Visit Con Co Island

Con Co Island is an island located in Quang Tri province, about 15 nautical miles from Cua Viet port, Gio Linh district. Con Co Island has an area of ​​​​about 4 km2, a circumference of 8 km, an altitude of 5-30 m above sea level with a slightly rounded shape. With a particularly important position as the dividing point between the Gulf of Tonkin – the southern gateway of the Gulf of Tonkin, Con Co is an outpost protecting national sovereignty, a place associated with fierce battles to protect the country’s sovereignty. protect the sea and islands, demonstrating the heroic fighting tradition of the army and people of the whole country in general and Quang Tri in particular.

Not only famous from the war years, Con Co tourism is also known as an island with beautiful unspoiled natural landscapes with primeval forests, rare seafood… Ideal for those who want to escape the noisy, dusty life of the city to find a quiet and peaceful place.

Please share your Con Co Island travel experience, useful information about Con Co Island so you can best prepare for the trip and fully admire the beauty here.

Con Co travel time

Con Co is an island district located far from the mainland, in the rainy season it is often completely divided, so it is necessary to pay close attention to the time to move to Con Co.

The most suitable time to go to Con Co island is the summer from March to August, in which May-June-7 is the time when the weather is calm, the sea is calm, the sun is hot, more suitable for the form of sea tourism. .

From September to November is the storm season that often affects the waters of Quang Tri, including Con Co. In order for the trip to Con Co island to be convenient, it is necessary to monitor the weather in advance, if you encounter a storm, you may be stuck for a long time on the island. The remaining months can still go to the island but you have to watch the weather situation. Therefore, you should have a backup money to use in case you have to stay on the island.

How to get to Con Co Island?

Con Co Island is nearly 30 km from Cua Tung, Vinh Linh, Quang Tri beaches. Therefore, to get to Con Co, you must first move to Quang Tri province. You can go by plane, train or bus.

Transportation to Dong Ha – Quang Tri

Coach

⇒From the northern area – Hanoi  to Quang Tri, you can go by bus very conveniently, the travel time is about 12 hours. Please take the open bus, sleeper bus to Quang Tri such as Quang Luyen (0985 094 773), Quang Tuu (0903 523077), Hoa Hong (0935 086222), Minh Map (0905 291428), Hien line (0905 291428). 0902 25 22 00)… or the bus operators running the Hanoi – Hue, Hanoi – Da Nang routes or running through the North-South route such as Hoang Long 024.39 282828 because these vehicles all have to run through the territory of Quang Tri province. You should choose a flight departing from Hanoi the night before and arriving in Quang Tri early the next day.

⇒ From the South – Ho Chi Minh City,  you can choose reputable bus companies running the Saigon – Dong Ha route such as Quang Loc (0982 742863 – 0987 893294), Duc Trang (0233 3861472 – 0902 403853), Tien Thanh (0914). 444058 – 0977 319770 ) all depart from Mien Dong bus station. Travel time is about 25 hours. Or you can use open bus routes to Quang Binh to get off in Quang Tri.

Train

It is a safe means of choice for many people. Trains departing from Hanoi station will take about 12 hours to reach Dong Ha city, trains departing from Saigon station will take a little longer with a time of about 20-24 hours. You should take the train departing from Hanoi station about the evening of the previous day to be in Quang Tri in the morning. From Saigon because the travel time takes about 1 day, so when you want to be in Quang Tri, take the train corresponding to that time. You can book train tickets online via website:  dsvn.vn  of Vietnam Railways or contact:

• Hanoi Railway Station  address: 120 Le Duan, Hoan Kiem district. Unified train ticket office: 024.3822 1724. Ticket sales by phone: 024.3942 3949.
• Saigon Railway Station  address: 136 Ham Nghi, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh. (028) 3821 1192. Ticket office: 1900 1520. 
• Dong Ha Station  address: 2, Le Thanh Ton, City. Dong Ha, Quang Tri. (0233) 3,859,154

Planes

This is the means to save you the most travel time. However, Quang Tri currently does not have an airport to pick up passengers directly from big cities, so visitors from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have to fly to Phu Bai – Hue or Dong Hoi – Quang Binh airports, which takes about 1 hour. Lake. You can book online at the websites of airlines: Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Jetstar. Experience should book tickets early to get cheap prices. From Quang Binh and Hue, it only takes about 2 hours by car or train to Dong Ha city, Quang Tri. Contact car rental service to Con Co Island from Dong Hoi – Quang Binh:  0935.758.884  Mr Hai.

Transport from Quang Tri to Con Co

To travel to Con Co, you need to be present in Dong Ha city and take a taxi or motorbike taxi to Cua Viet port. Trains to and from the island will depart here at around 7:30 am.

The speedboat goes straight to Con Co island with a travel time of about 1 and a half hours. From Cua Viet port, go to Con Co island at 7:30 am on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and return to the mainland on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Ticket price is 200,000 VND/person/time. In other seasons, trains run less than once a week, twice a week. You should contact the transport unit for exact train information.

Hostels, hotels on Con Co island

From a military island to an island district for economic development and tourism, Con Co almost started building a accommodation system from scratch. On the island, most of the motels belong to public agencies such as the Military Commission and Command with only about 50 rooms.

In addition, you can choose homestay service in Con Co. This is an opportunity for you to understand more about the life of the people here. Contact with friendly, gentle people, standing in front of the waves all year round will make you feel curious and strangely heartwarming. The price is only about 300-350,000 VND / 1 night.

For those of you who like to go backpacking on Con Co island, you can bring tents and sleeping bags to spend the night on the island, but remember to consult the island management or local people to see where it is safe to camp overnight. best. 

Means of transportation on Con Co Island

On the island, there is a rental service of bicycles at 50k/day, motorbikes at 150k/day with petrol, army trucks, electric cars so that you can walk around the island and enjoy the scenery. Prices for services are quite reasonable compared to an island far from the mainland, you can rest assured. You can contact the reception or the landlord to rent.

Places to visit Con Co Island

Not far away, the small island became an “impregnable fortress”, standing proud in the midst of waves and storms, patiently facing enemies hundreds of times stronger. Now that Con Co Island has begun to develop tourism, visitors to Con Co will be able to visit places such as traditional rooms, see the primeval forest from the highest lighthouse on the island, military medical tunnel, Thai Van A historical site…

 

 

Traditional house in Con Co island district

This is the first space to introduce the natural resources and development potentials of Con Co, helping visitors better understand the birth of this heroic land.

At present, nearly 80 images and more than 60 artifacts are displayed and introduced, partly reproducing the heroic history of the Con Co army and people, where Uncle Ho sent letters of praise three times. This is a very rare thing that not every locality has in the years of fighting the US to save the country.

National flagpole

This is one of the flagpoles classified as large on the coastal islands of Vietnam. The flagpole on Con Co island is 38.8m high with a 24m wide national flag.

The national flagpole of Con Co island district represents the expectations of generations; is a symbol of independence, peace; is the affirmation of the sacred sovereignty of the country; It is a traditional educational attraction for military and civilian personnel on the island.

Monument – ​​hill 37

This place is a memorial honoring the heroic soldiers who sacrificed their blood to protect the sea and islands of the Fatherland. This is also a place for martyrs’ relatives, delegations, local authorities and people to visit, offer incense, offer flowers in memory of gratitude.

Ben Tranh

Located right next to the wharf, Ben Tranh is now built into a beach so that visitors can comfortably swim, walk or relax, watching the sea.

This area has a full range of rental services for life jackets, swimming goggles, tools for diving to see corals. Con Co is formed from volcanic lava. Therefore, the rock has a very characteristic jet black color.

Ben Nghe

Ben Nghe, also known as the embankment of Con Co island, is the most beautiful natural tourist spot on the island, where the first rays of sunlight are welcomed on the island. The sea breeze blows, the waves are constantly crashing on the stone steps, next to it are the sturdy square trees reaching out like a fence to protect the island from the harshness of the sea. Ben Nghe is the landing place for people who cross the sea to supply the island during the war, this is also an interesting destination when visitors arrive on the island.

Right in front of Ben Nghe, overlooking the sea are unique basalt beaches, where the waves whisper to create day and night, the beautiful natural landscape makes anyone who has once set foot here are extremely excited.

Con Co Lighthouse

Follow the small path in the middle of the forest and you will come to Con Co lighthouse. From a distance, the lighthouse stands tall to help ships navigate and is a very important milestone to determine the sea baseline, affirming the Fatherland’s sacred sovereignty over Con Co island.

From the top of the lighthouse, you can have a panoramic view of the whole island: newly built architectures with outstanding colors in the middle of the vast green forest, with each cool breeze blowing, to Feel the poetic, peaceful, comfortable here.

Right next to the Lighthouse is the Thai Van A Observatory. Thai Van A is a reconnaissance soldier on Con Co island, on a mission to observe at the top 63 on the highest hill on the island to determine the position of aircraft or ships. fight the enemy, then inform the anti-aircraft artillery units to fire at the target. Due to his great merit, it was later named for the hill on Con Co island.

There are also some other attractions such as ancient wells, Da Den Sea, Mud Ho, Nuoc Ngot Lake, Song Huong Wharf, district cemetery or some old posts of our army and people during the war.

 

 

Entertainment activities

Go to the beach

There are not many beaches, but there are still sections of the sea where you can freely swim in the cool water. In particular, if you want to swim, you should go to Song Huong beach, this beach is very beautiful, has a white sand background with clear sea water.​

Take a walk around the island

Con Co Island has easy-to-walk concrete roads running around the sea, a great place for you to roam around on a bicycle or motorbike to admire the vast sea and island landscape.

Explore Con Co primeval forest

Con Co Island also has a dense tropical forest that is still intact and is home to many creatures. The forest here is likened to the green lung of the island with the total area of ​​trees covering more than 70% of the island’s area, making the air here fresh along with the poetic natural scenery. The 3-storey tropical forest ecosystem on the island is a rare forest ecosystem of Vietnam’s volcanoes. In addition to the hybrid plants imported from the mainland on the island, there are also many native species such as: square Bang tree, wild pineapple tree, and three maple tree. There are also many precious medicinal plants such as: Jiaogulan, forest banana, etc.

Exploring the primeval forest on the island in the middle of the sea is also an interesting experience when coming to this island. The road through Con Co forest is a particularly beautiful path covered with layers of fossilized coral stones, one of the unique but not uncommon rocks on this island.

Dive and see coral

Con Co Island also has the richest and most beautiful marine life in Vietnam. The species of seaweed, seaweed, and coral are extremely colorful, creating a lively underwater space full of life. In Con Co, there are more than 50 species of seaweed of different types, many of which are sold at high prices. There are 109 coral species, including many rare species, especially red coral and black coral.

The unique and rare beauty of the mysterious black coral reefs surrounding the island is an attractive invitation that tourists who love to explore are hard to resist. If you have the opportunity to travel to Con Co island, do not forget to see the beautiful corals, immerse yourself in the colorful space under the sea.

In addition, you can participate in other activities such as fishing, night squid fishing with fishermen here.

Con Co delicacies and specialties

When it comes to grass, you should not miss the typical delicacies of the sea here such as shrimp, sea fish, pearl eye snail, hill snail, earth snail, … in addition, there is seaweed. You can eat at restaurants such as  Son Trang,  Green Island  Restaurant, Than Thuong  Restaurant, Tram Anh Restaurant…

When you return to the mainland, don’t forget to buy Con Co island specialties, rare herbs such as  Jiaogulan herbal tea  called “miracle grass” that works to help stabilize blood pressure, lower blood fat, and strengthen your immune system. Immunity…,  forest areca ginseng  is an extremely rare herb. Wild ginseng is used to treat weakness, back pain, arthritis, cold limbs, or  dried seafood … as gifts for family and loved ones as well as contributing to helping people here improve. life.

 

 

Some important notes when traveling to Con Co island

• Bring full identification when going to the island to present when the island management board checks to avoid being arrested at the interrogation station.
• Things to bring: motion sickness medicine, insect repellent, sunscreen, travel camera, swimming shirt, hat.. Those who like to dive can bring specialized glasses.
• Currently, Con Co island is lit with electricity 24 hours a day to serve tourism. However, you should also bring power banks and lighting devices to avoid power outages on the island.
• Fresh water is quite rare in this place, so you should use it sparingly and rationally.
• Not littering indiscriminately causing environmental pollution will be fined if the island management catches it.
• Do not take pictures, record videos, fly drones at places with banned signs such as military areas, if you take pictures or record them, they should be deleted immediately and not posted on the internet as that will violate the law and will be prosecuted. responsibility.
• If you see that rock crabs are not allowed to be caught and eaten, they will be fined according to the regulations of the government.

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