Côn Đảo

Con Dao National Park protects 80% of the Con Dao archipelago - 14 islands of pristine coral reefs, sea turtle nesting beaches, hawksbill habitat, and jungle trails through one of Vietnam's least disturbed coastal ecosystems.

Con Dao Prison is Vietnam's most significant historical site of incarceration - a French colonial penal complex used continuously from 1862 to 1975, known internationally for the Tiger Cages where political prisoners were kept in underground stone pits, and the burial place of revolutionary heroine Võ Thị Sáu.

Bãi Đầm Trầu is one of the most striking beaches on Côn Đảo - a 1km crescent of fine white sand backed by primary rainforest, ranked in Travel + Leisure's Top 25 Beaches in the World in 2021. Its most unusual feature: it sits directly below the flight path of Cỏ Ống Airport, where planes pass just overhead on approach - one of the only places in Vietnam where you can swim while watching aircraft land.

Bãi Nhát is one of Côn Đảo's most dramatic beaches - a tide-dependent stretch of white sand and multicoloured rock formations on the road between Con Son town and Bến Đầm port. Ranked among the top 6 wild beaches in Asia, it is best known for its sunset views across to Đỉnh Tình Yêu (Love Peak), its boulder-strewn shoreline that vanishes completely at high tide, and the memorial to 198 prisoners who attempted a failed escape from the island in 1952.

Six Senses Beach is the most beautiful stretch of coastline on Côn Đảo - a crescent of white sand and clear turquoise water fronting the Six Senses resort, with coral just offshore and the forested national park hills rising directly behind the beach.