Menu
Destinations→Locations→Blog→Map→About→
📍 heritage · history · con dao

Con Dao Prison

Con Dao Prison is Vietnam's most significant historical site of incarceration - a French colonial penal complex used continuously from 1862 to 1975, holding figures such as Phan Châu Trinh and Tôn Đức Thắng. Known internationally for the Tiger Cages, and the burial place of revolutionary heroine Võ Thị Sáu at nearby Hàng Dương Cemetery.

🏛️ French Colonial Prison⛓️ Tiger Cages📖 Vietnam War History🕯️ Hàng Dương Cemetery
🧭 Get Directions

Overview

Best Time to Visit
📅 Dec - Apr (dry season, most comfortable for walking between sites). Mar - Sep also workable - light rain but calmer seas.
Entry Fee
🎟️ 50,000 VND - one ticket covers the Côn Đảo Museum, Dinh Chúa Đảo, and all prison camps; keep it with you for the full visit.
Opening Hours
🕐 7:00/7:30 AM - 11:00/11:30 AM, 1:30 PM - 5:00/5:30 PM (times vary slightly by source - arrive in the morning to avoid running out of time).
Address
📌 Côn Đảo, Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu

Things to Know

👥Crowds
Generally not crowded relative to Vietnam's larger heritage sites, though busier around significant anniversary dates such as 23 January (Võ Thị Sáu's execution anniversary).
🥾Difficulty
Walking required across multiple separate camp buildings with uneven stone floors. Comfortable, sturdy shoes recommended. Open-air sections, especially the Tiger Cages, are exposed to direct midday heat.
⚠️Safety
No specific safety concerns, but this is a site of mourning and historical gravity - dress modestly, keep voices low, and avoid casual or joking photography, particularly in the Tiger Cages and interrogation areas.
🚶Accessibility
Single 50,000 VND ticket covers the Museum, Dinh Chúa Đảo, and all prison camps - buy at the Museum and retain it throughout your visit. Sites are spread across Côn Đảo town, easily reached by motorbike, taxi, xe ôm, or bicycle.
🌤️Seasonal
Dec-Apr: dry season, most comfortable for walking between sites. Mar-Sep: light rain possible but generally calm seas on the island's east and northeast sides - still a workable window to visit.

About This Place

What Makes Con Dao Prison Special

Con Dao Prison - Nhà Tù Côn Đảo - is a complex of prison camps and associated buildings constructed by the French colonial administration from 1862 onward, used continuously for 113 years through the French colonial period, the Japanese occupation, and the American-supported South Vietnamese government, finally closing in 1975 after national reunification. Over that period, more than 20,000 Vietnamese patriots and revolutionaries are estimated to have been imprisoned, tortured, or to have died here - the island's remoteness and the difficulty of reaching the mainland were precisely why the French chose it as a penal colony, making escape virtually impossible. The complex grew to include multiple separate camps - Phú Hải (the oldest, 1862), Phú Sơn (1916), Phú Thọ, Phú Tường (1940, containing the notorious Tiger Cages), Phú An, Phú Phong, and Phú Hưng - along with the later, separate Phú Bình complex built by the South Vietnamese government with American support in 1971, modelled on the French Tiger Cages but built at greater scale. At its peak during the Vietnam War, the island held an estimated 10,000 prisoners in conditions that became internationally notorious after American journalist Don Luce photographed the Tiger Cages in 1970 - underground stone cells with iron bar ceilings through which guards could pour lime on prisoners. Published in Life magazine, those photographs became one of the most significant anti-war images of the era and contributed to shifting American public opinion. Notable Vietnamese revolutionary figures including Phan Châu Trinh and Tôn Đức Thắng were held at Phú Hải over the prison's long history. The complex is now a national historical relic site and the most visited cultural attraction on Côn Đảo, alongside the nearby Hàng Dương Cemetery, where the great majority of prisoners who died on the island are buried.

How to Get There

🚗 Getting There

Getting to Côn Đảo itself: by air, VASCO (Vietnam Airlines) operates ATR-72 flights from Hanoi, Cần Thơ, and Ho Chi Minh City to Cỏ Ống Airport (about 45 minutes, roughly 800,000-1,200,000 VND) - Bamboo Airways discontinued its routes here in 2024. By sea, modern high-speed ferries now run from Trần Đề (Sóc Trăng), taking about 2-2.5 hours, or from Vũng Tàu, taking about 3.5 hours on the newer high-speed service (though this route only operates 3 days a week, not daily) - both are a significant improvement on the slower boats of years past. Once on the island, the prison complex sits in the centre of Côn Đảo town, about 1km from the local market and within walking distance of most accommodation. The single ticket (50,000 VND, purchased at the Côn Đảo Museum) covers the museum, Dinh Chúa Đảo, and all prison camps - getting between them is easiest by motorbike (5-7 minutes from most hotels via Nguyễn Huệ street), taxi/xe ôm (around 4 minutes from the market, agree on price or ask for the meter), or bicycle if you prefer a quieter pace. Hàng Dương Cemetery is about 2km north of the town centre, best reached by motorbike.

What to Expect

👀 On the Ground

The complex consists of multiple distinct prison camps, each reflecting a different period and different conditions. Phú Hải, the oldest and largest, has 33 cells - 10 communal, 20 individual stone cells - plus a rice-grinding chamber, a forced-labour stone-breaking yard, and a dedicated interrogation room; its scale and age make it the most commonly recommended starting point. Phú Tường contains the French-era Tiger Cages: rows of underground cells with iron bar ceilings, restored to their historical configuration, with figures depicting prisoners in documented positions described by survivors. Phú Bình, built later by the South Vietnamese government with American support, mirrors the French design at a larger scale and offers a direct point of comparison between the two periods of incarceration. The Côn Đảo Museum holds over 2,000 artefacts, photographs, and documents tracing the island's history, including a recreated space depicting prisoners' forced-labour conditions. Dinh Chúa Đảo, the former residence and administrative centre for the island's successive wardens, retains many original furnishings - desks, beds, bookshelves, antique clocks - offering a stark contrast in comfort to the prison camps nearby. Unlike many museums, there are few interactive displays or multimedia presentations here. Much of the impact comes simply from walking through the preserved cells, corridors, and courtyards where thousands of prisoners once lived. Visiting one camp thoroughly takes 45 minutes to an hour; covering the museum, residence, and two or more camps realistically fills most of a day.

Travel Tips

🧳 Tips

Con Dao Prison is one of the most historically and emotionally significant sites in Vietnam - for many visitors, more directly affecting than the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, because the physical spaces remain largely intact, allowing visitors to stand where the events actually happened rather than viewing them through photographs alone. It asks for time, quiet attention, and a measure of emotional readiness rather than a quick walk-through between beach activities. The prison camps are spread across Côn Đảo town rather than concentrated in a single building, so don't expect one large prison structure - plan to move between several distinct sites. If you can only visit two camps, Phú Hải (the oldest and largest, with the clearest sense of the prison's full scale) and Phú Tường (containing the Tiger Cages, the most direct encounter with the conditions political prisoners endured) together give the fullest picture. Hire a guide if possible - the context they provide, including specific survivor accounts, adds meaningfully to what the physical spaces alone convey. Pairing a morning visit to the prison complex with an afternoon visit to Hàng Dương Cemetery - where Vietnamese families often come to pay respects, especially around 23 January, the anniversary of Võ Thị Sáu's execution - gives a fuller sense of what Côn Đảo represents in Vietnamese historical memory.

Insider Tips

Based on real traveler experiences and commonly mentioned advice from multiple visitors.

Buy the single combined ticket at the Côn Đảo Museum - it covers the museum, Dinh Chúa Đảo, and every prison camp
If short on time, prioritise Phú Hải (oldest, largest) and Phú Tường (Tiger Cages) over the others
Hire a guide for historical context that on-site panels alone don't fully convey
Visit in the morning - the open-air sections get intensely hot by midday
Pair with an afternoon visit to Hàng Dương Cemetery for the fuller picture of the island's history
One ticket (50,000 VND) covers the Côn Đảo Museum, Dinh Chúa Đảo (the island warden's residence), and all prison camps - buy it at the Museum rather than at individual sites, and hold onto it for your whole visit.
If you only have time for one prison camp, visit Phú Hải - it's the oldest (built 1862, renovated 1896) and largest, with 33 cells including 10 communal cells, 20 individual stone cells, a rice-grinding chamber, a forced-labour stone-breaking yard, and a dedicated interrogation room. If you can fit in a second, Phú Tường (which contains the French-era Tiger Cages) gives the closest, most direct sense of the conditions political prisoners endured.
The prison system included multiple camps across Côn Đảo town: Phú Hải, Phú Sơn (built 1916), Phú Thọ, Phú Tường (containing the Tiger Cages, built 1940), Phú An, Phú Phong, Phú Hưng, and the separate Phú Bình complex - the so-called 'American Tiger Cages', built in 1971, modelled on the earlier French design but on a larger scale.
Phú Hải has held many notable Vietnamese revolutionary figures over its history, including Phan Châu Trinh and Tôn Đức Thắng.
Plan roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour per individual prison camp if visiting more than one - the full complex (museum, residence, multiple camps) realistically takes most of a day if you want to see it properly rather than rushing.
Hire a guide at the museum or through a local tour operator - the physical spaces are well-preserved, but a guide provides historical context and survivor accounts that aren't always conveyed by the on-site panels alone.
Dress modestly and behave with the same quiet respect you would at a cemetery or memorial - this is a place of mourning and historical weight for many Vietnamese visitors, not primarily a sightseeing stop. Avoid loud conversation, joking, or casual selfies.
Hàng Dương Cemetery, about 2km from the prison complex, holds the remains of the great majority of prisoners who died on the island. The grave of Võ Thị Sáu, a young revolutionary executed here, is a major pilgrimage site for Vietnamese visitors, particularly around the anniversary of her execution (23 January).
Other nearby sites worth combining with a prison visit: Miếu Bà Phi Yến and Miếu Cậu, both spiritually significant local shrines.
Getting around: motorbike rental is the most flexible way to move between sites (about 5-7 minutes from most town accommodation via Nguyễn Huệ street); taxis and xe ôm are available near Côn Đảo market (agree on a price beforehand or ask for the meter); cycling is a quieter, more contemplative option if you're staying nearby.
Getting to Côn Đảo: by air, VASCO (Vietnam Airlines) operates ATR-72 flights from Hanoi, Cần Thơ, and Ho Chi Minh City to Cỏ Ống Airport (about 45 minutes, roughly 800,000-1,200,000 VND depending on timing) - note that Bamboo Airways discontinued its Embraer E190 services to Côn Đảo in 2024, so VASCO is now the main commercial operator. By sea, modern high-speed ferries have replaced the old 13-hour boats: from Trần Đề (Sóc Trăng), crossings take about 2-2.5 hours (from roughly 350,000-390,000 VND); from Vũng Tàu (Cầu Đá port), the newer high-speed ferry (the Thăng Long, run by Phú Quốc Express) takes about 3.5 hours, though it only runs 3 days a week (Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday outbound) rather than daily - check current schedules before planning around it.
Wear comfortable, sturdy shoes - you'll be walking across uneven stone floors and between multiple separate camp buildings.
There is very little shade between some of the prison camps, so bring water, sunscreen, and a hat if visiting around midday.
Visit in the morning when the complex is cooler - the open-air sections, especially the Tiger Cages, are exposed to direct sun and the midday heat is intense.

FAQ

Common questions from travelers who've visited this place.

Is Con Dao Prison suitable for children?›
There are no formal age restrictions, but many parents choose not to bring very young children because of the graphic displays, depictions of torture, and the emotionally heavy nature of the site. Older children with a genuine interest in history usually gain much more from the visit and can engage meaningfully with what they're seeing, while younger children may find the cells, restraints, and Tiger Cage depictions distressing or simply confusing without enough context to process them.
Which prison camp should I visit if I only have time for one?›
Phú Hải. It's the oldest (built 1862, renovated 1896) and largest camp in the complex, with 33 cells, a rice-grinding chamber, a forced-labour stone-breaking yard, and a dedicated interrogation room - giving the clearest overall sense of the prison's scale and history, and it held notable figures such as Phan Châu Trinh and Tôn Đức Thắng. If you can fit in a second camp, Phú Tường (home to the French-era Tiger Cages) offers the most direct, unfiltered encounter with the conditions political prisoners endured.
How do I buy tickets to the Con Dao prison complex?›
Tickets aren't sold separately at each site. Buy a single combined ticket (50,000 VND) at the Côn Đảo Museum - it covers the museum itself, Dinh Chúa Đảo (the warden's residence), and every prison camp in the complex. Keep the ticket with you for your entire visit, since you'll need to show it at each location.
What is the difference between the French Tiger Cages and the 'American Tiger Cages'?›
The original Tiger Cages, at Phú Tường, were built by French colonial authorities in 1940 - underground stone cells with iron bar ceilings, made internationally notorious after journalist Don Luce photographed them in 1970. Phú Bình, sometimes called the 'American Tiger Cages', was built separately in 1971 by the South Vietnamese government with American support, modelled on the earlier French design but constructed at a larger scale. Visiting both, where time allows, offers a direct historical comparison between the two periods of incarceration on the island.
How much time should I budget for visiting Con Dao Prison?›
Plan 45 minutes to 1 hour for each individual prison camp you visit. If you want to see the museum, Dinh Chúa Đảo, and two or more camps properly rather than rushing, budget most of a day. Many visitors pair the prison complex with Hàng Dương Cemetery in the same day for a fuller picture of the island's history.
Explore more
con dao - Full Guide
View destination guide →