Islands and beaches in Vietnam
Sights
Sights with a page of their own, with hours and fees from official sources. Not ranked.
The facts
Image: Nguyễn Thanh Quang / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay has 1,969 islands, and locals name many of them after what they look like, such as Rooster and Hen or Incense Burner.
The bay covers 1,553 square km, and its management board counts 980 islands with names. Trong Mai, the Rooster and Hen, are two rocks that look like a pair of chickens playing in the waves, and Dinh Huong looks like a giant incense burner standing in the sea. Inside the UNESCO core area alone there are 775 islands.
Source: Ha Long Bay Management Board, Ha Long Bay: a world natural heritage masterpiece. Checked October 2026.
Image: Vietic2 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Phu Quoc
Vietnam's largest island lies closer to Cambodia than to the Vietnamese mainland: Phu Quoc is 31 km from Kampot but 40 km from Ha Tien, the nearest town in Vietnam.
The island covers 575 square km and is roughly a triangle, 50 km from north to south. It sits in the Gulf of Thailand off the Cambodian coast, and Rach Gia, linked to the island by ferry, is 115 km away. Since 2025 Phu Quoc has been a special zone of An Giang province.
Source: Wikipedia, Phu Quoc, The Week, Phu Quoc travel guide: an island paradise in Vietnam. Checked October 2026.
Image: Terminalwlyonline / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 Con Dao
Con Dao has 16 islands, yet people live on just one of them, Con Son; most of the rest is protected forest, reef and beach.
Con Son holds the town, the airport and the old prison, and the other islands are reached by boat. Bay Canh, the second largest, has primary forest with 882 plant and 150 animal species. The group lies about 185 km from Vung Tau and belongs administratively to Ho Chi Minh City.
Source: VnExpress International, Con Dao travel guide, Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, Explore Con Dao's heroic history and eco-tourism experiences, Wikipedia, Con Dao. Checked October 2026.
Image: Bromatra / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Con Dao
About 12 dugongs, the sea cows, graze the seagrass around Con Dao, and locals call them ca cui, bent fish, for the way they bow to feed on the seabed.
The count comes from research published in 2024. They are usually sighted in Con Son Bay, off Six Senses beach and around Bay Canh. In February 2025 videos of dugongs swimming close to shore spread widely online. Vietnam's tourism authority calls Con Dao one of the few places in Vietnam where divers may meet such rare species.
Source: Con Dao tourism portal, Dugongs spotted swimming near the shore of Con Dao, Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, Con Dao: A Sanctuary of Sea, Solitude and Slow Travel. Checked October 2026.
Image: Boconganh Phan / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain Quy Nhon
Quy Nhon has 42 km (26 miles) of coastline, and its famous cove, Ky Co, is nicknamed the Maldives of Vietnam.
Ky Co has calm, clear blue water and soft yellow sand, and VnExpress found no tourist services there apart from a restaurant. Visitors usually arrive by a 30-minute motorboat ride from Eo Gio, about 22 km from downtown, where the waves are too strong for swimming and the seaside path has been compared to Jeju Island.
Source: Wikipedia, Quy Nhon, VnExpress International, Where to travel this December. Checked October 2026.
Guides
Photo credits
- Ti Top Island: Steffen Schmitz, CC BY-SA 4.0