16 Best Sights in Con Dao Islands, Side Trips from Ho Chi Minh City

The graves of more than 2,000 former prisoners (now considered war martyrs), who died during the 113 years Con Dao was used as a prison, are contained in this cemetery. The vast site, which covers nearly 2 square km (¾ square miles), contains victory monuments as well as marked, unmarked, and communal graves. For the longest time, Vietnamese pilgrims visited at midnight, bringing flowers, fruit, roast chickens, and paper offering to the grave of national heroine Vo Thi Sau, who was executed in 1952 at age 19. The cemetery now closes at 10 pm, but you can still witness pilgrims praying to Vo Thi Sau for special favors, such as money and improved social standing. It's a very atmospheric ritual and no one seems to mind visitors attending and taking (discreet) photographs. Cemetery attendants are on-site to ensure proper conduct.

The beauty of An Hai Beach is marred somewhat by the old stone and cement pier across from the Con Son Café. However, simply walk south along the casuarina-lined sand to get that deserted tropical island mood. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: solitude; sunrise; sunset; walking.

This small islet east of Con Son, Con Dao's main island, is covered by rain forest and mangroves and its Cat Lon beach is a turtle nesting ground from April to September each year. Visitors can hike up to a small lighthouse in the island's northeast, built 740 feet above sea level by the French in 1884 and still operational today. Tours to the island can be organized through the national park headquarters.

This vast and relatively modern museum has interesting and impressive exhibits that explore the themes (with signs in English and Vietnamese) of Con Dao's natural environment and people, the island's history as a prison island, and Con Dao today. The displays provide some insights into the island's history and its role in Vietnam's long struggle for independence.

A few short years ago this was a pristine deserted wonderland of clear water and soft white sand. Now there's a collection of ramshackle huts on the beach hawking food, drinks, and deck chairs, but privacy can still be found by swimming around the rocks on the southern end of the beach. The beach is 200 meters down a rutted dirt track, which can be very slippery after rain. Look for the sign near the airport on Co Ong Street. It's a nice spot to watch the sunset, although traversing the track back to the main road in the dark can be treacherous if you're on a motorbike or bicycle. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: sunsets; swimming; solitude.

Most of this beautiful crescent of white sand and calm blue waters is the private domain of the luxurious Six Senses Con Dao resort. There is a steep and narrow track leading down to the beach, just north of the resort entrance, for those who'd like to (discreetly) explore the beach. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; sunrise; swimming; walking.

Other than Con Son, Hon Cau (Big Island) is the only island in the archipelago with a water source. It was also used as a prison island by the French—one of the more notable inmates was the late Vietnamese prime minister, Pham Van Dong, who was incarcerated here from 1930 to 1931. Hon Cau is home to a turtle nesting beach and the tours offered by the national park headquarters include a visit to the prison site, as well as snorkeling along the coral reefs just offshore.

Locals seem to prefer walking along Nguyen Van Cuu Street's sidewalk at dawn and dusk rather than on this long white-sand beach, which is usually dotted with the round basket-boats the fishermen use to get to shore. Despite being right in town, Lo Voi Beach is usually deserted during the day. Fishing boats moored just offshore make this beautiful beach even more picturesque. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; sunrise; sunset; swimming; walking.

Check the tide times before heading to Nhat Beach, which only really exists at low tide. Then it's a smooth clear stretch of white sand, with waves just big enough to make things interesting. At high tide, the pebbles and rocks at the top of the beach rule out walking and swimming. There's not much shade at Nhat Beach, so be sure to cover up if low tide is in the middle of the day. Amenities: none. Best for: sunrise; sunset; swimming; walking.

The former home of the Con Dao Museum, this house now contains somewhat confusing exhibits (signage in Vietnamese and French) outlining the history of Con Son's prisons. Admission is free and the entryway is presided over by a giant bust of Ho Chi Minh. Take time to stroll around the grounds, which have some exotic animals in pens at the rear.

The original temple was built in 1785 to honor Phi Yen, one of the 21 wives of Nguyen emperor Gia Long. After the Tay Son rebellion, Gia Long fled to Con Son Island with his family and retainers. From there, he sent emissaries to France to ask for assistance in repressing the uprising. Phi Yen urged him not to deal with the French and was imprisoned for her efforts, suspected of sympathizing with the rebels. As the emperor sailed away from the island, her four-year-old son cried for her, angering his father, who threw him overboard (or so the story goes). A tiger and an ape freed Phi Yen from her prison and she stayed on the island, tending her son's grave, until taking her own life "after an unfortunate encounter with a man". The existing Phi Yen Temple was rebuilt in 1958 so pilgrims could pay tribute to the former queen, revered for her loyalty and honor.

Con Dao's oldest prison, Phu Hai was built by the French in 1862. It is now a grisly monument to the appalling conditions in the prisons, with mannequins in some of the chambers providing a potent visual representation of the lives of the prisoners. The church inside the prison complex was never used. Guided tours of this and the other prisons on Con Dao can be arranged at the Con Dao Museum next door with one day's notice.

A delegation of United States congressmen discovered the cramped tiger cages during an official visit to Con Dao in 1970, departing from their planned tour to follow a map drawn by a former prisoner. Photographs of the inhumane conditions were published in Life magazine in July 1970 and the international uproar that followed led to 180 men and 300 women being transferred from the cages to other prisons (or, in some cases, to psychiatric institutions). Mannequins rather than people now display the terrible conditions of the cages, which were hidden between a cluster of three prisons: Phu Tuong; Phu Son; and Phu Tho. Entry is through Phu Tuong Prison, built by the French in 1940. Guided tours of Phu Tuong and the other prisons on Con Dao can be arranged at the Con Dao Museum with one day's notice.

An important turtle nesting ground is here, and the jungle that covers the island is home to a variety of different species including some rare birds. Tours to the island, which can be booked at the national park headquarters, usually include snorkeling. Underwater highlights include giant clams as well as fish and coral.

Thousands of migratory sea birds nest on this island every year from May to September. It's also a nice spot for swimming, snorkeling, and exploring, lying 2 km (1 mile) off Ong Dung Beach. The national park office can organize a boat here.

The name translates as Cloudy Hill Palace, and it's a picturesque place to visit, not so much for the temple—even though it is quite beautiful—but for the panoramic view it offers of Con Dao Town, An Hai Lake, and Con Son Bay below. The temple was built in 1964 for the prison officers and government officials stationed on Con Dao and is now considered a memorial to the martyrs who died during Vietnam's fight for independence.