What to do in Con Dao island – Top things to do in Con Dao

What to do in Con Dao island – Top things to do in Con Dao

Con Dao – voted as one of the most beautiful islands in Asia, one of the most beautiful deserted beaches in the world – is now becoming an attractive tourist destination for both domestic and international visitors. Pristine nature, mysterious spiritual stories, a glorious revolutionary history… urge many footsteps of tourists to come here. If you are planning your trip, let’s find out what to do in Con Dao island?

Explore beautiful beaches

Con Dao is an archipelago off the coast of Ba Ria – Vung Tau province, located 97 nautical miles from Vung Tau City. Being surrounded by the sea, visitors to Con Dao will have the opportunity to explore beautiful beaches and bays.

Some famous beaches and bays in Con Dao are:

• Dam Trau Beach – the most beautiful beach in Con Dao with a poetic scenery is an ideal place for swimming and snorkeling. If you don’t know what to do in Con Dao, quickly note down this address!
• An Hai Beach with its clear blue water that allows you to see the bottom of the sea. In the morning, when the fishing boats return, tourists will witness the bustling life of the people on the island
• Dam Tre Bay is a pristine beauty that leaves many tourists in awe. Here, visitors can explore the mangrove forest or observe the breeding season of the swiftlets. No need to worry about what to do in Con Dao anymore!
• Con Son Bay consists of 14 different islands, many of which are ideal spots for coral reef viewing that tourists wouldn’t want to miss

Discover the beautiful islands

What to do in Con Dao? Con Dao district has a total of 16 different large and small islands. Therefore, the journey to explore Con Dao cannot be without exploring the beautiful islands.

• Hon Cau is one of the two freshwater islands in Con Dao. This place has white sandy beaches surrounding the crescent-shaped mountains. On the sandy shore are rows of coconut trees and casuarina trees swaying in the wind. All create a pristine and peaceful scenery that touches the heart.
• Hon Tre Lon is the main breeding ground for sea turtles. It is also an ideal place for tourists to dive and admire coral reefs – an experience not to be missed for those interested in what Con Dao has to offer. The rich vegetation here makes it resemble a green paradise waiting to be explored.
• Hon Bay Canh is the second largest island among the islands in Con Dao. The island is covered with primeval forests, so the climate is cool and fresh all year round. This is the place with the most turtle nesting in Con Dao. Hon Bay Canh is also a place for tourists to dive and admire coral reefs or freely wave in the cool water.

Explore eco-tourism destinations.

Tourists who don’t know what to do in Con Dao will be very excited when they discover the eco-tourism destinations here.

The primeval forest of Ong Dung

The primeval forest of Ong Dung is located in Con Dao National Park. This place has a clear blue water beach, cool and fresh wind, and on the beach are stacked rocks. This is where tourists can experience canoeing to admire the sea, fishing for seabirds, diving to admire coral reefs, or trekking in the primeval forest of Ong Dung.

So Ray

So Ray is located at an altitude of 260m above sea level on Con Son Island. Visitors here can explore the tropical rainforest with fascinating flora and fauna. There are also traces of ancient stone houses built by communist prisoners during the French colonial period. In the middle of the forest, there is a stilt house that is an ideal place for tourists to admire the panoramic view of Con Son.

Con Dao National Park

Con Dao National Park covers a total area of nearly 20,000 hectares of natural forests both on land and underwater. This is the habitat of thousands of different species of plants and animals and also the place with the highest number of sea turtles in our country. Here, visitors will have the opportunity to admire the most vivid and authentic picture of Con Dao’s nature. Trekking in Con Dao National Park is an ideal choice if you don’t know what to do in Con Dao.

Visiting spiritual tourist attractions

Con Dao also has many spiritual tourist attractions. Some of the most visited places when coming to Con Dao are:

• Hang Duong Cemetery – the resting place of Vo Thi Sau and thousands of Vietnamese patriots who were exiled to Con Dao Prison from 1862 to 1975. Visitors here are particularly impressed by three bas-reliefs: Handing Over the Shirt, Indomitable Spirit, and Hope, which express the love for the country and the desire for freedom of the heroic clothed figures.
• The Hang Keo Cemetery in Con Dao is the resting place of thousands of revolutionaries and patriotic people. Just by 1940, about 10,000 people had died in Con Dao Prison and were buried in Hang Keo Cemetery.
• Phi Yen lady temple worships the concubine of Lord Nguyen Anh and also the mother of Prince Cai.
• Five ladies temple worships five goddesses representing the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.
• Nui Mot pagoda – the only temple in Con Dao with two sides facing the sea and two sides facing the mountains.

Explore historical relics and landmarks

Con Dao is closely associated with the resilient, heroic, and tragic history of our nation’s revolution. Visitors who are not familiar with what Con Dao has to offer can visit historical relics, landmarks, and evidence such as:

Island lord’s palace 

Island lord’s palace is the residence of 59 generations of island lords spanning 113 years and is also the headquarters of the Con Dao prison system. This is where plots to harm, torture, and eliminate revolutionary soldiers and patriotic citizens were conceived. Later on, it became the birthplace of the first revolutionary government in Con Dao. To this day, Island lord’s palace is used as an exhibition room for the historical relics of Con Dao.

Con Dao Museum

This is the place for tourists to learn about the special past of Con Dao through over 1,000 artifacts and valuable documents on various topics.

Historical Bridge 914

The Historical Train Bridge 914 is over 100m long, stretching from Con Son Bay to near Dinh Chua. This bridge was built in 1873, serving as evidence of the crimes committed by the colonial empire. 914 is the number of soldiers who were imprisoned and tortured to build this bridge.

Con Dao Prison

Con Dao Prison – hell on earth in the colonial invasion wars of the French colonialists and the American empire. Here, exhibits of remaining pain such as torture tools, tiger cages,… recreate the cruelty of war and the noble sacrifice of our ancestors. The Con Dao prison system is classified as a special national monument and has now become a destination for many tourists to “return to the source”.

I hope the article above has helped answer your question about what to do in Con Dao. From March to September is the ideal time to travel to Con Dao. Book a flight to Con Dao and a hotel in Con Dao to enjoy the beach, snorkel, visit historical sites, watch turtles lay eggs, or go night squid fishing…