Have you heard of the pristine, mystical beauty of Con Dao? Then what are you waiting for, let's go Galaxy Office – An office consulting team with a passion for travel shares practical experiences – let's start the journey to conquer Con Dao for 02 days 01 night by high-speed train from Nha Be (Ho Chi Minh City) to Con Dao (Ba Ria – Vung Tau)!
Location of Con Dao District.
Con Dao district is an archipelago off the coast of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province. This 76 km2 archipelago includes 16 islands, the largest of which is Con Son island.
Côn Đảo is 185 km from Vung Tau, 230 km from Ho Chi Minh City, and about 83 km from Can Tho. The closest place to Con Dao on the mainland is Soc Trang, which is 74 km away. Although small, Con Dao was known as the largest prison and exile site in Indochina before 1975.
2. The best time to visit Con Dao is.
Besides spiritual tourism, Con Dao is also known as a resort paradise, an exciting trekking destination, with many more things to discover.
From March to June is the best time to explore Con Dao. At this time, the sea is calm, the sandy beaches are bathed in golden sunshine, and the sky is blue with white clouds, making it suitable for diving and taking photos.
3. Choose the appropriate high-speed ferry company for the Nha Be – Con Dao route.
Previously, there was only one way to get from Saigon to Con Dao: by plane from Tan Son Nhat Airport (ticket prices ranged from 2 to 3 million VND per ticket). Alternatively, if you wanted to save money by taking a high-speed ferry, you would have to travel by road to Vung Tau, Soc Trang, or Can Tho, which was quite time-consuming and laborious.
Currently, everything is more convenient and cost-effective for those living in Saigon, as the Thang Long high-speed train, operated by the investor Phu Quoc Express High-Speed Boat Joint Stock Company, is the sole operator of the Nha Be – Con Dao route. The train officially launched and departed on its maiden voyage on May 15th.
This is currently the largest high-speed passenger ship in Vietnam's seas, with a length of over 77 meters. It has 4 decks (decks 1-3 are seating areas, deck 4 is the canteen and cockpit). The ship is about 9.5 meters wide, can accommodate 1,017 passengers, and travels at a speed of 35 nautical miles (over 60 km) per hour. The vessel can operate in gusty wind conditions up to Force 8, reducing seasickness and ensuring passenger safety. The biggest advantage of Phú Quốc Express is its fastest travel speed, taking approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes (actually around 4.5 – 5 hours), allowing you to save significant travel time.
4. Saigon - Con Dao High-Speed Ferry Schedule
The Nha Be - Con Dao high-speed train is currently operating with 3 trips per week (every other day) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It departs from Saigon at 7 AM and from Con Dao at 1 PM the following day, with an estimated travel time of 4.5-5 hours for the 230km journey.
Move to Hiep Phuoc Port, Nha Be District
You can move down to Saigon - Hiep Phuoc Port yourself. Address: D10 Street D3, Nha Be Industrial Park. .
Passengers can choose to travel in the following two ways:
- Book the ship company's shuttle bus (pickup location at 23/9 Park on Pham Ngu Lao street); however, you will be there very early from 5:00 AM - 5:15 AM because the shuttle bus will start moving at 5:30 AM. You can get there by Grab or personal vehicle (park at the park).
- Self-driving to Hiep Phuoc Port (approximately 45-60 minutes from District 1 center by car), the port has parking available just 50 meters to the left of the main gate. The price is 30,000 VND/day/car.
2. Ticket prices for the Saigon – Con Dao high-speed train.
You can book tickets online on the Phu Quoc Express company's homepage. Ticket prices are 1,100,000 VND/VIP & 880,000 VND/Regular.
You can buy the link online here: https://phuquocexpress.com/
Note: Ticket prices do not include the Saigon Hiep Phuoc Port entrance fee of VND 35,000/trip (collected directly at the Port); Ben Dam Port fee is VND 18,000/trip (collected when booking tickets online). Therefore, the total port entrance fee for 2 round trips is VND 106,000/person. This has also caused much controversy among passengers who bought tickets as above but still have to pay an additional entrance fee for both ports.
6. Share practical experience on the Super High-Speed Ship Con Dao Express (2 Days - 1 Night Itinerary) from Galaxy Office.
Travel experience:
- If you don't have your own car, you can book a Grab motorbike or car to go directly to the port, which will give you more control over your time and avoid the crowds on the shuttle bus.
- You should arrive at the pier at least 20–30 minutes early for check-in and boarding. (In reality, arriving 10-15 minutes before the train departs is sufficient).
- Bring your full identification documents, ID card/Citizen ID card for verification when boarding the train. (In reality, you just need to present your QR code when buying tickets online for scanning).
Dining experience on the train:
- You should eat breakfast or lunch before boarding the train.
- Prepare some snacks, drinks, motion sickness medication, and basic medicine for the trip. (On the train, there are only noodles, boiled eggs & sausages, fruit...). If you buy a VIP ticket, you will also receive 2 bags of KFC snacks and bottled water for each round trip, while regular tickets only include bottled water.
Tips for choosing a cabin location on a ship:
- You should choose a seat in the middle of the ship or in the VIP cabin to avoid seasickness. Because the higher floors shake more. In reality, when my team went, the train was quite empty, so passengers could move between compartments to lie down if there was space, or they could lie across 3-4 seats. (Each floor had staff on duty, but I didn't see them reminding anyone.).
- VIP seats are spacious, comfortable, have leg rests, and include blankets and power outlets on both sides of the cabin.
- You can move between floors and out onto the deck comfortably, but there will be quite a bit of shaking, which is not suitable for those prone to seasickness.
- If anyone has trouble sleeping, you can bring a book because as soon as you're away from shore, there's no mobile signal, and sitting around doing nothing can be quite boring.
- In addition, each floor has two spacious and clean toilets at the back.
Experiences traveling in Con Dao:
- When disembarking the boat at Con Dao, there will be a shuttle bus to take you to the waiting lounge, about 500 meters away (young people and group travelers can walk to check-in with super beautiful scenic photos).
- Ben Dam harbor is about 10km from the center of Con Dao. At the harbor, there are many places to rent motorbikes for about 120,000 - 150,000 VND/bike/day. (Locals prefer riding Vision bikes). You can also travel by tourist electric car (10-16 people/car to enjoy the scenery while traveling, with mountains on one side and the sea on the other). One special thing that the Galaxy Office team really likes, similar to other islands, is that you can leave your motorbike on the street or without the key and not worry about it being stolen.
Hotel Booking Experience in Con Dao:
For a short 2-day, 1-night itinerary, it is recommended to book a hotel in the center of Con Dao town as it is close to attractions and dining options. The hotel offers various budget-friendly segments from 400,000 VND - 500,000 VND/night for 2 people; from 800,000 VND - 1,000,000 VND/night for 4 people.
For higher-end options, prices range from a few million to tens of millions of dong per night (Six Sense, Saigon Condao Resort, Maya, etc.). There are many choices near the center of Con Dao. You should call in advance to book your room without a deposit.
(Phone number: 0919.866.786)
Experiences visiting Con Dao:
Must-see destinations
- Côn Đảo Museum: For 50,000 VND per person, you can visit 5 locations including:
- Museum
- Tiger Cage Prison Relic
- Lord of the Isles' historical site
- Phu Hai Relic
- American Tiger Cage Relic
- Visiting the tomb of Vo Thi Sau and the Con Dao Memorial (it is recommended to buy 2 offerings for incense at each site) - the price per offering ranges from 500,000 VND to 3,000,000 VND, depending on the size and the type of offering.
- Visit the graves of Prince Cải and Lady Phi Yến (son and consort of King Gia Long, who are deeply loved and respected by the people of Côn Đảo)
- Dam Trau Beach: a rather beautiful beach, where you can watch planes land across the beach at suitable times.
- The streetlights on Côn Đảo town's central beach are quite dim in the evening, so tourists who want to visit the beach at night have almost nothing to see.
- In the morning, you can visit the affordable cafes along the beach right in the town center. They are quite cool, with a classic atmosphere and beautiful views.
Dining experiences in Con Dao:
Because it's an island and mostly tourists, the prices in Con Dao are moderate, not cheap but not too expensive either.
- Mornings in Con Dao offer a diverse range of food options such as crab noodle soup, seafood noodle soup, oyster porridge, crab noodle soup (bun rieu), beef noodle soup (bun bo), eel porridge, and more. Prices range from 30,000đ to 50,000đ per portion.
- For lunch, most tourists eat rice cooked in clay pots: there are quite a few clay pot rice restaurants in Con Dao, mostly concentrated in the town center. Prices range from 150,000 VND to 200,000 VND per person depending on the number of dishes ordered. Additionally, if you want to save more money, you can opt for set meals (ordering à la carte), which are also quite fresh and delicious, with prices ranging from 50,000 VND to 90,000 VND per person.
- Evening: There are quite a few eateries and seafood restaurants. The seafood is fresh, but the prices are quite high compared to the mainland. You can also visit the Night Market in Con Dao, which also has fresh seafood at more reasonable prices.
End
The total actual damage for 6 people for a 2-day, 1-night trip to Con Dao was 25,000,000 VND for all expenses.
With the detailed suggestions and experiences shared above, Galaxy Office hopes you will have an enjoyable and memorable trip to Con Dao by Thang Long high-speed boat from Nha Be, Ho Chi Minh City to Con Dao.
