Con Dao Vietnam Website

By Plane: Vietnam Airline offers 5-6 flights from Ho Chi Minh city to Con Dao Vietnam every week, it takes 1 hour to arrive at Con Dao and the cost is about 80-85USD/ticket. Flight can be booked at Vietnam Airlines offices/website for the best rate and convenient (visit http://www.vietnamairlines.com for more information) or via tour operators in Ho Chi Minh. Please inform the hotel to pick you up at the Con Dao airport or you can take a van(both are about 50.000VND) otherwise you will have to take a taxi (250.000-300.000VND).

By ferry: You can take an overnight ferry from Vung Tau to Con Dao and it leaves at 5pm and takes around 12 hours to get there. You can also take boat but it leaves on certain days only and you need to ask local people or tour guide to check the information on dates of departure and buy ticket for you, ferries are running daily when the seas are calm (March to July). The price is 250,000 VND for a bunk. The boat has many cabins each filled with many bunks. There is no luggage storage so you need to take care of your valuable things. It's better to buy foods at the terminal for the trip. Tickets can be purchased at the terminal up to an hour in advance. You will arrive at Ben Dam port, Con Son island, then take a minibuse (50,000VND cost) to town.

Scuba diving & snorkeling

The diving environment in Con Dao is the best in Vietnam. The coral is beautiful, untouched and very impressive. The marine life is the best in Vietnam, boasting turtles, rays, giant barracuda, cuttlefish, cobia as well as a whole host of tropical reef fish. Con Dao has 16 islands and you can choose any of them to dive. There are 3 companies that you can trust:
- Dive ! Dive ! Dive ! Address: Nguyen Hue Street - Phone: 84.64.3830701 - price starting from 40USD (snorkeling); 90USD (diving).
- Rainbow Divers - Address: 40 Ton Duc Thang Street, Con Son, Con Dao Vietnam - Phone: 84.905-577-671 - price starting from 47.7USD (snorkeling); 155USD (diving).
- Senses Diving Con Dao - Address: Six Senses Resort, Dat Doc Beach, Con Dao Vietnam / Casa Cocktail Bar, 16 Le Duan st., Con Dao Vietnam - Phone : 84.1228 932 362 / 84.937 008 483 - price starting from 48USD (snorkeling); 180USD (diving).

Turtles nesting & hatching tour

From July to August turtles start nesting in Con Dao Vietnam. Take an evening boat trip to one of the nearby island beaches, to watch the turtles nest and lay their eggs.
Be prepared for a midnight tour as the turtles usually come on to the beach at night, you will need to be very patience waiting for the turtles to find their ways to the beaches, it takes lots of time but worth every moment.
Be aware that the nesting time range is from July to August, latest is in September. So don't book any tour outside of this time range. Just contact any diving company to book a tour.

Hiking & Trekking - Bird watching

Hiking & Trekking in the Con Dao National Park Vietnam are excited, during the trip, you can see an endemic black squirrel or macaque monkey, watching birds,... and many rare species such as the Red-billed Tropicbird or the Pied Imperial Pigeon if you are lucky enough. Most of the places will require a guide so it's better to bring food & water with you and hire a guide at the Con Dao National Park headquarter at 29 Vo Thi Sau str.

Other things to do: Rent a motorbike or scooter (around 4-5USD/day) to discover the town center, beaches, take in the stunning views of Con Dao's natural beauty and scenery or chill-out, relax, and enjoy the very fresh seafood here in the Con Dao Vietnam island. Be careful of the sudden strong wind that can whip you up and makes you injured.

Weather - Best time to visit Con Dao Vietnam

The best time to visit Con Dao is from October to May as the rain season is starting from June to September.

If you are on honeymoon and looking for a quite place with a romantic beach, come here from March to June when the sea is very calm.

For divers, the best time is between February and July as the water is clearest at this time range.

To sea turtles nesting & hatching, guests can come visit from May to October.

There are some taxis on Con Dao islands and the costs is a little bit high, and virtually no ‘xe om’ (motorbike taxis). However, it’s easy to hire a motorbike to get around the island for 4-5USD.