What season is Con Dao beautiful?
From 3 to 9 months is the most beautiful time to explore Con Dao. Although it is still in the rainy season, at this time the sea is calm, the wind is small in the Eastern and Northeast islands. Visitors should visit the remote island during the day, which is filled with golden sunshine and blue sky suitable for scuba diving and photography. In the afternoon there are often showers, suitable for visiting the covered monuments in the big island.
July 7-9 is the breeding season for sea turtles. The rest of the time, October to March next year, is the windy season, the waters of Con Son Bay have large waves. However, the waters west and southwest of the big island are still calm, without rain, so visitors can divert to this area with equally beautiful natural scenery.
Move
Airplanes are the most time-saving means of transportation to Con Dao. Currently, Bamboo Airways operates direct flights in about 2 hours and 30 minutes between Con Dao and Hanoi (from VND 2.7 million one way). Vietnam Airlines flies from Ho Chi Minh City (about VND 1.3 million one way), Can Tho (about VND 1.7 million one way) to Con Dao and vice versa. Each trip takes about 50 minutes.
From Con Dao airport to the town center about 15 km, you can take a motorbike, taxi or resort shuttle. This distance takes an average of 20 to 30 minutes. To go faster, you can choose the Grass Pipe road.
If you do not mind taking a cruise to Con Dao, you can visit Con Dao from 4 to 6 months, the calmest time of the sea. Many tourists often choose to drive to Vung Tau and then continue to sit on the train for 5 hours to Con Dao. The shorter way is to take a boat from Tran De port (Soc Trang) directly to the island, it only takes 2 hours to travel, reducing more than half the time compared to departing from Vung Tau.
Taxis cost from 300,000 VND to 450,000 VND per trip. Some resorts and hotels provide free shuttle buses or charge about VND 50,000 per person each way. If you travel in winter, you should contact a private car rental.
On the island, you can travel by taxi for about 12,000 VND / km, tram about 20,000 VND / km, or rent a 12-16 seater car for from 1.5 million VND a day.
Hotel
Depending on the purpose of your trip, you may be able to stay at a resort, hotel or guesthouse, far from or near the center of the island. If you want to relax, resorts and high-class hotels close to the sea, close to the forest, with private beaches are the optimal choice. To conveniently explore the town and go to the pier from early morning, you should stay in hotels and homestays in the center of the island.
Room rates in Con Dao have many levels, ranging from 200,000 VND to more than 10 million VND. Visitors can also camp overnight picnics in places permitted by the attraction management.
Where to play?
Explore nature
Seven Edge Island and Hon Cau are two familiar eco-tourism destinations off Con Dao, including snorkeling experiences , visiting mangroves, in the right season, watching turtles lay eggs, releasing baby turtles to the sea.
Visitors can rent canoes to the small island by themselves, costing about 2-5 million VND per session. To save money, you should book a day tour including releasing turtles to the sea combined with diving to see Hon Bay Edge coral, priced at VND 790,000 per person operated by Con Dao Explorer company.
In addition, blogger Ngo Tran Hai An also suggests for those who like to conquer the coordinates of 3 markers of Vietnam's territorial waters , located on Hon Seven Edge, Hon Tai Lon and Hon Bong Lan nearby.
Dam Tre Bay Located in the north of the island, airtight, surrounded by mangroves, where swifts nest during the breeding season and many other marine species. On the way, visitors can stop to watch or bathe at Lo Lime beach, Dat Doc beach, Chim Chim cape, Northeast bay...
Betel Dam Beach is a calm beach, located close to Con Dao airport, about 15 km from the center of the island. This place attracts many visitors to check-in the sight of planes landing close to people's heads.
Tank bow Located on the unique road from the airport to the town, surrounded by steep stone slabs forming an arc hugging the sea. This place is an adventurous "virtual life" photo spot, and is considered the most beautiful place to watch the sunrise in Con Dao.
An Hai Beach, Pier Beach are beaches in the center of the big island, with fine white sand, calm sea, where many locals come to bathe.
Shy Beach, Shark Cape is a pristine beach located on the road through the island. Because of the comfortable downhill path, visitors often stop to take photos with the road winding around the mountainside, on one side is the clear blue beach.
If you travel to Con Dao in the windy season, please turn to the western and southwestern destinations.
Ong Dam Beach wild, suitable for picnics, convalescence, collective activities. From here, visitors can rent canoes from the ranger station to visit neighboring islands such as Hon Tre Lon, Hon Tre Small.
Little Bamboo Island 2 km from Ong Dam beach, there is a flora distributed on the island, mainly bamboo, so it should be named. This place is a bird yard on the sea, from May 5 to 9, there will be thousands of birds migrating from the North to nest and lay eggs such as terns, seagulls, terns ... Guests can canoe to the island to see corals, watch seabirds, recreational fishing.
Big Bamboo Island has a fine white sand beach, concentrating many sea turtles to lay eggs (ranked second after Big Sand beach, Seven Edge Island).
Ong Dang primeval forest, Nui Chua is a beautiful trekking place. From Con Dao, you head west, experience a trekking trip of about an hour through the primeval forest, leading to the beach at the end of the forest. Entrance tickets to Con Dao National Park cost VND 60,000 per person.
In addition, visitors can visit, learn more about the pearl culture process at pearl farms and buy pearl products. Con Dao has a number of other small offshore islands such as Hon Ba, Hon Egg (Silver Rock), Hon Vung (Phu Vinh), Hon Anh, Hon Em... however, tourism services have not been exploited.
Visit relics, visit spiritual destinations
Con Dao Museum currently displaying about 2,000 valuable documents and items about nature and people of Con Dao from the past to the present, and learning about the history of Con Dao prison struggle for 113 years. Entrance fee: VND 20,000 one time.
Island lord house is the residence and work of 53 island lords, over 113 years (1862 - 1975), now preserving many artifacts of the luxurious life of French, American, Vietnamese and Chinese island lords.
Prison system Con Dao is on the list of 23 special national monuments. This "hell on earth" is the source rendezvous of a large number of domestic and foreign tourists.
With VND 40,000 per ticket, visitors can visit a cluster of historical relics including the Island Lord's House, Phu Hai Prison, French Tiger Cage, American Tiger Cage. Pick up hours at historical sites are 7h30 - 11h30 and 14h - 17h during the day, including weekends and holidays. You should sign up or go with a crew with narrators to hear stories at the old prison.
Hang Duong Cemetery is Con Dao's most famous spiritual tourist destination, the resting place of more than 2,000 martyrs, including the tomb of Vo Thi Sau. At night, tourists come here in large numbers to visit and pray.
Hang Keo Cemetery is where guides or residents often suggest visitors to burn incense at this special National Monument to express gratitude to fallen soldiers.
Pier 914 is a historical witness to the hard labor and sacrifice of many soldiers. Now visitors come to Pier 914 to burn incense, visit, fish, sightsee, take pictures of the sunrise.
Ghost Heavenly Bridge built in 1930, built by French prisoners empty-handed on high mountains, to exploit trees and stones for the construction of prisons, offices ...
Fei Yan Temple (An Son Temple) is the second shrine of Lord Nguyen Anh, established by local people who cherish her virtue and celebrate the island-wide fasting on the 17th and 18th day of the 10th lunar calendar every year.
Nui Mot Pagoda (Van Son Temple)) is the only temple on the island, built in 1964. The pagoda is located on high mountains with 4-sided views of green forests, Con Son Bay, An Hai town and lotus lake.
The roads on the island also have many beautiful spaces such as the route lined with eagle trees, yellow flowers and red phoenix in summer, pink confetti bushes along the road, old houses, piers reaching out to the sea, coastal roads close to cliffs ...
Specialties
Con Dao seafood you should find and enjoy is her breast snail, cone snail, statue cochlea, hand snail, red lobster, hat shrimp, red grouper, squid one sun... and marine fish.
Take-out specialties are sold in Con Dao market, including fresh, dried seafood and souvenirs. Visitors are most fond of eagle nut jam and ground ginseng wine. Con Dao ginseng taste is mildly sweet, pungent and fragrant quite similar to Korean ginseng. Folk often take ground ginseng root soaked in wine, chicken potential, duck stew ...
According to VnE