Into Local Life

Travel is never just about a place to stay but the opportunity to immerse into new cultures to feel the purpose behind your travels. For those looking to discover the island and find out what Con Dao life is all about it is recommended to take a local life tour. A large part of the island is the peaceful local life and we endeavor to explore as much of this as we can. Not noisy, bustling, and bustling like the city, the rhythm of life in the small island goes on smoothly and leisurely. One of the first things visitors will feel when arriving in Con Dao is the serenity, freshness, and openness of  the landscape with the blue ocean vista view in one side and the French colonial era architecture in the other. The feature of this land is the age-old green Indian-almond trees (“Bang” trees) recognized as “heritage trees” presenting on quiet street corners of the island. There is very little traffic in this town, so visitors can walk to experience a peaceful place.

During your tour visit the Ben Dam Harbour where the majority of Côn Đảo’s catch and all island suppliers are brought in; Van Son Tu Pagoda where you can walk the 170 steps to the island’s only pagoda and the Phi Yen Temple where the local Vietnamese pay their respects to the guardian of the village.

Stop for some stunning photo opportunities at Nhat Beach and Shark Cape and soak up the atmosphere at the daily market as the locals purchase the exotic fresh produce on offer. At night, you can wander on Tran Huy Lieu street, swoop into a grilled seafood restaurant, and sip the sweetness of the sea that has settled in every fish, crab, crab, squid, and snail… while enjoying the cool sea breeze and watching the deep, whispering night sea. Another option for visitors is night squid fishing at Tau Be Cape, or watching turtles lay on Bay Canh Island.

At the end of your tour, enjoy a local Vietnamese coffee at Café Ba Lê and chat with Côn Đảo people about life on the island from a local perspective.

If you’d like to see more of the island than your feet can cover, take to exploring with two wheels. A bicycle tour around the island is a wonderful way to uncover its treasures at your own pace.