One-way fares run from VND965,000 (US$37) to VND1.325 million, and the crossing takes about five hours and 15 minutes in good weather.
The operator, Thanh Thanh Phat Passenger Transport Co., marked the relaunch with a ceremony at Nha Rong-Khanh Hoi port on June 1 and said the first commercial sailing would leave June 6.
The new vessel, the Phu Quy Express 02, is an aluminum trimaran more than 52 meters long that carries up to 527 passengers across VIP and standard cabins with both seats and sleeping berths, a clear step up from the 374-capacity boat used when the route first opened. It was built domestically at the Hong Ha Shipyard, part of Vietnam’s defense industry.
Sailings depart Ho Chi Minh City at 6:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from Nha Rong-Khanh Hoi port. Return trips leave Con Dao at noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Seated weekday tickets cost VND965,000 to VND1,125,000 and berths slightly more, while weekend, public holiday and Lunar New Year fares climb to as much as VND1,325,000 for a berth.
The route first launched in March 2025 but was pulled in September that year so the operator could service its fleet and invest in a larger vessel. A separate Con Dao ferry that ran from Hiep Phuoc port, in the former Nha Be area, remains suspended after passengers complained the terminal sat too far from the city center and was awkward to reach, and the operator trimmed that service for the low season.
The high-speed ferry on the central Ho Chi Minh City-Con Dao route at sea. Photo courtesy of Phu Quy Express |
The return of a downtown departure point matters because, until now, travelers leaving central Ho Chi Minh City have had to either fly or make their way to the coastal city of Vung Tau and continue by sea.
Mai Trung Hung, deputy director of the city’s Department of Construction, said at the launch that the ferry would give residents and visitors a more convenient option, particularly while Con Dao’s airport undergoes upgrades. The city is leaning into water transport more broadly, with a 2026 to 2030 plan to expand its passenger ferry and river-bus networks, building on the Bach Dang-Linh Dong river bus running since 2017 and a second line, Bach Dang-Lo Gom, now in preparation.
For the growing number of travelers eyeing Con Dao, the link is more than a commuter convenience. The archipelago of 16 islands sits about 230 km southeast of Ho Chi Minh City and covers roughly 76 sq.km of land ringed by protected waters. The island now draws visitors for its national park, nesting sea turtles and high-end resorts, an arc from penal colony to eco-getaway that has made it one of Vietnam’s most distinctive destinations.
Con Dao is best known abroad for the brutal prison complex that French colonists and later regimes used to hold political prisoners.
Con Dao’s profile has climbed further since July 1, 2025, when it became Ho Chi Minh City’s only special zone after the neighboring provinces of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Binh Duong merged into the city. Officials say the restored ferry should give the zone another tourism boost, widening access to an island that has long been easier to read about than to reach.
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