High-speed boat service linking HCM City, Con Dao island launched

The over-77-m-long and 9.49-m-wide vessel is capable of carrying 1,017 passengers.

With the service, it takes about four hours and 30 minutes to travel between Saigon - Hiep Phuoc port in HCM City and Con Dao, said Bui Hoa An, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Transport.

One-way ticket prices range between 615,000 VND and 1.1 million VND (24-43 USD), depending on passenger categories and departure time. The service, available three days weekly, is expected to help strengthen the connectivity between HCM City and southeastern provinces.

Currently, it takes about 50 minutes to travel by air between the southern metropolis and Con Dao, approximately 230 km from HCM City.

The island district consists of 16 islands, the biggest of which is Con Dao. Con Dao is associated with Viet Nam’s heroic history of resistance wars to rise up and liberate the homeland.

Con Dao is known as a tourist paradise that rose from an isolated island dubbed "hell on earth" where Vietnamese revolutionary soldiers were detained by the colonial and imperial rules.

Con Dao attracts tourists for its beautiful natural landscape of beaches, coral reefs, and primitive forests surrounded by sea waves, as well as historical sites. One of the most popular venues on the island is the Con Dao Prison Relic.

As one of 21 national tourist areas in Viet Mam, Con Dao is considered a paradise of relaxation and natural discovery for domestic and international tourists. 

In 2011, Con Dao was voted by British travel magazine Lonely Planet as one of the top 10 best and most mysterious islands in the world./.