Con Dao is the quiet island trip in southern Vietnam: forested hills, empty beaches, sea turtles and some of the country's best diving, wrapped around a former prison where tens of thousands of people suffered and died. Give it three or four nights, treat the history with the weight it deserves, and come between March and September, when the sea is calmest and the turtles are nesting. It costs more than the mainland, and in rough weather the ferries stop.
How we built this guide: on 3 October 2026 we checked 2025 and 2026 Vietnamese news reports on the special zone, the turtle season and Hang Duong cemetery, the national park's own tour listing and price table, Wikipedia's entries on the prison, the park and the airport, Vietnam Airlines' guide to the relic sites, 2026 guides to diving, costs and transport, and flight and ferry listings on 12Go and Baolau. We did not visit Con Dao for this update.
What is Con Dao, and who runs it now?
Con Dao is a group of 16 islands with about 76 km² of land, more than 230 km southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, and since 1 July 2025 it has been a special zone of Ho Chi Minh City, per SGGP. It belonged to Ba Ria Vung Tau province until that province merged into the city. About 6,100 people lived there at the end of 2024, per Vietnamese Wikipedia. Con Son, the main island, has the town, the airport and the ferry port.
Much of the archipelago is protected. Con Dao National Park was set up in 1993 and became a Ramsar wetland site on 18 June 2013, and its waters hold sea turtles, dolphins and endangered dugongs. The islands are getting busier: more than 410,000 visitors came in the first six months of 2026, per SGGP.
How many days should you spend on Con Dao?
Three or four nights suits most people, because boat trips depend on the weather. A simple plan:
- Day one: the museum and prison sites in Con Son town in the morning, the beach in the afternoon, Hang Duong cemetery at dusk.
- Day two: a boat day to the outer islands for snorkeling, or a turtle release in season.
- Day three: a forest hike in the national park, then a quiet beach.
- Day four: diving, or a spare day in case a boat trip was cancelled.
Add a night for an overnight turtle watch on the outer islands. If you dive, leave a gap before your flight home: the Divers Alert Network's general advice, cited by Local Vietnam, is a 24-hour surface interval before flying.
How should you visit the prison sites and Hang Duong cemetery?
Visit them first, slowly, and with respect: they are why Con Dao matters so much to Vietnamese visitors. The French colonial government founded the prison on Con Son in 1861 for prisoners it considered especially dangerous, and it came to hold more and more political prisoners. In 1954 it passed to the South Vietnamese government, which kept using it until 1975, per Wikipedia. Its inmates included Phan Chau Trinh, Huynh Thuc Khang, Ton Duc Thang, Pham Van Dong and Le Duc Tho, and Vo Thi Sau, now honored as a Hero of the People's Armed Forces, was executed there in 1952.
The conditions were brutal. The French built the "tiger cages" in 1940, with 120 solitary cells. In July 1970, two visiting US congressmen, Augustus Hawkins and William Anderson, with the aide Tom Harkin, found prisoners shackled in cramped cages, and Harkin's photographs ran in Life magazine on 17 July 1970. Vietnam now ranks the prison a special national relic.
Visiting the sites
One ticket covers five sites. Vietnam Airlines' guide lists 50,000 VND per person for the Con Dao Museum, the Governor's House, Phu Hai prison, the French tiger cages and the American tiger cages at the Phu Binh camp. It gives opening hours of 07:00 to 11:30 and 13:30 to 17:00 daily, guided tours of about two hours at 07:00, 09:00, 14:00 and 15:00, and the museum's address as 2 Nguyen Hue street in the town center. The museum holds more than 2,000 artifacts. The same guide noted that the American tiger cages and the Governor's House were closed for restoration as of March 2025, so check at the museum.
Hang Duong cemetery
Hang Duong cemetery covers nearly 20 hectares and holds nearly 2,000 graves, per SGGP. Only 793 of them carry a name, and about 20,000 people are estimated to have died in Con Dao's prisons between 1862 and 1975, per Bao Ha Tinh. Vo Thi Sau's grave is here, and hundreds of thousands of visitors come each year to pay their respects. In April 2026 the city launched an online map at nghiatranghangduong.tphcm.gov.vn to find individual graves.
Tip: dress as you would for a temple, with shoulders and knees covered, keep your voice low and ask before photographing people at the graves. Many Vietnamese visitors come here as a pilgrimage, not a sightseeing stop.
The prison dates differ by a year between sources: Wikipedia gives 1861 for the founding, while Vietnamese accounts count the 113 years from 1862 to 1975.
When can you see sea turtles?
From April to November, with the peak from July to September, when about 40 mother turtles come ashore each night, per a July 2026 report in SGGP. The park counts 18 nesting beaches across the islands. The recovery is real: about 220 nesting females returned in 1993 against 987 in 2025, about 87 percent of hatchlings survive, and the park has released nearly 2.9 million hatchlings since 1993.
There are two ways to join in. The park runs a hatchling release and an overnight nesting watch; its tour listing prices the one day, one night turtle tour from 2,150,000 to 5,100,000 VND, departing from the park's ticket office at 36 Ton Duc Thang. Its published price table, dating from 2017, limits each viewing group to six people and 60 minutes. Book early for the peak months, and follow the rangers on lights and distance: nesting turtles are easily disturbed.
When is the diving good?
March to September is the diving season. A March 2026 Local Vietnam guide says visibility can pass 20 m in those months, and that the rains of July to September usually fall in the afternoon, leaving mornings clear for diving. From November to February the wind makes the sea rougher, although some sheltered sites still work on calm days.
The same guide counts more than 340 coral species and 202 species of reef fish in the park's waters, and about 25 dive sites. Dugongs live here too, but it estimates only about twelve remain, so do not expect to see one. It names Con Dao Dive Center as the island's main operator. If you only snorkel, the outer islands on a boat day are the place to do it.
Which beaches are worth your time?
The beaches are wild rather than resort-polished, and which one is calm depends on the wind. VnExpress's island guide points to Dam Trau, Nhat and An Hai, all free to visit, and says the east coast gets rough from October to March while the west stays calmer. Dam Trau lies in the north of Con Son near the airport, per Vietnam Coracle. An Hai is the town beach, and Dat Doc, shown on this page, is a long bay beyond the town with resorts behind it.
When is the best time to visit Con Dao?
March to May is the sweet spot: dry or drying, calm seas and the start of turtle season. Vietnamese Wikipedia gives a dry season from December to April, a rainy season from May to November and about 2,200 mm of rain a year, with an average temperature of 26.9°C.
| Months | Weather and sea | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| March to May | Dry or drying; the calmest seas of the year | The best all-round months: beaches, diving, ferries |
| June to September | Rainy season, short afternoon showers, southwest wind | Turtle peak from July; diving still good; some ferry cancellations |
| October | Rainy season continues; the east coast starts to get rough | Turtles still nesting; a quieter, cheaper month |
| November to February | Drier, but strong northeast wind and rough seas | Fly rather than sail; ferries often cancelled, diving harder |
The ferry patterns come from a September 2026 transport guide on vietnamtourism.com, which rates March and April the calmest months and November to February the roughest. The UK government puts Vietnam's typhoon season at May to November.
Where should you stay on Con Dao?
Stay in or near Con Son town unless you are booking a resort. A September 2026 guide on vietnamtourism.com gives these price ranges:
| Area | Room prices seen | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Con Son town center | 350,000 to 1,200,000 VND | Walking to restaurants, the market and the prison sites |
| An Hai beach, by the town | 500,000 to 1,500,000 VND | Beach and town together |
| Lo Voi beach | 500,000 to 800,000 VND | Budget guesthouses behind the main road |
| Dat Doc bay | 1,400,000 to 3,500,000 VND | Resorts and quiet |
The same guide says prices rise 30 to 50 percent in the high season and are lowest from October to early December. Vietnamese holidays fill the island fast, so book flights and rooms together.
How do you get to Con Dao?
Fly unless you are already in the Mekong Delta or love boats. On 12Go for 21 October 2026, ten Vietnam Airlines flights left Tan Son Nhat between 06:40 and 15:30, timed at 50 to 55 minutes, for 1,292,518 to 1,490,528 VND. The airport's runway is 1,830 m long, per Wikipedia, too short for the Airbus A320 and A321 jets at the core of domestic fleets, per Bao Phap Luat. Vietnam Airlines' flights, run by its VASCO subsidiary, use ATR 72 turboprops, per the vietnamtourism.com transport guide.
By sea, Superdong's fast ferry from Tran De port in the Mekong Delta took 2 hours 30 minutes for 381,273 VND on Baolau for 9 October 2026. Longer crossings run from Vung Tau and from central Ho Chi Minh City in calmer months. Our Ho Chi Minh City to Con Dao guide compares every option, and the Starting from Ho Chi Minh City hub lists other trips. For the delta side, see our Mekong Delta guide.
How do you get around Con Dao?
Rent a motorbike if you ride well, or use taxis and arranged cars. The airport is about 15 km from town, a 20 to 30 minute drive, per the VnExpress guide, and the Ben Dam ferry port is more than 10 km away on the southwest of the island, per Vietnam Coracle. The September 2026 vietnamtourism.com guide puts motorbike rental at 150,000 to 200,000 VND a day and an airport taxi to town at 100,000 to 150,000 VND. Grab's list of Vietnamese service areas does not name Con Dao, so arrange transfers through your hotel. For a motorbike, the UK government says you need the 1968 international driving permit with your home license, and that riding without third-party insurance is illegal.
What should you know about safety?
The sea and the distance from big hospitals are the main things to plan around. Our Vietnam safety page covers the general picture.
- Weather: boats and ferries stop when the sea is rough, most often from November to February, so keep a spare day before an onward flight.
- Diving: dive with an established operator, and leave 24 hours before flying.
- Medical care: Local Vietnam notes limited medical facilities on the island and advises insurance that covers diving and emergency evacuation.
- Turtles and the park: stay with rangers on nesting beaches and keep lights off unless they say otherwise.
How much does Con Dao cost?
Con Dao costs more than comparable mainland beaches because everything is shipped or flown in. Prices were checked on 3 October 2026. We convert at 26,000 VND to US$1, rounded from Vietcombank's published rate that day (25,790 VND buying by transfer, 26,170 VND selling).
| Item | VND | About US$ | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget guesthouse room | 350,000 to 700,000 | 13.50 to 27 | vietnamtourism.com, September 2026 |
| Mid-range hotel room | 1,400,000 to 2,800,000 | 54 to 108 | vietnamtourism.com, September 2026 |
| Daily budget with room, food, motorbike and one activity | 1,200,000 to 1,600,000 | 46 to 62 | vietnamtourism.com, September 2026 |
| Motorbike rental per day | 150,000 to 200,000 | 5.75 to 7.70 | vietnamtourism.com, September 2026 |
| Boat trip per person | 500,000 to 1,000,000 | 19 to 38.50 | vietnamtourism.com, September 2026 |
| Prison sites ticket, five sites | 50,000 | 1.90 | Vietnam Airlines guide |
| Overnight turtle tour | 2,150,000 to 5,100,000 | 83 to 196 | Con Dao National Park |
| Flight from Ho Chi Minh City, one way | 1,292,518 to 1,490,528 | 50 to 57 | 12Go, for 21 October 2026 |
| Ferry from Tran De | 381,273 | 14.70 | Baolau, for 9 October 2026 |
Key facts at a glance
- Status: a special zone of Ho Chi Minh City since 1 July 2025, with 16 islands and about 76 km² of land (SGGP).
- Turtles: 987 nesting females returned in 2025, up from about 220 in 1993 (SGGP).
- Cemetery: Hang Duong holds nearly 2,000 graves on nearly 20 hectares (SGGP).
- Park: Con Dao National Park was founded in 1993 and listed as a Ramsar site in 2013 (Wikipedia).
- Runway: 1,830 m long (Wikipedia), too short for A320 and A321 jets (Bao Phap Luat).
Limitations
The prison ticket price, hours and closures come from Vietnam Airlines' guide, last updated with March 2025 information, and the park's group limits from a 2017 price table, so both may have changed; ask at the museum and the park office. Hotel, motorbike and boat prices come from a single September 2026 travel guide, not a survey. The beach and sea notes describe typical seasons, and each year's monsoon differs. Ferry schedules change often and stop in rough seas, and the flight fares are a one-day snapshot. Dive conditions and the number of open dive sites vary with the weather, so confirm with your operator before you book.
