Con Dao island – quick travel guide

Calm, relaxed island. A popular alternative to the busier more touristy Phu Quoc island.

Con Dao island (east of mainland) was historically remembered for where they put prisoners. But nowadays it’s consider the quieter, calmer, more nature, more locals and easy-going alternative to the busier resort-ey Phu Quoc island (west of mainland). You’ll see very few foreigners and non-Asian people.

I’d say 2 days is enough to see major things. Add more days if you want to do nothing. I personally recommend not going during December and January. It’s really dead and empty (unless you like that) and the weather might not be as nice. Going during the right seasons, you have more things to see…also more visibility in the water and nicer-looking water colors.

Where to stay:

• Anywhere near the center is most ideal but really, you could get anywhere easily enough with motor scooter. If you’re scared of these or had a bad incident, then definitely stay in the center so you can walk to everything.

Hostels:

• I only found homestays. And during off-season, mine was quiet and empty. A homestay is basically a local family who owns the building and has many rooms available for you to rent. They also use the ground floor (street-facing) space as a restaurant or market. And sometimes they have “family dinners” where you and other guests along with the family can all eat together and meet each other.

Neighborhoods & Walking areas:

• There’s only one main center area that I recommend for everything. Just a matter of a couple blocks closer to the beach or closer to the mountains. You’ll find it all soon enough.

Activities to do:

• Van Son Pagoda (Vân Sơn Tự) – very easy to get up, just a couple stairs. You see a nice pagoda within the mountains and also nice view of the water.
• Con Dao Musuem & prisons – I recommend going to the museum first to learn about the history of the prisoners. Then you can visit a prison (there’s several) and understand what you’re seeing. (I think the prison price is included in the museum price.) I personally didn’t do any of these but many Vietnamese will recommend them as a must-see on Con Dao.
• Parks and natural spaces – Côn Đảo National Park is the main one to do hiking and stuff. Do read up on the trails, some of them have nice views along the way but don’t lead out to the water (which disappointed people). In town, Công viên Phạm Văn Đồng park is the green space by busy city center if you want to hang out somewhere and watch the local life go by. You can also stop by the reservoirs and see people hanging out there.
• Ride your motorbike – you can easily rent a motor-scooter for about $5usd/day, your place of stay can arrange it for you. Super cheap and you can get very far, very easily, and lots of fun. I especially loved the adventurous feeling. Just make sure your brakes work (that they stop and also release) before you go at high speeds. I had a nasty spill because my brakes wouldn’t release. The taxi’s or the green carts that give you a ride are quite expensive, one single ride along costs more than what you pay for a motorbike. But sure, you can use them if you want to be safer or have people too old or too young to ride.

Beaches & water-points:

• Cầu tàu 914 – just a marker for the main pier by the water where you can walk out and take in views of the sea and surrounding mountains/islands. Right by town center.
• Bãi tắm An Hải – main central beach, looks like a normal beach
• Bãi Lò Vôi – beach that has a nice forest path to get to it, also completely walkable during low tide and you can get far out into the sea. During low tide, you can walk out to Bãi Hang Dơi beach just around the mountain (but Google maps said it was closed when I went).
• Bãi Đầm Trầu – beach on the back side, right next to the airport and famous for planes flying coming in super low overhead. Some reviews say it’s ugly and full of trash. Others say it’s nice. I found it to be sunny and really nice blue waters when I went. Also has the nice jungle trees and mountains terrain on its side. My favorite of what I’ve seen. (This one and all others above, but maybe weather was nicer when I went.)
• Bãi biển Dong – Google reviews said it was ugly and full of trash, so I skipped it.
• Bãi Nhát Côn Đảo – Nhat Beach Con Dao – back side and popular for being “most beautiful” and good for sunset but I didn’t go. Mũi Cá Mập just nearby is also a good sunset spot.

I went off-season and not great weather. So I can’t say I know exactly what they really look like with people and their true water colors. Also be careful of the “sandflies”, I hear their bites are much more painful and irritating than mosquitos.

Restaurants & Cafes:

• Gia Minh – good food, reasonable prices. They have English menus and the lady speaks some English…making this place very popular with foreigners.
• Beach House Restaurant & Cocktails – awesome spot! Great food and they speak great English. You’ll likely find foreigners here. It’s located in the alley and not on the street so you may not see it. There’s a small sign but it’s better for you to just go down the alley where Google maps tells you it is.
• There are other good places too…just go where you see tons of locals.

The biggest tip I’ll give you is not to let local restaurants recommend food for you. They especially like to over-recommend things so you end up paying more.

Generally the food is good. Just that some places charge a lot, considering this is a small local island. You’d think things would be much cheaper, like half the price or something. But it’s still cheap compared to Europe.

Bars & Clubs:

• I didn’t go out but I feel like karaoke bars are the thing here. A lot the local “nightlife” is on Pham Van Dong street. Use “Ốc Đêm Bình Nguyên” as your Google maps marker.

Miscellaneous tips:

• You can fly here, or take the ferry from the mainland.

Nearby towns:

Unfiltered notes: