At the end of February, Bamboo Airways announced the early termination of the lease contract for 3 Embraer E190 aircraft after the winter schedule ends at the end of March. Therefore, the airline will discontinue all direct flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Con Dao.
To ensure the supply chain, travel companies said they will continue to transport passengers to Con Dao by air through flights from northern provinces to Ho Chi Minh City or Can Tho via Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airways, and then connecting with Vietnam Airlines to reach Con Dao.
Vietnam Airlines increases frequency of Ho Chi Minh City – Con Dao route.
Recently, Vietnam Airlines announced that from mid-March, it will significantly increase the frequency of flights to Con Dao to meet the increased travel demands of passengers.
In addition, tourists can consider going to Con Dao by sea as there are currently many operators offering Con Dao routes with departure points in southern provinces. Travel time will range from 2.5-4 hours, with ticket prices depending on the class of ticket, age, disability, and departure time within the week.
Specifically, at Tran De port (Soc Trang province), trains to Con Dao run from 8am-11am, with ticket prices ranging from 280,000-500,000 VND/person. Within the time frame of 8am-11:30am, the ticket price for transportation from Cau Da port (Vung Tau city) is 1.2 million VND.
High-speed boats depart from Ninh Kieu port (Can Tho city) from 7am-11am with ticket prices ranging from 480,000 – 1.2 million VND, depending on the operator. It is expected that in March, there will be additional high-speed boat trips departing from Nha Be port (Ho Chi Minh City) to Con Dao.
Mr. Bui Thanh Tu – Director of Best Price travel company – assessed that previously, round-trip air tickets to Con Dao from Hanoi cost around 7 million VND. However, from April, the total cost of 2 round trips may increase by about 10-20%. In addition, spending more time traveling will make passengers more tired.
According to Mr. Tu, when there is no longer a flight from Hanoi, Con Dao has lost nearly 50% of its passengers, and the reduced demand will lead to surplus supply. This affects the supply of services such as restaurants and transportation in Con Dao.
Mr. Trung – who lives in Long Bien district and is about to travel to Con Dao in April – shared: “Every year, I still go on a 3-day-2-night tour in Con Dao. But this year, I have to take connecting flights, so I only have 1 day to enjoy the vacation, and the remaining 2 days are mostly spent on traveling. Also because of the difficulty in travelling, family members joining this trip are also limited”.
Con Dao is located off the coast of southern Vietnam, in Ba Ria – Vung Tau province. Prior to 1975, the archipelago was known as the largest prison and exile site in Indochina. Currently, the island district has become a scenic tourist destination, attracting visitors with both natural beauty and spiritual factors.
This place has always been preferred as a destination for people in the northern region. Statistics from the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam show that the proportion of visitors from the northern region to Con Dao (Ba Ria – Vung Tau) is as high as 90%.
