Dive! Dive! Dive! Con Dao 3.46

* * * Come diving in the Con Dao National Park & Marine Reserve! * * *

* History *
* Diving *
* Nature *
* Deserted Beaches *
* Hiking *

What more could you possibly want on your holidays??
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An archipelago of 16 islands, Con Dao is the hidden jewel along the Vietnam's coastline. The islands are approximately 180 km away from the mainland (220km from Ho Chi Minh City) and are reachable by airplane from Ho Chi Minh City.
It's only a 40 min flight on VASCO.

Con Dao National Park is one of two national parks in Vietnam covering both forest and marine protected area.

The marine park has a rich marine life, with 1300 species so far identified, including 342 species of hard coral. The marine grass ecosystem estimate about 200ha, comprising of 9 species among 16 worldwide.
Con Dao's sea is home to dolphins (which you can often see from the boat!) and dugong and the islands are nesting grounds for Hawksbill and Green Turtles.

* * * The best diving and snorkeling in Vietnam with over 40+ different sites! * * *
For more info: www.dive-condao.com / info@dive-condao.com

Con Dao, with its remote location has so far been spared the ravages of mass tourism, and is one of the few places in Vietnam with water clear enough to take your breath away. You will almost always find that you are the only ones on a dive site and this brings back what diving is about. Submerging yourself in the beautiful reefs enjoying nature without a soul around.
The corals are very healthy and diving here we've seen the largest table corals we've ever seen (2-4 m in diameter). The marine life here is divers, a few animals we see often: Giant Cuttlefish, Great Barracuda, Damsels, Morays, Rays, Butterflyfish, Surgeonfish, Trevally, Pipefish, Squirrelfish, Scorpionfish, Groupers, Sweetlips, Parrotfish and we could go on and on.

Most of the dive sites are conveniently located within 15-30 min scenic boat ride from the shop.
* Water Temperature * varies from the mid twenties in winter to more then 30 C in the summer.
* Visibility* is variable, depending on the site and season and ranges from unlimited visibility - 6 m.

When diving with Dive! Dive! Dive! you'll get to dive with * almost new and well-maintained equipment *, we offer * long and short wetsuits * and you'll get to go out on our * custom made dive boat! *
Our boat has room for 40 people, however, we limit the numbers to 20 people to make sure everyone is more than comfortable on our trips.
The boat has a proper dive platform and there is a * bathroom and 2 fresh water showers *, so after the dives you can take a nice !hot! shower!

We also offer SSI and PADI Courses up to Divemaster or Dive Control Specialist. Specialties are also available.

Never dived before? No problem! We offer "try dives" for those who would like to try diving and do not immediately want to take a full Open Water Course. No certification needed!

* * * Included on our trips is Full Equipment, Guide, National Park Fees, Coffee, Tea, Water and Lunch * * *

We have also discovered one of few dive-able wrecks in Vietnam (normally all boats get salvaged). It's a steel-hulled 60m long * *Thai freighter* * that sank 4 years ago and is slowly overgrowing with corals. She sits in 33 meters of water and the deck is at 24 meters. Often described by customers as a "Traffic Jam of Fish" and only 35min from our shop!

Several of our beaches are the breeding grounds for the endangered Green Turtle. Each year from April to November, turtles return to the beaches where they were born to hatch their own offspring. Some 50000 hatchings make their way into the sea. The best time to see the turtles lay eggs is in June and July, the best time to see them hatch would be September and October.
We also provide * Turtle Tours * for those who would like to combine diving and seeing the turtles lay their eggs. We combine these tours with a day dive, watching the sunset from the best spot where we can only get by boat, while enjoying dinner followed by a night dive and then setting off to turtle island where we will camp out to see the turtles lay eggs at night.


* * * The National Park * * *
With the total area of around 15,043ha, including 9,000ha marine and 6,043ha forest, the park's terrain is primarily hills and mountains. The highest peak is Thanh Mount (557m) and the other peaks are 150 - 300m high.

Belonging to the tropical island ecosystem, forest in Con Dao is divided into two main types of woods with 882 species of fauna, nearly 150 species of animal, among which there are some rare species only found in Con Dao such as Con Dao black squirrel, winged house gecko, and some species of birds just existing in Con Dao like Masked booby, Red-billed tropicbird, Nicba pigeon and Rock pigeon.

There are numerous * Hikes * on the island, ranging from short hikes, to overnight hikes, where you'll be amazed of the wildlife that runs freely on these islands.


* * * History * * *
For a long time Con Son, the largest of the islands, was Vietnam's Robben Island. Used as a penal colony by both the French and the Americans, the dilapidated remains of the prisons, including the infamous Tiger Cages, serve as a stark reminder of the brutality of the times. Many of those killed in the prisons were buried at Hang Duong Cemetery, including Vo Thi Sau, Vietnam's most famous war heroine, who was executed on the island in 1952.
It is recommendable to visit the (now empty) prisons during your stay, since this is a big part of Vietnam's history but is often neglected.