere.
- Monkeys at Dam Trau, Van Son Tu and trailheads take visible food, keep it sealed in a closed bag.
- Day tripping Con Dao wastes a full travel day, stay at least two nights.
Getting around Con Dao: public transport and more
- Fly to Co Ong Airport from Ho Chi Minh City or Can Tho, or take a ferry from Tran De, Vung Tau or Can Tho.
- Rent a scooter or e-bike in town, every beach and trailhead is 5 to 25 minutes away on empty roads.
- Walking covers Con Son Town entirely, and taxis cover airport runs and resort dinners.
Who Con Dao suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Con Dao your trip
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