Con Son (Con Dao Islands, Vietnam)

After the urban jungle of HCMC, we spent three days on Con Son, the only inhabited island in the Con Dao archipelago in the South China Sea. Con Son can be reached from HCMC in an hour by propeller plane, but has so far been spared from mass tourism and is therefore ideal for hiking through the rainforest or swimming on deserted beaches and unwinding.

Con Son is now a peaceful island, but it has a sad past. To get to or from the island, you need either a plane or a seaworthy boat. The French took advantage of this fact during their colonial period and built a prison complex with the infamous tiger cages for political prisoners on the island, which was in use until the end of the Vietnam War.

The former prison complexes can now be visited and the life-size dolls on display recreate the terrible prison conditions of the past. A museum also provides information about the flora and fauna as well as future plans for the island. For example, a model shows how the infrastructure is to be expanded and how other towns with hotels are to be built next to Con Dao, the only town on Con Son with around 5,000 inhabitants. So you have to hurry if you want to experience deserted beaches on Con Son! There is even a bistro that only serves vegetarian and vegan dishes - very progressive.

In addition to visiting the museum and the prison complex, we used the days on Con Son for a snorkeling/diving tour, a short hike to an observation tower and relaxed on the beach directly behind the airport and watched planes take off.