Con Dao itinerary: how to spend 1, 2 or 3 days

How many days

• 1 day: Day 1

  One day covers the museum and the prison camps on one ticket, the seafront and Hang Duong Cemetery after dark, and leaves out the national park and the sea.

• 2 days: Days 1 to 2

  Two days add the national park trail to Ong Dung beach, an afternoon at Dam Trau beach and sunset at Chim Chim cape.

• 3 days: Days 1 to 3

  Three days add a boat to Bay Canh island with a national park guide for its reef, its turtle beach and its 1884 lighthouse.

Day 1

The prison camps, the seafront and Hang Duong Cemetery at night

07:00 to about 20:30 · 8 stops · entry fees VND 60,000 a person

1. 07:001

   Sight · 1 h

   Con Dao Museum

   Cost: One ticket for the special national relic site, the museum and the camps; VND 60,000 under the city's new fee resolution of August 2026.

   Start at the museum on Nguyen Hue Street, which tells the story of the island's prisons, and buy the single ticket that also covers the camps. It opens 07:00 to 11:30 and 13:30 to 17:00 every day, and guides lead visitors round the sites at 07:00 and 09:00 and at 14:00 and 15:00, about two hours in all; join the first. Dress modestly: for many Vietnamese visitors this island is a pilgrimage.

   ↓About 5 min by motorbike, 2.4 km. About 1 km north-east to Phu Binh camp; the walk round by road is longer, so ride or take a taxi.

2. 08:152

   Sight · 45 min

   The 1971 tiger cages at Phu Binh

   Cost: Included in the relic site ticket; ask at the museum whether it is open.

   Phu Binh, also called camp 7, was built in 1971 with 384 concrete isolation cells in four blocks, with no bed, so prisoners lay on the damp cement floor. Political prisoners rose up here at midnight on 30 April 1975. In March 2025 it and the governor's house were closed for restoration, so ask at the museum before you walk over; if it is still shut, spend the time at Phu Son camp, next to Phu Hai, instead.

   ↓About 5 min by motorbike, 2.3 km. Back towards town to Phu Tuong camp, a short ride.

3. 09:303

   

   Sight · 45 min

   The French tiger cages at Phu Tuong

   Cost: Included in the relic site ticket.

   The tiger cages built by the French in 1940 hold 120 isolation cells in two blocks, roofed with iron bars under a central walkway from which guards watched and tormented the prisoners, throwing lime and dirty water down on them. Beside them are 60 open cells, the so-called sun-bathing rooms, where prisoners were left in the sun and the rain. Seeing the cells from above makes clear how little room there was.

   Image: Tuderna / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

   ↓About 10 min walk, 0.9 km. About 600 m towards the seafront to Phu Hai.

4. 10:304

   

   Sight · 1 h

   Phu Hai prison

   Cost: Included in the relic site ticket.

   Phu Hai is the camp Vietnam's tourism site points visitors to for a glimpse of the island's history as a penal colony, a block back from the seafront in town. Walk through the gate into the courtyard and the long cell blocks around it, and read the panels on who was held here. Take your time, keep your voice down, and do not climb on anything or pose for jokey photos. Phu Son camp is next door.

   Image: Tuderna / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

   ↓About 10 min walk, 0.7 km. About 600 m to the market.

5. 11:455

   

   Eat · 1 h

   Lunch by Con Dao market

   Cost: Local eateries; prices on the board or ask first.

   The streets round Con Dao market, in the middle of town, have the island's everyday eateries. Vietnam's tourism site recommends Quan an Nguyen An for Vietnamese food and the handmade noodles at Gia Minh; otherwise have rice with fish and greens wherever is busy. Then go back to your hotel for the hottest hours: the camps close from 11:30 to 13:30 anyway, and the evening is long.

   Image: Phương Huy / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

   ↓About 10 min walk, 0.7 km. About 600 m down to the seafront.

6. 16:306

   

   View · 1 h

   Pier 914 and the Ton Duc Thang seafront

   Cost: Free

   Pier 914, on Ton Duc Thang Street, is one of the island's prison relic sites, an old stone landing stage on the seafront. Walk along the waterfront road past the governor's house and the colonial-era buildings as the heat goes out of the day, and watch the fishing boats in the bay. It is a quiet, open place to sit and think after the morning in the camps, and the town's restaurants are a few streets back.

   Image: Tuderna / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

   ↓About 10 min walk, 0.7 km. About 600 m back into town for dinner.

7. 18:007

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Seafood dinner in Con Son town

   Cost: Seafood priced by weight; ask before it is cooked.

   Con Son town, Vietnam's tourism site says, is bursting with seafood places: pick one with the live catch on display. Choose from the tanks, ask the price per kilo, watch it being weighed and agree how it will be cooked, grilled with salt and chilli or steamed with ginger. Eat early enough to rest before the cemetery, and arrange a taxi or have your scooter ready, as bus 173 stops at 19:00.

   ↓About 5 min by motorbike, 0.9 km. About 1 km to Hang Duong; scooter or taxi, as the bus stops at 19:00.

8. 20:308

   

   Sight · 1 h

   Hang Duong Cemetery at night

   Cost: Free; incense and flowers are sold at the gate.

   Hang Duong holds the graves of prisoners who died on the island, many of them nameless. It opens 07:00 to 11:30 and 13:30 to midnight, and the night is when visitors come, as a Saigoneer writer found: incense smoke over the graves and a steady stream of people at the grave of Vo Thi Sau, a resistance fighter executed here in 1952 at 19. Dress modestly, keep your voice down, and do not photograph people praying.

   Image: Lam Tr Th / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Day 2

The national park trail, Dam Trau beach and Chim Chim cape

07:00 to about 18:45 · 5 stops

1. 07:001

   Do · 2 h 30 min

   National park trail to Ong Dung beach

   Cost: Check the national park's trail fee at the start of the trail.

   Most of Con Son is national park forest, and the paved trail to Ong Dung, a rocky beach on the north coast, starts at the park's entrance on Ma Thien Lanh road west of town. Vietnam's tourism site calls it easily managed, with boards about the jungle's ecosystem along the way. Go early, carry water, and swim off the rocks only when the sea is flat. Longer trails split off at the beach.

   ↓About 10 min by motorbike, 5 km. About 5 km back into town; scooter or taxi.

2. 10:302

   

   View · 1 h

   Lo Voi bay at low tide

   Cost: Free

   Lo Voi bay is the beach closest to town, behind the camps. Vietnam's tourism site says the low tide in the morning and early afternoon is perfect for a walk, when fishermen go out in their basket boats and children look for shells in the sand. Walk out on the flats, then find shade for an early lunch and a rest through the midday heat before the afternoon beach.

   Image: Tuderna / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

   ↓About 15 min by motorbike, 13 km. About 14 km north to Dam Trau; scooter, taxi, or bus 173 from the market.

3. 14:003

   View · 2 h 30 min

   Dam Trau beach

   Cost: Free; drinks and seafood from the beach shacks.

   Dam Trau is a beach on the north of the island near the airport, surrounded by pine forest, with easy access to the water and gentle waves, Vietnam's tourism site says. Swim, read in the shade and stay until the light starts to soften. Bus 173 links it with the market in town from 05:00 to 19:00, about 30 minutes, and Ho Chi Minh City is making it free until 31 December 2026.

   ↓About 10 min by motorbike, 6.8 km. About 7 km along the coast road to Chim Chim cape; scooter or taxi.

4. 17:004

   View · 1 h

   Sunset at Chim Chim cape

   Cost: Free

   The coast road from the north to the south of the island is the local pastime on a scooter, and the most breathtaking view along it, Vietnam's tourism site says, is at Chim Chim cape. Walk out to the tip to watch the waves crash into the steep cliffs; locals gather here for the sunset and stay to look at the stars. Ride back slowly and watch for animals on the road after dark.

   ↓About 10 min by motorbike, 7.4 km. About 7 km back into town; scooter or taxi.

5. 18:455

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Dinner in Con Son town

   Cost: Local eateries and seafood places; prices on the board or ask first.

   Have dinner on the streets between the seafront and the market. Vietnam's tourism site points to the seafood places with the live catch on display, to handmade noodles and simple Vietnamese food, and to small cafes such as Infinity for a coffee afterwards. If you are taking the Bay Canh boat tomorrow, confirm the time with the national park's visitor centre this evening and get an early night.

Day 3

Bay Canh island: reef, turtle beach and lighthouse

07:30 to about 16:30 · 4 stops

1. 07:301

   

   Do · 2 h 30 min

   Boat to Bay Canh and Bai Cat Lon

   Cost: Priced by the national park's visitor centre; book ahead.

   Bay Canh, east of Con Son, is a strictly protected island of the national park, and visits go by boat with a park or local guide, organised by the park's visitor centre; register ahead. Bai Cat Lon is the beach where more sea turtles nest than anywhere else on Con Dao. Swim, snorkel over the coral with gear rented from the park, and walk the mangroves. Bring a life jacket and sun protection; the sea is roughest from October to February.

   Image: Tuderna / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

   ↓About 5 min walk, 0.3 km. Along the trail over the hill to the lighthouse.

2. 10:152

   View · 1 h

   Bay Canh lighthouse

   Cost: Part of the park's Bay Canh trip.

   On the north-east of Bay Canh stands a lighthouse built by the French in 1884 and still working, guiding ships through the islands. A trail climbs the hill to it through the forest for a wide view over the sea and the archipelago. It is a steep walk in the heat, so carry water and go at your own pace. The full day trip runs four to six hours.

   ↓By boat, 10.9 km. Back to Con Son with the park's boat; the trip takes four to six hours in all.

3. 13:303

   Eat · 1 h

   Late lunch in town

   Cost: Local eateries; prices on the board or ask first.

   Back on Con Son, eat in the streets by the market: noodle soup, rice with grilled fish, or a plate of the morning's catch. Then rest. If you skipped any camp on Day 1, or Phu Binh has reopened, the relic sites reopen at 13:30, and the ticket is sold at the museum. Divers may prefer to keep the afternoon for a dive: diving and snorkelling around Con Dao are among the best in the country.

   ↓About 5 min walk, 0.4 km. About 900 m to the seafront cafes.

4. 16:304

   

   Eat · 1 h

   Coffee in the old town

   Cost: Cafe prices.

   End in the town centre, a small grid of colonial-era buildings, newer shops and cafes, which Vietnam's tourism site suggests getting to know by bicycle. Stop at a cafe for a ca phe sua da, iced coffee with condensed milk, as the light goes. If you are flying out tomorrow between June and October, allow for delays of a few hours and do not book an international flight home the same day.

   Image: Clarin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5

Tips for Con Dao

Getting there, where to stay and the weather by month are on the Con Dao page. Plan checked 24 October 2026.