From hell on earth to eco-tourism heaven

Con Dao archipelago off the coast of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province was known as the hell on earth for centuries due to the wicked oppression under French and American rule with a system of prisons built on Con Son, the largest island of the archipelago. But the islands are now seen as a well-known eco-tourism site endowed with many beautiful landscapes.

Con Dao comprises 14 islands, around 180 km off the coast of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and 230 km off Ho Chi Minh City. It takes 45 minutes to fly from Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport to Con Son Airport on the island.

Con Dao is one of the country’s six national parks that are protected in terms of both forest and marine life.

Con Dao National Park covers nearly 20,000 hectares, including 6,000 hectares of land and 14,000 hectares of sea surface. Con Dao has been assessed by foreign and domestic scientists, scientific organizations and institutes as an area with a biodiversity, and a high density of precious, rare, and endemic flora and fauna.

On the way from Con Son Airport to the central part of the island, which is home to most hotels and guest houses on the islands, travellers may feel excited by a road with the mountain on one side and the abyss on the other side. And tourists may be attracted by many places where they visit on the archipelago.

The town has a total of six hotels and guest houses, such as Saigon Con Dao Hotel, Con Dao Rest, Bien Dao Group, Phi Yen Rest House, National Garden Rest House and ATC Rest House, mostly located nearby the beach.

On the archipelago, travellers could visit many places including famous landscapes and historical relics. Besides, they could join some tours, including fishing and diving to take a look at coral reefs and tortoises.

If tourists want to learn about nature on Con Dao and relax themselves, they could visit some famous landscapes like Bay Canh Island, Tai Island, Egg Island, Lo Voi Beach, Love Top, Nhat Beach, An Hoi Beach, Ong Dung Beach and Shark Headland.

Seeing the sun rise at Shark Headland, some 10 kilometres from central Con Dao, is also a memorable experience. Then they could travel to Nhat Beach for a swim and visit Love Top, which is bundled of two heads of a couple, is 321 meters higher than sea level. The beach has crystal-clear sea water and white sand.

Beside swimming and watching corals, tourists can watch sea tortoises oviparous at Bay Canh beach. They could also visit the lighthouse built in 1884 to view the east of Con Son Island.

On Tai Island, which is five kilometres from central Con Son, visitors could climb a mountain, watch monkeys, swim, or scuba-dive to watch corals and tortoises laying eggs.

Lo Voi Beach has a romantic landscape, where visitors can come for camping and relaxation, and take a sight-seeing tour of coral reefs during ebb tides.

Those visitors interested in the revolutionary history of Con Dao can visit historical relics including the Memorial of Heroine Vo Thi Sau, Hang Duong Cemetery, Ma Thien Lanh Bridge and some prisons of historical significance.

(Source: SGT)