Con Dao Island (Vietnam) - tourist information

General information about the island of Kondao

Con Dao Island is an island in Vietnam, located in the south of the country, about 100 kilometers from the coast in the waters of the South China Sea. In fact, despite the well-established name "Con Dao Island", in fact it is a group (archipelago) of 16 islands with a total area of 76 sq. km. The largest island of the archipelago, with an area of 51 sq.km. It is also sometimes called Con Son in the old way (Con Son, was renamed Con Dao in 1977). Previously, the island was a place where political prisoners were held.

Con Dao is one of the popular island resorts in Vietnam along with the islands Phu Quoc and Cat Ba. The island provides guests with an excellent beach holiday and opportunities for diving and snorkeling (see diving in Vietnam). Given the remoteness and inaccessibility of the island, the rest here is considered quite secluded, calm and exotic. There are few tourists here, and you can still find wild little-known places. Currently, the island is actively building a tourist infrastructure, so if you want to see the island, which is not yet densely populated by tourists, you should hurry up.

Most of the territory of the archipelago has been the territory of a National Park since 1984, where you can get acquainted with exotic animals, plants, as well as the underwater world (diving on the island is considered the best in Vietnam). You can visit the park on your own, together with a group tour or by hiring an individual guide. Another entertainment is visiting the small islands of the archipelago, where you can even spend the night camping. On one of the islands (Hon Bay Canh), there is a lighthouse that tourists visit as a tourist attraction.

There are also some historical sights on the island. The most important of them is the prison of political prisoners (Phu Hai prison), in which 20,000 prisoners died. Now this place has been turned into a museum. Another memorable place is the cemetery (Hang Duong Cemetery), dedicated to those who died in prison. You can visit both of these places by hiring a guide at the Revolutionary Museum, which is also worth a visit. Of course, there is a temple on the island on the hill.

The tourist infrastructure of the island is still poorly developed, which is more a plus for such a place than a minus. Apart from hotels and restaurants, there is almost nothing here, although the construction of new facilities is underway. The center of the island is only a newly rebuilt town (Con Son Village) with excellent roads, new buildings, but even in it you can find only the most necessary things. You can buy something only in the markets, there are no shopping centers here. Everything is very expensive, so it's better to buy everything you need to relax on the mainland. There are diving centers and travel agencies ready to send you to nearby islands or on a tour of the National Park. There is nothing to do on the island in the evenings.

Weather on Con Dao, seasons

The climate on Con Dao is tropical, warm all year round. As usual, the dry season and the rainy season stand out. The temperature changes little throughout the year.

The dry season is from December to April. This is the best time to relax. There is practically no precipitation, the temperature is moderate, not too hot.

The rainy season is from May to November. This is not the best time to visit, however, it is not necessary to refuse a trip at this time. There is not as much rain here as on the mainland, and they are short-lived.

However, in some cases it is worth tying the time of visiting the island not to the seasons. So, if you want to see turtles that crawl ashore to lay eggs, you should come here from May to November. The best time for diving and snorkeling, when the visibility of the water reaches 20-30 meters, is from February to July.

Tourist seasons on Con Dao by month, when is the best time to go

Weather on O. Con Dao and the forecast for the near future:

How to get to Con Dao Island

You can only get to Con Dao Island by plane (domestic flights from Vietnam) or by ferry from Vung Tau city. Here's more details:

• By plane

  On the island of Con Dao there is an airport Con Dao Airport or Koong, it is also the airport of Pulo Condor, the IATA code for buying tickets is VCS. There are direct flights to it only from Ho Chi Minh City, from other cities of Vietnam to fly only with a transfer. There are no international flights here.

  ЦЕНА	МАРШРУТ	ПЕРЕСАДКИ
  Купить от 8759 ₽	Хошимин ⇄ Пуло-Кондор	Прямой
  Купить от 15292 ₽	Дананг ⇄ Пуло-Кондор	1
  Купить от 17613 ₽	Ханой ⇄ Пуло-Кондор	1
  Купить от 14736 ₽	Нячанг ⇄ Пуло-Кондор	1

  From Con Dao Airport to the hotel can be reached by taxi or minivan (about $ 3).

  

• By ferry

  At least two companies travel between Vung Tau and Con Dao Island:

  • GreenLines DP. The cost starts from 790,000 VND on weekdays, 950 000 VND on weekends. When we were in Vung Tau, their high-speed boats temporarily did not go, so check the schedule on the website.
  • PhuQuoc Express. Cost from 800,000 VND (30.42 USD). They walk every other day, 3-4 hours on the way.

  Ferries arrive/depart at Ho May port (port on the Vung Tau map). Tickets can be purchased on the websites (Russian cards are not accepted) or at the box office.

  About how to visit and how to get to Vung Tau in order to take the ferry to Con Dao, we tell you in more detail here...

  

What to move on

There is no public transport on the island. Motorcycle and bicycle rentals are available (see motorcycle rentals in Vietnam). There are also quite a lot of car taxis and minivans.

Con Dao hotels

There are very few hotels on Kondao, but there are inexpensive accommodations among them. However, taking into account the shortage of inexpensive accommodation, we highly recommend booking a hotel for Con Dao ahead of time, preferably even a few weeks or months in advance. At the moment, several large hotels are being built on the island, and after their opening, the situation may change. At worst, you can camp in tents on the island, of course, for money.

You can find and book accommodation on Con Dao Island on these reliable, trusted sites or through the search form:

• 🛌 Search for hotels on Con Dao Island on Trip.com
• 🛌 Search for hotels on Con Dao Island on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search for hotels on Ostrovok.ru

Map of. Con Dao with hotels