HCMC to launch high-speed boat service to Con Dao Island

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport plans to launch a high-speed boat service to Con Dao Island off Ba Ria-Vung Tau province from February 23 to meet tourism demand.

The boats will depart from Sai Gon-Hiep Phuoc Wharf Terminal in Nha Be district, and take five to six hours to reach Con Dao 230 kilometers away.

Tran Song Hai, director of Greenlines DP, which will operate the service, said the company is working on final preparations and would announce the schedule soon.

"We'll also have boats to transport passengers between Bach Dang in District 1 and Sai Gon-Hiep Phuoc wharves."

Tickets will cost around VND900,000 ($36.7) one-way.

Currently the only way to travel from HCMC to Con Dao Island is by air. Only two carriers fly on the route, their aircraft are small, and fares are high. So, people often go to Vung Tau town or Soc Trang province and take a boat to Con Dao.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau province has set a goal of developing Con Dao into a world-class eco-tourism destination by 2045, heard a seminar held by the provincial People's Committee in October.

Under the Con Dao development project till 2030 with a vision to 2045, the island is expected to become an area that preserves special historical heritage sites, forest and marine ecosystems while fulfilling important missions related to national defense and security. At the seminar, participants also proposed specific suggestions such as designing eco-tourism products that minimize plastic consumption.

They also suggested creating healing and self-help tourism products, such as meditation and yoga retreats, and the development of volunteer tours, building hotels and resorts that use renewable energy, and education tours for students to learn about marine life, marine ecosystems, and conservation issues.

Con Dao is an island located in the southern part of the East Sea, belonging to Ba Ria-Vung Tau. It consists of 16 large and small islets, with a total land area of around 75 square kilometers and a marine area of roughly 140 square kilometers within the Con Dao National Park.

The island, located around 230 kilometers (143 miles) southeast of HCMC, used to be known for the large prison first established by the French and later used by the Americans during the Vietnam War.