The Con Dao Island has a gloomy past. During the French colonial era and the war in Vietnam after that it was a concentration camp island. The prisons still exist but of course they are now museums or just left to decay.

Today the Vietnamese try to develop the island into a paradise for travelers. However, there are only a handful of hotels and you hardly see any western travelers there. Most of the people who visit the island are Vietnamese war veterans, who are offered a trip by their government as a sign of gratitude for their sacrifices during the war.

Con Dao and the islands around it form a protected national park. In the sea there are rare dugongs, dolphins, sea turtles and more than 1.300 other species of animals. The best way to see them is to go on a diving or snorkelling tour with one of the diving centres.

On the island you may see also wild monkeys or rare orchids. There is very little traffic on the island so it is well worth considering to rent a motor bike. However, beware of steep and bending roads, sudden holes and loose sand on the surface of the roads.

The easiest way to get to Con Dao is by air from Saigon which takes about an hour and a half. The fast boat connection from Vung Tau is cheaper, but the voyage takes 12 hours.