Phu Quoc, Con Dao among Southeast Asia's top 10 islands

Vietnam’s Phu Quoc and Con Dao are in the list of top 10 islands in Southeast Asia as voted by readers of the Travel + Leisure magazine.

Phu Quoc and Con Dao are ranked fourth and 10th in the first ever Asia’s Best Awards 2022 introduced by the American publication.

The other eight islands in order are: Phuket and Koh Samui (Thailand), Bali (Indonesia), Langkawi (Malaysia), Lombok (Indonesia), Palawan (Philippines), Penang (Malaysia) and Koh Phi Phi (Thailand).

Phu Quoc Island

Phu Quoc, Vietnam's largest island off the southern province of Kien Giang, had previously been listed among the top 25 in the world by the magazine, placed 14th with 90.25 points.

Hong Kong-based daily South China Morning Post (SCMP) had in March named the Regent Resort on Phu Quoc Island among the "best new resorts to see in 2022".

Phu Quoc, also known as “Pearl Island”, was named among the 17 best places in Asia by cable news network CNN in 2019. "The island is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in Southeast Asia and the world's longest overseas cable car," it said.

Besides resting on beautiful beaches like Sao beach, Long beach and Ong Lang, travelers can kayak through fishing villages, dine on fresh seafood aboard a floating platoon, go squid fishing and visit a pearl farm.

Phu Quoc became well-known globally after the government allowed 30-day visa-free entry to the island in 2014. The island received five million visitors in 2019, pre-pandemic time, 541,600 of them foreigners, according to official data.

Con Dao Island

Con Dao Island, located around 230 kilometers (143 miles) southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, used to be known for the large prison first established by the French and later used by the Americans during the Vietnam War.

Last year, the Dam Trau Beach on Con Dao Island was listed among the world's 25 most beautiful ones by Travel + Leisure. It was ranked 18th in the list.

"Trying to select Vietnam's most beautiful beach is tough, but Bai Dam Trau in the Con Dao islands is certainly a top contender. With distinct golden sands, soft swells and shady groves of bamboo and evergreen trees, it's the kind of place to spend the day gently swinging in a hammock with a beach read and walking in the surf with a freshly hacked coconut", the magazine wrote on its website in 2021.

Con Dao was one of two Southeast Asian localities to be listed in the Top 52 Places to visit in 2021 by the New York Times.