Despite being a quick 45-minute turboprop flight from Ho Chi Minh City, Con Son is a world away from Vietnam’s well-beaten tourist trail, with inexplicably few Western travellers.
At 5 am and 6 pm, government loudspeakers crackle to life all over Vietnam. Relics of an era before homes had televisions and radios, these public address systems – broadcasting news, propaganda and weather reports – are usually barely audible above the din of this modern nation: a mix of motorcycle engines, truck horns and construction.
But on Con Son, the news carries loud and clear over the tiny township of just 5,000 residents, two sets of traffic lights and one seaside promenade. Visiting the largest island in the Con Dao archipelago – a group of 16 mostly uninhabited picturesque islands in the South China Sea – is like stepping back in time.

Despite being a short 45-minute turboprop flight from Ho Chi Minh City, the island paradise of Con Son is a world away from Vietnam’s well-beaten tourist trail. It is a throwback that has somehow flown under the radar, escaping the overdevelopment of mainland resort towns like Nha Trang and the party beaches of Phu Quoc. There are no touts, only peaceful empty beaches, and peak season means being just one of a dozen Westerners.
It won't stay this way forever, though. The island's first resort, the ultra-luxe Six Senses Con Dao, opened at Dat Doc Bay on the island's east coast in 2010, and a megaresort is currently under construction in the south. There is also talk of an Italian-backed spiritual retreat, as well as rumours about extending the airport's runway so that bigger planes can land.

But for now, most of the visitors are domestic Vietnamese paying homage to the island’s dark past. Known as Southeast Asia's Devil's Island, Con Son was once a penal colony used to brutal and cruel effect first by French colonists and later during the Vietnam War. The French worked 914 men to death building the island’s jetty, while Vietnam War prisoners were kept in infamous "tiger cages", where captives – actual or suspected Communists – were shackled to the floor of deep concrete pits with steel bars for a roof. The main prison walls still dominate the town as a constant reminder, and the gaols and cemeteries have become pilgrimage sites to the thousands of Vietnamese who suffered and died on the island between 1862 and 1975.
But though the horrific memories hang heavy still, modern island life is languid and laid back. Con Son's steep green interior is fringed by warm turquoise water and coral reefs. Flame trees and bougainvillea give licks of colour to the jungle, and frangipani and magnolia trees line the wide, quiet boulevards. A single main road wraps about halfway around the island; a motorbike ride along the shoreline takes in ponds filled with lotus flowers, spectacular reddish-orange cliffs and one empty white-sand beach after another. The sea is calm, clean and perfect for swimming year-round.
But for now, most of the visitors are domestic Vietnamese paying homage to the island’s dark past. Known as Southeast Asia's Devil's Island, Con Son was once a penal colony used to brutal and cruel effect first by French colonists and later during the Vietnam War. The French worked 914 men to death building the island’s jetty, while Vietnam War prisoners were kept in infamous "tiger cages", where captives – actual or suspected Communists – were shackled to the floor of deep concrete pits with steel bars for a roof. The main prison walls still dominate the town as a constant reminder, and the gaols and cemeteries have become pilgrimage sites to the thousands of Vietnamese who suffered and died on the island between 1862 and 1975.
But though the horrific memories hang heavy still, modern island life is languid and laid back. Con Son's steep green interior is fringed by warm turquoise water and coral reefs. Flame trees and bougainvillea give licks of colour to the jungle, and frangipani and magnolia trees line the wide, quiet boulevards. A single main road wraps about halfway around the island; a motorbike ride along the shoreline takes in ponds filled with lotus flowers, spectacular reddish-orange cliffs and one empty white-sand beach after another. The sea is calm, clean and perfect for swimming year-round.

The island's daily routine starts at the bustling marketplace, where squid, crabs, clams, rambutans, plantains, mangos, dragonfruit and lotus flowers are piled for sale outside. Inside, young soldiers in jungle greens sit at the food stalls on low plastic chairs, gulping down breakfasts of bun rieu (crab noodle soup) or bun thit nuong (char-grilled pork with vermicelli noodles) while the morning sun floods the doorway. By 9 am, the food is sold out and by noon the market is deserted.
Then, nothing happens until 2 pm, when new afternoon stallholders will arrive, selling roast pork sandwiches, sugarcane juice and rice paper rolls. For two hours, the postmistress goes home, the market is empty, the island naps and the sun beats down on the blue sea. There is nothing to do but swim at one of several beautiful beaches: it doesn't matter where you go, you'll have it to yourself.

If this were the mainland, you might find hourly booze-cruises around the harbour. If you want to see the archipelago from Con Dao, ask around in the evening and you'll be able to hitch a ride with a fisherman early the next day. Slowly putt-putting out of the harbour in a brightly painted blue-and-orange ramshackle boat, the fisherman will likely take you towards the bays and reefs of the tiny outer islands. A snorkel and goggles will be enough to catch a glimpse of a turtle, and the diving is renowned as some of Vietnam's best.
As the heat of the day passes, many travellers choose to explore the island via motorbike.
At An Hai bay, 1km south of Con Son town, pearlers and fishermen moor their boats, keeping coracles –  circular bamboo vessels, waterproofed with coconut-palm resin and propelled by paddle – on the shore as dinghies. For the next 6km, climb the road along the bay until it reaches the island's southmost tip, with views in every direction. The archipelago unfolds to the east; the harbour and Con Son town to the north; the island's rugged and rocky interior to the west.
Hugging the cliffs, the road winds past steep-walled crystal-clear bays and culminates at the island's jewel – the wide flats of Nhat Beach. Here mountains give way to an expanse of deserted white sand that runs hundreds of metres from shore at low tide, with the warm water waist-deep for hundred of metres more. Stay until twilight when the horizon twinkles with the lights of container ships plying the busy South China Sea.
Come evening, Con Son town’s seaside promenade takes its turn as the island's social hub. The sky turns pink and barbecue carts roll up roasting corn, chicken skewers and pork. Swimmers – mostly Vietnamese tourists who shun the sand at daytime – arrive for a dusk dip. The waterfront swells with people.
Across the road from the beach, colonial French villas crumble in various stages of disrepair; their jungled gardens slowly taking over. French composer Camille Saint-Saens stayed in one while he finished work on his opera Brunhilda in 1895; today, that same building is the popular Con Son cafe, which provides only the essentials: beer, ice cream and Vietnamese coffee.

By night, a different market opens on Tran Huy Lieu, two blocks to the east. Half the street is taken over with chairs and metal foldout tables; beer flows as roadside stalls barbecue shellfish, calamari and the rest of the day's catch. It is a delicious way to end the day – with only the nagging thought that the return flight back to the mainland is all too soon.

Coming to Vietnam, the most favorite drink is vietnamese coffee
You'd like to  order milk coffee  and wonder how to make this
Let's see

Ca Mau is the only place on the mainland where you can watch the sunrise on the East Coast, and dive in the West Sea- Vietnam's southernmost province. Ca Mau 350km from Ho Chi Minh City along Highway 1 has many Southwestern specialties. A place where people and nature coexist in harmony, Ca Mau is dotted with bird parks, swamplands, channels and forests. Among this natural beauty, U Minh National Park, lying right beside the Gulf of Thailand, is the habitat of many unique animals and plants. In terms of cultural heritage, the most visited destinations are Tan Hung Temple and Quan Am Pagoda. 

How to get there


There are many coach firms for your choice, with fares for beds from Saigon to Ca Mau from VND170,000 to VND220,000/person.


There are three roads for motorcycles:


– Saigon – Tan An – Trung Luong – Can Tho – Bac Lieu – Ca Mau


– Saigon – Trung Luong – Vinh Long – Bac Lieu – Soc Trang – Ca Mau


– Saigon – Tan An- Ben Tre – Tra Vinh – Chau Doc – Ca Mau


Hotels


There are many hotels and motels in Ca Mau city with room rates ranging from VND200,000 to VND500,000 per room
The Cape of Ca Mau

The Cape of Ca Mau belongs to Ngoc Hien District in Ca Mau Province. It is located only 118km away from the center of Ca Mau City. This is a unique spot not only because of its southernmost location, but also because it is the only place in Vietnam where one can see the sun rising in the East and setting in the West. The cape was discovered at the end of the 17th century. As it is the residential area of three ethnic groups: Kinh, Hoa, and Khmer, it is the place where many aspects of the three cultures interact and converge, reflecting in many unique traditions and customs.
 From the Cape of Ca Mau, one can see the Hon Khoai Archipelago which is 20km away from mainland. This is a huge cluster of beautiful islands such as Hon Tuong, Hon Sao, Hon Kho, Hon Lon, Hon Doi Moi, etc., among which the Hon Khoai Island is the biggest and highest with a width of 4km2 and a height of 318m. To get to the Ca Mau Cape, from Ca Mau City center, you can take the bus to Nam Can town, which takes about 1 hour. You should come to the town in the afternoon and rent a room to stay. The day after, you can rent a boat to go to the Ca Mau Cape, at the price of VND1.2 to VND2 million for a group of 8 to 10 people. 
Hon Khoai Island 

This is a rock island on which the hills and the forest still remain untouched with many specious types of wood, animal, and plants, as well as a mesmerizing artless wilderness.
 Setting foot on Hon Khoai Island enables all tourists to enjoy the poetically beautiful seashores that are full of white egg-shaped cobbles. Tourists can also challenge their bravery by climbing up the mountains or discovering the tropical jungle. However, no matter what they do, the rare and priceless scenery of primitive forest with more than 1,000 types of plants and hundreds species of wild animals will surely leave them speechless from time to time. Nowadays, on the highest peak of Hon Khoai Island still stands a beautiful lighthouse built by the French at the end of the 19th century. This is the place where a revered teacher named Pham Ngoc Hien led a group of prisoners to success over the French leader of the island, which resulted in their ownership of the lighthouse. This is a wondrous exploit that always appears in local tales today. From this lighthouse, visitors can use telescopes to look closely at one of the five surrounding islands called Hon DoiMoi, which resembles a tortoise swimming in the middle of the ocean. However, they can also use the telescopes to have a look at the Cape of Ca Mau, to know at least once in their life known how beautiful the cape is from afar. Without coming to Hon Khoai, such opportunity would be nearly impossible! 

U Minh forest 
U Minh is a vast land with a tangled system of channels. Its area is approximately 2,000 km2. The nature here is wild and grandiose. Just the name “U Minh” refers to something immense, very far, very deep. The cajuput forest is a kind of homogeneous forest with trees from 10 to 20m tall. From a distance, U Minh is covered with the green of cajuput leaves and the blue of the sky. 
 Cajuput forest is different from mangrove forests in structure. The background of the mangrove forest is the vacant marsh because plants cannot grow here. On the contrary, in cajuput forest, many kinds of plants can grow. The most frequent plants are Mop (Móp) plant and Choai (Choại) plant. 
 Every year, cajuput forest supplies hundreds of tons of Choai strings, which is a kind of creeper soaking in water, has durability and resistance like rattan. People use Choai strings to twist fish traps very well or use it to make arts and crafts very beautiful and firm. In cajuput forest, there is Mop plant, which is also called Cork. The root of a Mop plant is very slight and spongy, so it can be used to make lifebelts, fishing floats, and caps. In summer, cajuput forest blooms, attracting honey-bees from other places to come to suck nectar. U Minh people have the experience in preparing a place for bees to make them nest. Each nest can produce liters of honey in a flower season and hundreds of liters of good honey after the season of cajuput flower can be taken by individuals. The honey of U Minh has a special flavor of cajuput flower. This kind of honey has a yellow color and transparent, its color is constant and unchanged as if it been stored for many years. Therefore, every year, U Minh cajuput forest supplies over 50 tons of honey. U Minh forest is also a “sea of fish”. Fish lives in reservoirs, channels. In flooding season, fish swims following water to enter the forest for parturition. When the water level drops, the U Minh forest is also famous as a large yard of birds. You can hear birds’ voices fluttering in vaults of green leaves. In afternoons, flocks of birds fly in the sky. Many kinds of storks, dien dien (điên điển), cong coc (cồng cộc), teals, frogs, ravens, sea eagles, etc. gather into groups here for laying eggs, and giving birth. Poisonous snakes live here, so many people specialize in catching snakes and are expert on compounding medicine treating injuries because of being bit by poisonous snakes. 
 Bird gardens 

 Bird gardens are among the places that tourists should not miss when coming to Ca Mau. The most famous bird gardens are 19/5, Tu Na, Cha La, Dam Doi, and Tan Tien. 

 Downtown Ca Mau 
Tourists can visit the memorial site of President Ho Chi Minh, Khmer temple Monivongsa Borapham, stroll around the center when the streetlights are on, and wander in the night market and enjoy local specialties like grilled snakehead fish and salted turtle.

 Source: Talk vietnam