Every year, from April to September, when the sea breeze turns gentle and the sand warms under the sun, sea turtles return to the familiar shores of Con Dao to nest and lay their eggs. This is the most important breeding season of the year—and also the perfect time for visitors to join the unique turtle-watching tour organized by Con Dao National Park.
A Special Journey with the Sea Turtles
Unlike many other conservation sites, Con Dao’s turtle-watching program allows visitors to stay overnight on a small island—the very place where mother turtles choose as their “birthing ground.” Accompanying guests throughout the experience is a dedicated team of forest rangers who protect and care for sea turtles all year round.
The tour usually begins at 4:00 p.m. and ends around 6:00 a.m. the next day.
Departing from the Con Dao tourism pier, a small group of 5–7 guests is taken by canoe to Bay Canh Island—the site with the highest number of nesting turtles in Vietnam.
After a simple, warm dinner with the rangers, visitors can watch the sunset melt into the sea before staying awake through the night to wait for the mother turtles. Before heading down to the beach, guides will explain important rules—keeping silent, avoiding flashlights, and not approaching too closely—to ensure the turtles feel safe.
A Sacred Moment in the Stillness of Night
In the quiet darkness, with only the sound of waves and a sky full of stars, you will witness a mother turtle slowly emerge from the sea. She chooses a dry patch of sand near the bushes and uses her hind flippers to dig a half-meter-deep nest.
One by one, round, white eggs—each about the size of a ping-pong ball—drop gently into the nest, a sight that moves many viewers. After about an hour, the turtle carefully covers the nest, erasing her tracks before returning to the ocean, leaving behind a new generation of life beneath the sand.
A single mother turtle typically lays 80–200 eggs per clutch. Rangers then relocate the eggs to protected hatcheries to keep them safe from high tides and predators.
However, witnessing this moment depends entirely on luck—some guests see turtles on their first night, while others stay two or three nights and still miss the chance.
The Island—A Cradle of New Life
Con Dao is recognized by scientists as the largest turtle nesting site in Vietnam, with around 350 nesting females each year and more than 50,000 hatchlings.
Yet the survival rate of baby turtles in the wild is extremely low—only 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 10,000 individuals reaches adulthood.
Hatchlings face countless threats: predators, marine debris, artificial lighting, and even human harvesting.
An interesting fact:
- Higher incubation temperatures produce male turtles,
- Lower temperatures produce females.
Even more remarkable, sea turtles have an instinct to return to the exact beach where they were born to lay eggs—a journey that can take more than 35 years from hatchling to maturity. Since turtle flippers are designed for swimming rather than walking, they wait for high tide to help them reach the beach with less effort.
Con Dao—Vietnam’s Pioneer in Sea Turtle Conservation
Con Dao is the first place in Vietnam to successfully implement a sea turtle conservation program, significantly contributing to marine research and biodiversity protection.
Today, thousands of visitors participate in these tours each year—not only to witness a natural wonder, but also to appreciate the broader importance of environmental stewardship.
