How to get to Con Dao Islands

Are you in Phu Quoc now and fancy going to Con Dao Islands but can't find any information neither online nor in the travel agencies on how to get there?

Then you're in the right place!😉

I've just been in the same situation like you and decided to give it a try anyway. I was reluctant because I knew that only very few people speak English in rural Vietnam but it turned out to be easier then I thought.

Until few months ago there were only two ways to get to Con Dao, either by expensive flight from Can Tho or Ho Chi Minh City or by a 12 hour long overnight ferry travel from Vung Tau. This ferry ride is described everywhere as horrible.
Fortunately since July 2017 there is a new fast boat connection run by Superdong from Soc Trang. This 100km boat ride can be accomplished within 2 1/2 hours only. Travel agents though still try to sell you expensive flight tickets via Ho Chi Minh City (around USD200 one way) as with the overland buses they don't get a commission.

If you want to read up a bit about your destination I would suggest getting a decent travel guidebook here
Vietnam

You're ready to travel? Then let me describe you your way as detailed as possible:
1. Get yourself a Ferry ticket from Phu Quoc to Rach Gia. You can get this in any travel agency or directly in the main Superdong office which you can find here:
Superdong office Phu Quoc
The ticket price is VND330.000 plus VND40.000 if you would like to be picked up in your hotel and transferred to the port.

2. Once arrived in Rach Gia get off the boat and look to your left. You will see a big orange bus from
FUTA Buslines Phuong Trang looking similar like this one:

This is the free shuttle bus that will bring you to the main bus station in Rach Gia. You don't need a ticket to get on this bus, you will buy it later in the bus station.

3. At the bus station luckily everybody spoke English but in case you're not that fortunate it will be enough to write your destination on a piece of paper or on your smartphone screen and they will sell you the correct ticket. At this point you have 2 choices, depending on where you would like to spend the night as you won't be able to catch the fast boat to Soc Trang the same day. You can either buy a ticket directly to Soc Trang or only half way to Can Tho. I suggest the second as Can Tho is a much nicer city with a bigger choice of hotels then Soc Trang. The ticket price is VND110.000 and it includes the free shuttle bus from the bus station to the hotel of your choice.

4. Once arrived at the Can Tho bus station you can either buy immediately an ongoing ticket to Soc Trang the next morning for the price of VND90.000 including free pickup at your hotel or you can let the hotel call them later and arrange it for you (they might charge you a small commission for that)

5. The timetable of the Superdong changes daily but normally they have at least two rides, one early morning around 7 or 8 and one at lunch time. I took the one that left at 1:15pm. As the pier is 35 km outside of Soc Trang you will need some kind of transportation  to there also. This can be by expensive taxi ride (around VND400.000) or by Superdong shuttle bus for only VND40.000.

6. The bus ride to Soc Trang is only one hour but it will drop you off on a petrol station on the main road. You will need to arrange your own transport from there to the Superdong office in town. Taxis (VND40.000) or Motorbike taxis (VND15.000) are waiting there for people getting off the bus and you might even be able to share a cab with somebody else. In order to make it in time I took the bus from Can Tho to Soc Trang at 10am with pickup from my hotel at 9am.
Superdong office Soc Trang

7. Now you're nearly done. Buy your ticket for the fast boat (VND310.000) plus the shuttle bus to the pier at the office and head over to the islands.
Superdong Pier Soc Tang

8. At the pier you will need one final transport to your hotel, again there is a shuttle bus waiting for VND40.000 or you can take a private taxi for VND200.000. Now you're there, enjoy your stay.
Superdong Pier Con Dao

Summarized travel cost:
  40.000 Hotel Phu Quoc to pier
330.000 Phu Quoc to Rach Gia
110.000 Rach Gia to hotel in Can Tho
  90.000 Hotel in Can Tho to Soc Trang petrol station
  40.000 Taxi to Superdong office
  40.000 Superdong office to pier
310.000 Pier to Con Dao
  40.000 Shuttle bus to hotel in Con Dao
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1.000.000 Total

9. Continue reading at Tom's excellent blog about Con Dao