Things to do in Con Dao

Con Dao is an archipelago roughly 230 km off the south-east coast, and there is no road to it: visitors arrive by a short flight from Ho Chi Minh City or by fast ferry from the mainland, never by car or bus. That single fact rules out treating it as an extension of a Vung Tau or Ho Tram itinerary.

Most of the main island falls inside Con Dao National Park, and the archipelago's other defining feature is its French and American-era prison system, including the site once known for its "tiger cages".

The islands see far fewer visitors than the Mekong Delta or the beaches nearer Saigon, and infrastructure is comparatively limited, so plans here need more slack than a mainland day trip. See our separate guides for individual beaches and for the prison history site.