Con Dao was truly my favourite place in Vietnam.  The islands are very remote and are located 50km off the south coast of the country.  It is a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Saigon!

Why is camping on Con Dao a good idea?

The island itself is fairly expensive compared with the rest of the country, so camping is also a great way to keep the costs down during your stay.   Just make sure to spend some money at the restaurant next to the beach that gives the permission to camp.

Where is the perfect spot

Dam Trau beach

Armed with our tent and cooking stove, we walked about 40 minutes from the airport (no need for a taxi) and reached the Dam Trau beach.  We had been told that you weren’t allowed to camp but we tried our luck.  Once we reached the beach, we asked the owners of the restaurant there, who were a friendly group of guys if it was okay and they told us to go ahead.  The beach was a complete paradise and after 5pm we had the beach to ourselves.

Due to the location of the beach, during the day there were regular flights going over head, where even on occasions we were able to wave at the passengers.

There couldn’t have been any further than 30 meters away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bãi Ông Đụng beach

The next day we rented motobikes, to have a look around the island.  As we travelled around this idylic island, we looked for another spot to put the tent.   We ended up travelling right around the island, until we arrived at the national park.  Paying a small fee to enter, we followed the winding road up to the Bãi Ông Đụng beach.   This beach is certainly not as pristine as Dam Trau, there are lots of stones that litter the beach.  We eventually found a suitable spot, however once we started cooking there were swarms of monkeys that were interested in our food.

Getting to the island

You can either take a plane or boat.  The boat costs about 200,000 VND ($10 US) and takes about two hours to get there from Soc Trang.

Is it easy to do?

Camping is certainly not high up in Vietnamese culture compared with Japanese culture. However this does not mean camping on Con Dao can’t be achieved.  As long as you are polite and aren’t messy. people really don’t mind.  Make sure you pick a spot which is not too obvious though.